CHAPTER 18
A few days before Thanksgiving, mother showed up again.
“Kids, I have good news.” She said as she settled herself on one of the beds. “Wesley has asked me to go to Aspen to spend the holidays with him. Father is so pleased.” She was beaming with happiness.
“So you won’t be here for Thanksgiving?” I asked disappointed. I wasn’t attacking, just asking.
“No, sweetie. I’m sorry. That’s why I came today. I wanted to let you know before I went.” Mom said, reaching out to take my hand. “Even though I won’t get to see you, this is a good thing. Father is extremely happy with the way my relationship with Wesley is progressing, and he gave me his blessing to take the trip.”
“Where’s Aspen?” Dawn asked.
“It’s in Colorado, honey. It’s a very famous spot for skiing. Wesley has a vacation home up there on one of the mountains.” Mom explained.
“I didn’t know you skied.” I said nonchalantly.
“Well, I haven’t in years, but I used to. I’m sure it’s like riding a bike; I’ll get right back into it as soon as I’m on the slopes. Besides, there’s more than just skiing in the town, there’s shopping and dining and Wesley and I will be getting to know each other better.”
“Will you bring us back a present?” Connor asked excitedly.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to, darling. It may be hard to explain to Wes who I’m bringing them home for, but I promise I’ll try.” She hugged Connor in a tight embrace. I thought it was interesting that mom said she and Wes would be getting to know each other while at the same time admitting she was lying to him about having children. Despite this contradiction, I held my tongue.
“How long will you be gone?” William finally chimed in.
“Well, we’re going for at least two weeks. We need to be back before Christmas. Father is throwing his annual Christmas party for the law firm. Each year the Board members honor a valued partner, Wesley is this year’s honoree.” Mom was beside herself with pride for her new man. “I want to be back so I have plenty of time to prepare. Not only because of my father, but since I will be the guest of honor’s date. I want to make sure everything is perfect. I can’t do anything wrong, the success of this party is very important to all of our futures. If I do well and plan this accordingly, I’m one step closer to regaining my trust fund.” She got up and headed towards the door. “Now, I have to go pack since we are leaving tomorrow, but I want you all to have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m sure Adam will make you a lovely dinner and I know you will come up with something creative to do for the day. Maybe another story, William? I’m sure you won’t even miss me. I love you all and I’ll see you soon.” She blew us a kiss before heading out the door.
I was stunned that she left us with just a wave of her hand. No hugs or kisses on the cheek, no coddling of the twins. This trip sounded more like another instance where mother was living the good life while her children suffered. I told William I wouldn’t stir up trouble with her, but he could bet all the money in the world that he would be hearing it from me.
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Later that night after the twins had gone to bed, I confronted William in the attic. “You set me up!” I yelled at him, smacking him on the chest.
“What? What are you talking about?” Will asked, surprised and confused at my outburst.
“She told you she was coming for my birthday and that she was taking this trip so you made that stupid bet so I couldn’t say anything!”
“Elizabeth, that’s ridiculous!” He defended. “How could I have known? I’ve only seen her at the same times that you have.”
“I don’t believe you! She could have come in sometime when I was in the bath or up in the attic. She got to you.” I accused him.
“Come on, you’re acting insane. I didn’t know anything about this. And even if I did, I wouldn’t purposely deceive you like that. I wouldn’t have made the bet if I had known.”
“Then why were you so sure she’d come for my birthday? Why didn’t you act surprised when she told us today? You barely said anything.” I questioned.
“I knew she’d come for your birthday because it was an important day that a mother wouldn’t miss. And since you didn’t notice, I didn’t say anything today because I was a bit shocked at the revelation too.” Will challenged. “Look, I’m not stupid. You think I didn’t understand what it meant when she said her and Wes would be getting to know each other better. I told you before I was going to try to accept her moving on, but what can you say when your mother admits she’s going to be having sex with a man that’s not your father.”
“What?” My face screwed up in disgust. “What?”
“Oh, come on. You didn’t catch that?” Will asked surprised. “The way she said her and Wesley’s relationship was progressing. They’re going to have sex, probably for the first time together.”
“Oh gross. I wasn’t even thinking that.” I said as I flopped down onto one of the chairs and buried my face in my hands, my anger at Will completely deflated.
“Yeah, well I was, and excuse me if I wasn’t chatty after that. And I can’t believe you would accuse me of lying to you like that.” Will said angrily. “God, Elizabeth! We just had this talk last week. I decided to trust her because this is all part of the damn plan and I thought you figured that out! Just because I trust her, doesn’t mean I’m against you.”
“I’m sorry.” I said miserably. “She just took me by surprise and I couldn’t lash out at her, so I was taking it out on you. I wasn’t paying attention to how her news was affecting you. I’m usually very observant about those things.” I stood up and took his hands. “Forgive me?” I asked looking into his eyes, adding the patented Summers pout.
“Put the lip away. You know I’m going to forgive you.” He kissed me on the forehead. “Just don’t do it again. We’re in this together; don’t you ever listen to my little speeches?” He sat down in a chair and brought me with him onto his lap. Reclining the chair back, he settled us comfortably with my head resting on his shoulder. “I’m glad you didn’t attack mom, but now that she’s not here, what did you think?” He added, “Without attacking me.”
“Well, I didn’t like it. She’s going away on this great vacation while once again we’re stuck here. It’s just like Halloween with the masquerade ball. She’s off having fun while her children are locked away. And what was up with the sudden departure?” I questioned.
“Yeah, that was weird. She usually always hugs us before she goes. Maybe she’s just excited about this Wesley guy. She was with the same man for a very long time, maybe it’s nice to have someone else interested in her. And if she really likes him that would just add to it.” Will tried to rationalize.
“So you think she’s just really digging this guy and is caught up in the beginning stages of a relationship.”
“Yeah, I remember when you first started dating Parker. All you did for the first month was talk about him non-stop. You had no clue what was going on with the rest of us because you had your head so far in the clouds.”
“I guess that makes sense. She did say how Ethan was pleased, so it would stand to reason she’s at least still thinking about the plan. I still don’t like it though. It’s Thanksgiving, she should be with us.” I snuggled a little deeper into William’s embrace. “It looks like it’s just going to be you and me again entertaining the twins. Maybe we can do a reenactment dinner with costumes, tie it into their lessons – Dawn and I can be the Pilgrims and you and Connor can dress as Indians.”
William laughed at my idea. “I think you just want to see me in a loincloth.”
I lifted my head to scoff in his face, “Yeah, right, not with your scrawny little ass.”
“Hey, I’ve been working out. I can easily haul you over my shoulder.” He started to get up from the chair, taking me with him.
“Wait, Will.” I said, placing my hand on top of his gripping the armrest. “Can we just stay here, sitting together for awhile?” I asked softly. “You make me feel better when mom upsets me. You make me feel safe.” I said shyly, hoping he didn’t reject my request.
“Yeah, we can sit here.” He smiled at me as his eyes softened. “I’ll prove my manliness to you later.” He pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear before gathering me back in his arms to get comfortable in the chair again.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for understanding about RL. Also, just to quell some fears, I'm in no way abandoning this fic - it was in my head for over a year before I got the courage to actually post it, so I am finishing it. Just maybe at a slower pace :) Thanks for the reviews and to Jess, my beta.