Thank you to everybody who read or left kudos. You're so fabulous.
So I began doing the revisions on this chapter the day before Thanksgiving 2020. I was forced to take a few days off from work, so I spent it working on the Thanksgiving arc. I swear it wasn't this long the first time around. I blame Jack and Carolyn.
Trigger warning/spoiler: Sharpay will confront one of her abusers in this chapter. Also mentions sexual harassment and dubious consent.
Chapter 43: Next year, we Celebrate By Ourselves
¶¶
The ride to Abuela Sanchez's house was unbelievably tense. Neither Amanda nor Sharpay said a single word on the way there. If it wasn't for Sharpay holding his hand the entire time, he would think he was alone. Chad wished someone would talk so he wouldn't keep replaying the fight with his father in his head.
He should've expected the homophobia. Charles has always been a dick to Aunt Mariah. This is why he never told his father about Jamie or Ryan. It's why he only told Troy before recently. Ryan figured it out all on his own.
Thank the universe Chad already knew about the adultery and how his mom found out the truth. Although what can be worse than finding out your father tried to get your girlfriend to go down on him. His opinion of Charles couldn't go any lower, or so he thought.
Charles just had to project his own behavior on his mother. There was no way his mother would cheat on his dad. Then again, he never thought he would cheat on Taylor. At least on an emotional level, it kind of happened twice. It doesn't really matter that he turned down a very tempting blowjob from Ryan and put Sharpay into bed during the non-virginal punch incident. He fell in love with both.
Everyone thought Chad was a carbon copy of his father. But, in reality, he was much more like his mother.
Chad was convinced his father only saw Tiffany as a sex toy. Charles just had the misfortune of getting Tiffany pregnant due to a combination of apparently broken condoms and accidentally deactivated birth control. Chad would never cheat on his significant others for just sex. That is why every time Penelope or Blaise and the girlfriend proposition him, he ran away screaming. Nevertheless, he did cheat on Taylor by falling in love with someone else and making out with that person. More than once, because of Ryan. If he could fall in love with someone else during a committed relationship, Chad knew his mom could do the same.
His mom and Jack have always had a really close friendship. Almost like him and Sharpay during their denial phase or maybe him and Ryan. Which again raises lots of flags and questions.
Then there was the unedited Jack interview from their midterm project. Jack could barely remember why he fell in love with Lucy. There is already a lot of pain and hurt feelings there before Tuesday's ultimatum. But the way Jack talked about his mom was completely different. He adored her. He trusted her completely. Chad knows that she has been Jack's rock during the whole Troy is a teenage father situation. Every time Chad calls his mom, she's in the middle of a text message conversation with Jack.
Plus, his mother always has Jack checking up on them. As a result, Jack has visited him more on campus than Chad has talked to his father in the last three months. Not that it would be that hard. Charles was always an absentee father, even when he was in the same city.
Then there was last night. They were cuddling together when watching the movie. At the time, he dismissed it as Jack just having a bad day and needing his friend. Maybe that was right, but apparently, his mom is more of a Sharpay/Ryan friend than a Troy friend.
So no, Chad doesn't think his mom was screwing Jack when she was still married to Charles. But his mom is single, and Lucy kicked Jack out for being a good father. So Chad's about 95% sure he's going to end up Troy's stepbrother by December 2010, at the latest.
"I hope this goes better than earlier," Amanda said as they pulled up in front of Abuela Sanchez's house.
"Chad has no desire to punch out his mom, so I think it can't be any worse." Although he does wonder now if he needs to give Jack a shovel talk. Also, now he is wondering exactly where Jack's hands were under the blanket last night. That's going to be one uncomfortable conversation.
XXXX
So far, other than speculation about his mother's love life, a very Sanchez Thanksgiving was going better. No one assumed that Amanda was his girlfriend or put their foot in their mouths. Although he hasn't actually come out to any family members yet. He feels like Abuela Sanchez would be less hostile than Nana Danforth. She always treated his Aunt Mariah's girlfriend better than Charles. Although Aunt Teresa was a sweetheart. (She's been with his aunt for a decade. So Chad considers her an aunt by default, New Mexico laws be damned.)
