Read Online Under Construction by J. A. Armstrong - Free Book Online Page A

were my own flesh and
blood,” Pearl said. Marianne braced herself. “Candy is as much my daughter as
my own two children. You are a mother,” Pearl said.
    “Yes,”
Marianne agreed.
    “What
would you do to protect Spencer?”
    “Anything,”
Marianne answered honestly.
    “Mm. Glad
we agree on that. I feel the same way. And, how would you feel if Spencer tried
to tell you how you and Rick should live your lives?” Pearl asked.
    “That’s
ridiculous,” Marianne said.
    “Really?
You seem to think you know how your mother should live hers.”
    “Grandma,
she’s not… You can’t tell me….”
    “I can
tell you that whatever happens with your mother and Jameson is between them.”
    “You
don’t honestly think this is a good idea?” Marianne asked in disbelief.
    “I’m
not certain what this is. I am
certain that your mother is happy, happier than I have seen her in many years.
If you really care about her, you will stop trying to undermine that.”
    “I
don’t want to see her get hurt,” Marianne said softly.
    Pearl
guided the younger woman to a chair off in the distance and sat down beside
her. “I know,” she said softly.
    There
were things that Pearl understood about this family that no one else did. She
had the advantage of being able to watch them all as they grew. Michelle and
Jonah had not seen a great deal of what Marianne had. What they had witnessed
in their mother’s relationships, they often did not understand. It had been
Marianne who found her mother crumpled on the floor after discovering Jessica’s
affair. It had been Marianne who had caught her father with another woman while
Candace was away in Washington. Marianne’s tactics were often brash. It made
her appear self-centered. In fact, Pearl and Candace both understood that
Marianne’s brazenness was often a cover for her fear and sensitivity.
    “I
don’t want to see her like that again,” Marianne whispered.
    “And,
you don’t want to lose her,” Pearl surmised. Marianne looked up in shock. “Oh,
I know you, sweetheart. I changed your diapers. I watched you with your mother.
You fool them all….even her sometimes. You don’t fool me, Spitfire,” Pearl
called the younger woman by her childhood nickname. “Not one bit.”
    “You
didn’t see her,” Marianne said.
    “Oh,
but I did,” Pearl said. “I saw her scraped knees. I sat at her wedding. I held
her hand when she went into labor…three times…”
    “I
meant….”
    “I know
what you meant,” Pearl interrupted Marianne. “I held her the first time she
caught your father cheating on her.” Marianne winced. “I rocked her the night
Jessica moved out. If you are lucky, you will get to do all those things with
your children,” Pearl said. “To me, Candy is still the little girl who sat on
the kitchen counter. I know she’s not, but that is who she is to me. I would do
anything to protect her. I also know that she doesn’t need protection from
Jameson.”
    “How
can you say that?” Marianne asked. “What happens when…”
    “What
happens when she loses an election? What happens when she gets sick or Jameson
does? What happens when, what? There is no what happens when, Marianne.”
    “I just
can’t imagine that…”
    “You
don’t need to. You do need to let this go. Whatever this fear you have about
Jameson and your mother is. No one will ever replace you, or Spencer,” Pearl
said. Marianne looked up and swallowed hard. “My kids certainly didn’t replace Candy….and their children take nothing away from any of you.”
    “It’s
different,” Marianne said.
    “No,
Spitfire. It isn’t.”
    “I
just…”
    “You
just need to apologize to your mother.   Stop trying to be her mother and just tell her you love her for once.”
    “She
knows that,” Marianne said.
    “Yes,
she does. But that doesn’t mean she couldn’t use to hear you say it,” Pearl
said. “As for the rest; I think you had better start finding a way to accept
Jameson. No