Chapter Ten
"So what do you do for a living?" Nate asked Ashlee what he hoped to be a relatively safe question, everything that had been said so far had been sneered upon and bickered about.
"Well I'm currently a dental assistant but I'm hoping to start towards a degree this fall, maybe even chase that dream of becoming an architect." Ashlee was happy for the interruption, she was trying to be a good guest but she was finding it very hard to not just screw her manners and leave, and they weren't even halfway through dinner yet!
"You manage to become an architect and we're starting our own business." Aaron looked past his mother and straight to Ashlee letting her know he was completely serious. "Between us and our combined skills it would be to good of an opportunity to pass up."
"You make it that far call me and I'll gladly invest." Eliot offered, he had so much money it literally held no real value to him anymore so if he could give them financial support so be it. He already had funds for the kids and did his best to make sure the rest of them weren't wanting for anything or building up to much debt. It didn't replace him being absent most of the time but it made him feel slightly less guilty knowing his loved ones wouldn't have to stress over car payments or other bills he could easily take care of.
"How on earth do you expect her to take care of your family if you go into business with her?" Michael asked his son as he tried to wrap his head around the idea.
"Dad what decade are you in? You raised your family in the 80's, you should no that no woman stays at home like that anymore and I don't expect Ashlee too." Aaron refused to let his father show that level of disrespect with his pigheaded thoughts about a womans "place" and especially not to Ashlee.
"Your sister did and any other self respecting woman would too, not like those girls who drop their children off at sitters because they're to lazy to handle their responsibilities." Caroline felt that woman like that were just no good and down right selfish.
"I actually have been thinking of getting certified in something, Becca is starting school soon enough and we don't have any immediate plans on extending our family in the near future so I don't really see the need for me to stay at home all day anymore." Sarah brought the attention over to her side of the table and away from Aaron and Ashlee.
"I think that's a ridiculous idea Sarah. You're 30 years old and you're thinking nows the time to abandon your family." Michael was clearly disappointed in his daughter.
"I'm not-"
"Honestly dear if you wanted to have a career you should have thought about that before getting married and having children." Caroline chastised, nearly nine years of marriage wasn't something to just waist.
"Try for a degree instead, certification is a waist of time if you ask me." Eliot advised his sister completely ignoring the idiots his parents were currently being.
"I just might do that." Sarah agreed as she pushed her fork around her plate, she had forgotten how easily her parents tended to put her down.
"Take any interesting trips lately?" Pete asked no one in particular trying to get rid of the uncomfortable silence that had settled.
"Aaron took me to see your grandmother the other day." Ashlee told mainly Eliot and Sarah as she poured herself a bit more wine.
"He honestly didn't drag you all the way out there did he?" Caroline thought it a waist to take a four hour trip to see a gravemarker.
"No I didn't but seeing as she is your mother you should make it out to pay your respects to Grammy sometime." Aaron told her as he pushed his plate away, it was time for him to excuse himself and try to salvage the rest of his night with Ashlee.
"He said it was your Bubby." Ashlee continued not realizing Aaron was getting ready to leave. "We stopped on our way out so Aaron could pack some extra mulch around the flower that's out there to soak up all that extra water that'll be comin'. "
"You planted that?" Sarah was surprised to hear her brother had skill in anything that resembled gardening. She had been the only one that really held onto the lessons they had learned about growing their own food but he had been the only one of the three that had been so bad with plants that Bubby had actually tossed him out of the garden.
"Nope, but someone took the time to so I figured it's the least I could do to repay the favor. I even tried planting some other things out there but none of them lasted, not even the fern." Aaron shook his head at the memory of his fern not being dead but just completely gone.
"It was an ugly ass fern." Eliot whispered to Nate who tried not to laugh. He had a comical image of Eliot sneaking in and pulling up plants just as fast as Aaron could plant them running through his mind.
"Are you talking about Beth?" Michael sounded more like he was interrogating than asking.
"Yeah I believe it was something along the lines of Elizabeth." Ashlee unintentionally scooted back in her chair at the harshness coming from her right.
"That woman was a no good and certainly no blood of ours." Caroline scolded Aaron, just the thought made her skin crawl.
"Brian take your sister upstairs." Nate ordered the little boy, it may not have been his place but he didn't think the kids should be witness to the ticking time bomb he could clearly see counting down.
"Do as he says." Pete agreed already sending Becca to the doorway.
"She was nothing but kind to us and what does blood have to do with anything!" Sarah felt herself being not only angered but insulted as well.
"She was a Bitch, that's what she was!" Caroline couldn't stand Beth, she had been nothing but trouble from the moment they had met.
"WELL SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE!" Aaron finally snapped.
"DON'T TALK TO YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT!" Michael pushed himself to his full height.
"IF YOU CAN CALL HER THAT!" Aaron snorted as he too stood.
"I dedicate my life to you three and this is the thanks I get." Caroline couldn't believe the disrespect her children were showing and all over some half baked foreigner.
