Unexpected Happenings, Chapter 43
 

Simone came into the house.

“ I’m home.”

Whitney and Eve came out of the kitchen.

” Hi Honey. How was the prom?”

” Oh Mom! It was terrific! I had the time of my life!”

” And last night?”

Simone sighed. “ Mom, nothing happened like that. We just had a great time, that’s all. Spent the night playing games, talking about the future, dancing and watching movies. It was great.”

Eve smiled. “ I’m glad you had fun. “

“ Well, I’m sort of tired. I thought I’d take a nap before going over to Kay’s.”

” Kay’s? Does this mean..”

” That we’re friends again? Yeah, I think so. I think somehow, being friends will help us get through this mess.”

” I’m really glad for you, Simone.”

” Thanks, Whit. And, Mom?”

” Yes, honey?”

” I’m glad you invited Daddy. I’m glad I’ll have that memory.”

Simone kissed Eve.

” Well, I have to go to the hospital. I’ll see you girls later, ok?”

” Sure Mom.”, Whitney said as Eve left the house. Whitney turned to Simone, “ Ok, spill it! All the details!” The girls ran up the stairs, and sat on Simone’s bed.

” It was a beautiful night. I felt like a Princess.”

” And, Reese is the Prince?”

Simone blushed. “ He really is.”

” Were you just feeding Mom a line about last night, or are you and Reese…”

” Whitney! I…I did lose my virginity to Reese, but it wasn’t last night.”

” Simone!”

” Whitney, it’s not a story you want to hear.”

Whitney heeded the warning, and switched to the next topic. “ Mom showed me the intinerary for our trip.”

“ How’s it looking?”

” Simone, OFF THA HOOK! But, there’s something you don’t know. Um, it seems as if this absolutely fantastic trip that we’re going to have is courtesy of one Julian Crane.”

” JULIAN CRANE?! Whitney, you have to be wrong.”

” No. I’m not wrong. It’s because of Julian that we have this great trip coming up.”

” But..”

” And, the other day, who was in our living room, but Julian Crane.”

” Whitney, that is just weird. Mom hates Julian Crane.”

” That’s what I thought. But, I’m not so sure anymore. I think it’s clear that Daddy hates Julian Crane. But, I don’t know what’s up between him and Mom.”

Simone shook her head. “ Whitney, there’s NOTHING going on between our mother and Julian Crane.”

” Simone, how do we know that? I mean, everything we remotely THOUGHT was true about our parents has been blown out of the water over the past few months. And, I took a look at Mr. Crane.”

” What do you mean?”

” I took off the ‘ I hate all things Crane ‘ lens that Daddy had us focusing through all these years, and I tried looking at Julian Crane as a human being. And, I got a very weird vibe from him when it came to Mom.”

” You’re imagining things.”

” I don’t think I am. I’m still trying to figure it all out. “

” Well, I know I DON’T want to think about it. I mean, Julian Crane and MOM? Can there be anything odder?”

” How about Daddy and Grace Bennett?”

Simone rolled her eyes. “ You are right. This is too depressing for words. I will be SO glad when school lets out and we go on our trip. I can’t believe it’s not long.”

“ I’m going to be glad to leave too.”

” Whitney, do you think Mom is going to let us meet her parents?”

” I dunno. I’ve been thinking about it. I mean Simone, we have GRANDPARENTS! But, if they’ve been at odds with Mom for so long, would they even want to meet us?”

“ I wonder what they look like. Do we look like them at all? We did a paper in sociology about inter-racial families, and the difficulties of them. The theme I got from it, was, in most cases, even the most strident of family members who absolutely HATED their child crossing the racial line to marry, came back and was willing to work at it once the grandchildren came. Now, this isn’t an inter-racial thing, but it’s a serious estrangement. Maybe we can help be the bridge to our grandparents. “

” That’s a thought.”

” In re-reading that paper, it also came to me that we have to find a way to deal with our new brother or sister coming, Whitney. I don’t know how, but we’ve got to find a way.”

” Yeah, I know. The kid is innocent, no matter how golly ed up the adults are. We need this vacation.”

” Defnitely. Well, I need a nap.”

” I’m going shopping with Theresa. See you later.”

Jessica was listening to music when Kay entered the room.

” Hey Jess. Can we talk?”

” Sure.”

” Jess, do you remember Mrs. Wakefield?”

“ She was an old P.E. teacher, right?”

” Yeah. Well, she helps runs programs for this charitable foundation. Well, I wrote to her, and told her about the problems with Mom and Daddy. And, she offered BOTH of us positions as Camp Counselors for the summer. Free room and board, plus we’re going to get paid. “

” Wow. I have to admit, I never thought about what I was going to do this summer. Having a job would be cool.”

” Plus, we’d be outdoors, enjoying the summer. “

” Yeah. So, where in Maine is the camp?”

” It’s not in Maine. It’s in Santa Barbara.”

” As in CALIFORNIA?”

“ Yep.”

” Kay..”

” Jess, the past few months have been REALLY hard. I think we both need a timeout from our lives. Jess, think about it. A few months in the California sun. I’m sure that there are plenty of good looking guys in Cali-four-I-A.”

” YOU talking about plenty of cute guys? What happened to Miguel?”

” I haven’t given up on Miguel. But, he doesn’t seem to want to give me what I need right now. Jess, please, we can have a great time. “

” What about Mom and Daddy?”

“ Knocked up Mom, and adulterer Daddy? Jess, we need a break.”

Jessica laughed. “ Kay, you are right. It’s not often that I say that, is it?”

Kay smiled and punched Jessica lightly in the arm. “ No, it’s not. But, we’ll always have one another – right?”

” Right.”
 

Sam Bennett walked into the church and sat in one of the back pews. He was saying a silent prayer when Father Lonigan came into the room.

” Hello Father Lonigan.”

” Sam Bennett, is that you?”

“ Yes.”

“ Your voice sounds heavy, Sam. What is wrong?”

” Besides my life, Father?”

“ I’m a good listener.”

” I know you are. And, to be honest, outside of my brother Hank, you’re the only one left. I used to have..”

” TC Russell. Yes, I know how close the two of you were.”

” Yeah. I’m confused about many things, TC being one of them.”

” The breakdown of your marriage being another?”

” Yes. And, I found out that the woman I broke my marriage vows for had a big part into why my marriage broke down. “

” I see.”

” And, right when I was going to wash my hands of her, I found out she’s pregnant.”

” Oh my. That is a quandary.”

” Father, what should I do?”

” Sam, you need to search your heart. Maybe you need to take a vacation.”

” Isn’t that running away?”

” Sometimes running away is the only way to gain proper perspective. “

” I do have weeks stored up of vacation time. “

” Maybe it’s time to take it.”