“I’m sorry, Eric, but your Aunt did something that was wrong and that we could not tolerate—”
“Mother, don’t you see? You’re saying that what Suzanne is doing is wrong and cannot be tolerated. How can you be surprised that she feels that you won’t tolerate her? That you won’t ever invite her here as you never did after that Thanksgiving with Aunt Mary? How can you wonder that Suzanne couldn’t take the chance that you and father would formally disown her like Grandpa and Grandma Nelson disowned Aunt Mary.”
“You know about that?”
“I told you, there’s a lot that Suzanne tells me and there’s a lot that Aunt Mary tells Suzanne. And, mother, I have spoken with Suzanne’s Kerry. She’s doesn’t seem as sweet as Suzanne but who is? But I can’t imagine that Suzanne would fall in love with someone who would be like you’re saying or whose mother would be like you’re saying about Kerry’s Mom.
“But here’s the thing. None of that matters.”
“Of course it matters,” Kate Nelson retorted.
“It doesn’t. Wherever Suzanne is she’s not here. Mother, she is not coming back. She is never coming back. She is happy. She is in love.”
Then it came out. “Do you think my going to Yale and not going to Stanford was because I want to go to New Haven? I need to get away too, just like Suzanne did.”
His mother was stunned.
“I love you and I love father. When I’m with you, though, I feel like I’m drowning. I know you are both trying your best. But I’m drowning here. And then I talk to Suzanne and I hear how happy she is and I want a piece of that happiness.”
“Fine,” was the response. “Go to your sister. Go to your Aunt. Just go.” And with that, his mother grabbed her keys, fled the kitchen, stormed out of the house, and drove away.
Sunday, 4:30 p. m.
While the two Nelsons spoke in California, Eileen was on the phone to Mary in New York. She reported that it went pretty much as they expected. Badly. It had to be done and now it would be up to Kate Nelson to decide whether she wanted to attempt to get back into her daughter’s life. Eileen said, “I’m not surprised but I hoped I could have established some connection with that woman.”
Mary said, “You haven’t met that woman. I have. Let me know what happens,” and the call ended.
Sunday, 4:40 p. m.
Back in Mill Valley after Kate Nelson stormed out, Eric sat in the kitchen. He was stunned. What had just happened? He did not mean to say any of that about himself and why we were heading east, true as it was. What happened?
He had to speak to someone. Not Suzanne.
“Hello, Mary Nelson.”
“Aunt Mary?” It was a tentative voice.
“Eric! My god. What’s wrong?” Eric would not be calling her unless something was wrong. She had just hung up with Eileen. It had to be something after Eileen’s call to Mill Valley.
“Do you have a minute? I need to speak to someone.”
“Eric, what is it?”
Eric told her about the conversation he had with his mother. He never called his Aunt before and only met her once, but he had asked Suzanne to give him her number “just in case.”
“This is more than I can handle. I didn’t mean to tell her about why I’m coming east but it just came out. I can’t talk to Suzanne just yet about it because…because it involves Kerry and her Mom and it’s spinning out of control.”
Fuck. Eric. They hadn’t thought about Eric. Now he’s freaking out, stuck in the house with just his parents. So Mary felt horrible for him and also worried that their whole screening-idea would blow up and things would be far worse than they were before Eileen made the phone call.
There was only one thing that Mary could say. She told Eric that she knew Eileen called his mother and that Suzanne did not know, that they were trying to get Suzanne and her mother to start at least talking again, and that they held out the hope, however slim, that they could actually meet. She said that whatever happened would happen soon and asked Eric to keep it to himself if he could and to call her at any time if he needed to speak to someone about it.
Eric said he felt better for knowing what the hell was going on and that he’d continue to keep as low a profile as possible and definitely would not tell Suzanne about it. “I just hope that I can have some semblance of a family again,” and with that, he hung up.
Sunday, 6 p. m.
It was about an hour-and-a-half after she’d finished her call with Mary when her phone rang. It was Kate Nelson. Eileen knew she couldn’t let it go although she had no idea what Kate would say or what she would say in response.
“Ellen?”
“Eileen.”
“Eileen. I spoke to Eric”—Mary had told Eileen of her call with her nephew so she wasn’t surprised—”and he admitted that some of what you say is apparently true. I do not understand, though, what you want from me. You want me to bless whatever is—” The voice was rising when it was cut-off.
“Kate, I have no idea what I expect you to do. At this point, I just want to talk like civilized people. Can we just try that?”