ELEVEN:
Cary was surprised to see my mother was gone when he got back from the dock. "Where is she? She hasn't gone into town has she?" He asked. I was still sitting in the room, while Aunt Sara bustled about the kitchen busy with dinner.
I shook my head. "No. She left." I said.
"Left?" Cary repeated a confused look on her face. "You mean, she's gone to France already?"
"She's not going to France. She lied to us Cary. She came here and was going to put the hard word on me for some money for her and that creep Archie Marlin." I said frowning. "And now she's gone, and I don't think she'll be back."
Cary hurried to take me into his arms. "Don't be sad Melody." He said. "She was never much of a mother anyway. We're better off without her, aren't we?"
"Of course we are." I said. I'd said things like this before, but this time I was convinced I really meant it! After the cold way she had tried to trick me when she could have just asked me for money if she was so bad off. And the way she lied about Archie Marlin knowing how I felt about him. I felt myself getting madder, and so I pulled away from Cary, and took a deep breath.
"After tea I'm going to go visit the judge Cary, I've got some things I want to discuss with him." I said. I'd been planning on going the next day, but something told me that I might want to go sooner.
"Okay, we'll go over after dinner." Cary replied. "It's no problem."
"We?" I asked.
"Sure..unless, is it just going to be boring wedding details?" Cary asked.
"No I- actually yeah, it'll probably bore you. I mean, you don't really care what color flowers there are and that, do you?" I replied, glad for the excuse.
"Isn't Ma helping you with that side of things?" Cary asked, a little confused.
"Of course she is, but I thought it would be nice to get a man's view, that is a man of the world, not a young one like you." I said, wondering where on earth I pulled these kind of lies from. Maybe I was more like my mother than I thought if lies came to me like this. I pushed that thought away quickly-at that moment I didn't want to have a thing in common with my mother!
"Right, well I'll drop you off, and then I might go and drop the papers over at Roy's place and then come back for you." Cary said. "Maybe we could go and get ice-cream or something afterwards. I know we're engaged and all, but I feel like I never get you alone."
"Ice-cream sounds great." I replied. I just hoped I would have an appetite after I'd heard what the judge had to say-my mother had made it seem ominous.
*****
"Melody! What a lovely surprise!" Morton said.
I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I know I'm making a habit of dropping in unannounced-"
"-Oh nonsense! The judge is always glad to see you." Morton assured me.
And therefore a few minutes later I was seated in the room with the judge, wondering where to begin. The judge knew my mother was still alive-I hadn't been meaning to tell him, but I had not that long ago.
"I'm glad you're here Melody." The judge said with a smile. "I've got the proceeds from the sale of your grandparents estate here." He held out a cheque and I took it silently.
"Thank you Grandfather." I said solemnly.
He looked thoughtful. "You came here for a reason didn't you Melody? I've seen that look on your face before."
"Mommy was here for a bit." I blurted out.
"Haille was here?" The judge asked looking shocked. "I wish I'd known she was coming. I might have came round to say hello."
"Nobody knew Grandfather." I told him. "She just turned up." All of a sudden in my head I heard Uncle Jacob: bad pennies always turn up!
"Oh." He said, and then he shrugged and forced a smile. "And how is she?"
"The same as always." I said dryly. "Convinced that she's going to become a star, and no kind of parent."
"Well she's still your mother Melody, regardless of her faults.." The judge said. I saw his eyes go dreamy, and I thought he might be remembering my mother when she was a teenager on the cape. He shook his head, and his eyes cleared. "Anyway, as long as she was well."
"Grandfather," I said taking a deep breath. "Mommy told me something, but she didn't tell me why. She said to ask you. Is there any reason I can't marry Cary?"
The judge slumped in his chair, and his face went pale. I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"Grandfather?" I practically whispered, hoping he would tell me that there was no reason why Cary and I couldn't be married, and everything would be all right. But something in his expression told me that this wasn't going to be the case.
