Robbie stirred.
“I gave him fair warning, I asked him to leave, he chose to ignore me and attack me, so…”
Angie nodded.
“I know, I heard you warn him at least twice. He’s lucky it was only his arm; it should have been his neck…!”
Casey looked closely at her mother.
“Mom, what’s happened, why aren’t you with dad?”
Angie looked at Casey, pale but resolute.
“Honey, your father and I are getting a divorce. After today, there’s no way I can remain married to that man, not after what I found out this afternoon, or the way he’s been behaving for years; today just brought it to a head. I’m sorry; I know you and he used to be close, now…”
Casey gave a bitter snort.
“Close, is that what you think? Really?”
She looked away, and Angie saw tears trembling on her eyelashes.
“Casey, what’s the matter, why are you crying, is it because of the divorce? We’ll still be your parents, you don’t…”
She trailed of as she saw Casey shake her head.
“I never want to see him again, Mom, not after what he did to me! And I don’t mean this…!” she touched her cheek. “Why do you think I hate coming home, why do you think he was so angry today? After what he did to me…!” She trailed off, choking back tears and burying her face in Robbie’s shoulder.
Angie stared at her in puzzlement, and then her mouth dropped open as understanding suddenly dawned on her.
“Oh God, no, oh no, not that, please…!” she begged, horror mounting in her eyes as Robbie slowly nodded, his eyes confirming what she feared the most.
“Baby, I’m so sorry, I never thought he could… why didn’t you tell me, I would have helped you, I would have believed you…!”
Casey grinned mirthlessly.
“Would you, Mom, after all we did to Robbie, would you have believed anything I said about dad? You never helped me look for your son, you never tried to find him, you just gave him up without a fight. I thought you knew about dad, I thought you gave me up as well, that’s why I never came to you, because I didn’t trust you. That’s how screwed-up this whole family is, and that’s why I have to go with Robbie; with him I have a chance for a new start far away from here and all this.”
Angie sat ashen faced, her discovery about Steve and now Casey’s rejection of her a double hammer-blow. She’d come here to ask for forgiveness, only to discover just how much she needed to be forgiven for; both her children had suffered at the hands of her husband, and both of them saw her as the one who’d rejected and neglected them. Her eyes brimmed and overflowed as the full extent of her children’s misery unfurled, and she found herself reaching out to them, needing physical contact to try and bridge the gaping chasm that opened between them.
Casey’s face slowly softened as she realised her mother wasn’t involved, she had truly been unaware and unsuspecting of what Steve had been doing to her. Casey also realised that Angie needed her daughter to forgive her for being so disconnected from what had been happening under her very nose. She climbed off the couch to kneel by her mother and take her outstretched hand.
“Mom, I’m sorry I was so harsh. For me it’s over now. I’ve got Robbie, and I don’t need or want revenge, or punishment, for dad; as much as he needs to suffer for what he did to me, that won’t accomplish anything; being with Robbie is enough for me, so all I want to do is let it go and move on. Robbie’s showing me how, because that’s how he survived, by learning how to be someone else, with a family that loved and cared for him.”
“He and I are going to be a family again, but a different kind of family this time, one where we love and care for each other. Accept that, Mom, and let him go properly; you can’t be his mom, you gave that away a long time ago, but you’ll always be mine, and still part of the family that Robbie and I will be, just not the way you want it to be. Take it or leave it, Mom.”
Angie blinked back tears as she realised the compromise Casey was offering her was as good as it was going to get. Robbie, her son Robbie, was irretrievably lost to her, but Casey was offering her a way to still be a part of his life. She looked up at him and saw him smiling at her, a good sign, the first time he’d done anything except stare blankly at her. Angie came to a decision. This would have to do; this was a way to keep a connection with her children, and maybe when enough time had passed she could attempt some sort of rapprochement, if and when the time was right. As she held Casey’s hand, her fingers found the antique engagement ring placed there by Robbie, and she smiled sadly as she realised what she had to do.
She stood, Robbie also rising to his feet and taking her hands when she reached out to him.
“Promise me, Robert Anderson that you’ll always look after my daughter.” she smiled through tear-blurry eyes, and was rewarded with a beautiful sunny smile from this tall quiet man her daughter loved so much.
“I will, I swear!” he grinned, looking into her eyes.
“Well go on, genius, hug your mother-in-law!” Casey stage-whispered as she nudged him, and his grin widened as he and Angie hugged each other properly for the first time in more than twenty years, Angie’s hug the more poignant as she both welcomed him and let him go forever.