Because they arrived earlier than they were supposed to, they were currently helping get things together. Amanda was setting the table with his Aunt Mariah as Chad and Sharpay helped in the kitchen. Abuela Sanchez showed Sharpay how to do something in the kitchen instead of expecting her to automatically know like Nana Danforth and Aunt Esther. Chad started laughing hysterically when Sharpay ended up covered in chocolate pudding due to problems with a hand mixer.
"Laugh, all you want. I'm not throwing this pudding on you because I forgot to bring you a backup outfit. I'm so glad I didn't immediately switch after the cranberry incident." Sharpay remarked.
"I'm not laughing at you," Chad said as he walked over and grabbed one of her pudding-covered hands.
"Yes, you are." Sharpay gave him the pout. He loved that pout.
"Maybe, but I like this look," Chad said as he placed the pudding-covered finger in his mouth and began to suck on it.
"That's enough of that. I would like to be at least 65 before I have my first great-grandchild." His Abuela interrupted.
"Sorry, Abuela," Chad said, letting go of Sharpay's hands.
"Sharpay, you can get cleaned up in the bathroom down the hall. Your boyfriend and I will go get your backup outfit." His Abuela said as they walked out of the house.
"I like her. She's definitely less pretentious than your last girlfriend. At least she offered to help, though the poor child doesn't know how to use a hand mixer. But, on the other hand, she did not start yelling at me for perpetuating the female stereotype of the homemaker." Chad's Abuela said as they walked to the car. That definitely sounds like something Taylor would've done.
"In Taylor's defense, her dad does all the cooking because he's a nutritionist/chef. Also, you never had the opportunity to meet high school Sharpay. Let's just say pretentiousness was a major component of her personality."
"Cooking is not a gender role; it's a life skill." His Abuela remarked.
"One that we're both slowly working on. Sharpay doesn't know how to cook because she grew up with servants to do that for her." And her mom controlled everything she ate as part of her abuse. "I think I'm going to need more cooking lessons. Otherwise, we're going to starve. I doubt we will want to live off takeout and sandwiches once we're married." Chad got a little better last year because it wasn't like Charles would cook, but he can still barely make macaroni and cheese. It was definitely not like his mom's macaroni and cheese.
"You're just going to have to come over on the weekends, so I can help you with that. So, this is a serious relationship?" His Abuela asked.
"Yes, especially compared to Taylor and definitely Jamie." Chad decided to mention Jamie because he needed to at least lay the groundwork. He would like to come out to this side of the family in a less dramatic way.
"I don't remember ever meeting Jamie. When did you date her?" His Abuela asked.
"We were together during basketball camp two summers ago. It didn't work out afterward because I was just his summer fling, but I think I was halfway in love with him." He might as well come out to both sides of the family on the same day. "I may have ended up with Taylor because it was easier than being out at EHS."
"You're not with Sharpay now because… I'm just going to say your father is a homophobic bigot. He was always awful to Mariah and Teresa. But, honestly, so was your Abuelo. It's why Mariah had boyfriends in high school. I don't want you to do that. I wasn't there for her like I should have been, but I want to be there for you." That's when his Abuela hugged him. He needed that hug.
"I consider myself Demi sexual without a gender preference. Sometimes I just say bisexual or queer because it's easier than explaining. I used queer with Charles when I told him the truth last night. Let's just say we are here early because I punched him for calling me that F word."
"That's not even surprising. You deserve better." His grandmother's said, ending the hug allowing Chad to grab Sharpay's bag out of the Lexus.
"In hindsight, I think maybe I was using Taylor as my beard. But Sharpay isn't that. I really do love her." Chad confessed.
"Why do you love her? Because if you only love her for her looks and good sex, you're in trouble. Those things can go way in time."
"I'm aware. I learned that from the Jamie fiasco. My feelings were deeper for Jamie than his feelings were for me." His grandmother gives him a look. "We all do stupid things when we were 15. However, just so you know, I haven't actually had sex with Sharpay yet. We probably won't for a while even though that's none of your business." Chad remarked as they started to walk back to the house.
"Maybe one of my babies will actually be able to wear white at their wedding without it being a farce." So she's just going to ignore the Jamie stuff, and Chad is going to let her. There are some things your Abuela should never know.
