Ever After (23 page)

Chapter 32

Scotty

Six Months Later

“Scotty,” my mother said to me. “You look so beautiful. I always knew that you would on your wedding day.”

I smiled at her. I couldn’t have been prouder of the woman who was standing in front of me, messing with my hair. Fussing over me just like a mother of the bride should. She looked absolutely amazing. She had been out of the treatment facility for the past two months, and I had to say, when I first saw her step off of that plane, I didn’t really recognize her. I kept looking for her, a big “Welcome Home, Mom” sign in front of me. I was carrying a bunch of balloons and a stuffed
Droopy the Dog
doll. I remembered that she always loved those cartoons, because she watched them all the time when I was very small, and she always cracked up when she watched them.

Nick was next to me, his arm around my shoulder. We had both kept up with her on Skype, and were seeing the changes that she was going through. Her skin clearing up, her eyes getting brighter. Her posture becoming straighter. Her smile becoming more genuine, as opposed to her smiling because she thought that she should. Her speech was becoming much more coherent, and she was speaking much more proper English as well. Nick and I figured that, with her living out with the rich and famous, she was picking up the proper way to enunciate, as well as learning proper grammar.

But nothing quite prepared me for seeing my mother in person after six months in the treatment facility. She emerged from the plane in a pair of Capri pants and tank top that actually looked amazing on her. I hadn’t had the chance to see her weight loss in full view when she was on the Skype, so I was shocked at what I saw. She had lost about 150 pounds, and lean muscle took the place of the jelly rolls on her body. Her face looked completely smooth and unlined.

She looked like the 39-year-old that she actually was.

I went to hug her, not quite sure if it was actually her. I had tears in my eyes as I examined her up close. She beamed and put her hand on her hair. “What do you think of my new ‘do?” she asked.

I hadn’t noticed her new ‘do, but that looked as great as the rest of her. Her hair was cut in a layered shag that was all the rage, with bangs and auburn highlights streaking her otherwise dark hair. She was wearing makeup that accentuated her green eyes, and she had cheekbones! I never knew that she had such prominent cheekbones, but now, that was all I could see.

“Mom, your hair looks incredible. And so do you. Oh my god! How did you do it?”

“Well, I wanted you to be surprised when you saw me, so I didn’t tell you how much I have been working out. I have found that walking, playing tennis and lifting weights has been the best thing to keep my mind off of the bottle. I’ve found a new passion, and, believe it or not, I’m even going to go to school to become a personal trainer. I’ve been looking at different programs here in town for that.”

I nodded my head, but felt a sinking feeling. She couldn’t read. How would she get through a program like that? And didn’t she need her GED as well?

She seemed to read my mind. “I know what you’re thinking, but I have another surprise for you. It turns out that I have dyslexia. I never knew that. I found that out when I
started to take different educational classes that they offered at the facility. Once my instructor figured out what my problem was, he set me up with a great tutor, and I’m actually reading at a sixth-grade level. Of course, I have to do better than that to complete my personal training course, not to mention getting my GED, but your wonderful boyfriend has already enrolled me in an intensive six-week immersion program to help me with that.”

I looked at Nick, and he smiled and shrugged. “Loretta wanted that to be a surprise for you. Who was I to let the cat out of the bag?”

I started laughing. “I. Mom. I’m having problems putting things into words right now. I just can’t believe it!”

She started laughing too, and then she put her arm around Nick. “I owe you everything, Nick. If you didn’t come into Scotty’s life, well, I don’t know where I would be.”

He put his arm around her, too. “Hey, don’t mention it. I saw a diamond in the rough, and I helped smooth it out. That’s all I did. You did the rest, Loretta. You were the one who got your life together. I just facilitated it, that’s all.”

“Facilitate. That will be my word for the day. Facilitate.” She smiled. “I’m learning a new word every day, you know. Pretty soon, I’ll be ready for the SAT.” But she started laughing. “Just kidding. I have no desire to go through a four-year college, but I’m so looking forward to getting my training certificate.”

At some point, all of us piled into Nick’s limo, and we went to the sober living house that I had found for her. She would be living there for the next year, while she bettered herself with her courses. She had also enrolled in parenting classes, and was ready to take Aaron back, on a trial basis, to see if she could handle it all. To that end, we made sure that we got her a master suite in the enormous home, so that she could watch Aaron while she completed her recovery. Aaron wasn’t quite ready to leave mine and Nick’s home, but, then again, he was excited to see mom, even if he didn’t quite recognize her.

∞

So, as I looked at the clear-eyed beauty who was adjusting my veil, I felt extremely proud. She had been living in the sober-living facility for the past two months, and she was doing very well. Nick and I had been keeping close tabs on her, making sure that we could catch any signs that she was backsliding, so we could nip it in the bud. But, there never were any signs, because she seemed to be handling her life very well. She had arranged for day care on her own, with Nick picking up the tab, of course, and she completed her intensive reading course, and then was enrolled in a personal training certification course. She was living on her annuity that was set up by Nick, but she vowed to us both that she would soon be able to make it on her own. Nick told her that it wasn’t a problem either way, but she was adamant that she wouldn’t always be a charity case. But Nick was just as adamant that, at the very least, Aaron would get his college fund, no matter what. My mother reluctantly agreed.

She was fitter than me on my wedding day, and had lost another twenty pounds, so she was weighing around 125 or so.

She also was laying off of men, as well she should be. She said that she needed nothing to distract her, and I couldn’t agree more. She needed to really get her life on track before she could even think about sharing it with somebody else.

I fidgeted with my dress a little. My hand went self-consciously to my stomach, and I prayed that I wasn’t going to have to hurl in the middle of the ceremony. The morning sickness had subsided by then, thank god, because I was into
my second trimester. My belly was just a little bit distended, so much so that the dress had to be let out a tad, but I felt lucky that I wasn’t going to look too terribly pregnant for my wedding photos.