"I wasn't going to speak of this, and I hoped nobody else would either." The judge said. "When Haille was a teenager she was the most beautiful girl you could imagine-you look a lot like her you know-and everyone was besotted by her. And when I say everyone I mean everyone, not just all the local boys. I guessed when I was watching them on the beach one day that Jacob had feelings for his adoptive sister-as he believed her to be-deep feelings. But I never thought anything would come of it. Jacob wasn't exactly Haille's type and she and Kenneth were very close. Of course knowing I was Haille's real father meant I didn't want her and Kenneth to get too close so when he told me how much he loved her and how he wanted to marry her I had no choice but to tell her the truth, however much Kenneth may still resent me for it. After that, as you probably know, Haille changed. Now she was happy to have the attentions of anyone-even Jacob." The judge stopped to clear his throat and I sat perched on the edge of my seat, knowing that the outcome was going to be something horrible. Now what you probably don't know is that when Haille found out she was pregnant she came to me first. She didn't know how to tell Olivia and Samuel, and she wanted my advice. She also confided something to me she told nobody else- that she thought Jacob could be the father. Jacob or Teddy Jackson was what she told me. When Olivia tried to get it out of her she refused to tell, but I always wondered whether Olivia had any idea or not? Olivia wasn't the type to not know things was she? I'm pretty sure Chester had no idea. Right up until his death he more than likely believed that his own father was responsible for your birth, when it could very well have been his own brother instead..."
I didn't know what to say now. Uncle Jacob could possibly be my father not Teddy Jackson. My mother might have picked sour Uncle Jacob over suave Teddy Jackson. And then it dawned on me! If there was a possibility that Uncle Jacob was my real father than there was also a possibility that Cary was my half brother. I wanted to be sick. I think I must have gone pale or something because the judge was at my side in an instant.
"Morton! Can you get a glass of water pronto?" He bellowed. A moment later Morton brought the water in and after I had taken a long sip I felt a bit better, although I was still in shock at what I had just heard!
"If this is true, why didn't you tell me earlier? When you knew Cary and I were in love and thinking of getting married?" I asked.
"I guess because it is only a possibility that Jacob was your father. More than likely it was Jackson." The judge explained. "And I wanted you to be happy, since you deserve it more than anyone. And when you think about it, Cary's not a very close relation if this is true and-"
"-Nonetheless you should have told me earlier!" I said angrily.
"Melody please!" The judge begged. "Don't be mad. Try to understand my reasons. I love you. I want you and Cary to be happy."
"I can't marry him now, can I?" I asked, feeling as though my heart was breaking.
"Of course you can Melody-you mother, you and I are the only ones who know this. And it might not even be true. Do you want to sacrifice happiness for something debatable?"
I didn't reply. I didn't know.
And then there was the sound of the truck out the front and a few minutes later Morton had shown Cary into the room.
"Ready for some ice-cream?" Cary asked me. "I've been dreaming of chocolate chip, and peppermint since I dropped you off."
I forced a smile. "Right. I'm ready." I said.
The judge smiled. "Go on then kids, get out of here and get some ice-cream. You probably won't have much time for fun together before you get married soon." He said.
I turned sharply and looked at him. To anyone else he would have looked completely innocent, but to me he was telling me not to do anything stupid. Telling me to marry Cary and be happy. I forced a goodbye and hurried to the truck.
As we drove Cary looked at me strangely. "Are you all right Melody?"
'Of all the times for Cary to get perceptive!' I thought, but I nodded. "Sure, I'm just a bit tired. You know, stress and things from the wedding." I said, wishing I didn't have to lie to him. But how could I tell him what I had just learnt? I thought then he might just take me home so I could go to bed.
"Well an ice-cream should make you feel better then." He said.
I smiled tightly.
It was only a few minutes later that Cary and I were seated with ice creams. Cary had a sundae with both chocolate chip ice cream and peppermint ice cream, topped with whipped cream. I had only a scoop of vanilla in a cone. For some reason I didn't really have much of an appetite. As we ate Cary talked about the house and how excited he was about the whole thing. I tried to act like I was excited too, but even though I didn't think I did a very good job, Cary was fooled. When we got back to the house he put his arms around me, and pushed my hair from my forehead gently.
"Now get to bed and get some sleep. Of course this wedding is the most exciting thing in my life but I don't want you killing yourself over it okay?" He said softly.
I nodded, and he kissed me gently on the lips. Then I went into my room, and threw myself on the bed. What was I going to do? I had to let Cary know the news, but it would crush him. Not only that it would make him hate his father. Even though Uncle Jacob was dead Cary took a lot of stock in what he would think about things. But if I didn't tell him, if I just called the wedding off it would hurt him even more. I couldn't face him if I did that to him. So, could I just marry him and go on hoping it was Teddy Jackson who was my real father? I didn't know. It took me a long time to get to sleep that was for sure! As I was finally falling asleep I told myself what Scarlet O'Hara had told herself in "Gone with the wind"- tomorrow's another day!
