Coulson's Crucible Page 16

  “What the fuck have you done to my son?” Harrison roared. Monica winced and Garret, now sitting up, protectively wrapped his arm around his bride’s shoulders.

  “Stop yelling, Dad,” Garret told him. Squinting his eyes, his head pounded.

  Ignoring Garret’s request, Harrison continued to shout—hurling obscenities at Monica—calling her a scheming bitch and whore. Vera ran upstairs in tears while Randall attempted to get everyone to calm down. Monica was now crying, and Garret shouted back at his father. Randall managed to get between his son and grandson, telling Garret he needed to go until his father calmed down.

  “I’m going to kill that bitch,” Harrison fumed to his father. The pair sat in the library. Garret and Monica were no longer at Coulson House, and Vera was still in her room crying. Russell had slept through the drama, yet it didn’t take much effort to get the story from one of the kitchen staff who had overheard the ruckus.

  “No, Harrison. You are going to calm down. The boy will simply get it annulled.” Randall sat stoically in his leather chair while Harrison paced the room in a fit of agitation.

  “Why aren’t you upset?” Harrison asked.

  “If I’m upset with anyone, it’s you, Harrison. She was your mistress. You initially brought her into this family, Garret didn’t. What were you thinking getting her a job with the caterer during the Christmas party?”

  Sheepishly, Harrison looked at his father. “You’re right. I was foolish. That’s why I broke it off the next day. I realized it was out of control.”

  “Would have been nice had you broken it off before the Christmas party.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m going to go upstairs and speak to Vera.”

  Harrison found his wife upstairs in her bedroom, sitting on the side of her bed. She had stopped crying but was drying the corner of her eyes with a tissue. She looked up when he walked into her room.

  “Are you okay?” Harrison asked.

  “She was your mistress, wasn’t she?” Vera asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Younger than the others, Harrison.” Vera took a deep breath then exhaled.

  “I broke it off with her.”

  “Well, I would assume so.” She glared up at her husband. “Since she’s now our daughter-in-law!”

  Chapter 27

  Garret knocked on Monica’s apartment door. It had been over 48 hours since his parents and grandfather had discovered them on the sofa. He hadn’t seen Monica since dropping her off at her apartment, after leaving Coulson House.

  “I was wondering when you’d come by,” Monica said after opening the front door. “Come on in.”

  Garret followed her into the living room.

  “You want a cup of coffee?” she asked, before sitting on the couch.

  “No thanks.” Garret looked around the room. He knew his father had paid for her apartment.

  “I still have a headache. How about you? Go ahead, sit down,” Monica told him. She wore denims and a T-shirt. With her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked even younger than before.

  “Thanks,” Garret sat down.

  “So, is your dad still screaming? I was really afraid he would come over here.”

  “I don’t think he will. I told him not to bother you.”

  “So, what are we going to do?” Monica asked.

  “Well, my grandfather and father have been on my case all day about getting the marriage annulled.”

  “Yeah, I figured that. Umm… I have a question… did we… you know… have sex?” Monica asked.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No, it’s all kind of a blur.”

  “Well, not after we said our vows. But before, at the airport…in the car…while waiting for the pilot. Yeah. Sorry.”

  “Oh fuck.” Monica rubbed her temple with the heel of her hand.

  “I’m sorry, Monica. Honestly.”

  “It isn’t your fault. I’m as much to blame. Did you use a condom?”

  “We did, but I seem to recall it fell off in the middle of things. We were rather…umm…anxious to continue, I don’t remember a second one.”

  “Can we still get an annulment since we had sex?”

  “I don’t know. But I think we should wait. Just in case you’re pregnant.”

  “If I’m pregnant, your father is going to kill me.”

  “Fuck my father.”

  “I did that already. That’s what got me into this mess.”

  “When do I get to meet your wife?” Russell asked Garret. It was Saturday and the two brothers were playing golf.

  “I told you, you aren’t going to meet her. And I hope you aren’t telling people I got married.” Garret climbed into the golf cart, waiting for his brother to join him.

  “No, but I heard it from Regina.” Russell climbed into the cart.

  “She’s the new girl working in the kitchen?” Garret steered the cart to the next hole.

  “Yeah. I have a feeling she likes to talk.”

  “Well, she won’t keep her job long. You know how mom is about the staff gossiping about family business.”

  “I know. So what’s the deal? Dad says it was just one of your stunts, and you’re getting it annulled.”

  “Dad doesn’t know shit.”

  “So do you love her?”

  “Russell, can we please talk about something else?”

  “I’m not pregnant,” Monica told Garret when he arrived at her apartment on Sunday.

  “You sure?” Garret asked. Monica rolled her eyes and showed Garret into the apartment.

  “So are your parents freaking out, us still not doing anything about the marriage?”

  “Pretty much.” Garret sat with Monica in the living room. “I swear, if I hear my father say annulment one more time I’m going to stay married to you.

  “Well I think I have something to say about that.”

  “What do you plan to do—after?” Garret asked.

  “Leave Coulson. There’s nothing for me here. But I confess….this may sound strange…but I wish we could get a divorce instead of annulment.”

