Eve is crying uncontrollably. Whitney and Simone guide her back to the couch, where they all sit down.

“ Mom, please look at us.”, Whitney asked quietly. “ Please.”

Eve brought her face up from the floor. “ You hate me.”, she said, sobbing.

” Mom, we don’t hate you.”, Simone replied. “ We love you.”

” Ho…How can you love me now that you know what a liar I am?”

” Because, you’re our mother. And, we do.”, Whitney responded.

” Whit is right. We love you. You know…it’s a relief to find out that you’re not ‘perfect’. You have no idea how hard that was on us.” Simone nods over to Whitney, who continues.

” Simone’s on the money. Finding out that you have faults and flaws, it’s a burden lifted from us. Now we don’t have to live up to the image. It was a tough image, Mom.”

Eve stopped crying for a bit. “ I…I never meant to place a heavy burden on you. I just thought you needed the right kind of role model. I didn’t know you thought it was so impossible to live up to that example. I ruined things for you..”, Eve said, crying again.

“ Mom, please stop crying.”, Whitney pleaded. “ What Simone said was that it was a hard image to live up to, and that’s the truth. WE are sorry that you didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell us the truth. As much love as you’ve shown us over the years, don’t you think we would respond in kind? Hearing your story broke my heart. Broke OUR hearts. That you carried all that pain inside of you all those years. We never wanted that for you.”

” You…you’re not ashamed of me?”

” Ashamed? Hell no!”, Simone exclaimed. “ Do you know how strong you had to be in order to handle everything that happened to you? You’re amazing, Mom. Simply amazing.”

” It explains a lot, Mom. So much that Simone and I were confused about all our lives, you explained it to us right now. And, if for no other reason, I’m happy to know the truth.”

“ Does…does Daddy know?”, Simone asked.

” No. I couldn’t tell your father. In the beginning I was too scared because I was so desperate to be with him, I couldn’t let him go. And, then, there comes a time when you haven’t told a secret, that it passes into the category of you CAN’T tell a secret. I didn’t want to hurt any of you.”

” We understand, Mom.”, Whitney said, hugging her mother.

” Don’t be ashamed, Mom. You’re a terrific woman. You’ve battled demons and beat them. Don’t be ashamed again. Ever again.”

“ I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and off my heart. I love you girls. So much.”

Eve pulled her daughters into a hug. She couldn’t believe that they had forgiven her, and understood. She had been so distraught after she left Grace’s house, but having her daughters know the truth, she was overwhelmed. She was so thankful. So grateful. She wanted to enjoy this moment for a long time.
 

TC knocked on the door.

“ Come in.”

TC opened the door.

“ Principal Dobson.”

” Come in TC.”

TC had a seat.

” TC, there are rumors going around town. Is there anything that you’d like to tell me?”

” I don’t know how my personal life has anything to do with my job.”

” TC, don’t try and be coy. As Athletic Director of this school, you are set forth before our young people as a role model, and a representative of the school and district. You know that.”

” I meant no disrespect. Am I having difficulties in my personal life? Yes. Will it affect my job? No. I’ve worked a long time to do earn this job, Mr. Dobson.”

” I know that, TC, but..”

” Sir. I need this job. I need the hours and the difficulty. It’s the one thing that I need to depend on. I have made mistakes and want to work through them. If I become incapable of doing the job, I will resign. You have my word.”

” TC, people are already talking.”

” Sir, my job will speak for me. Please give me a chance to either succeed or fail.”

Principal Dobson stood up and extended his hand to TC.

“ You mess up once, and I’ll have to ask for your resignation.”

TC took his hand. “ I won’t mess up.”
 

Eve and her daughters are sitting on the couch when Simone speaks up.

” Mom, I think we should take a trip.”

” A trip?”

” Yeah, you, Whitney and I. I think we all need a change of scenery.”

“ You do have a leave of absence, and both Simone and I will be finished with school in a couple of weeks.”

” Getting out of Harmony does sound good. Where would we go?”

” We all like the beach, so how about a cruise to the Caribbean? We could lay over in the Bahamas. You loved the Bahamas.”

“ I did, didn’t I?”, Eve commented.

“ Rest, relaxation. Cruises are all planned out for us.”, Whitney replied.

“ There’s somewhere else I’d like to go, Mom.”

“ Where’s that, Simone?”

“ I’d like to meet my grandparents.”

Eve looked at Simone in total shock.