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“Mommy, can I have some Corn Pops?” Six year old Jacob Walker cried from across the spacious kitchen.

“Yes, Jake, you may,” Elisabeth Walker said as she finished making his lunch for school. Fishing in her pocket book, she pulled out a five dollar bill and placed it on the counter for her daughter. Turning to the stair case, Elisabeth called up the stairs. “Kaitlyn, you’re going to be late! It’s your last day...c’mon.”

After a few minutes, her thirteen year old daughter made her way into the kitchen. “Mom, you should really chill out.”

“Katy, I really don’t need your attitude this morning,” Elisabeth warned. She loved her daughter, but for the past few months, she had been lashing out and had become very rebellious. “You don’t have time for cereal because you’ll miss your bus, so grab a Pop Tart and eat it on the way to school. I’ve gotta get going. Make sure Jake gets on his bus, and don’t forget your lunch money. Please be good today.”

“Sure thing, Mom,” Kaitlyn said rolling her eyes.

“Oh, and don’t forget that you’re father is coming home tonight; we’re all going out to have a family dinner.” Before Kaitlyn had an opportunity to protest, Elisabeth was out the door and in her car.

She had a long day ahead of her and she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. There were meetings scheduled for most of the day, as well as client meetings. She also had a presentation to prepare for the next day. Her husband would be home from a business trip that evening. Letting out a quiet sigh, she hit the speed dial for her office.

“Anderson and Walker, this is Jill, may I help you?” her assistant greeted pleasantly.

“Jill, it’s Elisabeth, would you please tell Gary that I’m stuck in traffic and I’m going to be a little late for our first meeting.” After she ended the call, Elisabeth looked around at the traffic. “Today is not going to be a good day.”

***

“Mrs. Walker, you have a telephone call on line one,” Jill buzzed in, interrupting a meeting with a client.

“I asked you to hold all of my calls, Jill, can you please take a message and tell them I will call them back shortly,” Elisabeth replied through clenched teeth. She only had one more meeting left, but she still had a few clients to see. She told Jill to take a message from anyone who called unless it was an emergency.

“It’s Mr. Walker,” Jill said quietly.

Wonderful…what this time Joshua? she thought and cleared her throat. “Put him through,” she said to Jill. Clearing her throat again, she gave her client an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry; this will only take a minute.”

Turning away from the impatient man sitting on the other side of her desk, she took a deep breath. “What is it Joshua?” she hissed as soon as she had her husband on the line.

“Well, darling, I love you, too. Oh, my trip has been wonderful,” he said sarcastically. “You really know how to make a man feel loved, Lizzie.”

“I’m in the middle of a meeting with a client, Joshua, so this needs to be quick. Are you calling to tell me that you won’t make it home tonight? What’s the excuse this time? Flight cancelled?” she asked, trying to keep her composure. She didn’t want to play these games with him right now, especially when she had a client. “Look, Joshua, I’ll call you back in a half hour.”

“Lizzie…do not hang up…damn it…”

Ignoring Joshua’s angry words, she ended the phone call and turned to the man. “I’m sorry Mr. Hargrave…that won’t happen again.”

***

“Mommy, where’s Daddy?” Jacob asked, his eyes wide as they sat in his favorite restaurant—McDonald’s. “I thought you said Daddy was coming home tonight.”

Smoothing down his sandy brown hair, she looked into his large hazel eyes and tried not to let him see that she was upset. “Daddy got delayed, Jake. He’ll be home in the morning.”

“Sure he will,” Kaitlyn rolled her eyes as she stirred her McFlurrie. “He’s always gonna be home ‘in the morning.’ What else is new?”

“Kaitlyn, I’d appreciate it if you would drop your attitude, okay? Just because you’re pissed off at me and the rest of the world doesn’t mean you need to hateful to your brother. Please apologize.”

“For what?” Kaitlyn asked angrily. “For telling him the truth?”

“Katy, be quiet…people are starting to stare,” Elisabeth said in a stern voice.

“So, let them stare. Just because you hate Daddy doesn’t mean you have to make him hate Jake and me,” she said before storming out of the restaurant to the car.

Looking down at her distraught son, Elisabeth pulled him close and wrapped him in a warm hug.

“Daddy hates us?” his eyes were brimming with large tears as he crawled into his mother’s lap. “I’ll be good, Mommy, I promise. I’ll help Katy be good, too.”

Holding back tears of her own, Elisabeth tried her best to comfort her son. “No, Jake, Daddy doesn’t hate us. And none of this is your fault, sweetie. You’ve been perfect,” she smiled and gave him an Eskimo kiss. “Daddy is coming home tomorrow, so don’t you worry about anything. Katy is just upset with Mommy, okay?” When he gave a short nod, she ruffled his soft hair and placed her chin on the top of his head. “I love you, Jake.”