"I love Sharpay because she understands me, and I understand her. She supports me even when she thinks I'm being ridiculous. I've never trust anybody more than her." The closest were Ryan and Troy, and even then, Sharpay knows a few things they don't. "I know her secrets, and she knows mine. We talked things out instead of running away. Sharpay's my best friend," sorry Troy and Ryan.
"Sharpay is my partner in everything. If I didn't love Sharpay beyond the superficial, it wouldn't work." Note to self, get his Abuela a book on demisexuality. "She drives me crazy sometimes, and I still love her." He told his grandmother as they walked back to the house.
Thankfully once they were back inside, she left to finish cooking allowing him to go straight to Sharpay.
"Here's your backpack." Chad handed the bag to Sharpay. She was already inside the master bathroom.
"Thank you. Next year I'll bring three outfits. If Alex gets me at a very Bolton Thanksgiving, I'm screwed."
"We can always stop by the house on the way there or not go." Chad really did not want to go because he wanted a little more time before seeing his mom and Jack together again. He wonders if they even know they are in love with each other yet. Did something already happen?
"We have no choice but to be there," Sharpay argued. "You're not going to let Troy deal with Lucy alone, let alone the rest of the family."
"This is true. You should know my Abuela knows about Jamie."
"And you're not crying, so she took it better than your dad," Sharpay remarked.
"It wouldn't be that hard," Chad remarked bitterly. "She hugged me."
"I'm sorry," Sharpay told him solemnly.
"I didn't expect Tiffany screaming at Charles to change his attitude overnight. It's fine."
"No, it's not. I would drag you in here and make you feel so much better about Charles, but I want your Abuela to actually like me. So I suggest you go out to the living room and mingle." Sharpay actually pushed him out of the bathroom.
He did mingle. Which meant aunt Mariah and Teresa hugging him to death because, of course, Abuela told them. Aunt Mariah also just wants an excuse to arrest Charles. His mother is the one lawyer in a family of cops and military officers. He has mixed feelings about that. Honestly, he was surprised Aunt Mariah hasn't quit yet due to all the homophobia.
Thankfully Mariah and Teresa let him go when cousin Carmen walked in.
"What are you doing here? You usually skip these things." Chad asked as he hugged the only cousin he could tolerate. Although that's probably because Mariah and Teresa have unfortunately been unable to adopt. He is sure any kids they raise would be good. Since her performance at the play, he hadn't seen her because she was in a different Drama section than the one Sharpay works with.
"That's because daddy hated Abuelo and never ever forgave him for what he did to your mom. He was mad at Abuela Sanchez for letting it happen. Now that everybody's dead but Abuela, it doesn't matter anymore." Carmen finished solemnly. Last year, the other big event in addition to his parents' divorce was his Uncle Jorge and his wife dying in a car accident right before his mom moved to DC. Actually, that may have been another reason why she left—too many bad memories. Last year was a very messed up year all around, really.
"I'm sorry."
"It has been over a year Chad. I'm okay. My half-brother and guardian, Jose, believes I should spend as much time around my remaining family as possible." Carmen told him, trying to smile.
"I don't think I ever met your half-brother. I'm not even sure if he was at the funeral." Really the only thing he remembered from the funeral was his mom crying on top of Jack. Okay, that should've told him right there that their relationship was definitely more than platonic.
"The funeral was hard for both of us. José hid in the back. Before that, José always did holidays with his dad per the custody arrangement. Let me introduce you to him and his wicked witch of a girlfriend." Carmen said that last part bitterly.
"You don't like his new girlfriend?" Chad asked.
"She's evil and old enough to be my mom. Also, I think the relationship is transactional because she was his boss until someone in HR realized what was going on and transferred him somewhere safe. Honestly, I thought José was gay, not bi. Yet, he still hasn't left her. I think it might be Stockholm syndrome, or she is blackmailing him." Carmen complained as they walked into the dining room. Inside stood the devil herself. Considering that Darby has a history of being abusive, Chad wouldn't be surprised at all if Carmen was 100% right.
Chad knew that Sharpay would be walking out of the bathroom at any moment to see her mother there. At the same time, he saw his mom and Mr. Evans walk through the front door. Chad forgot that his mother invited Mr. Evans to join them as a way to thank him for letting her stay at his house for the holiday. This was going to be a disaster.
