Chain Reaction 2.23: This Kitty Has Claws

Laura Goth

     That man has never stopped loving that little trollop! I could see it written all over his face last night after Drake asked a few leading questions. He has been a plumbing genius to keep hiding it from me all these years. But it's always been there, brewing beneath the surface.

     The surface: If he's ever really loved me, that's where it's always been. I'm second fiddle, the consolation prize, the well-I-can't-have-the-one-I-want-so-you'll-do person.

     Am I not worth more than that? Plum yes, I am! I don't deserve this. I have loved him unconditionally for sixteen years! Years I won't get back!

     I hear the door open. Oh, he'd better not think I'm ready to talk to him yet.

     My 'husband' casually walks around the coffee table and has a seat next to me.

     "I made some ice cream. Would you like some?" he asks me, pretending nothing is wrong and that he didn't sleep on the couch last night.

     Oh, don't you go and tempt me with ice cream when you KNOW I'm on a diet. If you want fat cow, you know where to go find Brielle.

     I don't know why I'm bothering to diet anyway if no matter what I do I won't be good enough because I can't be BRIELLE!

     "It's chocolate." He dips his spoon into the ice cream and proceeds to lick the absolutely delicious concoction off it. "It's a rather good batch, if I do say so myself. I'm getting better."

    Of course you are--because you're a plumbing genius that can do anything. You're wonderful, considerate, kind, and so...plumbing hot licking that spoon.

     "I could go get you a bowl. Or would you prefer a cone?"

     I want to slap him--for just being him!

     "Mmmmmmm. This is so good."

     I escape the chair and storm over to my yoga mat.

     I take a deep breath. There. I am the center of my own universe. Nothing else matters. I am calm. My world is balanced.

      I am weightless as I float above everything. The problems far below me cannot pull me down. I have risen above them, conquered them. They have no power over me.

      Then an albatross comes along and throws a rock at me. I glare. Damn him for standing there like that.

     "Please talk to me." His voice sounds so forlorn and woebegone that it pulls at my heart. However, it's my HEART that hurts right now.

      I ignore him and try to work on my tree pose. It doesn't work. I almost fall off the mat, and Alex jumps like he's ready to catch me.

      I crack. "Alex, please leave me alone."

      "I love you," he says in simple explanation.

      Simultaneously, I'm euphoric and furious. "Argh!" I shove him. He tries to catch my hands, but I move too quickly for him.

     "Laura, listen! I don't know why you think I still love her. I don't." He talks quickly.

     "That's not what your expression said last night," I reply in weary patience.

     "It was a memory of having my heart broken. A heart that you repaired. I love you, Laura!"

     I want to believe him. I don't like being mad at him. And...

     "You look so cute when you're begging." A hint of a smile pulls at the corners of my mouth.

     Hope fills his eyes. "I do?" He stands straighter.

      I try to smile. "Yeah. You make it very hard to stay mad at you."

      "That's good to hear. You don't need to stay mad at me. What good does that do anybody?" Suave Alex is here in full force as he closes the distance between us.

     "So does this mean we're okay?" He can still take my breath away.

     Brielle is ten times more stupid than her son.

      Yeah. We're okay. We're so okay that we spend the rest of the day making out all over the house just like when we were first married. We only laugh when Drake makes an irritated noise and walks outside. I love this man.

      We continue our happy 'reunion' until he gets a phone call he has to take. It's his mother.
      Alex's father died in prison. In a few days, we'll all go to Willow Creek for the funeral. I'm nervous. I've never met his family. I can't help but feel that when he shows up with me that they will all immediately compare me to Brielle. It makes me crazy!

     Even after all the woohooing this afternoon, my fears still nag at me. What IS it about her? Surely he doesn't think she's prettier than I am. And I'm smarter, too. And younger! Look at her! Standing outside her house like a simpleton.