Cary was surprised to see my mother was gone when he got back from the dock. "Where is she? She hasn't gone into town has she?" He asked. I was still sitting in the room, while Aunt Sara bustled about the kitchen busy with dinner.
I shook my head. "No. She left." I said.
"Left?" Cary repeated a confused look on her face. "You mean, she's gone to France already?"
"She's not going to France. She lied to us Cary. She came here and was going to put the hard word on me for some money for her and that creep Archie Marlin." I said frowning. "And now she's gone, and I don't think she'll be back."
Cary hurried to take me into his arms. "Don't be sad Melody." He said. "She was never much of a mother anyway. We're better off without her, aren't we?"
"Of course we are." I said. I'd said things like this before, but this time I was convinced I really meant it! After the cold way she had tried to trick me when she could have just asked me for money if she was so bad off. And the way she lied about Archie Marlin knowing how I felt about him. I felt myself getting madder, and so I pulled away from Cary, and took a deep breath.
"After tea I'm going to go visit the judge Cary, I've got some things I want to discuss with him." I said. I'd been planning on going the next day, but something told me that I might want to go sooner.
"Okay, we'll go over after dinner." Cary replied. "It's no problem."
"We?" I asked.
"Sure..unless, is it just going to be boring wedding details?" Cary asked.
"No I- actually yeah, it'll probably bore you. I mean, you don't really care what color flowers there are and that, do you?" I replied, glad for the excuse.
"Isn't Ma helping you with that side of things?" Cary asked, a little confused.
"Of course she is, but I thought it would be nice to get a man's view, that is a man of the world, not a young one like you." I said, wondering where on earth I pulled these kind of lies from. Maybe I was more like my mother than I thought if lies came to me like this. I pushed that thought away quickly-at that moment I didn't want to have a thing in common with my mother!
"Right, well I'll drop you off, and then I might go and drop the papers over at Roy's place and then come back for you." Cary said. "Maybe we could go and get ice-cream or something afterwards. I know we're engaged and all, but I feel like I never get you alone."
"Ice-cream sounds great." I replied. I just hoped I would have an appetite after I'd heard what the judge had to say-my mother had made it seem ominous.
*****
"Melody! What a lovely surprise!" Morton said.
I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I know I'm making a habit of dropping in unannounced-"
"-Oh nonsense! The judge is always glad to see you." Morton assured me.
And therefore a few minutes later I was seated in the room with the judge, wondering where to begin. The judge knew my mother was still alive-I hadn't been meaning to tell him, but I had not that long ago.
"I'm glad you're here Melody." The judge said with a smile. "I've got the proceeds from the sale of your grandparents estate here." He held out a cheque and I took it silently.
"Thank you Grandfather." I said solemnly.
He looked thoughtful. "You came here for a reason didn't you Melody? I've seen that look on your face before."
"Mommy was here for a bit." I blurted out.
"Haille was here?" The judge asked looking shocked. "I wish I'd known she was coming. I might have came round to say hello."
"Nobody knew Grandfather." I told him. "She just turned up." All of a sudden in my head I heard Uncle Jacob: bad pennies always turn up!
"Oh." He said, and then he shrugged and forced a smile. "And how is she?"
"The same as always." I said dryly. "Convinced that she's going to become a star, and no kind of parent."
"Well she's still your mother Melody, regardless of her faults.." The judge said. I saw his eyes go dreamy, and I thought he might be remembering my mother when she was a teenager on the cape. He shook his head, and his eyes cleared. "Anyway, as long as she was well."
"Grandfather," I said taking a deep breath. "Mommy told me something, but she didn't tell me why. She said to ask you. Is there any reason I can't marry Cary?"
The judge slumped in his chair, and his face went pale. I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"Grandfather?" I practically whispered, hoping he would tell me that there was no reason why Cary and I couldn't be married, and everything would be all right. But something in his expression told me that this wasn't going to be the case.