XXXX
Tiffany was standing in Aunt Claudia's kitchen, handing her boyfriend (?) an ice pack. Part of Tiffany wished she was the one who punched Charles. He actually asked Chad's then 17-year-old girlfriend for oral sex. It shouldn't surprise her because she was 18 the first time he hit on her. She didn't understand why she kept going back to this man. She deserved better.
Actually, she's been thinking that since her conversation with Carolyn this morning. Even though the woman should hate her for fucking her husband behind her back, Carolyn didn't. She actually told her that she deserves so much better than Charles, and she didn't need to repeat Carolyn's mistakes. Carolyn married Charles because he got her pregnant when she was just 16, something Tiffany didn't know until this morning. Carolyn offered to help her fight for child support if she just left him. That was not a ringing endorsement for Charles's character. Honestly, it shouldn't surprise Tiffany at all.
"I shouldn't even give you this. You deserve it for everything you put Chad through, especially your nasty words." Tiffany said, practically throwing the ice pack at him.
"He's going to hear worse. If he's really with Sharpay right now, he should just keep his mouth shut about his previous inclinations."
"But then he wouldn't be Chad. Did you really always blame Chad for things not going the way you wanted to in your life?" Tiffany asked.
"What type of question is that, honey?" Charles said as he unsuccessfully tried to grab her hand.
"Don't call me honey. I'm still mad at you for being a homophobic asshole who apparently prays on barely legal and occasionally not legal girls." She said, pulling away.
"It's an honest question, Charles. I had your son's childhood. There's a reason why I didn't want to have dinner with my stepmom last night. She always blamed me for her life not turning out the way she wanted it to. Like what happened to my dad was my fault."
"I'm not her. I love you." Charles dared to kiss her. She pushed him away harder this time.
"No, you don't. It's apparent that I'm no better than a blowup doll to you. I know you're only back with me because of multiple contraceptive failures. I'm not going to have that. I refuse to be your ex-wife." She would do better. A wise person learns from other people's mistakes.
"I'm not with you just because you're pregnant," Charles argued.
"I don't believe you. Considering how you treat Chad, I'm not going to put my children through that. " Tiffany said as she walked to the door. "I realize that we are going to be so much better off without you."
"Where are you going?" Charles asked.
"Away from you. I'm done with your bullshit. We will be fine without you." Tiffany said, slamming the door behind her.
Tiffany had no idea where she was going; she just knew she couldn't stay there. She wasn't really familiar with this part of Albuquerque. Tiffany wandered through the neighborhood until she came to a shopping mall. She walked into Starbucks and ordered a decaf tea. Tiffany tried to call her aunt but couldn't get a hold of her. She probably has her phone off on shift. Maybe she should just call a cab again, but that would mean going back to the hotel, and she didn't want to do that. Charles may be there, and she just doesn't want to see him.
After trying to call her cousin instead, Tiffany saw an old friend from high school. They were on the academic decathlon team together.
"Kimberly Kim, what are you doing here? I figure you would be chasing after your Broadway dream." She always knew Albuquerque was never enough for Kim.
"I was in New York for a little while. Unfortunately, things change. I'm back at U of A, majoring in education right now. Let me order my coffee, and then we can catch up."
When Kim sat down at the table, the first thing she said was, "You're pregnant!"
"Yep, I'm extra pregnant with twins. I'm younger than I would like, but I'm actually happy about it." Tiffany always wanted kids. Maybe because she wanted to prove she could be a better mom than the step monster. She just wished she was through with college first and that their dad wasn't a prick.
"Tiffany, I can't say anything," Kim said as she pulled photographs out of her bag. "This is my son Alexander Troy. He will be two in January. I'm that old cliché of the girl getting pregnant in high school."
"I'm sure your story is less sordid than mine," Tiffany said as she continued to drink her tea.
"Alex's dad is 2 ½ years younger than I am," Kim explained.
"My babies' dad is 19 years older than I am, and he's a complete ass. His son came out to him yesterday, and he kept calling him homophobic slurs, so I dumped him." She can't be with someone like that. That wasn't even taking into account the Taylor thing.
"At least you dumped him."
"Not soon enough," Tiffany replied darkly.
"It takes time to do the right thing sometimes. How did you end up with an older man?" Kim asked.