  Garret’s inquisitive expression startled her.

  “Oh no, I am not saying that because I want alimony or anything. Honest. I don’t want anything from you. This was my fault as much as yours. Annulments…well I always thought they were something people got who wanted a free pass to have sex.”

  “That… well is a little odd... considering…”

  “Considering I was sleeping with your father? Yeah, I know,” Monica admitted.

  “Actually, I’d be okay with a divorce. Might take a little longer.”

  “Is that because your father wants you to get an annulment?”

  “What do you think?” Garret asked.

  “You wanted to talk to me, Grandfather?” Garret asked as he entered Randall’s office at Coulson Enterprises.

  “Yes, go ahead and sit down, Garret.”

  Garret took the chair facing Randall’s desk.

  “I’ve been pleased with your work here. I’m very impressed.”

  “Thank you.” Garret smiled.

  “Now, if we could just get your private life in order.” Randall eyed his grandson with keen interest.

  “Is this about the annulment again? If so, I think I’ll get back to work.” Garret started to stand up.

  “No, sit down, young man. I’ll tell you when you can go.”

  With a sigh, Garret sat back down.

  “I want you to know I blame your father more than you.”

  “You do?” Garret was surprised.

  “I know your grandmother was upset when your father married your mother. I suppose the conditions weren’t ideal.”

  “Because she was pregnant with Harrison?”

  “Things like that happen. And it worked out. She gave him three sons. Three fine sons. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

  “Even if I’m one of those sons?” Garret asked.

  “I’ll admit, you’ve
been the wildest of the bunch. But you might end up being the smartest. That is of course, if you can stop doing stupid things.”

  Garret laughed.

  “So, are you going to get an annulment, or are you going to stay in this marriage to punish your father.”

  “Is that what I’m doing?” Garret asked.

  “Isn’t it?”

  Garret shrugged. “I was thinking of getting a divorce.”

  “Divorce? Why? I imagine that would take longer and cost more money. But if you keep putting it off, it might end up being your only option.”

  “I have my reasons, Grandfather.”

  “It might mean alimony. You don’t want that.”

  “She doesn’t want any.”

  “What does she intend to do after the marriage ends? Is she staying in town?”

  “She says she wants to leave. I don’t know where she intends to go.”

  They were silent for a few moments as Randall considered the situation.

  “I’ll tell you what. Let me talk to my attorney, get the divorce going. I’ll cover all the expenses—he’ll make sure you won’t have any future support problems. And I’ll give her a settlement, to help her start a new life.”

  “Why would you do that, Grandfather?”

  “You’re my grandson, Garret. I protect what’s mine.”

  “Can we not tell my father…until it’s over?”

  “You want to let him stew about it longer?” Randall asked.

  “I suppose.”

  “Fine. It’ll be between us. Harrison doesn’t have to know the details. When the divorce is final, you can tell your father.”

  “Okay. But I’m going to tell my mother this afternoon.” Garret told him.

  “That might be a good idea.”

  Garret’s arrival at Coulson House surprised Vera. Sitting in the sunroom reading a magazine when he arrived, she was the only member of the family at home. It was the first time they had seen each other since she had found him on the couch with Monica.

  “Garret,” Vera closed the magazine and set it on her lap. “I’m surprised to see you. How are you… how is your wife?”

  “That’s why I’m here Mother. We need to talk.”

  Vera nodded and then tossed the magazine on the floor. She watched as Garret took the chair across from her.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said.

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately,” he said under his breath.

  “Excuse me?” She hadn’t heard what he had said.

  “It doesn’t matter. I want to explain what happened and why.”

  “Are you staying married to this woman?”

  “No. But for now, I would appreciate it if you not say anything to Dad. Grandfather is arranging a divorce, and Monica has agreed to everything. She wants out of this fake marriage as much as I do. She plans to leave town.”

  “Why not an annulment?”

  “We have our reasons, but that’s not important. I just want to tell you why it happened.”

  “I think I can guess,” Vera told him. “Your father broke it off with her, you two—for whatever reason—got drunk together and came up with the brilliant idea of getting married to punish your father.”

  “Wow. That pretty much sums up the situation.”

  They were silent for a few moments.

  “I wonder,” Vera said sadly. “Why can’t our family have normal marriages?”

  “Normal? I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Like other couples I see. Happy marriages, where they are both friends and lovers. It seems impossible in this family.”

  “Well, there was Grandfather and Grandma Mary Ellen.”

  Vera reached out and briefly touched her son’s knee. “Your grandmother never liked me. I suppose I can understand why. She always believed I had some devious plans for her only son. But the fact was, her marriage with your grandfather was peculiar. Perhaps just as peculiar as mine…and yours.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. I was just hoping my sons’ marriages would be different.”

  Chapter 28

  What would have been Garret and Monica’s first wedding anniversary came and went with little notice. The divorce was finalized months earlier and several weeks before that, Monica moved from Coulson. While Garret put his unfortunate marriage behind him, the tension between him and his father lingered.

