Chapter 20 #2
Our families aren’t exactly…cohesive. No, I take that back; John’s mother isn’t cohesive with my family. Or me.
When John called to invite her to Celestia for the holiday, she was quick to make an excuse for her planned absence. “Your grandmother can’t make the trip,” she said, but unfortunately for his mom, he’d already called Grandma Aggie, and she was over the moon.
I think Debra’s issue is me, but she’d never admit it.
Or maybe she’s so engrossed in her tormented past that she fears her children might go through the same thing she did—a loveless marriage with a partner who held her hostage for over half her life—and she doesn’t want to get attached.
Or maybe her concern for her elderly mother is the reason she didn’t want to travel.
Whatever it was, she always prefers to stay home, and anytime she’s forced to join us, she spends the majority of the time in quiet solitude.
“I figured you could use some fresh coffee, and my mother set aside a plate for you,” I say, extending the mug to her.
Her only response is a curt smile. I sigh, placing the mug on the handcrafted table next to her, preparing to leave, but I don’t even make it two steps before the filter between my brain and my mouth disappears. “Do you hate me?”
Okay, maybe hate is a little extreme, but what other word should I use?
Debra glances up, looking even more annoyed than she did a moment ago, if that’s possible. When I don’t back down, she closes her book with a small huff and her long, bony fingers thread together in a tight knot on top of its deep turquoise-colored cover. “I don’t hate you, Savannah.”
“But you don’t like me.”
She sighs, briefly glancing down at her hands. “I think you’re just like the others. Only you’ve managed to stick around longer than they did.” What is that supposed to mean? “And you know, I find it peculiar, Savannah. You don’t have a ring on your finger, but—”
“Excuse me?”
“Remind me. How many years have you been dating my son? Four? And still nothing.” Debra rises from the couch, her arms crossing tightly over her chest. Her brown eyes flicker down to my hands that clutch the now lukewarm mug. “And truthfully, I think that makes you…lucky.”
Lucky?
“You still have time to get out before it’s too late. Marriage is not everything it’s cracked up to be. It only brings out the worst in you…and your partner. It forces women to bend until they break, because that’s what society expects out of us. Men are nothing but liars and cheats, all of them.”
“Maybe in your experience, but not mine,” I say.
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot. Your parents are living the perfect fairytale,” Debra says, with a slight scoff. “They’ve truly set you up to fail.”
“You know nothing about my family, and you don’t know your son. John is nothing like this father—”
“Wrong. He is exactly like his father.”
“Your son has done nothing but love and care for you. He’s made sure you have everything you need, everything you want. And you treat him like it’s his fault you’re in this situation. The only person to blame for your unhappiness, Debra, is you.”
Her laugh catches me off guard. “He really has his hooks in you so deep that you can’t see the truth.
Or you refuse to. He’s controlling you, Savannah.
He controls everything about you and your life.
Mark my words, one day, you’re going to wake up and realize you’re trapped with no way out, not until he’s done with you. ”
“Careful, Debra,” I say, with a tight smile.
“Someone might think you’re jealous, maybe even a little worried that when he does put a ring on my finger, I’ll put a stop to the exploitation of your son.
” Her eyes narrow into slits. “John is nothing like his father, and you might know that if you took the time to get to know him, instead of pretending like every man is just another Leeland Cabot. Did you ever stop to consider that maybe you’re the problem? ”
A soft gasp echoes the way her eyes widen.
Did I take it too far? Maybe, but that didn’t make it any less true.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, they need help preparing dinner. You’re welcome to join us, but I know being pleasant and present isn’t your strong suit. So, by all means, enjoy your solitude.”
Turning on my heel, I head back for the door because my mother, Grandma Aggie, and Ari are waiting for me.
John joined Nash on a ride out to check on the cattle so my oldest brother could go pick up his girlfriend and former high school sweetheart, Amara.
This will be her first official Williams family holiday since they started dating again before she and Crew join her family later.
My father is out near the garage with the twins and Samuel, trying their hands at deep-frying turkeys.