"You didn't give a damn about us, just the image we made in your social circle!" Sarah decided to finally let out what she had been failing at forgiving her parents for.
"I went to work everyday to provide for my family and your mother always put you first. We even made sure to spend every weekend with just the family so don't you dare say we didn't care!" Michael shoved his chair into the table feeling his anger bubble.
"If by spending the weekend together you mean watching mom sneak off to the beauty shop after you left for your morning golf game, leaving the nine year old to fend for himself, a four and two year old then yeah we had awesome family weekends." Eliot let out a bit of his own bitterness though he remained sitting, he wasn't at all intimidated.
"I never-"
"NEVER DID? YEAH RIGHT MOM! WE HAVE MORE MEMORIES OF ELIOT AND BUBBY THAN WE DO EITHER OF YOU! WHY'D YOU EVEN BOTHER HAVING CHILDREN THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT AROUND?" Sarah choked a mix of anger, sadness, and a bitter edge sitting in her throat.
"This is your fault!" Michael glared at Eliot.
"Yup, completely my fault." Eliot agreed with sarcasm. He was beyond mad but ragging emotions caused stupid mistakes and he had learned the hard way that was not a price he wanted to pay.
"You took them around that woman, you corrupted them with your lies! You damaged them!"
"That woman gave them more attention in a day then you did in a month and I never said a word against either of you. I taught them to be their own person and whatever opinions they have of you were formed with the evidence you provided."
"Ashlee why don't we just go check on the kids." Pete could see she was grateful for the out, this was obviously at least 20 years build up and they had no place in that.
"I'll just-" Nate began to excuse himself feeling like he didn't have the right to this much of Eliots personal life but was surprised when Eliot grabbed his arm forcing him to stay.
"I didn't provide them with-" but Eliot cut his mother off not being able to resist the opportunity she had given him. "That's right you didn't provide for them at all, neither of you did, I raised your children while you lived in your fantasy. I was the only boy around who missed baseball tryouts to help his sister with her homework, who skipped football practice because Aaron needed to learn how to tie his shoes.
But you're the ones who lost out and you get to face yourselves everyday and know that you don't get any of the credit for what they've become." Eliot huffed. "In all honesty did you think putting a roof over our heads was enough, that feeding us was enough? There are shelters that do the same! You ignored us completely, barely acknowledged that we existed yet you want us to be grateful. You might not have hit us but I can near guarantee you that your abuse was worse, yet here you are trashing the one person we had close enough that even cared."
"I tried my best but nothing ever pleases you does it?" Caroline shook her head at the accusations of her oldest.
"You think things were so easy, that you did so well. What exactly are you taking credit for?" Michael gave a good once over to each of his children.
"You are nothing, you've wasted your life. You've got no family, no career, and are probably lucky to be employed right now. How does my eldest spend his time, all mystery and secrets, you're probably a career criminal right?
Or is it Aaron I should be focusing on? Mediocre job that he has no prospects of advancing in, a second rate woman he probably picked up in a bar somewhere, and ten years on his own with nothing to show for it." Ignoring Aarons angry rant he continued, "It's Sarah though right? She's the one I should feel guilty for, marrying the first loser that showed interest in her. Having two-" but he didn't get to finish as Eliot had jumped out of his chair sending it flying across the room, pinning his father to the wall in seconds flat.
"You wanna say something about us fine. You wanna talk about secrets and secondhand women be my guest but if you even use just one word against those kids I swear I might forget who you are and remove your tongue." Eliot growled deep and low arm pinned against his fathers throat. He wasn't going to allow his father to verbally attack them kids like that, not when he was there and could perfectly well do something about it.
"Eliot let him go." Surprisingly enough it was Nate making this request as he pulled on his arm to drag him away from the other man. Everyone else seemed completely stunned by what Eliot had just done.
"So lets share those secrets and second hand woman." Eliot lifted his chair and sat back down as if nothing had happened. "They're old enough now, I think they can handle what I've been accused of telling them all along."
"You shut your mouth boy!" Michael yelled though slightly warry now.
"Oh how familiar that sounds, almost like the first time I heard it." He laughed. "So did you start up with the secretaries yet, they're nearly disposable now. Or are you still working on business partners cause I doubt you're giving fidelity a try." Eliot knew it was a low blow but he didn't care.
"You cheated on mom?" Maybe it shouldn't have been a shock but it was, her father always claimed to be a good hearted family man.
"Eliot that is between me and your father." Caroline tried her best for stern but it felt more broken.
"Between the three of us actually and I think 23 years is to long to keep something like this between the three of us, well four if you count your bottle. Do you still hide it in the kitchen or do you openly drown your sorrows when you start thinking about the loser your still married to?" Now he felt extremely guilty for the water that started to shine in her eyes, but in a slightly twisted way he was glad she was finally hurting the way he had.
"Caroline get your things we're leaving." Michael ordered as he stormed out.
A moment later they heard the front door slam and a car speed away. They remained where they were silently pondering everything that had been revealed and their thoughts on it.