Chapter 26—
A/N: All the reviews are greatly appreciated. However, I am in need of some compelling story ideas. Please share.
The ladies were walking around the mall, not really shopping for anything in particular. The conversation was sparse, but Stephanie was trying to keep any conversation going.
"Denise, how is working going?" Stephanie asked.
"Its going well… I am certainly learning some of the new ways of doing stuff. It is definitely a change from when I started nursing school all those years ago." Denise replied.
"I am sure that you are learning it very quickly. Mom, in case that you did not know… Denise started nursing school many years ago, and finally went back just recently to finish her nursing practical." Stephanie said not recalling if she had told her mother prior to now.
"I did not know that… I just assumed that you were a seasoned nurse." Beth said coldly.
"Denise is a great nurse. I have watched her teach some of the other nurses a thing or two." Stephanie said coming to Denise's defense.
"I did not mean for Denise to take offense to that." Beth said.
"Beth, I did not take offense to that… I made many choices a long time ago, any they were to take care of my family. And after Jeremy enlisted I decided with some encouragement from my friends to finish my education. And I am glad that I did." Denise said confidently.
"That is very interesting… it must be difficult to have worked so hard, and then have to go back to take care of your son." Again Beth was fishing for something. Stephanie knew she was fishing, but there was nothing that Stephanie could do to stop her.
"Beth, I am not sure as to what you are referring to, but if you are talking about me giving up my job to take care of Jeremy… that is not going to happen." Denise was getting very annoyed with Beth's line of questioning.
"I would assume that having a blind son means him needing someone to care for him the rest of his life. He obviously cannot live alone." Beth was crossing a very serious line, and Stephanie was truly at a loss as to what to do; and Denise shot Stephanie a look of empathy, and a look of Stephanie, this is between your mother and me.
"Actually not…Frank and I have come to an agreement that we are going to allow Jeremy to make his own way in the world. There are a lot of things that Jeremy is still very able to do, and really he pretty much takes care of himself. But I am sure that is a similar sentiment to what you and Bill helped Stephanie to do." Denise was not accustomed to shooting back… but she was not sure where or what Beth was coming from.
"Well… Stephanie here did not give us much of a choice in her decision. We wanted to take her back home but she protested… and eventually… we did not talk at all." Beth finally softened her stance.
"That is one of things that Frank and I are afraid of… we do not want to push Jeremy away." Denise almost said, 'we do not want to push Jeremy away, again' but she stopped herself as that was not something she wanted Beth to pounce on.
The conversation was quieted when Beth excused herself to go to the restroom across from one of the department stores. Denise found a bench and sat down, and Stephanie rolled over to her, and said,
"Denise, I am so sorry, about my mother. She and I had a long conversation this morning, and we both agreed to behave ourselves… I just did not realize that we would be behaving ourselves only. I never anticipated that she would lash out on you. I am sorry; I never meant this to turn into a conversation like this." Stephanie said almost in tears. Denise had become a great friend, and sometimes the type of mother figure that she had always wanted.
"Stephanie this is not your fault. Something is eating your mother, and until she lets it all out, we are all going to be subjected to her verbal daggers." Denise said trying to reassure Stephanie this was her mother's issue rather than hers.
"So that you do not have to be subjected to anymore of her spiteful comments; why don't we try to wrap this mall experience up?" Stephanie urged.
"Stephanie, I can handle your mother. Besides I am here to support you…" Denise smiled.
"Denise, you do not have to support me! I can take care of myself." Stephanie emphasized.
"Look… you have done a lot for my son… Frank and I greatly appreciate what you have done. We both want you to know that if you ever need anything we are here to help." Denise said. She had wanted to tell Stephanie this for a long time, but the opportunity had never presented itself until now. Stephanie had done so much for Jeremy over the past months. She had almost single handedly changed Jeremy's perspective on life from being uptight and hopeless, to almost outgoing and hopeful.
At that point, Beth walked up to Stephanie and Denise announcing that she would like to leave the mall, and perhaps get a bite to eat. Stephanie responded,
"That is a good idea… there is a little coffee shop right outside the mall. They have good sandwiches and salads; and they should not be that busy."
They all agreed to the coffee shop. Unfortunately the lunch conversation did not seem to improve. Beth kept throwing her verbal daggers at Denise, and occasionally at Stephanie. Both Denise and Stephanie tried to put a stop to Beth's tirade, but she persisted. After lunch, Denise dropped Stephanie and Beth off at the apartment.
Stephanie was relieved when Beth announced that she wanted to take a nap. This meant that Stephanie had between an hour to two hours break from her mother's mouth and opinion. Stephanie was extremely thankful for the break.
After Beth went into the guest bedroom to lie down; Stephanie took the opportunity to transfer herself from her wheelchair to the couch. She too was tired, and hoped a nap would be forthcoming. As Stephanie stretched out on the couch, she wondered how the boys were doing on the golf course. Knowing her Dad, the guys were having a much better time than the ladies had at the mall.
