VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]



[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 16:22:46 06/29/14 Sun
Author: Lace
Subject: Living out fate Chapter 15

That same night
Harm and Mac's house

As soon as Harm had fallen asleep Mac got out of bed and dressed in sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Barefooted she walked downstairs with her mother's diary in her hand. She lit a lamp and found a blanket before she sat down and opened the diary.

Hours later Mac closed the diary and wiped away tears as she had done several times since she opened the book. In the start it had been tears of pain as she read about her mother's though childhood, a childhood that neither Deanne or Matt had talked about before, and Mac wondered if Matt even knew what his uncle had done to his sister from the age of seven to fourteen when he died of a heart attack.

The parts where Deanne had written about her life with Mac's father, it was clear that she in the beginning had thought that she'd found her savior, but then it turned out to be another hellish part of her life once she became a punching bag. Mac had had no idea how bad it had been, and she was surprised that her mother had been able to hide the worst parts about the beatings from her so well.

What surprised Mac the most was how her mother continued to make excuses about her father's drinking and violence and also how she blamed herself for not getting him some help. There was pages where Deanne described how she always felt like she couldn't manage to be a good mother and what a failure she felt that she was, which made make cry again.

At the end of the diary Mac felt relief as it was clear that her mother had been able to overcome her past and finally felt comfortable in her own skin.

“What are you doing?”'

Mac jumped by the sound of Harm's voice. She had been so preoccupied she hadn't heard him come downstairs.

“Nothing,” Mac stood. “I was just about to come upstairs actually.”

“Emily was awake, but she fell asleep again when she got the pacifier,” Harm said as he studied his wife. “Are you okay?”

Mac nodded. “I'm actually better than okay. I read my Mom's diary.”

Harm put his hand on the small of her back. “You should get some sleep.”

Mac smiled as she let him lead her upstairs. Just as she was about to slip into bed Emily started crying. “I better feed her.” She reached for the baby and sat down to feed her.

“You'll be tired tomorrow,” Harm said as he watched her feed the baby.

“It'll be fine, Harm,” Mac reassured. “I just couldn't put Mom's diary away once I started reading it.”

“Well, I'm going to sleep now,” Harm said with a tired smile. He kissed both Mac and Emily before he got comfortable and let sleep claim him.


The next morning
Matt's apartment

Mac smiled as her uncle opened the door. Mac had gotten up a little early that morning so that she would have time to talk to her uncle before she had to be at the office.

“Morning Uncle Matt.”

“What are you doing here this early?” Matt wondered as he stepped aside to let her enter.

“I needed to talk to you,” Mac said as she stepped into the cozy apartment.

Matt led Mac to the kitchen and asked her to sit down. He prepared a mug for her and pured coffee. “What's up Sarah?”

“Did you know what your uncle did to Mom?” Mac asked.

Matt nodded. “She confided in me the day he died. Good thing the bastard was already dead...”

“No one knew?” Mac wondered.

“She never told anyone else but me, I think. Our Dad wasn't paying much attention, and Mom was busy being perfect so that Dad wouldn't smack her around. Deanne tried to be as invisible as she could as a child, while I always tried to step into the line of fire whenever Dad was in a bad mood. We were never a perfect family,” Matt said with a shrug.

“You don't say,” Mac said thoughtfully.

“Do you remember Grandma?” Matt asked.

“Yes,” Mac smiled. “I remember this little old lady who'd teach me Farsi and make me read out loud from the Koran.”

“Her eyesight wasn't very good in the end,” Matt remembered. “I remember very well how you'd sit in her lap and read out loud. She was so proud of you. She always said that you would grow up and become someone great.”

“I don't remember that,” Mac said with surprise.

“She said it all the time. I think she was glad that my Dad wasn't around to tell you how women belonged in the kitchen. Deanne was barely allowed to go to school, Mom had to fight our Dad for it. He never understood why women needed to learn how to read. It was hard for Mom to go against him, since she was brought up in a very strict male dominant Iranian family it was natural for her to obey the man in the house.” Matt sipped his coffee thoughtfully.

“Mom speaks Farsi, but you don't. Why?” Mac asked.

“Dad didn't want me to waste any time learning,” Matt explained. “He didn't care about Mom's heritage. As far as he was concerned we were an all American family.”

