To: m_monahan@yahoo.com
From: l_morrison@gmail.com
Subject: My self-esteem
Hello Mitch,
Thanks for your e-mail and your concern for my self-esteem or lack thereof. I suppose it's not very high, but there is a reason. I do tend to avoid attractive men, mostly as a defense, I guess. I'm wondering how you picked up on this? I don't date because the two times I did so I got really burned.
I can't say those experiences have contributed to a higher self-esteem. Or self-confidence. The one man who I would normally find attractive, and did apparently respond well to, I don't remember. Ironic, I guess.
Well, all of that until you. We've never met face to face, but I feel as though we've been friends for years. You're very special to me and you make me feel that way. Thank you. No man's ever been able to make me feel like you do so effortlessly. Had I met someone who could, I probably wouldn't have given him the time of day. I tend to close up. Which is not good, but a part of me.
My family calls me the Ice Princess whenever there are attractive men around. I suppose I earned the title. The ingrates. It's not like they've ever done anything to help my problem.
They tease me, but then after a time tell me not to pay any attention to them. Sometimes they have no idea they’ve gone too far. I don’t talk about my past relationships, so they don't know. They couldn’t. I can’t talk about what happened.
My sisters are the family beauties. More than one great aunt has remarked how unfortunate it is that I’m not prettier, like my sisters, to others in the family. These are the things I overhear on a regular basis.
If I knew how to act, to be different than I am, I would, but I have no idea how. I've tried watching my sisters, but they're all so different I couldn't even find where to start. Or whom to start with.
You have helped me. You believe I really am special, and I can feel that. At least around you. Whenever I e-mail you or take pictures for you, I feel like you care. That makes all the difference.
Thank you for letting me be me! Incidentally, I've never told anyone these things before. I don’t open up to anyone, even my family. Thanks for “listening”.
Yours,
Lainy
Lainy bit her lip as she reread her response to Mitch's last e-mail. Her cheeks burned hot and uncomfortable until a cool breeze flowing through the window caressed them. She wanted to send this message, but wasn't certain she dared. She'd just poured her heart out to Mitch. Had exposed herself. While she knew she could do so with him, she was still terrified.
Not even her sisters or grandmother knew the depths of her insecurities. Yet Melly's talk about her looking to real men rather than the weenies she'd associated with in the past had hit her hard.
And what would happen when Mitch returned? She’d built so many walls around herself, she was frightened of how she’d react once they were together. Eliminating the Ice Princess was proving harder than she ever suspected.
Had she been hiding behind jerks to protect herself? Why had she singled Mitch out? Most would probably consider her a candidate for mental health drugs, but she thought Mitch understood. Mainly because he shared her feelings. She hoped.
Lainy bit her lip and in a moment of bravery, sent the message. She believed he'd take care of her heart. Mitch was different. He was a real man. Maybe those other males were mere boys. Lainy wondered if he’d realize how much she’d opened up to him.
Did she love him?
*****
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Ben smacked a hand to his forehead. He dug into his pack and removed some DVDs. “These are from Ed,” he intoned, handing the discs to Mitch. “He didn't want them to melt in the post office, so he arranged for me to deliver them.”
Reading the cases, Mitch saw one said, Lainy Cooking and another that read Lainy Can Fix Anything Part 1 and Lainy Can Fix Anything Part 2. Intrigued, Mitch wanted to watch them right now. However, he and Ben had just gone through the four DVDs he already owned.
The last video had shown several, what appeared to be early shots, of Lainy offering various men a root beer and Bentley consequently dumping every man into the lake in his exuberance. The shots were quite similar to the pictures decorating his wall. Ben recognized most of the men just by the crayoned pictures, but with the video, he named each man and tapped the corresponding picture. Mitch wrote each name on the drawing along with the child's name Ben felt had drawn the masterpiece.
Watching the videos with Ben proved to be a good idea, too. He offered additional details that made each video extra special and offered some insight into the various personalities.
“There goes Will, the oldest. Now, he's big on being the oldest and doesn't let any of them forget his exalted status, or so he thinks. Everyone either ignores him or makes fun of him, to his face. He's pretty good about the teasing.