"You remember how my grandmother was really sick, right?" Tiffany asked.
"I remember you missed the citywide finals for academic decathlon during your senior year because your grandmother was having surgery."
"The first of many because cancer sucks. I went to college in Cleveland to help take care of her. It helped that I got a full ride, so I wasn't dependent on money from the step monster."
"Financial independence is always important when you have monstrous manipulative parents."
"Very true. Anyway, it was hard for me to connect with guys my own age with so many responsibilities. They couldn't understand what it's like to be responsible for a sick parent or grandparent." Tiffany heard Kim laugh at that.
"You've always liked older guys. Everybody knows that you had a crush on Jack… Sorry, Coach Bolton in high school." Tiffany raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm student teaching at EHS presently, so it's kind of normal for me to think of him as Jack now."
"Can we please not talk about that? I'm trying to repress the fact that I tried to sleep with our high school gym teacher." She was so embarrassed about that now. A now 21-year-old Tiffany realizes how inappropriate that was.
"As a student teacher, I can tell you getting hit on by students happens a lot. Thankfully Jack is one of the good ones." That was true. It could've been so much worse if she made a pass at a teacher that would've taken advantage of her.
"Better than my ex-boyfriend. So anyway, I started dating an older businessman who was actually from Albuquerque. He was there a lot because his company had a branch in Cleveland. As far as I knew, he was divorced. It turns out he was lying through his teeth. During the summer of 2007, we hooked up at his house because I was visiting my aunt. Unfortunately, his wife walked in on us, which is how I discovered he was lying." Tiffany explained.
"That's not good." Kim slowly took a drink of her coffee.
"Not at all. I broke off the relationship because I am no one side chick. His marriage actually ended because at least she had some common sense." Kim raised her coffee cup and salute.
"Anyway, I went back to Cleveland to watch my grandmother die. I finally lost her in April." Remembering those dark days made Tiffany want to start crying again.
"I'm sorry. I know you two were really close." She felt like Tiffany's real mom most of the time. She was so mad when her grandmother moved to Cleveland when she was 15.
"Thank you. I didn't take her death very well. I spent the week immediately following her death in and out of bars. At one of these bars, I ran into my ex-boyfriend and ended up having comfort sex."
"Which is why you're currently very pregnant?"
"Did you know that food-grade active charcoal can deactivate your birth control? Which is really bad when the condom breaks and your partner lies to you about it."
"Shit. I was done in by antibiotics, so I feel your pain." Kim said sympathetically. "I adore my son, but I wish he would've arrived about five years later."
"I was planning on not telling him, despite what the stepmother wanted. Unfortunately, I ran into him at the end of September at the grocery store. He just took a job at the Cleveland branch. I had to tell him the truth. Now he wants us to get married and be a happy family. I was going to go along with it until I realize what he did to his first wife and older son. Now I'm sitting here with you at Starbucks trying to figure out what I should do." Although she already knew it wasn't going back to Charles. Her kids deserve better than him, even if it means being a single mom.
"I understand what it's like to be young, scared, and pregnant. Let me tell you what I went through during my pregnancy with Alex. Maybe it will help you make your own decision." So there Tiffany sat, drinking her tea and listening to Kim's very sordid tell of teen pregnancy and evil homicidal mothers.
xx xx
Carolyn walked into her mother's house just as her son started yelling at someone she's only seen in videos and pictures before. She would recognize this monster anywhere. She hated child abusers with a fiery passion.
"We already met, Carmen. This evil woman used to beat the hell out of my girlfriend when she was a scared child. Then, when she got older, Darby just used psychological abuse. That's not even getting into what she did to Ryan." Caroline never saw her son that angry before, including yesterday when he found out that his father asked his then-girlfriend for oral sex.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Darby denied it, but Carolyn remembers the photos. She remembered Chad and Ryan's testimony. She also remembered the hours of phone calls with Vince these last few weeks. They talked about everything that only made sense now that he was aware he was married to a monster.
"Yes, Darby, tell everyone about how you hit our daughter," Vince said, walking in behind her. Carolyn now is regretting inviting him here. He didn't need this. "As well as psychologically abusing both of her children. Let's let the public finally see you for the monster you really are."