***

“Guess who’s home,” Joshua Walker called as he entered his home. “Lizzie…Katy…Jake? Anyone home?”

When no one answered, Joshua shrugged and made his way over to the answering machine. No new messages. He’d decided to find a flight that night instead of waiting till the morning, and now no one was home. He figured his wife had taken the kids to get dinner. Feeling his stomach rumble a little, he went to the kitchen to find something to have for dinner. After he got his dinner in the oven, he heard his wife’s Navigator pull into the driveway.

“Daddy!” Kaitlyn greeted her father excitedly; Jake soon followed. Elisabeth was a little less than excited to see him.

“Joshua,” she greeted coolly. “I didn’t expect you home tonight.”

“Yeah, Daddy, I thought you got stuck,” Jake tugged eagerly at his father. “Guess what! I got to bring our class pet home for the weekend Daddy.”

Joshua smiled and gave his wife a quick glance. She was putting away the dishes that he had left out on the counter. She always found something to keep her busy when she was upset. “So, where did your Mom take you for dinner?”

“McDonald’s,” Kaitlyn replied with a groan. “For some reason, she’s been a real bitch today.”

When the words left her daughter’s mouth, Elisabeth tensed up and slowly turned around. No one said anything. Narrowing her eyes at the thirteen year old that looked so much like herself, she tried her best to not lose her temper. “Go to your room, Kaitlyn.”

“Why should I?” Kaitlyn began to protest. “I’m only being honest, Mom. You’re always in a bad mood and you blame Dad for everything. Why don’t you just pull the stick out of your ass and get over it?”

Elisabeth stood stunned at the words that had just come out of her daughter’s mouth. Kaitlyn was only thirteen years old and she was talking to her mother like she was an equal. If Elisabeth had ever spoken to her mother with that attitude and language, she would have had more than just an attitude problem.

Being brought up in an upper-class southern home, Elisabeth had been taught to respect her parents, as well as anyone older than herself. She always said please, thank you, sir and ma’am; her parents would have it no other way. She was a picture perfect debutant—a true southern belle. She was always polite and quiet and she never tried too hard to be the center of attention. After marrying Joshua, she had all hopes that he would help her instill the same values in their children, but he had only laughed her off saying, “We really should try to be more modern. You know, we don’t have to be your parents.”

This was now one of those times that Elisabeth wished she had pushed Joshua to bring up their children the way she had been brought up. Although Jacob was an angel, Kaitlyn had always given her trouble. Not knowing what to say, she just looked at Joshua to gage his reaction. She jumped when she heard Kaitlyn’s bedroom door slam shut. “Thanks for your help, dear,” she said sarcastically.

“Jake, why don’t you go play in your room,” Joshua told his son.

“Yes, sir,” he said and toddled up the stairs.

Elisabeth smiled to herself when she heard how polite her son sounded. She could only hope it would last. Her thoughts were ended abruptly by her husband.

“What are you smiling at?” Joshua asked in a hateful voice.

“Nothing, Joshua. So, why did you break your neck to make it home tonight? Did you lose your hot piece of ass? Or did you actually start to feel guilty?” her sarcasm was as thick as her southern twang. “Maybe you have a different excuse for me. I’m looking forward to some new stories.”

Not letting Elisabeth say anything else, Joshua grabbed her by the shoulders and lowered his voice. “You know, Kaitlyn only talks to you the way she does because she knows she can. If you’d put your foot down instead of trying so hard to please her, maybe you’d be a better mother.”

“What do you know about being a mother? You don’t even know how to be a father. Or a husband for that matter,” she said and broke free from his unyielding grip. “Joshua, you have no right to tell me how to be a mother. You’re never home because of business meetings, and God forbid you try to make it to one of Katy’s soccer games or Jake’s open house. You’re too set on finding your next bed warmer to be concerned with your children. They are your flesh and blood; the least you could do is be there for them some of the time. You know, I gave up on you a long time ago; I sacrifice my happiness for those two,” she flung her arm in the direction of the stairs. “I know you don’t love me anymore, Joshua, but I’m not gonna break this family up for myself. If that’s going happen, it will be your fault. I’ve done far too much to save this family to be blamed for that.”

Unable to hold back his anger, Joshua delivered a staggering slap to his wife. “What right do you have telling me that I will be the break down of this family? Lizzie, you don’t want to screw around with me. Do you understand that?”

