Chapter Four
Applebee’s was extremely busy. Jason and Alex waited fifteen minutes for a table to open up. Every table and booth surrounding them had people eating and laughing gaily. The wait staff was extremely pleasant, if a little out of breath, and Alex couldn’t help but feel at ease in the carefree atmosphere of the place. When they were seated they started to go over every possible reaction Anne might have that they could think of. Jason thought his mother might just storm off in anger, leaving the restaurant in a huff. In which case, he figured they should rent a hotel room and call her later that night or in the morning to see if she’d calmed down enough to see reason. Alex, not knowing his mother very well, didn’t know what to expect, but she doubted it’d be as easy as her walking out. “She’s bound to say something,” Alex told him, but when he asked what she’d say, Alex could only shrug in uncertainty.
While Jason and Alex were waiting for her, Anne was taking her time and trying not to think about how frustrating it would be to have to share Jason’s attention. She resented Alexia’s presence, and she wasn’t entirely sure she could maintain a civil mien throughout lunch. It took her forty-five minutes to reach the restaurant. She frowned as the waitress showed her to the table and she noticed that Jason and Alex sat hand in hand, talking softly as she walked up. “It’s really busy in here,” she said, taking the seat across from Jason.
“Yeah,” he agreed. He waited for his mother to look through the menu. When she was ready, they ordered. Jason decided to wait until the food arrived before he breached the subject of the engagement with his mother, thinking that if her food was already on the table she’d be less likely to just get up and leave. She hated it when people wasted food, especially at restaurants. Jason let her make small talk for a good twenty minutes. She talked about the weather, her plans for the winter, and all the things that needed to be fixed at the house, which, she hinted, Jason could fix before he left. When she was halfway through her meal, he finally decided it was time to spill the beans. “Mom,” he said, clearing his throat, “I’ve asked Alex to marry me.”
“What?” she asked, nearly choking on a chip, “you did what?” Anne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It had to be a mistake. “You mean that as a joke, don’t you?” Anne looked at Jason in confusion. He couldn’t marry this girl.
“No Mom, it’s no joke. I’ve asked her to marry me,” Jason said calmly. He knew he had to control his temper; he didn’t want to make a scene, especially in such a busy restaurant. Houghton was a small town. Everyone and their neighbor would know what happened if things got out of hand here. No matter who was at fault, his mother would blame him for any stain on her reputation.
“But you barely know her,” Anne argued, looking at the silent girl who sat rigidly next to Jason in obvious distress. How dare he tell her this in a public place? He knew she wouldn’t approve of such a thing. Alexia wasn’t good enough for Jason. Not by half. She was a tiny, sniveling, little mousy haired tramp.
“Mom,
we’ve been dating over
a year,” he reasoned.
I won’t let her make me angry,
he thought to himself, taking a deep breath.
“That’s nothing,” she exclaimed, a bit more loudly than necessary. It was fortunate that the restaurant was so busy. Only a few people sitting at the neighboring tables could have heard her surprise. She’d dated Franklin for three years before they became engaged, and look how that had turned out. She couldn’t let Jason ruin his life by marrying someone that wasn’t good enough for him. Anne knew firsthand what happened when you married someone that was your inferior.
“We’ve been engaged almost six months, Mom. We were going to wait another six months before we got married, but we’ve changed our minds. We’re moving the date up. We’ll be married the first week of December,” Jason said, wincing at the look on her face. She looked outraged, anguished, surprised, and disappointed all at once. He didn’t want to cause her so much distress, but he wasn’t going to change his plans to please her, either. He wanted to marry Alex and nothing his mother said was going to stop him.
“You’re joking,” she said slowly. Hoping and praying that he wasn’t really telling her this. Married in December? How could he be so stupid? He was still too young, too naïve. He couldn’t possibly know what he really wanted, or what he was getting himself into. “Marriage isn’t just a few words, Jason. This is a serious commitment. You can’t really mean all this.”
“Yes I do, Mom. We’re getting married in December.”
“Why so soon?” she asked, looking from one to the other before a thought entered her mind, coiling around her like a snake. She looked at Alex coldly, “are you trapping him?” she accused with such malice that the girl actually seemed to wince. “You’re lying to him, telling him he got you pregnant so you can push him into marriage.” Anne looked at her reproachfully.
“What?” Alex asked, finally beginning to get angry. She’d been patient and calm while Anne berated Jason, insisting that their engagement must be some kind of joke, but this was the last straw. “You are the rudest individual I have ever met,” Alex said, breathing quickly. “I can’t believe Jason could be related to someone so cruel. How dare you?” Alex was finally pissed. She would never dream of trapping Jason. They’d been engaged six months, it’s not like they didn’t plan on getting married. When she found out she was pregnant, she recommended moving the wedding back, not wanting to be extremely far along on her wedding day. Jason was enormously excited about the baby, and he insisted on moving the wedding up. He didn’t want to wait until after the baby was born to get married. She was only six weeks along. They’d be married before she reached twelve weeks. She told Jason it wasn’t necessary, but he
wanted
to marry her.
“You slut! You have trapped him, haven’t you?” Anne said, going off the deep end. Her mind was wheeling. How could this be happening to Jason?
“That is enough!” Jason said loudly, looking at his mother in deepening rage. “I love Alex, mother. If you don’t like that, too damn bad. She is everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. She’s sweet, and kind, and we have some pretty amazing conversations. She loves me and I love her. Yes, she’s pregnant, but I asked her to marry me long before she ever conceived. Nobody else has a problem with this. Dad and Donna are excited; Alex’s parents are ecstatic, Rose and Michael are thrilled, and I’m beside myself with happiness about it all. What is your problem? Why can’t you be happy about this?” Jason spoke louder than he’d intended, but ignored the quieting of the restaurant.