"What did you do, Darby?" Her late brother's stepson José asked as he let go of the woman's hand in shock. That's when Carolyn realized that her step-nephew was the assistant sleeping with Vince's future ex-wife. Okay, now she's really glad she told Vince to just have José reassigned instead of firing him. Because José was Darby's assistant, they couldn't be 100% sure she did not force him into the relationship.
"So much including most likely lie to you about the status of our marriage. Technically we're still married, but that's only because my attorneys haven't found her to serve her with the papers. What lie did Darby tell you, or did she not give you a choice?" José looks down at the ground, telling Carolyn what she needed to know.
"She didn't give you a choice, did she
?" Vince asked again. Carolyn always realized this was a possibility before she knew her step-nephew was the target. Being a single parent is hard, especially when you're in your mid-20s. You can't afford to lose your job, so if your boss propositioned you, you're more likely to say yes.
"She said you were separated. Carmen needed braces, and I needed the job. I did what I had to do." She didn't think it was possible to hate Darby more, and yet she was proven wrong. Now she can add potential sexual assault and harassment of subordinates to the list of Darby's crimes.
"What's going on? What is she doing here?" Sharpay yelled as she walked into the room. Carolyn quickly ran over to her. Poor child. She doesn't need to be around her abuser.
"It turns out your mom's former assistant is my cousin's half-brother," Chad explained.
"What is going on is your wretched flavor of the month boyfriend and father are making a scene," Darby screamed.
"It would be such a shame, mother if people see the degenerate abusive monster you are underneath the designer suits. For too many years, I kept up the pretense of the perfect happy family. I played the role you want me to play perfectly. Not anymore, Darby. You were always an abusive, manipulative monster, and I'm glad you're gone from my life." Sharpay yelled at Darby.
"As for Chad, you better get used to him being around because he will be your future son-in-law even if I never see you again. God willing, I hope I never do."
That remark caused Darby to go off on a tirade that includes lots of racial slurs and many insults toward Chad, Sharpay, and Vince. Carolyn had to be held back by Amanda and her sister-in-law Teresa. She had the sudden urge to deck the bitch. Carolyn knew Mariah would look the other way. She was the good sister. Her other brothers that were cops, would probably look the other way too.
The soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Evans finished off her tirade with, "My daughter will not marry you. You are nothing more than someone for her to fuck. You're worthless for anything else." Carolyn could see the anger in Sharpay's eyes. Her step-nephew looked disgusted. It was obvious there were never any actual feelings, to begin with.
"Darby, unlike you, I don't care how people perceive me. I've never cared. That was you. I finally found the one person I want to be with. I really don't care if he doesn't come with his own yacht. As hard as it is for you to believe Darby, I do love him completely and unconditionally." Sharpay said as she walked over to Carolyn's son and grabbed his hand.
"Chad is it. I see us together growing old in Manhattan and fighting over the last pop tart. I can see us raising cute little kids with my eyes and his crazy hair." Sharpay explained.
"I was thinking somewhere out West, but I like your fantasy too," Chad said as he kissed her forehead.
"Probably because you want to be closer to Troy. Do you want to make it a reality?" Carolyn could see her son nod yes.
"Chadwick Danforth, will you marry me?" Carolyn saw Darby fall to the floor. Carolyn felt like joining her. Yes, she told Jack earlier that she expected them to be engaged by Christmas, but this was still unexpected. Maybe this was an elaborate performance to get back at Sharpay's mother. One could hope. The evil woman certainly deserved it. (Carolyn doesn't think about Jack saying the same thing after the Vegas proposal and her having to be the realist in the room.)
"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Carolyn heard her son asked Sharpay.
"Like we do anything nor…." Sharpay was cut off by Chad kissing her. Carolyn could hear the rest of the family clapping behind her. Even Mr. Evans was smiling. Why was he smiling? Their babies were too young.
"Why are you happy?" She said, turning to Vince. "You're not even that surprise."
"I'll explain later. I will come down for lunch in DC sometime next week. I have some business meetings there in the metro." The fact that he was offering to come see her in person worried Carolyn. What did he need to tell her that couldn't happen over the phone?
"You do remember I told you Chad referred to himself as my future son-in-law when he yelled at me for not seeing the Darby truth. We both know it was going to happen eventually." That was true. She was talking about it just this morning with Jack.
