Autjor's Note: Shauna, Google Bethany Joy Lenz and keep check on her official site as well as the joie luck club. The CD should be for sale very soon. I got mine at the concert.

Megan maneuvered her car into the winding driveway of her parents' estate. She parked and got out, making sure to adjust the shades over her puffy, swollen eyes even though there wasn't a hint of sun in the cloudy fall sky. The last thing she had wanted to do was attend some political fundraising luncheon hosted by a series of uppity politician's wives but her presence was expected and Megan Powell Scott was never one to disappoint. She always did the right thing, what was expected of her.

She walked inside the house to find her mother sorting out old clothing and household goods to be donated to the local Salvation Army.

"Sweetie, you made it", Laurie smiled looking at her oldest daughter.

"Hi, Mom."

"Just let me finish with these boxes and I can go get dressed. I'm going to drop these off on the way over, if you don't mind."

Megan sat and removed her glasses.

"That's fine."

For the first time she really noticed Megan's appearance. Pregnancy and the little pink sundress definitely agreed with her but her face told a different story. Her eyes were sad and there was evidence of tears. Her skin was ghostly pale and she looked exhausted.

"Honey, is everything okay?"

"Yes…no, actually, Mom, I was thinking…do we really have to go to that luncheon today?"

"Are you sick? Is it the baby?"

"No, no, nothing like that but I just don't feel like being around a lot of people right now."

"Well, that's no excuse. Meg, sometimes in life we have to do things we really don't want to do. But we do them anyway. Now people expect to see is this afternoon. Besides, it's very important to your father."

Megan rolled her eyes. It was a dead end argument.

"Okay, okay. Fine, Mom. I'll go."

Laurie sensed the agitation.

"Is everything okay with you?"

"I said I'm fine."

"Well, you really don't look well, dear. Have you been getting enough sleep? Are you eating properly?"

Megan looked away. God, if she only knew the truth.

"Does it matter anyway? I mean, who cares what happens to me?"

A concerned Laurie put down the items and joined her child on the couch.

"Megan Lindsay Powell Scott! Why on earth would you say a thing like that? I care. And so does your father and brothers and sister. And your husband cares."

"I doubt that", she spat.

"Are you and Nathan having problems? Megan, it's not uncommon for these first few months to be a little shaky. They say the first year of marriage is always the toughest."

"I want a divorce", Megan blurted out.

Laurie, the perfect wife and mother, the beautiful, devoutly Catholic bride of a politician gasped out loud.

"What?"

"You heard me, Mom."

"Surely my ears must be deceiving me. Megan, what is going on with you? Just because there are a few kinks…"

"Kinks?" she laughed out loud. "Mom, please! I am miserable, okay? Everyday I put on this happy front like everything is picture perfect when really behind our closed doors, it's a nightmare. I am not happy and Nathan isn't happy. We hardly ever talk or spend time together anymore. He's never home."

"Darling, in his defense, look at his profession. Nathan is a very busy young man. You knew that when you married him."

"Yes, I know his schedule can be hectic and breaks are far and few in between. But what about the times when he's not on the road? Or after home games or practices? Times when he could be home. Times when he could be with me. But he's not there."

"Well, where is he?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. And I don't think it matters to him. He'd just rather be anywhere than where is he supposed to be."

"That can't be true."

"Well it is. Stop defending him because you're not in our house and you don't see the way things are. He drinks from sun up to sun down. He's moody and rude and distant. And with the exception of this pregnancy, he has no interest in me or what I'm doing at all."

"Megan…"

"I'm like his personal little incubator."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Of course. It does no good. I've tried ignoring it and giving him his space and being nice to him and pleading with and even yelling at him but none of it seems to matter. He has this wall up and I can't break through it, Mom, no matter how hard I try."

"You just have to be patient. He's under a lot of pressure right now."

"So am I."

"I understand that but when the baby is born…"

"Then what? You're telling me it's going to get better? Is it? Because I'm not so sure. What if it doesn't? God forbid, what if it just gets worse? Then what?"

"You have to be patient and you have to try harder but divorce is not a solution, young lady. You took vows before God. The institute of marriage is sacred. Just because things aren't perfect…"

"Perfect? Oh they are anything but perfect, far from it. But what would you know about that?"