"I wasn't going to speak of this, and I hoped nobody else would either." The judge said. "When Haille was a teenager she was the most beautiful girl you could imagine-you look a lot like her you know-and everyone was besotted by her. And when I say everyone I mean everyone, not just all the local boys. I guessed when I was watching them on the beach one day that Jacob had feelings for his adoptive sister-as he believed her to be-deep feelings. But I never thought anything would come of it. Jacob wasn't exactly Haille's type and she and Kenneth were very close. Of course knowing I was Haille's real father meant I didn't want her and Kenneth to get too close so when he told me how much he loved her and how he wanted to marry her I had no choice but to tell her the truth, however much Kenneth may still resent me for it. After that, as you probably know, Haille changed. Now she was happy to have the attentions of anyone-even Jacob." The judge stopped to clear his throat and I sat perched on the edge of my seat, knowing that the outcome was going to be something horrible. Now what you probably don't know is that when Haille found out she was pregnant she came to me first. She didn't know how to tell Olivia and Samuel, and she wanted my advice. She also confided something to me she told nobody else- that she thought Jacob could be the father. Jacob or Teddy Jackson was what she told me. When Olivia tried to get it out of her she refused to tell, but I always wondered whether Olivia had any idea or not? Olivia wasn't the type to not know things was she? I'm pretty sure Chester had no idea. Right up until his death he more than likely believed that his own father was responsible for your birth, when it could very well have been his own brother instead..."
I didn't know what to say now. Uncle Jacob could possibly be my father not Teddy Jackson. My mother might have picked sour Uncle Jacob over suave Teddy Jackson. And then it dawned on me! If there was a possibility that Uncle Jacob was my real father than there was also a possibility that Cary was my half brother. I wanted to be sick. I think I must have gone pale or something because the judge was at my side in an instant.
"Morton! Can you get a glass of water pronto?" He bellowed. A moment later Morton brought the water in and after I had taken a long sip I felt a bit better, although I was still in shock at what I had just heard!
"If this is true, why didn't you tell me earlier? When you knew Cary and I were in love and thinking of getting married?" I asked.
"I guess because it is only a possibility that Jacob was your father. More than likely it was Jackson." The judge explained. "And I wanted you to be happy, since you deserve it more than anyone. And when you think about it, Cary's not a very close relation if this is true and-"
"-Nonetheless you should have told me earlier!" I said angrily.
"Melody please!" The judge begged. "Don't be mad. Try to understand my reasons. I love you. I want you and Cary to be happy."
"I can't marry him now, can I?" I asked, feeling as though my heart was breaking.
"Of course you can Melody-you mother, you and I are the only ones who know this. And it might not even be true. Do you want to sacrifice happiness for something debatable?"
I didn't reply. I didn't know.
And then there was the sound of the truck out the front and a few minutes later Morton had shown Cary into the room.
"Ready for some ice-cream?" Cary asked me. "I've been dreaming of chocolate chip, and peppermint since I dropped you off."
I forced a smile. "Right. I'm ready." I said.
The judge smiled. "Go on then kids, get out of here and get some ice-cream. You probably won't have much time for fun together before you get married soon." He said.
I turned sharply and looked at him. To anyone else he would have looked completely innocent, but to me he was telling me not to do anything stupid. Telling me to marry Cary and be happy. I forced a goodbye and hurried to the truck.
As we drove Cary looked at me strangely. "Are you all right Melody?"
'Of all the times for Cary to get perceptive!' I thought, but I nodded. "Sure, I'm just a bit tired. You know, stress and things from the wedding." I said, wishing I didn't have to lie to him. But how could I tell him what I had just learnt? I thought then he might just take me home so I could go to bed.
"Well an ice-cream should make you feel better then." He said.
I smiled tightly.
It was only a few minutes later that Cary and I were seated with ice creams. Cary had a sundae with both chocolate chip ice cream and peppermint ice cream, topped with whipped cream. I had only a scoop of vanilla in a cone. For some reason I didn't really have much of an appetite. As we ate Cary talked about the house and how excited he was about the whole thing. I tried to act like I was excited too, but even though I didn't think I did a very good job, Cary was fooled. When we got back to the house he put his arms around me, and pushed my hair from my forehead gently.
"Now get to bed and get some sleep. Of course this wedding is the most exciting thing in my life but I don't want you killing yourself over it okay?" He said softly.
I nodded, and he kissed me gently on the lips. Then I went into my room, and threw myself on the bed. What was I going to do? I had to let Cary know the news, but it would crush him. Not only that it would make him hate his father. Even though Uncle Jacob was dead Cary took a lot of stock in what he would think about things. But if I didn't tell him, if I just called the wedding off it would hurt him even more. I couldn't face him if I did that to him. So, could I just marry him and go on hoping it was Teddy Jackson who was my real father? I didn't know. It took me a long time to get to sleep that was for sure! As I was finally falling asleep I told myself what Scarlet O'Hara had told herself in "Gone with the wind"- tomorrow's another day!