| Chapter 24: Everyone Has Secrets Lauralee didn’t even sleep that night, as she just lay in bed with Alex watching close by. Alex didn’t say anything to her, and Lauralee completely appreciated it. She knew she had gone about this the wrong way. She had betrayed her mother, and she didn’t know how to fix the problem, or if her mother would speak to her ever again. Getting up, she went into the shower, turned the hot water to as much as she could stand and let the water cascade around her. She leaned on the wall, allowing the water to wash away all of the emotions that had come over her, but it didn’t help much. She turned the shower radio on and cried so no one would hear her sobs. She had to do the next step: tell the rest of her family what had happened. She put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, pulled her wet hair back and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She heard her aunt and grandmother stirring around and talking but when she had headed inside, the talking had stopped and two pairs of eyes looked as if they could bore right into her. “Uh,” Lauralee rubbed her neck. “Good morning.” Catherine nodded. “Hi Lauralee.” “Um,” Lauralee rubbed her swollen eyes. “Where’s Dom?” “Alex took him to the park with Angel and Marcus,” Charlene said, her voice low. “We need to talk,” Catherine pulled a seat out for her. “Have a seat.” Lauralee sat down as Catherine poured a cup of coffee for her and Lauralee. “You know, don’t you?” “Your mother called me last night,” Charlene answered. “She didn’t want us to worry.” “Did she say anything about me?” Lauralee quickly asked. Catherine shook her head and Lauralee’s eyes fell. “Oh.” “Lau, explain, please,” Catherine asked. “What’s going on?” “OK, I decided to get Jerry checked out because I didn’t trust him. So, I called this private investigator. He checked out Jerry, and found out that the reason he got divorced is because he had an affair with his secretary who was ten years younger than him and she got pregnant.” “So that’s why you said you didn’t like him because there were things that I didn’t know about,” Charlene said. Lauralee nodded. “I didn’t tell anyone, but Alex found out anyway and he wanted me to confront him quietly, after the wedding. When Mom told me last night that she was considering getting engaged, I flipped out. I confronted Jerry about Rebecca, the woman, and Mom didn’t even let Jerry explain himself. She blew up at me and left.” Lauralee put her head in her hands and cried. “Now she won’t talk to me!” “Honey,” Catherine rested her hand on Lauralee’s arm. “Can you blame your mom for blowing up? I mean, you deceived her. You had the man she loves checked out by an investigator.” “But he lied! He lied about having a kid, about why he divorced.” “There must be a good reason why Jerry didn’t mention anything about it,” Charlene reasoned. “Dammit!” Lauralee stood up. “Why can’t anyone see? Why can’t everyone realize that Jerry is a fraud! Everyone is on his side! My mother, you all, even Alex! Why can’t someone realize that what I did, I did it to protect her!” Catherine stood up. “Lau, step into your mother’s shoes. How would you feel if she checked out Alex and hid it from you? Would you react the same way?” “That’s different Grandma. I met Alex when he was already known. Now everyone knows who I am.” “Not quite,” Charlene said. “You have your public life, then you have your personal life. Everyone has secrets.” Lauralee crossed her arms. “Not when it comes to lying, especially about having a family that you don’t acknowledge.” Now Lauralee was crying again, and she angrily wiped away tears. “But I can’t change anything. She’s gonna marry him, and not want anything to do with me. She chose Jerry over me.” “Lauralee, now that isn’t fair,” Catherine said sternly. “Your mother lives you more than anything in the world. She’s just extremely angry.” “Look,” Charlene stood up and put her arm around Lauralee’s shoulders. “When we get back to New York tonight, we’ll talk to her. I’m sure she just needs time to cool down. But,” Charlene put her hand on Lauralee’s face, “you need to give in a little as well. OK?” Lauralee nodded as Charlene hugged her. “Honey, I know you’re just as upset. Everything will be alright.” “You think so?” Lauralee said into her shoulder. “We know so,” Catherine turned her around and hugged her too. ~*~ “We wish we could take you to the airport, but Marcus thinks it isn’t a good idea,” said Alex as he helped Marcus take the suitcases into the car. “It’s alright,” Catherine said. “I’m sure Marcus will take good care of us, right?” “Will do, Mrs. D.,” Marcus smiled as he grabbed the last suitcase and went into the car. “So, I guess I’ll see you all soon?” Charlene said to Lauralee and Alex. “Very,” Alex gave her a hug. “Thanks for coming down.” “Thanks for having us,” Charlene hugged Alex back. Dominic came downstairs holding Angel. “Are we going?” “Yup. Say goodbye to everyone,” Charlene said. Dominic gave Angel a doggy hug and put her down. He turned to Alex. “Thanks Alex, for taking me places. I can’t wait to tell my friends at school!” “No problem buddy,” Alex gave him a high five. “And come back soon OK?” “I will,” Dominic smiled. Lauralee knelt down. “You’re not gonna leave me hangin’ here, right?” “No way!” Dominic gave her a hug and whispered into her ear. “Thank you Lau, take care of Angel for me. And please don’t be sad anymore.” “I’ll be fine,” Lauralee wiped away tears. She turned to Charlene and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you soon.” “You better,” Charlene said. “Everything will be fine.” Catherine turned to Lauralee as she hugged Alex goodbye. “Will you be alright?” “Eventually,” Lauralee sighed and hugged Catherine. “I love you Gram.” “I love you too,” Catherine said. They all walked out the door and waved from the car as the car drove away. Alex closed the door and turned to Lauralee. “Everything will be alright, you know that.” “Maybe,” Lauralee sighed. “I just hope that I can get my mother back.” Chapter 25 Contents Chapter 23 |