My mother left, and Charlotte and April both came back to see me. Nick had finally gotten part-time custody of them, right around the time when he bought us a six-bedroom mansion in Connecticut. We didn’t stay in that house all the time, of course, preferring to use it as a weekend home. But, when Charlotte and April came to visit, we all stayed in that home the whole time they were there. They first came to visit us in the summer, and ended up visiting for an entire month. We all got to know each other very well, and I was happy that Nick was able to finally have visitation with them. Nick was more than happy about that, too, and Rielle finally relented, and said that the girls could come and visit every school break, including Spring Break, Winter Break and Summer Break from school.

And, of course, they were able to come up for our wedding. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I gave each of them jobs to do. Charlotte was a candle girl, and April was in charge of the guest book. She was the responsible one, and she wanted to do it.

Nick and I would each have two attendants. His best man, of course, was Ryan. Nate would also stand up for him. Mine was Jack. He was my man of honor. Robin was also a bridesmaid. She and I had become close friends, really, these past few months. We hung out whenever we could, and I had her over for a girl’s night a few times when Nick was out with Nate on the town.

Jack’s date for the ceremony was his new husband, Zane. Talk about a whirlwind courtship! Burberry boy had gone the way that all the other guys had gone, and Jack didn’t bat an eyelash about that one. “Eh,” he had said to me, “what can I say? He’s a model. He doesn’t have time for me or our relationship. Anyhow, Scotty, I’ve already moved on. His name is Zane, and he’s a set designer for the show. He’s 30 years old, has his own place in Chelsea, and I think that he’s the one!”

At the time, I rolled my eyes, figuring
there goes another guy through the revolving door
. But, I nonetheless agreed to meet with Jack and Zane, and Nick came along as well. We ended up having a fabulous time, and I thought that Zane just might be different from the others.

I never imagined that they would be having an elaborate wedding ceremony in the Hamptons just one month after they met, but that’s exactly what happened. They had exchanged vows on the beach, with me standing up for Jack, wearing a red dress and no shoes. That was one of the stipulations – none of the wedding party was to wear shoes. That included the two grooms.

It turned out that Zane was independently wealthy, a fact that Jack didn’t know until after he had married him. Zane kept that from Jack, reasoning that he had wanted somebody who would love him for him, and not his money. So, after the ceremony, Zane surprised Jack with the fact that he had a beautiful home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the two men moved there right after they were married.

So, when Nick was looking for our new weekend home in Connecticut, I insisted on getting one in Jack’s new neighborhood. Nick just laughed and said “that goes without saying, Scotty, my love. Goes without saying.”  Nick and I then looked at the surrounding homes that would be close to Jack and his new hubby, settling on the six-bedroom, four-
bathroom Classical home that we were now living in part-time.

Jack appeared at the door. “Scotty Marie, you look just like a beautiful princess. You can’t even tell that you have a bun in the oven.”

I put my hand on my stomach reflexively when he said that. “Are you sure, Jack? I mean, the last thing I want is for everybody in attendance to be whispering about how this is a shotgun wedding.”

Jack waved one of his hands dismissively. “Who cares if they do? I mean, you could explain to all of them that Nick had asked you to marry him long before that little guy or girl was a glimmer in either of your eyes. But people who want to gossip are going to do it no matter how much you protest. Anyhow, if anybody says anything I’ll just tell them that they’re jealous that you’re marrying a first-class guy. A first-class gorgeous and wealthy guy.”

I smiled. Nick certainly was that.  A first-class guy. He still had no clue what he had revealed to me that night that he was so drunk. He did always wonder why I had forgiven him so suddenly, and I always answered the same thing. No special reason. I just figured that it was time to give him another chance.

And, even though I did have apprehensions about Nick, even after that night, I worked all of that out in my therapy with Adele. The therapy had tapered to three days a week and then two days a week, and finally to once a week. I had closure on Mr. Lucas because of his death, so, really, I just had to work on my lingering issues regarding my past. Once I got through all of that, and finally started to realize that I truly was worthy of a guy like Nick, things changed between Nick and me for the better. I was much more open with him. Much less likely
to think the worst in any given situation. Much more trusting. Our relationship no longer had a barrier, and I was finding that loving with a truly open heart was surprisingly easy to do.

I fidgeted as Jack started fussing over me, much as my mother was doing. “Oh, Scotty, girl, white really becomes you,” Jack was saying to me.

I smiled. “How far we’ve both come, huh? Was it really just a year ago that we were living in that little tiny apartment, eating Ramen noodles and taking turns sleeping on the hide-a-bed?”

He rolled his eyes. “Bite your tongue, little girl. I was living there up until a couple of months ago.” Then he shrugged. “But, when you and I were living there together, it was a great place to be. It was home. Of course, the Connecticut manse is a great consolation prize for leaving that uptown place.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I think,” he said. “But I do miss my girl time with you. Once that little one gets here, we probably won’t be doing too many of those martini and chick-flick nights.”

“It’ll happen more often than you think,” I said. “You guys are just down the street from our weekend home, don’t forget. And there’s no way that I would let you slip out of my life, and vice-versa, I hope.”

He gave his
bitch, please
look, and I laughed out loud. “Anyhow, Scotch Marie, I was wondering if there is anything that you need me to do?”

“I can’t think of a thing,” I said. “Aside from stand up there at the altar and look like a million bucks. Which you are already doing, so you got this.”

“Really, Scotty,” he said, as he did a little turn. The Versace tuxedo he had on was tailored and fit him perfectly. He looked more handsome than I had ever seen him, and happier, too. “You don’t mind if I show up the bride on her big day?”