The guys were on the 18th hole. Actually Jeremy had been surprised how much fun he had on the golf course. Frank and Bill knew that with Jeremy's knee that walking the course was out of the question. Furthermore, Jeremy would have not said much if his knee hurt; so they rented a golf cart. Jeremy just sat in the passengers' seat. Bill had kept both Jeremy and Frank laughing for the majority of the day. The guys got along very well. The standard competitiveness that exists between players on the golf course was not evident.
When they were done playing the 18th hole, Bill, Jeremy and Frank went into the clubhouse for drinks. Bill and Frank ordered a beer, and Jeremy ordered a coke. Even though Frank had told Jeremy that he was old enough to drink at the house, Jeremy did not think that this rule applied to a nineteen year old (soon to be twenty) out in the real world. As the guys were talking Bill became curious about Jeremy's plans for the future.
"Jeremy, my daughter tells me that you are planning to go off to college. Any ideas as to what you would like to study?" Bill wondered because in the past he always liked to know something out Stephanie's friends.
"Actually, I was thinking about either psychology or something in business. But I am really not sure what yet…" Jeremy said. He knew that both those options were vastly different in scope from each other, and his previous desire of being an architect. Unfortunately Jeremy had comes to grips with the fact that without having the ability to see would hinder being an architect.
"Either one could have possibilities. Business is always a good choice… you could always sell insurance like me…" Bill said, knowing that there are very few people in the world who dream of selling insurance as a career. He certainly did not dream of selling insurance when he graduated from college, but that was one of the only options he had. He had met Beth in college, and had gotten her pregnant. Bill was an honorable man; as he married Beth, and created a family. Over time Beth and Bill had developed solid relationship, but the relationship was more out of responsibility and duty than about love and commitment.
"Sir, you never know… my life had taken some interesting turns in the past year and half." Jeremy sat at the table for the moment thinking about how much his life had changed both for the good and the bad.
"Jeremy, what ever you decide to do, you know that your mother and I are here." Frank said.
"I know… UM… Mr. Sanders… I am not sure as to how to ask this…" Jeremy started; he was very curious about the relationship between Stephanie and her mother.
"Son, just ask it… but first let me guess… how did the relationship between Stephanie and her mother get so strained? Am I close?" Bill knew the question, because at some point in time almost everyone asks that question.
"Yes, sir… that is the question I was planning on asking." Jeremy was a little surprised.
"Well, Stephanie and her mother are a lot alike in the fact that they are both very independent and strong willed… so that rarely is a recipe for a relationship. The real issue came when Stephanie decided to join the Army ROTC program to get money for college. She is a very bright and talented woman, that wanted to go to college, but unfortunately her mother and I could not help her financially. In order for her to pay for school she chose the Army. This infuriated Beth." Bill stated.
"Why? The Army has outstanding opportunities for advancement and educational opportunities. The Army is always looking for people who want to specialize in the medical fields." Frank stated.
"I agree with your statements. However, Beth got it in her head that it was not a good idea for women to join the service. She had always pictured Stephanie going to college and coming home to raise a family, much like she did." Bill continued.
"But Sir, I realize that I have not known Stephanie very long, but from what I know that was never something Stephanie wanted." Jeremy pointed out.
"I know… but my wife's mind was set. Anyway, the day that Stephanie announced her intentions the two had such an argument that I had to physically separate them. Beth was furious. Of course, Stephanie did whatever she wanted anyway. The tension in the house was thick for weeks, months even. Stephanie left for college, and for almost four years the only time she came home was at Christmas. I tried to smooth things over with both of them, but nothing worked. Finally, Stephanie graduated from college, and within a week she was off for specialized training with the Army." Bill told the story with great effort, as anyone could see that this greatly bothered him as a person and a father.
"Then one day, I get a call at work on my cell from Stephanie… I will remember these words for the rest of my life. Stephanie said, 'Daddy, I want to let you know that I love you. I being sent to Afghanistan as medical personnel and my orders have me leaving in seven days.' I could hardly believe it. I was scared. I immediately called Beth, and told her, but by that point Beth was so hurt, that she did not know what to do. Within 3 days I flew to South Carolina to wish her well; Beth did not want to come." Bill continued. Frank had seen this before where one parent of a soldier supported, and the other parent did not, this usually made it all that much more difficult on the soldier in the field.
"Over the next nine months, Stephanie would send me letters and emails when she could; letting me know how she was doing. Then one day I received a phone call telling me that she was seriously injured. When she got back to South Carolina, I again flew to see her. This time Beth came with me. Beth was an emotional wreck. However, as Stephanie began to recover and cope the old wounds that she and Beth created re-opened and they never healed." Bill finished.
Frank just sat there staring at Bill. He understood the story, as he had seen many soldiers and their families go through this, but this could have been his family.