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A Mississippi
River Romance Rebuilding a Dream! by Andrea Lena DiMaggio
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Previously...
"Rick's brother Danny is going to do the roof...he's doing it for free." Adele almost bragged about the young man's offer even though she almost wished he'd renege on his promise; another reason to feel angry at Rick and another reason to feel insecure about herself.
"Rick was a jerk...I don't know why you keep getting involved with guys like him." Jerry had a lot more insight and understanding about relationships that you'd expect a fourteen year old to display.
"You keep going back to the same place, sis. I don't know why, but you've gotta let it go. Every since you had your operation....you act like there's something wrong.
"There is something wrong."
Jerry had a way about him...something that told his mother and his sisters that it was not only okay but expected to let him help...to fall into his arms and cry without worry. Something about him that made things safe. He was tender and wise beyond his years, and Adele never failed to fall apart...in a good way...whenever he asked her about herself.
"I think Rick just knows that things....things will never be right between us. Oh, God Jerry...I really fucked up...I should never...." Adele began to sob.
"Shhh...shhhh...you're my hero....I look up to you....every single day....I don't know what I'd do without you." Jerry patted her on the back and stroked her hair. She shook in his arms.
"Come on...let's go inside and I'll put the coffee on and make you breakfast, okay? French Toast" He almost sang "french toast," causing her to laugh through the tears.
"Ohhhhokay." She breathed deeply and sighed.
"Jerry...Am I crazy?" She cried softly as they walked up the steps and into the house.
"No more than me, sis....no more than me."
A few minutes later...
The car pulled up and stopped in front of the dumpster. A girl got out of the passenger side and stood at the door of the car, looking frustrated.
"I'll call you later..." She staggered a bit as she made her way to the porch steps.
"Busted! Miri...where the hell have you been?" Jerry walked up to her. His big sister and he were almost identical, seeing how she was only sixteen minutes older than him.
"Jeez, Miri, have you been drinking?"
"No...Jer...fuck...I forgot my meds...Jerry...you have to help me...Mom is going to kill me!"
"No, honey...just ground you forever," the stern voice spoke quietly from the porch behind her.
"Oh, fuck." Miri looked up and saw her mother's face. She wasn't angry, but her look barely contained her sadness.
"Honey...Watch the tongue, okay?" Miri hated it when her mother 'understood;' facing wrath was so much better than seeing her mother cry over her behavior. Guilt wasn't a part of her vocabulary but remorse was slowly creeping into her heart. She put her head down for the thousandth time, hoping that would be enough to placate her mother. It wasn't.
"I want you to come in here right now and sit yourself down on the couch. I'll be in a moment." Miri ran up the steps and into the house, squeezing uncomfortably past her mother in the doorway. Giada smiled at her warmly as she past. Why couldn't she frown or glower like most mothers?
"I'm sorry, Mommy." She said as she plopped herself down on the couch.
"I know you are." Giada said as she stepped further on the porch and greeted Jerry as he came back up the steps.
"My mother told me never to have girls. Well, I got that mostly right, I thought." She tossled his hair and laughed.
"I'm so glad that you're my boy." She smiled and walked into the house. Jerry looked back out off the porch and sighed before walking into the house.
Could you tell me what more do I need
And tomorrow`s just a mystery, oh yeah
But that`s ok
The Pearson house, Afton, Missouri....about the same time...
"Thanks for taking care of that for me, bro," Rick said as he sat down to breakfast. His mother put some sausage and eggs in front of him.
"Got any toast, Mom?" She nodded and walked over to the counter.
"I'm not taking care of it for you, Rick, in spite of what you may believe." Danny walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek.
"Can't stay..." He laughed as he grabbed the toast out of her hands and poured some coffee into a travel mug.
"Vinnie and I just got the compressor from Ted and we're heading over to the Magliano's."
"Maybe I should make you some lunch, honey?" Julia Pearson said to her middle son.
"S'okay, Mom... I'm taking Vinnie over to Zuber's at lunchtime to pick up some sheet music, so we'll just eat something out." Danny hated fibbiing to his mother. Well, at least the 'cover story' was true.