“Okay, now that's Tom, the brother right after Lainy. He's probably the easiest going of all of them. Mellow enough to make a really good surfer dude. He's the blondest of the men. Tom's hilarious, and cool under fire. He has three kids, and his wife is laid back, too. All the sketches with the man in the loud Hawaiian shirts are Tom.”
Ben moved onto a dark haired man. “This is Max,” he said, pointing, “Max isn't married, but I think he has a thing for his business partner, who is definitely hot. He's the quietest brother. And the trouble-maker. He and Lainy are close in age, only about ten months between them, so he and Lainy,” when Mitch sent him a raised eyebrow look, Ben nodded sheepishly, “Okay, Max, Lainy, and I, have been the three musketeers forever. In comparison to Max though, Lainy and I are motor mouths. Compared to Lainy, I'm the motor mouth. We all took turns being the ringleader. Max will quietly throw you into the lake.
“He'd make an excellent military man, but instead has a company he bought not so long ago. I couldn't even tell you what he manufactures, but Lainy's already designed a program to bring his systems up to par. They're close.
“And that leaves Ed, he's not featured in this video, since he's behind the camera, of course. But these pictures here,” and Ben pointed out four drawings, “Are all him. He's the crazy one. He'll do anything for a laugh, but is also intense and smart. If you engage him in an intellectual conversation, which I don't recommend, your brain will hurt. Lainy's the only one I know who can keep up with him and not need aspirin afterwards. I think I've seen him go for some, but not her.
“Ed's probably the most personable of all the brothers. Well, no, Tom is too. Ed's a human ping pong ball. Tom's an inanimate object. Like a tree with a deep root system. He's unshakable, and willing to go with whatever comes. He'd be the eye of the storm Ed creates. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, actually, it does,” Mitch said, and it did in a convoluted sort of way. “So, what about the girls?”
“I haven't seen any of them up close to be able to point them out.”
“I've got a picture.” Mitch dug the photo out from behind a lovingly crayoned picture of Bentley.
“Ah, that's Camille's work,” Ben offered, pointing to the picture. “She's one of Will's younger children and will probably be a professional artist. She's magic, as you can see, with a crayon. I think her Mom bought her a paint set for her birthday.”
“It is a good rendering of Bentley.”
“Most of your best ones will be by her.” Ben looked at the family picture in his lap.
“How did you come to be in the Morrison family?”
“My mom,” Ben said gleefully.
Laughing, Mitch waited.
“My mom was a substitute teacher and one day while helping out at the preschool where my group home went, she noticed me. She asked all sorts of questions at the time. I think I was four. But she recognized the Morrison energy and kept thinking how much I looked like her dad. And I do, actually. Lainy's dad and my mother are brother and sister, by the way. My dad is from a completely different Morrison family. So I’m related to Lainy and her family through my mom, not my dad.”
Ben took a deep breath and smiled, “My mom said she was ecstatic when she found out I didn't have parents. Because I was her son. She put pressure on a relative who worked for child services to place me into their home as a foster kid and then adopted me as soon as they could. I went there and knew I'd come home. I kept asking my mom why she'd waited so long.” Ben chuckled.
“When my grandparents met me, my granddad kept laughing. I finally asked him why and he said my mom got a kid just like her. Of course, I didn't understand, especially when she shot back, “No, just like you, Dad.” There's really no doubt I'm a Morrison. Except for my skin color, I look exactly like my grandfather.”
“From what I can gather, you act like them, too.” Mitch had to tease, rolling his eyes.
He got a friendly, but hard, punch out of the deal.
“Okay, now the girls.” Ben stroked the picture. “You've met Melly, she's this one with the light brown hair and bright blue eyes. All the girls managed to get their Mom's bright eyes. Melly is the bleeding heart. She volunteers at the animal shelter and takes in any stray that comes around. She and her husband, Rick, who is also a bleeding heart, have four kids and a zoo of sorts at home.
“Dory is the youngest, she's probably the one classified as the beauty in the family. Of course, all the women are gorgeous, but Dory's the blue eyed blonde, and she's got the perfect body and personality, too. She was a cheerleader, which her sisters teased her endlessly about, so is pretty athletic. She’s not afraid to break a nail, and is smart.