"They're happy right now. We can talk about logistics later. Let them be happy for the moment." He was right in that regard. Chad definitely seemed happy right now, and he hasn't been for the last few days with all the stuff with Charles. She did like seeing Chad happy.
"I'll take that as a yes." Carolyn heard Sharpay said as she pulled away from Chad's kiss.
"I thought you said the engagement doesn't count if a ring was not involved?"
"Consider this a loner." Carolyn's mother said as she handed Chad her engagement ring.
All she did, at that moment, was take pictures and start texting Jack. She needs him to be her voice of reason. He needs to be the one to tell her that everything will be okay. It's only now she starting to realize how much she's depended on their relationship.
XXXX
After Kim stormed off and Jason locked himself in Alex's bedroom, Thanksgiving 2008 deteriorated quickly. Troy tried to preoccupy himself by feeding his son. It was kind of hard, given the tense atmosphere. But, at least his almost father-in-law was not staring him down. That was definitely an improvement upon Vegas.
With 30 minutes left until he needed to pick up Kim, he made his excuses, got his cell phone back (his father must've got his earlier because it wasn't there), and took Alex to the car. As soon as Alex was safely in his car seat, Troy decided it was time to have that conversation.
"I saw that you're not wearing your wedding ring anymore. Is it really over with you and mom?" Troy asked.
"Don't we need to go pick up Kim now?" His father asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
"We have 25 minutes. If the first question is too hard, maybe you can explain why Carolyn is sending you I love you text messages?" Troy asked.
"Did Kim tell you what happened?" Jack asked.
"I saw her text message to you when I took your phone. So I'm trying to decide if I'm the reason you're getting a divorce or Carolyn is." Troy wasn't sure what he wanted to be the answer.
"Your mom and I have our own problems. This divorce isn't about you." Jack tried to reassure him.
"So it's about Carolyn? Are you in love with her?" Troy asked.
"Yes, but this is still about the problems that me and Lucy are having. I can't trust her anymore." His father confessed.
"How long have you been in love with Carolyn?" Troy asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. Although I didn't realize it until yesterday." Jack acknowledged.
"What happened yesterday?" Troy asked.
"You know I received a letter from Kimberly's biological mother?"
"I saw all. You won't let me read it, and the thing made Matt curse." Troy answered.
"There's a reason why I don't want you to read it." Now he knows he has to get access to those letters.
"Dad, I'm 18, and I am a father myself now. I don't need the sanitized for my protection version of the truth." Troy argued.
"Your desire to protect your kids doesn't stop when they are 18. You will learn that eventually."
"What did Lucy do?" Troy asked.
"She took $1 million to break you and Kim up." Troy wasn't expecting that confession.
"What?" Troy asked, shocked.
"Matt and the personal investigators are trying to verify it, but it seems credible." Troy felt sick. No wonder Lucy thought he would leave if she cut him off financially.
"How could she do that to me? How could she hurt me like that?" Troy was near tears. He would never think about doing something like that to Alex.
"I don't know. But I can't stay with Lucy because of that. She hurt you, and I can't love somebody who hurts my child." His father was almost on the verge of tears too. Troy can't even remember the last time he saw his father so close to crying.
"The money wasn't the only reason why your mom was doing that evil woman's bidding. Zhēn was also blackmailing Lucy with pictures of her making out with one of her coworkers."
"Shit," Troy exclaimed.
"Against Matt's advice, I went to confront Lucy yesterday afternoon." Jack went on to explain.
"About the adultery?" Troy asked.
"About her taking money to keep you and Kim apart. I didn't have to mention the adultery because she was there with her boyfriend. He confessed everything and actually thought we were already divorced. It's about that point I threw my wedding ring at her." His father explained.
"I understand." But he wished he didn't. Troy was already regretting getting the adult version of this conversation. He knew it was going to get worse because he would have to call Matt in a minute. He has six missed calls from his lawyer.
"When I asked Lucy why she did what she did, she assumed I was talking about the adultery. She said she cheated on me because I didn't love her anymore because I was in love with Carolyn. It wasn't until she accused me of that, I realize she was right." His father confessed.
"That wasn't the answer I was expecting."
"You're right; you deserve honesty, at least from me. After that emotional confrontation, I went to Carolyn because she's my best friend, and I needed her. That's when we realized that our feelings for each other were more than platonic."