There is a lot to do if we want to eat before nine o’clock.
I don’t have time for Debra’s pity party.
If she wants to continue to confine herself to the corners of every room she’s in, trapped in her grief and despair, fine.
But I’ll be damned if she’s going to drag her son down with her.
“Savannah.” Debra’s voice stills my hand as I grasp the doorknob. “For your sake, I hope you’re right about him.”
“Bird looks good, Pa,” Crew says, carrying in a large bowl filled to the brim with mashed potatoes—not the kind you get out of a bag, either, these are the real thing—and the matching gravy boat.
The twins follow suit with dishes full of fresh brussels sprouts, squash, asparagus, and green bean casserole.
Amara carries the macaroni and cheese she helped me make—her first attempt at making it from scratch.
Nash holds the overflowing plate of stuffing—which might be the only thing prepared from a box—and the adjoining kitchen door for John.
He brings the ham my mother made for Debra, since she doesn’t like turkey, along with cranberries, cranberry sauce, and candied yams to the table.
Hot on his heels, Ariana tries to talk to her brother, but he ignores her the whole way, and her fiancé follows with the salad bowl and an eye roll.
John gives me a grateful smile when I lift the cranberries from his forearm. After he unloads the rest onto the table, he wraps his fingers around the base of my neck, pulling me in for a long kiss on my temple. “I love you,” he whispers.
“Brooks,” Ari says, interrupting us, and my boyfriend sighs. “Why won’t you—”
“Ariana,” he snaps, pulling away from me.
Nash meets my gaze across the table, slowly setting down the dish in his hands. My brother glances briefly at John, then back at me, and I shake my head.
Stay out of it, Nash.
“I told you yesterday, I am done discussing this. It doesn’t matter how many times you ask, my answer isn’t going to change,” John says.
“Why can’t you just do this for me?” Ari pleads, her voice morphing into a whine.
“Because just like you, Ariana, I can make my own decisions. And it’s my choice not to be around him. You want to put yourself in the position to get your heart broken again? Be my guest. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“He’s different—”
“Enough,” John hisses. He takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tries to collect himself. “This is not the time or the place for this conversation.”
There’s no room for more debate when the others reemerge from the kitchen, including his mother and grandmother.
Aside from the cold shoulder John gives his sister—especially when she almost slips about Cabo—and the strained answers from Debra whenever my parents attempt to draw her into the conversation, dinner goes by without a hitch.
We learned that Blake recently passed his journeyman exam to become an electrician, and he started dating a girl named Sarah.
Bodhi broke up with his girlfriend (Laura, I think?) last week, and law school has taken up the majority of his life, much to his dismay.
As for the other Williams children? Not much has changed.
“Savannah,” Papá says, catching my attention at the head of the table. “Did you decide if you’re going to re-sign with EWE, yet?”
Except that.
“We’re working a few things out,” I say.
My contract is set to expire at the beginning of next month—December 5th, to be exact.
The day after Wreck the Halls, the December premiere live event, before we head to Europe for two weeks.
The company and I have been negotiating for at least a month now, mostly about salary.
I’d be more willing to bend on the other things if they’d compromise on the financial side.
When I initially received my new contract, I was surprised by how much they were trying to lowball me.
Even before I discussed it with John, I decided to attempt renegotiations.
“Getting close?” My father asks.
“Maybe.”
“You’re one of their biggest draws. Why wouldn’t they want to pay you more?” Nash asks.
“Not to mention, you’re basically married to the face of the company,” Blake adds, and I roll my eyes. “Isn’t there something he can do? Is there something you can do?”
“We don’t—”
“Savannah and I try to keep our business lives separate,” John says, answering for me. Why did he interrupt me? I was about to say the same thing.
“Not to mention—”
“Not to mention, Amos will ultimately give her whatever she wants. He loves her, and there isn’t a chance in hell that he’ll ever let her walk away.”
“Add a private jet to the list of demands, SJ,” my oldest brother says, earning a chuckle from the table.