"You owe Adele a huge apology. You should never have started it, knowing how you feel." Danny turned and swatted the back of Rick's head.
"If anything, she…and I use that term loosely...owes your brother an apology." Julia frowned and patted Rick on the back.
"What? Why, mom? Because she didn't start out...she's a great girl, and your son...my brother is an idiot."
"Don't pick on him. I don't understand why anyone would want to do that. Just doesn't make any sense. At any rate she should have told him right from the start."
"She helped him get his GED and acceptance into SLCC, Mom! And why she did what she did is her business, not mine, and certainly not Rick's after what he pulled."
"Hey…Wait a second, bro...Don't start that shit on me. She got plenty out of it as well."
"Oh…You let her give you head…How fucking kind," Danny thought, but instead said,
"Well, I guess you're the Prince of St. Louis for that…Grow up." Not an easy thing for the middle son to tell his older brother.
"Well, it still bothers me, is all. I'm sure glad my boys turned out okay." Julia shrugged and poured Rick a cup of coffee.
"If turning out okay meant a son who was as selfish as the day was long, a cripple, and a boy who was hurting inside all the time? Then we're all set, Mom," Danny thought. He kissed her once again and actually smiled a warm smile at Rick. He loved his brother; he just didn't like him all that much.
"Where's Vinnie?" Julia asked.
"I didn't expect to be this long, Mom…He's in the truck. We'll be back at dinner time, okay?" She kissed him on the cheek and patted it.
"Danny?" Rick looked up from his eggs.
"Let me....Give me a sec and I'll come over and help." He sighed and dropped his fork onto the plate.
"I've got to run a couple of errands and there's no room in the truck right now. Give me an hour and I'll come back over and get you, okay." Danny wasn't sure whether Rick felt ernestly convicted or if he just felt embarrassed in front of his mother. Danny was willing to take either at this point, since they both would likely end up leading him to the same destination: change. He smiled once more and walked out to the truck.
"Mom can't know anything about this." Vinnie looked at his brother who just nodded.
"I mean if she finds out I'll just kill myself." Danny nodded again.
"How are you going to hide the bill?"
"I don't have to...she already knows I'm going to Dr. Phillips for depression and she won't check the dates."
"Yeah, between you and her and me, we're keeping the mental health profession busy, but at least mine is covered by the US of A. Knock on titanium!" Danny laughed and banged his leg with the hammer he pulled off the dash board.
"Just be sure you change before we get back to the Magliano's, okay. They'll certainly understand, but we don't want to alarm the neighbors." He smiled and patted Vinnie on the shoulder.
"I can't tell you what this means to me, Danny." Vinnie looked at this brother before looking out the window of the truck as they pulled out of the driveway. On a Saturday morning he was happy for two things. Dr. Phillips had agreed to meet him on Saturday mornings, and Vinnie was very glad that at 7:48am, no one would notice that Danny was driving his baby....sister to therapy.
I`m alone, on my own, and that`s all I know
I`ll be strong, I`ll be wrong, oh but life goes on
I`m just a girl, trying to find a place in
This world
Back at the Magliano home….
“What possessed you to stay out all night, Miri? Please…I need to know what’s going on.” Giada sat on ottoman facing the couch. Adele sat next to her sister, her head propped up on her arm against the back of the couch.
“I just wanted to have some fun. Jerry gets your attention all the time…all the fucking time, Mom. It’s like he’s the golden child and we don’t count.” She pointed to Adele.
“That’s not true….” Giada said it with little conviction; she knew that Miri was at least partly correct.
“Isn’t it? Mom…I can’t help what happened to Daddy. But you can’t be everything just for him. We need you, too.” Adele shot her a look that almost said, “Speak for yourself.”
“Don’t give me that…you even more so, Sis.” She emphasized the word “sis’ which brought.
“That’s not fair…way unfair, Miri.” Adele bit her lip and looked away.
“Oh. Fuck…I didn’t mean it that way…It’s just that we’re…Mom…you don’t even know what the fuck is going on in your own home.”