"I don't like your tone, Megan. I am still your mother. You will not raise your voice or disrespect me."

"You don't get it…"

"No, you're the one who doesn't seem to get it. Marriage is not always about perfection and hearts and flowers and lovemaking. There are rough waters and trying times and sacrifices to be made. You think I haven't been there? You think your father is perfect?"

Megan raised an eyebrow. As far as she was concerned, her father was perfect or at least as close as it got. And if she had one word to describe her parents' union, it would be joyous.

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"I love your father very much. He's a good man. We've been married almost thirty years. There have been good times and not so good time but I wouldn't trade a single moment of our lives. Even when things were at their worst, I never gave up hope or lost my faith and I never stopped being a good and dutiful wife."

"You love, Daddy, Mom. I know that. And he loves you. Despite anything that might have ever happened, you know in your heart that he really loved you."

"Yes."

She shook her head fighting back more tears.

"What if you didn't have that? Because, um…I…I, I don't know if I do."

"Of course Nathan loves you."

"Nathan loves me because he knows I love him. He loves me because I'm there for him. He loves me because I am carrying our child. He loves me because I'm safe and familiar. But what if there was someone else?"

"Is he having an affair?" Laurie asked carefully.

"No. I don't think so. But he may as well be. Sometimes you don't have to cheat with your body. If his heart and mind are somewhere else, then isn't that the same thing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Haley."

"His ex wife? That distasteful young woman who had the nerve to interrupt your wedding and humiliate our family?"

"That's the one", she sighed.

"I wouldn't worry about her. She walked out on him a long time ago and if you ask me, she did him a huge favor. Worldly women like that have no values or class or sense of morals. Her actions make that more than obvious. She walked out on him, Meg not even a year after marriage. What does that tell you about her sense of loyalty or commitment? Nathan chose you. He married you. Besides, they were only together for a short while and that was years ago."

"But what if he's still in love with her? What if I'm the mistake?"

"You're being absolutely ridiculous, Megan?"

"Am I? Because I feel like there are three people in this marriage."

"Well, what are you going to do, Meg? Divorce him? Go against the church and God and everything you've been taught? Disappoint your father and me and bring shame you yourself and your child?"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Whatever it takes."

"I've tried everything."

"Well, try harder. Don't give up on him. Your father and I did not raise a quitter. You be there for him. Stand by his side. Love him. Give him the home and family he needs. And if he wants to have a drink or two or he doesn't want to come home every night or talk, then give him his space. It's a phase and he'll grow out of it. But absolutely no more talk of divorce! Do you hear me? And quit nagging at him before you drive him away. He's a good man and he does love you. Right now he's just being a man."

"Mom…"

"He loves you, Megan. You know that. He loves you so much."

"Then why doesn't it feel that way? Why does it feel like he loves Haley?"

"Whatever feelings he may have for this woman, just like the alcohol, will in time go away. You just have to prove to him the kind of wife you are. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Pretty soon she'll just be another bad memory. But you don't give up on your marriage."

Megan wiped at tears.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Mom", she sobbed. "What to say or think or feel. It's like I'm losing it, like I'm cracking up. I feel like I'm holding onto him by a thread. And it feels like it would maybe be a big relief for both us if just one of had the guts to speak the truth and let it go but every time I come close, I just can't because I love him. I want him and our child and this perfect, happy little life together just like we planned. When it was good between us, it was really good. I can't even describe how happy I was or how great we were together. Now that they're bad, they're horrible. But as awful as it gets, just the thought of the good times is enough to make me want to hold on. I want Nathan but I want him to want me too. I don't want to raise this baby alone."

"You won't. He isn't going anywhere. It's just a tough time", Laurie held her. "It will pass. I promise you."

"Mom…you think he still loves me?"

"Of course he does."

"Then why is there someone else? Why does Haley James' ghost continue to haunt our relationship? Why is she still in his heart and mind?"

Laurie sighed as she stroked her daughter's silky blonde locks. With a pained expression she thought back to some of her own less than desirable experiences, instances and details she would and could never ever share with another soul. But she had gotten through it…and so would Megan. Her marriage had survived and so would her daughter's.

"Great men have great flaws and faults, Megan", she sighed. "It's just in their bumbling male nature, I guess. And you have to take the good with the bad. It's just a way of life. And only women like us can understand that."