++++
When Joey, Karen and Sarah returned from dinner, they were met with the sight of Casey, Robbie, and Angie chatting like old friends, faces wreathed in smiles, no sign of the animosity and anguish of earlier that day.
Angie rose, smiling, as they walked in, the first genuine smile Sarah had ever seen on her face.
“Sarah, Joey, I’m glad I saw you before I left. I wanted to apologise for this afternoon. My husband was completely out of line, and he got what he deserved. I also told him I wanted a divorce, and he’s not going to contest it, at least, not if he knows what’s good for him!”
“Joey, I’m sorry you and your mother were dragged into this, and that my husband never made any provision for you while you were growing up, so I’m sure the divorce settlement will include a substantial provision for you; just think of it as all the back-payments he should have been making to support his son… it will probably enable you to plan a very nice wedding and honeymoon! Casey, Robbie, I’ll see you soon, darlings, and remember, I love you both very much. Sarah, may I speak with you… in private, please?”
Sarah was intrigued; nice Angie was a new one for her, and she was curious to see what Angie could possibly want with her. Angie kissed and hugged Robbie and Casey, and then she and Sarah made their way to the porch, past an open-mouthed Joey and Karen, and a smiling Robbie and Casey.
Angie began.
“Sarah, I just wanted to tell you, you were right; about Robbie, I mean. I have no way to reconnect with him as my son, there’s nothing left there for me to pull back, and perhaps that’s for the best.” Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “It’s a painful, awful thing to admit, but I was a useless mother, and I lost him too long ago to fix it now; I really have no claim on him at all as a mother, I put nothing into him, and it was wrong of me to assume I could somehow just claim him back. But, as his mother-in-law, I still have a chance to be part of his life, that’s the option Casey gave me, and I accepted it. It gives me a way to be in his life, and to remain a part of Casey’s too, and the children they’ll have one day. You really are his mother now; Hell, you always have been, so please, do one thing for me; look after my baby.”
Sarah could see what this admission had cost her, and it tore at her heart too, but she knew Angie was right; it wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was a solution.
Angie dabbed at her eyes as she made to leave.
“I always envied you, Sarah, even if I couldn’t admit it to myself, you were always a better person than me, and I was too stupid or arrogant to ask you how you did it. But that part of you rubbed off on Robbie. What he is today, he owes to you, so thank you for being what he needed most of all. Now I can see what Casey loves so much about him. You did good, girl! And now, I’m off to make Steve Dolan’s life a miserable corner of Hell, wish me luck!”
Sarah smiled as Angie waved to her as she walked to her car, then Sarah went in to see to her family.
“Mom, just in time!” grinned Joey, as Sarah walked into the dining room. “Family Conference time, can we all be seated please, Robbie and I have something we think everyone needs to know about.”
Mystified, Sarah took a seat, getting an equally puzzled look from Casey.
Joey took the chair. “Mom, Casey, Robbie and I had a talk earlier today about something that I think affects us all. Robbie?”
Robbie took over. “Two weeks ago, my boss, Steve Vargas offered to make me a partner in GameStx.” Casey and Sarah looked stunned, Karen grinned and Joey just looked pleased with himself.
“So far I’ve held off on giving him an answer, because I was concerned about the direction we were heading in, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be part of that. Eventually I decided I would accept, but only on one condition.”
He drew a deep breath.
“I decided I’d accept only if Joey came with me as part of the deal. We need someone like him, someone to push the company into being an innovator. We have a high-quality team working far below their true potential, we have the talent on board to gun for the big boys, and I think Joey, with his background in business and marketing, and his experience and talent as a Business Analyst would be the one to do it for us. I intend to stipulate to Steve that Joey be brought in as Vice-President in charge of Commercial Affairs and Marketing with a salary commensurate with the position. I know that Joey is keen on the idea, but other things have to happen as well. Karen?”
Karen looked thoughtful, briefly drumming her fingers on the table in front of her.
“Joey and I discussed this briefly at dinner, and the fact is, I could transfer to the San Francisco office relatively easily; the new Claims Handling software is ready to be rolled out, I don’t see that doing it from there is any different to doing it from here, all my family lives in Southern California, so yes, I’m in favor. I’m in!”
Joey looked at Sarah.
“Mom?”
Sarah smiled at all of them.
“You don’t need my approval, I think my boys can make a grown-up decision without my help. For what it’s worth, I think it’s a good idea, and it’s a chance for both of you to stretch your wings a little. Good luck, all of you!”
Casey didn’t need to voice an opinion. Whatever Robbie decided, she would go along with it.
Joey stood up grinning.