Same Old Truths (7 page)

She closed the front door and headed back to the couch and her waiting glass of wine. “Did you guys eat?” Kay asked, hoping her tiring day was over and she wouldn’t have to feed anybody.

“Dad took us out for a burger,” Mariah said, plopping on the sofa next to Kay.

“He took YOU out, you mean,” Cory said with disgust. “I was stuck with Dr. Fulmer. All I got was a cold hamburger and fries. He didn’t even buy me anything to drink.”

“It wasn’t that fun,” Mariah said. “He spent the whole time on the phone.” Kay thought it was sweet that Mariah was trying to make her sister feel better.

“I guess Sandy just wanted to know everything was going ok,” Kay said, trying to make both girls feel better.

“I don’t think he was talking to Sandy, Mommy. He was laughing a lot.” Even at nine years old, Mariah was already an astute observer.

Kay’s ears pricked up, but her exhaustion prevented her from indulging in speculation about who might have been amusing her humorless ex husband.

“How was therapy?” Kay asked, turning her attention to her sulking daughter.

Cory let out a sigh. “It was ok. Except Dr. Fulmer made me mad. He thinks I should try going to dad’s this weekend.”

“Hmmm. That’s interesting,” Kay said in her own noncommittal, therapeutic tone.

“I asked him why he was trying to lay a guilt trip on me. I mean, I get enough of that crap from Dad.”

Kay tried to explain to a stubborn Cory the therapist wasn’t trying to make her feel guilty, but was encouraging her to confront her problems head on. It went right over the immature girl’s head. Like most kids her age, Cory was of the opinion all adults, even those with a license to practice psychology, were stupid and didn’t have a clue about what was really going on.

“And of course, Dad started in on me as soon as I got in the truck. He didn’t even ask me nicely if I would come this weekend. All he did was bitch about how bad Sandy and Little Dave were going to feel if I didn’t show up. So much for the adult conversation you wanted me to have with him. ”

“I think you’re wrong, Cory. He really wants to spend some time with you,” Kay said.

“So how come he doesn’t say
he’d
feel bad? Why does he put it all on Sandy when we all know she doesn’t want us around?”

Kay didn’t know how to respond. Dave had always had difficulty with taking responsibility for anything, especially his feelings. But she didn’t think it was appropriate to get into that with Cory. The little girl would soon figure it out for herself…if she hadn’t already.

Cory helped Kay out of her obvious internal struggle by changing the subject. “Did you get the message I left for you by the phone?”

“I didn’t bother to check. I just wanted to sit and not have to think. Who called?” Kay said.

“Some Virginia Something-or-Other. She wants you to call her.”

Cory retrieved the piece of paper and handed it to Kay.

Virginia Voorhees. 555-6473

“Did she say what she wanted?” Kay asked, not recognizing the name.

“Nope. Just wants you to call her back.”

Kay shrugged, then frisbeed the message on to the coffee table. “I’ll call back tomorrow. Probably just wants to sell me something,” she muttered.

Cory joined her mother and sister on the sofa. Both girls leaned into Kay in a vertical cuddle that felt especially delicious to the exhausted woman. The three of them sat there without saying a word, content to end a hard day in the sweet familiarity of each other’s company.

* * *

“Good morning. Executive Connections. Virginia Voorhees speaking.”

It all came rushing back to Kay. This was the woman who had interviewed her for the singles group.

“Good morning, Virginia. This is Kay Manning. You spoke with my daughter yesterday and left a message asking me to call you.”

“Yes, Kay. How good to talk to you again. I know it’s been a couple of months since your interview but since we haven’t seen you, I was checking to see if maybe you hadn’t run off and gotten married.”

“Oh my goodness, no!” Kay said, a tad too emphatically.

“Well, that’s ok,” the woman responded, a little too condescendingly. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know we’ve had a big boost in membership and there are some very interesting people I think you would enjoy getting to know.”

Kay looked behind her - right then left - making sure the girls didn’t know she was having this conversation.There was still something unnatural about participating in this proposition that made Kay feel like a loser. But she couldn’t admit that to this woman who seemed sincere in her efforts to play matchmaker to the executive lover-lorn.

“You know, Virginia, I’ve had every intention of coming to a meeting but it seems like something always comes up.”

Ignoring Kay’s lame excuse, Virginia said, “No problem. I completely understand. We’re all so busy these days. But just in case you’re free on Saturday, you may want to check out our meeting. It’s at 7:00 at my house. We’re planning a houseboat weekend at Lake Beauchamp while the weather is still warm.”

A houseboat weekend?

Seems Kay had missed out on quite a bit if these people were at the point of planning weekend get-aways.

“Wow. That sounds like fun,” Kay said. “The group must be pretty friendly to share a houseboat. I mean, I’m assuming the accommodations are coed.”

Virginia laughed. “I’m sure some of the guys wouldn’t object to a set up like that, but no. The plan is to rent two houseboats, one for the men and the other for the women. A couple of our members have even offered to pull their speed boats so we can water ski.”

Her misgivings allayed, Kay was now intrigued. A weekend at the lake, relaxing, water skiing and partying with adults sounded tremendously appealing. “I’d love to hear more.”

“I hoped you’d be interested. You have just the kind of energy this group needs.

After all these months, Kay was doubtful the woman remembered anything about her, let alone her energy. In any case, the suck-up wasn’t necessary. She was definitely interested. It had been a long time since Kay had had anything like this to look forward to. Unnatural or not, she couldn’t pass it up. She was going to attend that meeting whether Cory chose to go to Dave’s or not. If she had to, she could leave her twelve-year old home alone for a couple of hours.

Before she hung up Kay took down the directions to Virginia’s house and gave her assurances she’d be there.

“Are you really going on a houseboat?”