"I really don't want to know if you had sex with the person who used to make me cookie monster cookies when I was five." There are some things you don't want to know about your father. The fact Lucy was cheating on his dad and was being blackmailed for it was enough for the day.
"Well, I didn't want to hear you give Kim an orgasm this morning when you two were supposed to be getting dressed, but here we are." Jack shot back.
"Oh God," This may be a wild guess on his father's part like in Vegas, but he's checking the soundproofing of their bedroom nonetheless.
"But to make you feel better, Carolyn feels that we shouldn't go any further until I file for divorce officially tomorrow. So you're going to need to find another babysitter for Friday evening." He didn't need to know that at all.
"This is why Carolyn is my favorite." As far as future stepmom's go, it could be a lot worse. Chad was going to have a full-blown panic attack, though. Of course, before he could think about that, he got a text message from Matt.
"Okay, apparently, I have an email from my lawyer to read. Actually, that was your lawyer who texted me because you're not picking up your phone." Actually, both their lawyers were trying to get ahold of them.
"That's because you have it."
"It wasn't there when I went to get mine," Troy explained.
"Maybe Vanessa put it somewhere different. I'll go back in and look while you check your email." That was good because Troy needed a few minutes to collect his thoughts. Although maybe Troy shouldn't have read the emails while he was alone with just Alex. Especially ones that came from his father during the time his cell phone was supposed to be upstairs. He checked anyway because they could've been from Lucy. He wouldn't put it past her to use his father's account to harass him.
He never got around to reading the email from Matt and Jen because what was sent to him was enough. He doesn't think it was Lucy because he doubts she would really incriminate herself. Also, no cursing out of Kim.
When his father arrived back 10 minutes later, he was crying.
Xxxxx
Jack never did text Carolyn back, although she thinks that might be because Vanessa finally took his cell phone. Or he might be driving at this point. Not even when she sent him pictures of José kicking Darby out. She should not get that much satisfaction out of a breakup. However, it was very cathartic. Vince reassured her step-nephew that he wouldn't be fired just because Darby abused her position. Also, Vince talked to HR personally to make sure Carmen would be covered under his dental insurance. Which she should have been in the first place.
After eating, they were heading back to the car and getting ready for a very Bolton Thanksgiving. She was going for Jack. He needed to be there for Troy, and she would be there for him no matter what. At least long enough to get Dr. Bolton the hell out of there.
"You think you could have remembered three weeks ago that my mom was screwing one of your relatives?" Sharpay said to her son as they walked to the car. Mr. Evans already left to make his flight.
"You were the one who got the video in the first place. How could you not recognize one of your relatives? Also, now I have to give Ryan his money back. Why does Darby have to be so creepy?"
"He is my cousin's half-brother. I've never met the man before. We didn't go over to Uncle Jorge's house a lot."
"Because he thought your father was a prick, and I could do so much better." Carolyn is just happy he lived long enough to see her leave Charles. He was so happy that she was moving on with her life, and then the accident happened.
"Besides, it was dark when I saw him with your mom. I really didn't see his face," Chad argued.
"Sharpay, your dad sent me the video, and I didn't even put it together. I have known José since he was two years old." Carolyn argued.
"Chad, if you told me Carmen was your cousin, I would have been able to put things together." Sharpay shot back.
"Sharpay on my mom's side alone, I have eight aunts and uncles. I have over 20 first Cousins on my mom's side, and that's only because Teresa and Mariah have been unable to adopt. So all together, I have 42 Cousins that I even know about. Sharpay, even I don't know who all my Cousins are. I get a new half-uncle every other year."
She would interrupt this argument to ask her son if the engagement was real if they didn't find a crying 12-year-old sitting in Sharpay's car.
"Jason, what are you doing in my car?" Sharpay asked the boy.
"Did you know that Taylor's not my sister?"
To be continued…
In a world where I'm not completely dependent on voice recognition software, Chad's conversation with his Abuela would have been written in Spanish. But, unfortunately, I barely got the voice recognition software to recognize Abuela. Remember, in this universe, Chad speaks fluent Spanish and is essentially a native speaker. So if he wanted the conversation with his Abuela to actually stay private, he would switch to Spanish.