  In December of 1970, Richard Nixon was preparing to start his third year as President of the United States. American military personnel continued to die in Vietnam, and Tommy, Ryan, and Russell were in their first year of college. Russell was at Harvard while his two childhood friends attended state college.

  It was Christmas Eve and they reached Coulson an hour later than they had originally estimated, due to a traffic accident on the highway. Driving in Tommy’s Volkswagen bug, Tommy and Ryan were anxious to get home for Christmas break.

  “So you didn’t hear from Russell?” Ryan asked as they pulled into Coulson.

  “I called and left a message, but I never heard from him,” Tommy explained.

  “I’ll call his parent’s place when we get in town, see if he’s home for Christmas. Can’t believe he wouldn’t come home.”

  “Speaking of the devil!” Tommy called out a moment later. He switched lanes and started following a Cadillac; it was pulling into a convenience store parking lot.

  “Is that the Coulson’s Caddy?” Ryan asked. It was impossible to see who was driving the car, considering the distance and darkness. The Cadillac had passed them a moment earlier.

  “That was Russell,” Tommy explained. He drove the Volkswagen into the parking lot and pulled up next to the Cadillac, which had just parked and turned off its engine.

  “Hey, Russell!” Tommy and Ryan cried out in unison as they quickly got out of the Volkswagen. Russell, who had just exited the driver’s side of his mother’s Cadillac, looked more embarrassed than surprised to see his old friends.

  Tommy and Ryan paid little attention to Russell’s reserve, each excited over the happy coincidence of running into him when first getting into town. They each took turns giving him a welcome hug.

  A young woman stepped from the passenger side of the Cadillac and walked to Russell, who was no longer receiving hugs. Possessively, she latched onto Russell’s right arm. Instead of eying the strangers with curiosity, she looked impatient to be on her way.

  Tommy and Ryan smiled at the beautiful blond woman. While she looked about their age, her aura of sophistication placed her in a class beyond the girls from Coulson. Aside from her striking good looks, Tommy immediately noticed the fur jacket she wore. Silently, he was grateful his kid sister, Katie, wasn’t with him, or about now she would be tearing into the girl for wearing the skins of poor dead animals.

  “This is Alicia,” Russell introduced. “Alicia, this is Tommy and Ryan. We all went to high school together.”

  Instead of a verbal greeting, Alicia gave Tommy and Ryan a nod and smile, then looked up and said, “Russell, we promised your mother we wouldn’t be long.”

  Russell shifted restlessly, smiled at Alicia then looked at his old friends. “She’s right, we did tell my mother we’d be right back.”

  “I left you a message,” Ryan ignored Russell’s apparent attempt to cut the meeting short.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s been really crazy. How do you guys like school? How is it working out being roommates?” Russell asked.

  “I haven’t killed him yet,” Ryan laughed. Tommy punched Ryan’s arm in response.

  “Hey, when do you want to get together? How long will you be in Coulson?” Tommy asked.

  “Russell,” Alicia said in a low, curt tone.

  Russell glanced at Alicia, then looked sheepishly at Tommy and Ryan. “Sorry guys, I really do need to hurry.”

  “So when do you want to get together?” Ryan repeated Tommy’s que
stion.

  “I would love to, but Mother seems to have plans for every day I’m home. It was great seeing you, but I need to get going. Merry Christmas!” Not waiting for a response, Russell and Alicia turned from them and walked away.

  “Well fuck, what was that all about?” Tommy asked after Russell and Alicia disappeared into the convenience store.

  “Hell if I know.”

  The day after Christmas, Alexandra waited impatiently for Jimmy to install her new eight-track tape player in her battered red Corvair van. Alexandra, her dark hair pulled into two long pigtails, peered into the vehicle’s side window, watching. She wore lavender bellbottom pants that hugged her hips instead of her waist and a paisley print halter-top.

  Katie sat nearby on the sidewalk, going through a small stack of eight-track tapes her sister had received for Christmas. Katie’s moccasin clad feet peeked out from the tattered cuffs of her denim bellbottoms. Her colorfully embroidered peasant shirt was one size too large for her petite figure, yet the loose fit didn’t seem to trouble her.

  “This is so cool,” Katie said as she read the label of the Creedence Clearwater Revival tape. “I can’t wait until I get my license.”

  “When Jimmy gets it hooked up we’re driving out to Sutter’s Lake to meet some friends. Wanna go?”

  “Are you going to invite Ryan and Tommy?” Katie glanced to her house where her brother and Ryan were.

  “Why? I’m sure they’re going to hook up with their own friends,” Alex said.

  “Well, I just figured since they’re home for Christmas break, we could hang out.”

  “I don’t care.” Alex shrugged.

  “I wonder why Russell hasn’t come over. I figured he’d be here today,” Katie said.

  “Who knows?” Alex added, “I heard them mention something about Russell bringing a girlfriend home for Christmas.”

  “Your sister, Alex, is looking hot.” Ryan stood at Tommy’s bedroom window looking out toward the driveway.

  “She’s my sister.”

  “Yeah, so you keep reminding me. But don’t worry; I’m not into jail bait.”