Page 48 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04
“Evidently those people were mistreating me, Daddy, and I decided I didn't want to be there anymore.Therefore, I quit,” she said.
“And what are you going to do with yourself?I mean, your Mamma and I went without helping pay for your college, and you just quit your job?”
“You did what parents who are able should have done,” Mae told him.“I have paid you back several times over.I have sent you and Mamma on several all-expense paid vacations, given your expensive watches, and more.Daddy, this is my time.I am looking at taking care of me.”
“How are you going to take care of yourself?I mean, do you have another job offer, Mae?I am at a loss for words here,” Rae Weston grumbled on the phone.
“I'm going to take a year, maybe more.I'm starting a garden, maybe have a few babies, Daddy, I don't know.For the first time in my life, I am in a position where I don't have to have the answers or a solution, nor do I need to sit and plan out the next five years of my life,” she told him.
“What do you mean, babies?You seeing someone that we don't know about?”
“I married someone you don't know about, and I moved from Chicago to Alton,” she told him.“In a week or so, we will come that way so you can meet my husband.”
“Hold the hell up!How are you going to disrespect me by marrying some man who wouldn't come to this house and look me in my eye?What kind of controlling, misogynist, have you tied yourself to that didn't have the respect to ask me for your hand in marriage?”
Mae had been through this huff and puff before with her father when she did bring a man home to meet the family.The experience had taught her to never do that again, which is why she’d opted to marry Thom and move on with her life.
“Daddy, I'm grown,” she told him.“I don't need your permission to do anything where my life is concerned, as you can see.And for the record, he wanted to come meet you and ask for my hand, but I chose to do it differently.”
“And why did you feel like we didn't deserve to meet this man?”
“Because you're the most unhappy, bitter, and resentful person I know,” she told him.“Fae is miserable.Her husband is miserable.Their kids are miserable.My mother is miserable living all these years with you, and in turn, you've made Jae into a bag of self-doubting, insecure, overcompensating parent who is in dire need of therapy.I quit the job, and I'm quitting you.”
Rae Weston held the phone.“What do you mean you're quitting me?”
“Daddy, when I walked out of that building, I didn't have a plan in mind,” she told him.“I went home, looked around that stupid apartment, and didn't want to be there either.I loaded my suitcases, grabbed my plants, and started driving.I arrived here on Monday evening.He married me on Tuesday morning, and today I am going to look for a reading chair to go by the living room window.”
“You still didn't explain the quitting me part,” Rae asked.
“The weight of being your daughter, living up to, or just trying to meet your expectations was killing me inside,” she told him.“I'm not going to become my mother.I'm not going to continue to work a job I hate like Fae, so I can stay in your favor.I’m not going to fall over myself to be a better parent because as a father, well, there were areas of improvement where you’re concerned.You did what you knew how and we are all here because of it.I am also grateful to you for showing me what to look for in a husband and I found it.However, I am stepping away.I am starting something new and I wake up every day with a smile.I like smiling.I'm happy.”
“Happy don't pay bills,” Rae snapped.
“No, but my husband does, and I'm not poor by any means,” she said.“Will you be happy for me, Daddy?”
“Happy is for children.”
“Your children are not happy, Daddy.I have a chance to be at peace with my life choices, and you don't even want that for me.You'd rather have me at your table each Sunday, miserable, filled with ulcers, so you can call the switchboard every Wednesday and brag to your slag friends about your successful daughter,” Mae said, feeling tired.“I'm quitting you, Daddy, and I'm going to go and be happy.”
“Mae?”
“Daddy, I'll call and let you know when we're coming to Chicago to get my things,” she told him.“You can meet my husband then.Love to Mamma.”
Mae ended the call and checked the coffee.She filled the carafe for Jep, then grabbed her keys.Thinking about it, if she found a chair, it wouldn't fit in her Audi, and she went inside to get the keys to the Subaru.
“Haha,” she said aloud.“Whodda thunk?”
For good measure, she called Megan, who answered on the second ring.“Hey girl, I'm going to look for a reading chair.You wanna ride along?”
“Heck, yeah!”
“Send me Jiminy's address and I'll swing by and grab you,” Mae said.
A moment later, the address came through, and she set off.Ready for a fun adventure, she and Megan explored sides streets and out of the way shops, finding treasures for both their homes.Pleased with her findings, at a local market Mae picked up a few apples which gave her an idea for a wonderful dessert.She dropped Megan at home with her goodies, making her way to add the chairs in front of the living room window and start dinner.
Mae had never considered herself the domestic type, but the was feeling good.
The house was a clean palate to decorate as she joyfully created an environment where they would raise their family.A wayward hand went to her stomach, thinking in the near future, Thom would come home to not only a pie coming from the oven, but her having one in the oven herself.The smile remained on her face when her phone rang, and it was her brother's ringtone.
