Haunted Nights, Chapter 5
 

“ Daddy, are you here?”, Gwen yelled.

“ In here, Gwennie.”

Gwen went into her father’s library and looked around. There were all sorts of baby equipment spread around in the room.

” What is this?”

” I had the staff go into the attic and bring out things they thought would be good for you.”

” Daddy, I hadn’t planned on staying long.”

Johnathan’s face fell. “ Gwen, come here.”

Gwen went over to her father, who pulled her down into his lap.

” Daddy..”

” Gwen, this is your home. Of course I want you and your baby to be here. It’s been sort of lonely around here.”

Gwen looked at her father and began to cry. She put her head on his shoulders, while he held her.

” I feel like a fool, Daddy.”

” Why?”

“ Oh…take your pick. For forgiving Ethan….for still pursuing him…for getting pregnant by him….for marrying him…which one of those should top the list.”

“ Gwen, stop being hard on yourself.”

” Daddy, I’m pregnant and alone.”

” You aren’t alone. I’m here.”

Gwen smiled slightly. “ Daddy, you know what I mean.”

” Yes, I do. But, you always tried to do the ‘expected’ thing, when in reality, you’ve always been an original.”

” What am I going to do?”

” You’re going to do what woman all over the world do when they find out that the guy in their lives is a louse – you’re going to make that baby your top priority.”

“ I always thought I’d stay at home with my child.”

“ Gwen, please, you can still stay home.”

” Daddy, there’s a difference if there’s a husband supporting us.”

” Gwen, you’re not exactly poverty strickened.”

” I never planned on using the trust fund now. I wouldn’t feel comfortable. I have to find a job.”

” Well, that’s easy. Come work for me.”

” Daddy..”

” You know that Burton Langston died unexpectedly. I’ve been meeting with prospective candidates, and I haven’t found anyone that I remotely like. You’ve got the education, but more importantly, you have the experience with Hotchkiss Enterprises, and I know I can trust you.”

” Daddy….”

“ You have an ‘in’ with the boss…great salary and benefits. And, I promise you, no travel for at least a year and no long business trips. Who else will do that for you?”

” Daddy…”

” Gwen, I miss you. This house is pretty empty. I’d love it to be full of cheer.”

” I don’t think most people think a pregnant woman is cheery.”

”I would love every single mood swing.”

Gwen laughed. “ But….what if Ethan..”

” What Gwen? What if Ethan comes over here and swears to you his undying devotion? Gwen, wake up. The man called off his wedding to you HOURS before it was to happen. Am I to understand that he woke up, the day before your wedding, and decided that he loved the Housekeeper’s Daughter? Think about that, Gwen. You know how ridiculous that sounds so the truth of the matter is that he HAD to be lying to you for at least weeks, if not months. I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt that it took months for his head to be swayed. So, everytime he was with her, he was lying to you.

Then came the ridiculousness of the insanity of you deciding to ‘date’ him while he made up his mind.

MADE UP HIS MIND?

This wasn’t a choice about whether he was going to wear Armani or Brooks Brothers, this was about marriage.

THEN, he humiliated you by not even giving you the courtesy of telling you about his decision in private and proceeds to dump you, and propose to HER in front of the entire town.

I had hoped that you would take the hint and move on. But, I can see your mother’s influence in your decisions. I curse myself for not taking a stronger role in your life, but I thought a girl needed her mother. I realize now that it was the RIGHT kind of mother that you needed….not one who would spend her time trying to get you to try and hold on to that idiot.

You had to sit there and watch him be married to the other girl. I wanted to send them a present myself, because I thought you would finally be FREE of Ethan whateverthehellhisnameis. But, the wedding didn’t happen, and I was sad, because I knew you’d try and get him back. Because you are MY daughter, and we’re both fools for love.

When you told me about the job in New York, I was SO happy. You were going to be free. Free to meet someone that would truly love you. Someone that would honor and respect you. You turning up pregnant made me happy and sad. I was thrilled to have a grandchild on the way. I was sad because I knew you’d give the lunkhead another chance. I didn’t come to your wedding because I was mad at your mother. I didn’t come because it hurt too much to think that my precious daughter was about to be married to a guy who was so unworthy of her. But, how could I tell that to you without you probably banishing me from your life, and I couldn’t risk that.

Gwen, I know you THOUGHT you had your whole life planned out. YOU went into the relationship and engagement knowing how you wanted to spend the next 40 years of your life. You had only loved Ethan. He was a major part of how you see yourself. After all, if you can’t believe in your relationship with Ethan, what COULD you believe in?