“I guess that’s why we’re sitting here right now, isn’t it,” Giada said bitterly. Mario had never been much of a father to begin with; leaving almost all of the parenting to Giada except for the strap. When she became sober enough to realize what was going on things changed after Mario abandoned them.
“It’s really my fault we’re where we are. I’m sorry for everything I failed to do, but I can only make up so much ground so fast.” She looked between the two who reluctantly nodded, but Adele added.
“I know…I just miss….I know I’m not a little girl anymore, but I still need you. I didn’t stay out all night, Mom. Tiffany’s Mom invited me over for dinner and we got talking. We just lost track of time. Check the messages…I bet you’ll find one from me.” With the confusion of the morning’s events, it hadn’t occurred to her. Giada got up and walked over to the phone. After a moment she sat down, her face red, but not from embarrassment.
“I’m sorry…I should have trusted you…especially you, Miri. It hurts me that you had to go to Christina to get some Mom time. It’s just been so hard.”
“I know, Mom, but I’m not going to get younger and smaller, and neither is Jerry. He’s got some serious problems, and you’d be better off listening to him than telling him what a good boy he is.” Adele shook her head.
“But he is a good boy…He’s everything in a son that a mother could hope for.” She looked at them both with pleading eyes; what more could they expect.
“Mom….you’re not listening…It’s not that he’s not a GOOD boy…it’s that….” Miri began to cry.
“It’s not that he’s not a GOOD boy….” A voice nearly identical to Miri’s came from the stairs, which creaked at the footfalls.
“It’s that I’m a good girl.”
Giada turned to see Miri’s twin standing at the foot of the steps, dressed in a copper blouse and tan corduroy mini over brown tights.
“That you are, sis, that you are,” Adele said as Jerry burst into tears.
Got the radio on, my old blue jeans
And I`m wearing my heart on my sleeve
Feeling lucky today, got the sunshine
Could you tell me what more do I need
And tomorrow`s just a mystery, oh yeah
But that`s ok
Maybe I`m just a girl on a mission
But I`m ready to fly
Next: Discovering Hope!
A Place in This World
Words and Music by
Taylor Swift, Robert Ellis Orrall,
and Angelo Petraglia
as performed by Taylor Swift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnMv6eRh38g
Comments
Life's a Bitch
Then you die.
'Drea,
Maybe you could write a story about a church going family. Dad works nine to five. The children are 'A' students, and belong to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. They wait at street corners to help little old ladies across the street. Mom does the house work and goes to the garden club. She starts dinner so that it will be ready shortly after her husband and the children get home. Of course, there's a freshly made drink waiting for the husband. After dinner, the children do their homework, then quietly play together, so they don't disturb their parents' television.
The children get ready for bed, brush their teeth, kiss their parents good night. After a while, the parents go to bed. She is having her period, but she takes care of her husbands needs.
NOOOOO! You have to write about real people with real problems. What sort of escapism is there in that?
Portia
Portia
How did I miss the first chapter of this?!?
How did I miss the first chapter of this?!? Well, I've caught up now. :-)
You're setting up some interesting characters and I can't wait to see where you go with this. I'm guessing there will be tears from me in the not too distant future!
I loved the musical choices for these chapters as well.
Looking forward to more.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
not a good boy
“It’s not that he’s not a GOOD boy….†A voice nearly identical to Miri’s came from the stairs, which creaked at the footfalls.
“It’s that I’m a good girl.†Well put. nice chapter hon.
I said
ALISON
'after the first chapter that this was going to be another great story and I wasn't wrong! A real story about real people.
ALISON
A Mississippi Romance - Part 2
This story is well worth reading with all of the family dynamics.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Very nice chapter
Very nice chapter Drea,
Looking forward to part 3.
Hugs,
Kristy
Just Like The Simpsons?
Sorry 'drea, that's facetious, but there are these families with lots of problems, and it would seem as if they are positively bursting with TG children.
I'm not complaining because it's interesting and you always manage to put a spin on the situation.
Keep on keeping on,
Joanne