Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest!
I would also like to thank everyone who previewed the chapters for me.
Chapter 9 – Aftermath
Tuesday Afternoon…(Day 58)
Debbie was obviously upset. She took the paper and went into the back room of the Diner to try to digest the events swirling around her. Here she was, already worried about Michael and Ben, and now this.
In the four years that had lapsed since the last appearance of Divina Devore, Michael had asked no more questions. Debbie figured that her son had contented himself with the fact that John Michael Novotny was his father.
She figured that her son had come to terms with things.
Coming to terms was easier to do if the object of your questions was no longer in town.
At this moment, Debbie so wished that Vic were still alive, he would be the voice of calm reason and tell her what she should do.
But Vic had died several years ago, and right now, Debbie felt totally alone.
How could she deal with all this again? What would she say to Michael?
There were no answers, but the questions kept coming. What could she say to Carl?
Debbie sat there lost in thought.
A few minutes later, Debbie could feel that she was no longer sitting alone in the backroom of the Diner. She knew that she wasn’t alone anymore.
She looked up into a supportive pair of blue eyes. Justin had joined her.
“Debbie, are you okay?” he quietly asked.
She instinctively leaned in, touching her forehead to Justin’s without saying a word at first. Debbie lingered there for just a moment before breaking the contact.
“I’m fine, Sunshine,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Justin knew better, but he didn’t press the issue. “I just wanted to check on you. I just wanted to see if there was anything that I could do.”
“Not this time, Sunshine,” she said, again looking into Justin’s eyes. And there she saw it…the hint of recognition.
Debbie realized that Justin knew something. Then she started to wonder if that was why he and Brian were back in town so suddenly? Now she had even more questions.
Instead of asking any of those questions, she merely accepted the warm embrace from her Sunshine, and tried to remain calm.
When Justin left her alone, Debbie picked up the phone and called Betty to come in and relieve her.
Debbie knew that she was going home. She suddenly felt very tired.
***
Debbie arrived home, just as Carl was leaving to go to his shift at the station.
“What brings you home this time of day?” Carl innocently asked, leaning over to give her a hug.
“I was feeling a little tired, so I called Betty to take over my shift. I decided to come home and lie down.”
“Do you think that you’re coming down with something? I could easily take you to the doctor’s office before I go to work, or I could stay home and keep you company.”
“No Carl, that won’t be necessary. I just need some time to myself,” she persisted.
Carl didn’t like the sound of this, but he decided not to press. He poured Debbie a glass of juice and kept her company while she drank it.
Then, at her insistence, he reluctantly left for work.
Once Carl was gone, Debbie once again pulled from her purse the offending newspaper, announcing the return engagement of Divina Devore.
She carried the paper with her as she walked into the living room.
She walked over to the shrine she lovingly created all those years ago for John Novotny, and she thought about the lies she’d told to give Michael a father he could be proud of.
And it had worked. Michael had internalized the heroic story of John Novotny into his own life.
In fact, Debbie always believed that Michael’s fixation with superheroes stemmed from his belief that these were things his father could do if he were still alive. It all made sense when she thought about it.
Michael knew that his father was a hero. He would have gone on believing this forever…except for that strange twist of fate that brought Danny Devore back into town after 31 years…and Michael had started to put the pieces together.
Debbie realized that the one big problem with her fantasy-father scenario…was that even to this day…her son had difficulty, telling the difference between fantasy and reality. And in some way, this inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality had cost him both Brian and Ben and so much more.
Her mood shifted as Debbie began to wonder what Michael was going to do when he found out that Danny was back in town.
She walked over to the phone about to call and tell him herself to get it over with, but then her strong sense of reason prevented her from lifting the receiver.
No…events were going to play out however they were supposed to. There was no longer anything that she could do.
But the truth was…no matter how noble her motives…Debbie had lied to Michael …and she had perpetuated those lies for his entire life.
She had even continued with the lie, in spite of his persistent requests to know the truth…a truth that Debbie always felt Michael’s little mind really couldn’t handle.
So her justification was always that she was still protecting her little baby.
But Debbie also realized that Michael was still angry with her, and that anger manifested itself in strange ways, at unexpected times.
Beginning of flashback.
It was after Jenny Rebecca was born. Melanie and Lindsay had separated. Michael and Ben had decided to press for custody, as they were moving into their new home.
“All I care about is that kid,” Debbie admitted, referring to her granddaughter.
“So do I! That’s why I want her in a loving home with two parents. Why is that so hard to comprehend?”
“What’s hard to comprehend is how angry you’ve been at me all these years for being a single mom. When here I thought we made it through just fine…you and me…the two musketeers. Apparently not! Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t give you everything you wanted, but I gave you everything I could.”
End of flashback.
Now Debbie understood all those months of anger, regarding the custody arrangements for such a tiny JR that Michael wasn’t really angry with Melanie or Lindsay. The truth was that Michael was still angry with her.
Michael was angry with HER, for depriving him of a father for all the years…not the father who died a war hero…but the living breathing father, who could have been a part of his life all that time.
Four years ago, Michael must have truly figured everything out. But, he couldn’t talk about it then, but now he carried this rage…that seething anger inside. She realized that he carried this anger for his entire life. And that anger vented itself during the custody battle for Jenny Rebecca.
“Oh, this is so much worse than I could have imagined,” Debbie said aloud to herself. “What the fuck am I going to do?”
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door.
Debbie went to answer it and found Jennifer, standing on her doorstep.