Kay jumped, not aware Cory had come into the room.

“Don’t sneak up on people, Cory. You startled me.”

“Sorry, Mom. I didn’t want to bother you while you were on the phone. What’s the deal with the houseboat?”

“Excuse me, young lady, but that was a private conversation. You know it’s rude to eavesdrop.”

“Sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just that you sounded so excited.”

Kay wasn’t aware she’d telegraphed her enthusiasm and she could feel her cheeks heat up. “Well, it’s not a for-sure thing. I don’t know if I’m going.” Then she underhandedly added, “I’ll find out more about it on Saturday when you and Mariah are at your Dad’s.”

Cory gave Kay a stone-faced look, cracked half a smile and said, “Nice try, Mom.”

Kay chuckled. “It was worth a shot. Anyway, I got the feeling last night you might have changed your mind about going,” Kay lied, giving her manipulation one more try.

Much to Kay’s surprise, Cory confirmed her fictitious suspicion. “The truth is, I was gonna go, but I got an email from Violet this morning. Her family is going camping this weekend and she wants me to come. Can I, Mom?”

Kay laughed again - this time at the uncanny timing of her daughter’s last-minute reprieve. “Saved by the bell, huh?”

Now it was Cory’s turn to be embarrassed. “No, really Mom,” she protested. “I thought about what you said about Dr. Fulmer wanting me to face my problems. I mean, I don’t really think it’ll change anything, but I guess I owe it to myself to try. I’m only sorry it’ll have to wait until the next visit. That’s if you say I can go with Violet.”

Kay was pretty sure her daughter’s sudden show of thoughtful maturity was just that - a show. Teenagers were so obvious when they were trying to get their parents to give them something they wanted. But Kay couldn’t fault the girl - especially in light of her own attempt at shifty maneuvering.

“Well, before I say yes, I’ll want to call Bonnie for the details. You’re probably going to need some camping equipment.”

Cory bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet and a wide grin exploded across her face. “Thank you, thank you, than…”

Kay put her hand up, interrupting her daughter’s buoyant expression of gratitude. “But there’s one condition. You’re going to have to call your Dad and let him know you won’t be coming this time.”

That stopped Cory in her tracks. “Really? You’re going to make me call him?”

Kay dropped her chin and stared disapprovingly at Cory from under her brow.

“All right, all right,” the girl reluctantly acquiesced. “I hate when you give me that look. I’ll call him. But I know he’s going to give me a bunch of shit.”

“Good. But don’t call until I have everything confirmed with Violet’s mother.”

Cory nodded dejectedly and headed for the stairs.

“Look at it this way, Honey,” Kay said, stopping Cory with a gentle touch of the shoulder. “If you’re sincere about giving your dad a chance, this call is a good way to start.”

Cory looked at her mother, rolled her eyes and said, “Whatever.” She disappeared up the stairs in her usual churlish fashion, leaving Kay to quietly return to the excitement of contemplating the possibilities of her upcoming lake-side social prospect.

“Mom?” came the timid call from the top of the landing.

Here it comes
.

Kay braced herself for a last ditch plea. But to Kay’s pleasant surprise, Cory said, “I really do hope you get to go on that houseboat. You never get to do anything fun.”

Kay was so taken aback and touched by Cory’s, seemingly, heartfelt sentiment she felt moved to offer to make the call to Dave after all.

Really…
w
hat would it hurt?

But just as she opened her mouth to tell Cory she had reconsidered, the realization she was being played again tossed her off her little pink cloud. Kay had to admit she was impressed.

Does my kid know me, or what
?

“Thank you, Stinker. That’s sweet,” Kay called back up the stairs. “Now go call Mariah. You guys have about ten minutes before the bus comes.”

The derisive little snort she heard in response let her know her suspicions were right on the money.

Do I know my kid, or what?

7

Disappointment, Thy Name is Sapphire Moon

With a sigh of contentment, Kay nestled a little deeper into her mattress. Sleeping in on a Saturday morning had to be one of life’s more-delicious pleasures. The week was over, mercifully taking with it the pressures of raising two growing kids and an exacting boss. She was free!

Kay lifted her head to turn her pillow in search of a cool spot. Once satisfactorily repositioned, she tried to drift off back to sleep. The image of an unhappy Mariah at her dad’s tried to sneak in and disturb the peace, but Kay shooed it away. Even if Mariah might not be having the best of times, Kay, nevertheless, knew her little girl was safe. And Cory was off on her camping trip having the time of her 12 year old life, unconcerned about parents, step-parents or siblings. Yes. Kay could lay down the heavy mantle of motherhood without guilt or worry…at least for the next two days, anyway.

Camping! The 7:00 singles meeting!

So successfully had Kay put the event out of her mind lest her anticipation cause the week to go by any slower than it already had, the out-of-left-field-reminder hit her with a jolt. If there was any hope of going back to sleep, it was gone. Kay rolled over on her back, drew up her knees and folded her hands across her stomach. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, faced with making some very critical decisions.

What was she going to wear?

How should she do her hair?

What kind of nosh should she bring? (a follow-up email from Virginia informed Kay the refreshments were provided pot-luck style)

How would she handle it if some guy hit on her?

Stop. Remember, it’s just about the houseboat weekend.

There was no use spending anymore time in bed. Robed and slippered she padded to the bathroom, humming as she happily anticipated the mind and body cleansing benefits of a hot shower.

* * *

It took three trips around the same block to convince a stubborn Kay she should pull over and re-check Virginia’s directions. She immediately realized her mistake. She had made a right turn one street too soon. When she finally pulled up in front of the house she still wasn’t sure she was in the right place. It looked deserted. Where were all the cars? She checked the house number again. It was correct. Could she have gotten the date wrong? Why didn’t she think to write Virginia’s number on the directions?