I’ll tell you. Yourself. I know that asshole damaged you emotionally, and for that, I could kill him with my bare hands. But Princess, you’re still young. You’re a beautiful, intelligent, charming, kind woman. There is a man out there who will see how terrific you are. A man whose heart will be YOURS and YOURS ALONE.

Ethan isn’t worth consideration anymore. Work out a visitation agreement with him and wash your hands of him. You have a baby to consider. It has to be priority #1. You will never have to worry about whether you can feed or clothe your baby. I will help you with the baby. I will hire as much help as you need. Heck, I bet even your mother will help with the baby.

Ethan is a blip on the screen. You let that egomaniac strip you of your self-esteem. Now, for your child’s sake, it’s time that you grab it back. YOU are the role model for your child, Gwennie. What do you want your child to see when he/she looks at you?”

Gwen looked at her father with tears in her eyes. She could literally FEEL the weight of the world being lifted from her shoulders at that moment. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She knew today was the beginning of the rest of her life. Placing her head on her father’s shoulder, she cried what would be the last tears ever over Ethan.
 



 

Julian and Eve sat on the bench together. Eve had finished crying, and had told Julian everything about the state of her life.

“ So,  you know everything.”, Eve told Julian.

” Simone’s left, Whitney’s relationship with Chad has been revealed, and you think your life is falling apart.”

” Julian, my life is falling apart.”

“ No Eve, not apart. You’re doing fine.”

” FINE? How can you say that?”

” Simone is gone. That isn’t what you wanted, but Eve, she’s of legal age. Children usually leave home at 18.”

” Julian, she didn’t go away to college. She got her heart broken and ran away.”

” Yes, she ran away.”

” Do you know how hard life is for runaways? How many I’ve treated over the years?”

” Eve, Simone isn’t a kid from a family who doesn’t care about her. She knows that if anything happens, she can call someone in this town. Maybe not you and TC, but there are other adults she trusts, right?”

Eve nodded. “ Sam and Grace – her godparents.”

” See. Simone needed to get out into the world. You can’t shelter your children forever, no matter how you might want to.”

” But, Julian, I don’t know where she is. I don’t know if she’s ok, or if she’s hurt.”

” Eve, you’ve got to stop thinking about worst case scenarios. You’ve got to think about the positive. Simone is a beautiful, intelligent young woman. She wants to get out and find out what life has to offer. Who knows…maybe she’ll only be gone for a few weeks. Maybe a few months. But, she’s taking this time to find her place in the world. You have to support it.”

” Julian…”

” Eve, you loved her as hard as a child can be loved.”

” Obviously not, if this Chad situation could do so much damage.”

” Parents aren’t perfect. Despite your attempts during these past 20 years of trying to be.”

” I never said I was perfect.”

” No, you just let others say it for you, and you were happy to do so. You liked being thought of as perfect.”

” Well, it was better than the alternative. Of them seeing what a mess I made of my life.”

” Eve, when are you going to forgive yourself? You turned your life around. You came from the emotional abyss to forge a life and family for yourself.”

” A family that’s falling apart.”

” A family that’s going through a rough patch. You can’t do anything about Simone. She’ll come back when she wants to. What are you going to do about Whitney?”

” What about Whitney?”

” Her relationship with Chad.”

” Chad – ugh! I don’t even want to hear his name.”

” Well, she’s deeply in love with him.”

“ You seem to know an awful lot about my daughter’s love life.”

” Well, we talked when we were caught in the elevator together. She told me she was in love with a young man and that she didn’t want to give him up. I told her not to. Not to give up on love.”

“ Because you had once loved a woman and never got over her.”

“ Yes.”

” Julian, even if I could get past Whitney’s love, I can’t, as a mother, in good conscience, get past what Chad did. I don’t want to sound like TC, but Chad showed NO character in what he did, and I can’t see beyond what his actions have done to my family.”

“ Ok, that’s fair. But, don’t push Whitney away too. Make it clear that you love her, but that you have problems with Chad that can’t be brushed away. That it will take time for you to deal with Chad.”

” When did you become so wise, Julian Crane?”

” I’m not wise. I just know that your family means everything to you, and I want you to keep it.”

” Why?”

” Because I love you, Eve. I love you.”

Eve looked at Julian and shook her head.
 
 
 

Chapter 6
Chapter 4
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