I can only offer him a tight smile before I catch Debra’s gaze from across the table. Her raised brow over the rim of her wine glass tells me exactly what she’s thinking. I tear my gaze from hers to look at John, who also noticed her suspicious glance.
“Who’s ready for dessert?” Mamá asks. “We have flan, pumpkin pie, apple pie...” She continues naming other options, and slowly the table empties as everyone carries their plates to the sink before choosing a dessert.
John gathers my dishes, leaning down to plant a kiss on top of my head before he disappears into the kitchen, Samuel following suit. That leaves only me, Ari, and Amara at the table.
“Did I hear you say something about Cabo earlier?” Amara asks.
A ball forms in the pit of my stomach, but Ari’s brown eyes light up like the Fourth of July. Any minute, her brother is going to walk back through that door. Her mother, too. The last thing I need is for one of them to walk in while she’s talking about the vacation she just took with her father.
“Yes! Samuel and I—”
“Ari,” I cut her off. “Not right now.”
“Oh, come on, Savannah. Not you, too.”
“Yes, me too. This is not the time or place. Unless you’re ready to tell your mom the truth, I’d zip it.”
Ariana rolls her eyes and sits back in her chair with a huff, looking more like a toddler than a woman in her late twenties.
“I’m sorry,” Amara says hesitantly, trying to gauge what kind of landmine she just stepped on. “I didn’t realize it was a secret.”
“It’s not your fault, it’s theirs,” Ari says, using two fingers to point at me and her brother as he returns from the kitchen.
“What’d I miss?” John asks, sitting beside me with two plates full of an array of sweets.
“Oh, nothing. I was telling Amara how unfortunate it is that I can’t tell her more about my trip to Cabo because you’re a stubborn ass.”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
John sets his fork on the table, not even getting the chance to cut into the first piece of pie. “Ariana, I’ve had enough of your shit. You’re acting like a spoiled little brat, and—”
“And you’re a self-righteous asshole! You’re being selfish and rude,” she quips.
With each word, John’s jaw clenches a little tighter.
I reach down into his lap, taking his hand in mine and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Dad apologized. He wants to make up for what he did, but you won’t let him. Why can’t you just let it go?”
A sharp, high-pitched crash echoes, and all heads turn toward the door where Debra stands, her hands frozen in front of her, the plate she’d been carrying now in pieces at her feet.
Her children jump to their feet, but she flinches away from them.
“What did you just say, Ariana?” Debra’s tone matches the blazing fury in her eyes. “You’ve been seeing your father?”
Ari gnaws on her bottom lip, hands folded in front of her, with her eyes glued to the floor.
“And you knew about this?” Debra turns to John.
“Mom, this isn’t his fault,” Ari defends. “He only went the one time because I—”
Debra scoffs, looking between them in disbelief. “You’ve been in touch with him? Well, I must say, that might be the hardest part to believe. After everything he put you through, John Brooks. You would dare give him the time of day? I bet it was her idea, wasn’t it?”
“Don’t do that.” John steps in front of me, blocking his mother’s glare.
I watch the muscles in his back tighten beneath his Henley, and the muscles in his neck strain.
“Don’t you dare drag her into this. You want to be mad at someone?
Be mad at me. I don’t care. But you will not take this out on Savannah or her family, for that matter.
They’ve been nothing but kind to you and—”
“Watch your tone, boy!”
“Whoa! What’s going on in here?” I hear my father’s voice, but John’s massive form still blocks my view of the scene.
“Oh my word, is everyone okay?” Mamá is next. No doubt she’s seen the shattered plate on the floor and is worried someone got hurt.
Finally, I glance around my boyfriend as Grandma Aggie walks in, clutching onto Crew’s arm. Her eyes dart around the room to each member of the Cabot family before settling on John. “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
After a brief moment of silence, Debra looks at John, then Ari, and finally me. She chuckles softly, shaking her head, and says, “It would appear that my children inherited more than a last name from their father, after all.”