“Her husband, John, and Lainy were inseparable in college. Lainy didn't find him attractive, but also not a loser, so she didn't freeze him out. Instead they were practically best friends during school. He met Dory and asked her to marry him right then and there. She said no, but they started dating, going all hot and heavy. Lainy no longer wondered if he was gay, and Dory said yes when he asked her to marry him again about two weeks later. They have one kid now.”
Ben grinned at the picture. “Let's see, that leaves Laurie. I'm obviously not doing this in any sort of order. Since Laurie is pregnant here, she's on the end. She's pregnant a lot. Laurie is like the earth mother. She cares about all children and will take care of any who cross her path. She's also the most athletic, and even though she has all those kids, she's thin.
“Probably from chasing so many kids. She'd rather be out running around with the kids than in the house. Greg, her husband, hired her a cleaning lady, who eventually moved in with them. She's a retired school nurse and loved the activity of the house. She rules the roost there. Which is good.”
“Laurie is the mother of Steve?” Mitch felt pretty sure Laurie and Greg were his buddy’s parents.
“Yeah, but Greg and Laurie have so many kids. They love kids, and each other, and they have difficulty keeping their hands off each other, so I imagine that's why they have eight.” Ben stared at the picture.
“Speaking of Laurie and Greg, I so can't believe Lainy has been behind the detour scenes,” Ben said, shifting gears. “I mean, don't get me wrong, I can believe it, I'm just astounded she finally got caught.”
“I take it she’s a legend?”
“Oh yeah. Or will be. I think we've all gotten hit by her at one time or another. Have you ever tried to make out with a woman in a walk-in linen closet?”
“I don't believe so,” Mitch said, thinking. Not that he wouldn’t be up for it sometime... with Lainy...
“Well, that in and of itself is a challenge. Add in various kids, someone said you called them the herd, which works well, especially when you throw in all their dogs. A small walk-in closet filled with kids and dogs while you're trying to kiss a woman just doesn't work.” Ben shook his head, but he was smiling.
“Your date wasn't impressed?” Mitch wanted to know. He might need this information some day.
“She thought it was hilarious. She giggled the whole time, which set off the rest of the crew and the dogs started barking. It was one of the funniest moments of my life. Which is so Lainy.” Humorous affection tinged Ben’s voice.
“Oh?”
“If a situation can be diffused with humor, Lainy's got it under control.”
“Lainy didn't like the woman you were with?”
“She loves the woman I was with, but calling her a woman then is probably not correct,” Ben mused, and Mitch lost him to memories.
“You were teenagers?”
“She was. I was about twenty-two or so at the time,” Ben replied, that far away look still on his face. Mitch envied him. He’d dated, but after too many heartaches, had joined the Marine Corps instead. His life had been much easier after that. Then he caught on to what Ben had said.
“She was a teenager and you were twenty-two?” Incredulous, Mitch wondered how he'd managed that.
“Yeah, she'd always had a bit of a crush on me, or so Lainy said, and I've always thought she's the cutest girl alive, and we were near the closet so in we went.”
“Is she family?”
“Sort of. She's one of Lainy's sisters-in-law little sister. She's probably not so little anymore.”
“Okay, so she's not blood related.” Mitch managed to work out. Keeping the Morrisons straight was a difficult process.
“Correct. Her sister is married to Will, Lainy's oldest brother. Rachel is Treeny's older sister. Rachel is Will's wife.”
“Treeny?”
“Yeah. It suits her. She's got all this red-gold hair with big bouncy curls. She's about average height but tiny. Curves in all the right places. She's smart, too. She’s a doctor.”
“Is Rachel a matchmaker?”
Suspicion etched into Ben's face as he pursed his lips. “You know, an hour ago I would have said no, but now I'm not so sure. She always fills me in on Treeny. Like how she's starting a new job, and such.”
“You, um, ever ask her about Treeny, or she just fills you in?” Mitch felt his lips twitch from the effort to keep from laughing.
“Okay, you got me there. I have asked about Treeny, but if I don't, she still tells me,” Ben said defensively.
Mitch howled. Ben reached over and shoved him off the cot, which didn't stop the laughter.
“Great, another matchmaker in the family,” Ben said in disgust which just set Mitch off again. He didn't know if Ben referred to him or Rachel, but realized he didn't care.