Straightening back up, Elisabeth quickly collected herself and narrowed her eyes at Joshua. She was sick and tired of being treated like nothing. Her daughter, husband and various other people thought she should be seen and not heard; she didn’t have a mind and opinion of her own…well, they were sadly mistaken. “If you hit me again, Joshua, you’re going to have more problems finding your next whore. I’m going to bed, I trust you can find the guest bedroom. Oh, and by the time you wake up in the morning, Katy, Jake and I will be gone. Their last day of school was today and since there is nothing planned for summer we’re taking a family vacation while Daddy prepares for yet another business trip.

When she was safely locked in her bedroom, Elisabeth collapsed in tears onto her massive bed. As much as she loved her children and wanted to keep their fairytale family image together, she wasn’t sure how long she could go on pretending they were happy. She had to be happy at some point, didn’t she?

***

“Elisabeth, sweetheart, what are you doing here?” Abigail Butler was more than a little surprised to see her daughter. Her attention quickly turned to her grandchildren. “Katy, Jacob…aww…my darlings!”

“Lizzie Layne, my baby girl,” Robert Butler wrapped his only daughter in a warm hug.

“Daddy! I’ve missed you so much!” Elisabeth smiled, feeling safe and loved for the first time in too long. “Mom, I hope you don’t mind us visiting on such short notice. Joshua is on a business trip and we wanted to come see you.”

“No, you wanted to come,” Kaitlyn didn’t hesitate to correct her mother.

“Katy,” Elisabeth scolded.

“Kaitlyn Olivia Walker,” Abigail gave her granddaughter a hardened glare. “You will not talk to your mother in that tone; you will be respectful. Do you understand?”

Elisabeth watched in amazement as her daughter’s hateful expression quivered and finally broke. She could tell that Katy knew she had no choice but obey her grandmother; while they were visiting anyway. The teenager nodded meekly and found a seat in the den.

“Jacob, you lucked up buddy boy,” Robert picked up the enthusiastic little boy and ruffled his hair. “Grandma just finished making cookies. What’s say you and me go dig in? Sound good to you?”

Jacob nodded frantically and grinned. “I think that’s a good idea Grandpa.”

Turning to her daughter, Abigail frowned. “You look tired, sweetie, is everything all right?”

Elisabeth smiled at her mother. “Yes, ma’am, I’m fine. I told you, we just wanted to visit.”

“And Katy made it very clear that you wanted to visit, so fess up. What’s bothering you?”

Elisabeth sighed and followed her mother to the patio. Sitting down in the white wicker chair, she looked out at the Atlantic Ocean. This had been her favorite place growing up; she had nearly forgotten how peaceful she felt there. She watched the waves roll in and remembered how she would play for hours in the surf. She wouldn’t come back to the house until the sun had disappeared letting the stars come out of hiding and a chill had crept into the breeze. She missed that so much sometimes, but Joshua refused to move the family to North Carolina. He just didn’t like the South.

“Elisabeth, what’s the matter? I can tell something is wrong,” Abigail brought her back to the present. “Please tell me.”

“It’s Joshua. Mom, I just don’t understand what I did to deserve this,” Elisabeth blurted out, feeling her tears rushing forward.

“Deserve what? I thought things were going wonderfully,” her mother looked confused.

“No, it’s not. Far from it, actually. Joshua is seeing other women behind my back. I’m not sure when he started having his affairs, but I do know he’s having them. He always has a business trip to take or he has to work late. He gives the typical excuses. We fight all the time, well, whenever we see one another. Jacob doesn’t know exactly what’s going on, but he sees Mommy cry and that upsets him. And Katy…where do I start explaining that? She’s rebelling something terrible. I just don’t know how to handle her anymore, and she blames me for everything that’s happening with her father and me. It’s just too much for me to handle sometimes.”

“Why did you wait so long to tell me what’s going on?” Abigail placed her aged hand on top of her daughter’s youthful one. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I thought if I ignored what was going on, it would just all be in my mind,” she grasped her mother’s hand. “And last night, Joshua hit me.”

“He what?” Abigail’s eyes filled with tears. “Does he do that often?”

“No, that’s one thing I can say about him…he has never hit me before and I don’t think he will again. I didn’t expect it, that’s for sure. I just keep hoping everything will get better. I don’t want to get a divorce because of Katy and Jake. It would devastate them.”

“Yes, it would, but you have to think about yourself sometimes. They would get through it.”

“No, mom, divorce is not an option right now. Not until Jake is a little older anyway. I still love Joshua with all my heart, but I know he doesn’t love me. As some people would say in the movies, he loves me, but he’s not in love with me. I just don’t want to put the children through that kind of trauma right now. Kaitlyn resents me enough as it is. If Joshua and I split up now, she would hate me. Mama…what do I do?” Elisabeth leaned into her mother’s warm embrace and wept.

“You follow your heart, Lizzie, it will lead you where you need to go,” Abigail whispered as she caressed her daughter’s hair.