     She looks surprised to see me. "Hi, Laura. What brings you this way?"
     This is the same woman that crammed Alex's heart into a meat grinder. MY Alex. MY husband!
     "Drake tells me that you've forbidden Emily from coming over to our house," I say, working hard to keep a calm expression on my face.
     "Oh." At least she has the decency to look guilty, and she isn't trying to deny it.
     "Would you care to explain why?"
     "It's Graham. It's just a big misunderstanding that will blow over in time."
     Of course, I have a few guesses of my own, but I thought I'd at least give Brielle a chance to explain herself.
      "I was unaware of any misunderstanding. What is it?" I'm not going to let her avoid telling me.
      "I really should be getting inside."

     "Stop right there, Brielle Taylor. I'm not giving up until I get a real answer. Why is Emily banned from our house?!" I want to claw at her. I do believe Alex loves me, but I know he also has a deep affection for the little tramp standing in front of me. There is nothing he can do to convince me otherwise. Last night, all my pent-up fury escaped. Now that I have my head on straight, I'll keep doing everything I can to keep Alex. But just the thought that all this woman has to do is crook her little finger and Alex will chase after her like a dog, drooling, makes me crazy.
     "Okay! Just keep in mind this isn't my opinion. I've tried to talk to Graham about it, but he's convinced that it wouldn't be wise for Emily to be around Alex too much since she looks like me."
     I slap her.
     She gasps and holds her cheek.

     I finally start seeing what she's really made of when she sneers and asks, "Did your ears stop working when I said that it wasn't my opinion?" The fact that she weighs more than me might not work highly in my favor at the moment. Oh well. I'm more fit than she is.
     "That's a load of plum if I ever heard it." My chest heaves with my seething anger. "If it IS only Graham's opinion then you're not doing anything to stop it, are you? This 'friendship' you have with my husband is nothing but a cruel reminder of how you broke his heart. I think you like feeding off that. You think it makes you special."
     "If there was anything between your husband and me, which there wasn't, it was over long before you entered the picture."
     "If there isn't anything between you, how can you even refer to it?"
     "What are you trying to say, Laura?"
     "The same thing your husband is trying to say. And poor Emily has been caught up in this since she 'resembles' you. Forbidding her to visit so that she's not around Alex can only mean that Graham believes Alex still loves you!"
     "Graham can't let that go! It's almost an obsession for him! Don't you get caught up in it too!"
     "If the problem is only with Graham, then you need to put your foot down about this! Emily is almost as much a part of my family as she is yours. It breaks my heart to see her caught in the middle of this."
     "You think I don't know that?! I'm her mother!"

     "Then maybe you should start acting like it!" I got her. That hit a sore spot.
     "Go back to your husband, Laura," she hisses. "How dare you insinuate I'm a bad mother."

     "If the shoe fits... Stop running from a fight and fight for her. If she shows up at my house, know that I'm not going to send her away simply because you say she can't be there."
    "Good!"
    I let out a high-pitched 'hm' noise. "Tell your husband he's being ridiculous. Otherwise, I'll know that you have absolutely no spine, Brielle."
    "You want me to start a fight with Graham?"
    "Over this: yes. If that's what it comes to."
    "He's already flipping out that she's dating Drake."
    "Well, use that in your argument." Maybe my hatred of her can cause something good to happen. If I were to pick a fight with Graham, it wouldn't be near as effective than if she did. I've given her plenty of ammo.
     "I can't make any promises. I don't like arguing with him."
     "Hmph. That's easy to believe," I say as I turn and start walking back down the sidewalk.

     I actually feel a little better now. That was a stupid argument, but I got things off my chest. Oh, I still mostly side with Graham in believing that Alex does in some small way still love Brielle, but I can at least take Emily out of it. I've missed having her over. One day, I would love nothing more than for her to become my daughter-in-law.
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You may think that Laura is overreacting, and as far as the story goes, she might be. However...

I found this evidence in Alex's character panel. For shame!




















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