“Everyone else knows?” Anne said slowly, feeling betrayed. Someone could have warned her that Jason had asked his unknown girlfriend to marry him. “Happy?” she said finally, her voice a mixture of anger and pain. “How could I be happy that she’s destroying your life; taking away your freedom? Of course Franklin and Donna are pleased; they want to get on your good side. Her parents are happy? No surprise, they’re probably poor white trash: glad she found a sugar daddy to provide for them all. Your brother and sister don’t know what they’re talking about, they’re too young to know, and you’re completely deluded if you think she’s as innocent and wonderful as she pretends to be with you. How do you know the baby is even yours?” Anne asked derisively.
Alex wasn’t sure if she should scream or cry. “You evil, bitter woman. No wonder Franklin left you. It’s amazing he lasted as long as he did. I pity you. It’s tragic that you can’t work up any excitement about your coming grandchild. My parents wouldn’t prefer that I got pregnant before the wedding, but they’re excited about the baby. Everyone is. Why can’t you be? What is so very wrong with you that you can’t appreciate this blessing?” Alex pushed against Jason. “Please, let me out,” she said choking back sobs. Her parents were white trash? Her father was retired military, her mother was a stay at home Mom. How dare she? Alex had never been so insulted and humiliated in her entire life. She’d met some pretty rotten people, but this woman took the cake. Jason moved out of her way, anger radiating from him, but Alex gave him little thought as she rushed past the tables of staring people to find the restroom.
Anne sat stunned, momentarily frozen by the force of the girl’s accusations. “How could you let her speak to me like that?” she whispered finally. She couldn’t believe Jason hadn’t defended her against the girls’ claims.
“Speak to you like what? Tell you the truth? We all know that you’ve become a mean, bitter, woman that no one wants anything to do with. How dare you talk to
my
fiancée like that? How dare you? How do you live with yourself? You have no right to criticize my decisions. Destroying my life? She’s the
best
thing that’s ever happened to me. She taught me to live for myself and to slow down enough to
enjoy
my life. How do I know the baby is mine? She was a virgin, Mom, that’s how I know, not that it’s any of your business. She’s honest, and pure, and more perfect than you could ever imagine. I know it’s my baby because she’s been living with me for nearly six months, and because she told me it’s mine. Maybe you doubt everyone in your life, but I don’t.” Jason tossed money on the table. “I can’t believe you.”
“Where are you going?” Anne asked weakly.
“The hell away from you. I’m going to find my fiancée and make sure she’s okay. Then I’m going to find a hotel where I can sleep in the same bed with my fiancée without being treated like I’m some kind of rotter, and tomorrow I’m taking Alex home, as far away from you as possible.”
“When is the wedding?” Anne asked slowly. She remembered Jason saying something about December, but she wasn’t sure if he’d actually told her the date or the weekend.
“Don’t worry about it, Mom. You’re not invited. Not anymore.” Jason turned to walk away.
“Jason, please,” Anne said softly, almost pleadingly.
“No, Mom. You’re not welcome around me, Alex, or the baby,” his voice was cold and empty.
“Jason, I didn’t mean…” Anne stuttered. She never meant to make Jason so angry. She’d only been trying to help him see reason. He didn’t know anything about Alex. He couldn’t really be certain of her in so short a time.
“Yes, you did. I’m not changing my mind. Maybe Alex will take pity on you, but I won’t.” Jason walked away, looking worriedly for Alex. He was nearly to the bathrooms when he heard her crying. He knocked on the door softly. “Alex?” he said gently. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she coughed, “I’m fine, just angry and hurt.” Alex didn’t bother standing up. She sat on the floor in the bathroom stall where she’d run for refuge. She knew Jason would find her. He was always there for her.
Jason looked at the waitress by the front door, as if asking for permission to enter the women’s restroom. She nodded sympathetically. Apparently the entire restaurant had heard their discussion. No big surprise there, since his mother was yelling. He went inside and knelt by Alex on the tile. Her cheeks were stained with the tears that were still falling, her eyes red and puffy. She sobbed as he took her into his arms, cuddling her against his chest. “It’s okay, honey. Don’t listen to her, she’s crazy and miserable,” he said, rubbing her back.
“Why couldn’t she have been happy about the baby? I don’t understand. Even if she didn’t like me at all, how could she be so uncaring about her grandchild?” Alex sniffled and wiped her eyes.
“I don’t know, Lexi. I really don’t,” Jason said gently. “Come on, let’s get you off this cold floor. I grabbed our bags from the house before we left. We’ll stay at a hotel tonight for some R&R, and in the morning we’ll go home,” he said, urging her to stand. She was shaking, her hands ice-cold from the bathroom floor as he pulled her to her feet and into his embrace.
Anne walked through the bathroom door in time to see Jason pull Alex in close. She looked at Jason, holding Alex ever so tenderly in his large hands. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to admit that Alex had described her accurately, but she couldn’t deny it either. As she sat alone in their booth, everyone casting discreet glances at her, clearly horrified by the things she’d said, Anne knew she’d been wrong to make such a scene. She might not like Alex, but that was no excuse, not really. Anne cleared her throat. “I know you can’t or won’t forgive me right now, but I shouldn’t have said those things here, in public. I’m sorry.” Anne turned on her heel and walked out the door without another word, Jason and Alex staring after her in surprise and confusion. Jason knew his mother wasn’t asking him to forgive what she said, just where she said it. She believed every word she uttered. It almost made it worse that she apologized for saying it in public.