Mac hesitated. “I'm glad Mom finally found some closure.”

“I am too,” Matt agreed. “I've always felt guilty for not doing more for Deanne. And for you.”

“Hey, don't even think that. If it wasn't for you I never would have joined the Marines, Uncle Matt. It's because of you that I am who I am,” Mac reached for her uncle's hand.

“You know how proud of you I am, right?” Matt asked.

“I know, Uncle Matt. I love you,” Mac said with a warm smile.

“I love you too, Sarah,” Matt said. “Now, get out of here before you make an old man cry.”

Mac laughed softly as she stood and hugged her uncle. “See you.”

“Have a good day,” Matt said as he watched her walk away.


That night
Harm and Mac's house

Mac had just put Emily down for the night and walked downstairs to see what Harm and Mattie were up to. She found them indulged in a game of scrabble so she grabbed the novel she was reading and sat down to finish it. It had been a busy day at work, but she had found the time to call her Mom and tell her that she had finished reading the diary. It had been a short conversation, but they had agreed that Deanne should come to visit again soon. Mac felt good about the situation with her Mom now and she felt the burden of her troubled childhood ease.

Mac moved her focus on to Harm and Mattie's game as she noticed their heated discussion about weather or not “duh” was a word, a discussion she had heard many times before when they played scrabble. She shook her head in amusement before focusing on her novel.

An hour later Mac felt Harm's hands on her shoulders. “Exciting book?”

“It's amazing,” Mac mumbled absentmindedly. “I just have one last chapter left.”

Harm sat down beside her and waited patiently until she was done and put the book on the table. “You should read it.”

“What's it about?” Harm wondered as he reached for it. “The book thief?”

“It's set in Germany during the second world war. It's about a young girl who steals a book. The narrator is death, which is very unusual, but effective I think,” Mac explained as she took Harm's hand. “Who won?”

“Mattie crushed me,” Harm said proudly as he opened the book to the first page.

“Don't read now,” Mac said teasingly as she took the book from him. “I want some attention.”

Harm smiled and put the book away. “You want to make out?”

“Yes, please,” Mac said s she leaned in and kissed him. “And maybe you could continue that massage you started?”

Harm laughed softly. “Yes, ma'am,” he said and kissed her deeply.

“Old people shouldn't do that,” Mattie said as she walked past them heading to her bedroom. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Harm and Mac both said before they again met in a sweet kiss.

“How about taking this upstairs,” Harm said with a clever smile as he trailed kisses down her throat and further down her neck.

“That's an excellent idea,” Mac agreed as she started standing.

Harm stood as well and took her hand. “Do you know how much I love you?”

“You know, I think I do,” Mac said and stepped closer to him. “You are a good man Harmon.”

“I hate it when you call me that,” he said, trying to sound annoyed.

Mac smiled. “I know you do.”

Harm led her upstairs. “Did you call you mom?”

“Yeah,” Mac said as she bent over Emily's crib. “ We're going to stay in touch.”

Harm watched as Mac bent down and kissed their daughter, he smiled. “Mother's and daughter's, father's and son's...”

“It's all very complicated, huh?” Mac said with a sweet smile.

“It is,” Harm agreed. “Well, madame, if you take off your clothes and lay down I will begin my massage.”

Mac smiled as she walked over to the bed. “A man of many talents.”

“I'll show you some more of my talents later,” Harm said with a sexy gleam in his eyes.


To be continued.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]



Replies:

[> Thanks for another chapter Lace, Deannes' diary an eye-opener for Mac. So sad. -- JoyZ, 00:27:40 06/30/14 Mon [1]


[ Edit | View ]
[> What a sad life Deanne had. Glad Mac and her are going to keep in touch. This story just gets better with every chapter. Can't wait for more. -- Beth, 09:12:18 06/30/14 Mon [1]


[ Edit | View ]
[> Mac's Mom managed to survive one horrible life just to have throuth another -- very sad. At least now Mac can understand her Mom better. Great chapter. -- carramor, 17:56:04 07/06/14 Sun [1]


[ Edit | View ]
[> [> Let's try that again. "...one horrible life just to have to live through another...." -- carramor, 17:57:21 07/06/14 Sun [1]


[ Edit | View ]



[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.