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Magnolia
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MOM’S REVELATION WAS more shocking than I thought.
I didn’t have the courage to talk to my dad about it but Mom essentially apologized for the double standard she used when raising me.
“Darling, you have to understand. Our community isn’t open enough to accept any behavior that doesn’t fit conventions. Your daddy and I had to hide our ... proclivities for fear of basically being shunned. I didn’t want that for you, so I tried to make sure that you had a “normal” upbringing. I know we were strict but we were trying to give you what we didn’t have. A “normal life”.”
So, a lot of things began making sense. My parents’ monthly “Costco trips” one hour away that I was never allowed to go on? Turns out they went to a swingers club a couple of towns over where no one knew them.
“Those were so tiring. Because after we had our “fun” we still had to grab groceries. I admit things became easier once you moved out. Magnolia, please say something. You look upset, darling?”
“I— I don’t know, Mom. I’m just trying to process all this. Why didn’t you ever tell me once I was old enough to understand? And why this constant demand for perfection? You have no idea how stressed I was at the idea of you visiting.”
The hurt in Mom’s eyes is unmistakable. “Dang it, darling. I’m so sorry. I was strict because I wanted to set you up for a good life. My parents were hippies and I’ve been blaming them for my—”
“Grandma Edith? A hippie? You can’t be serious!”
My mother’s mom was even stricter than my own mother, so again this is shocking.
“Well, yeah. By the time you came along, things had changed. I know I was always hard on you, Magnolia. But I was trying to set you up for success in life and I hoped you wouldn’t have to keep up false pretenses like I did. I guess I overdid it?”
I shake my head, still trying to make sense of this all. “So, just to be clear ... you and Dad meet up with other couples and swap partners? Like, with random people?”
Mom nods. “Sometimes. We’ve had a few long-term relationships with other couples over the years. Remember Alexis and Ralph? We met them at a club and we saw them regularly for about a decade. They were the most fun. We used to swap partners with them but also do girls with girls and boys with—”
“Goodness gracious, Mom, please I get the gist.”
Mom blushes and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I find that comforting. At least that’s a normal reaction from this woman who looks like my mother, sounds like my mother but has sent everything I thought I knew about my parents all cattywampus.
“I know this is a lot to take in, darling. But of all people, you should understand? I love your daddy with all my heart, he’s my soulmate. But we don’t think human beings are meant to be monogamous.”
“Ok, I understand and I don’t at the same time. My relationship is monogamous, Mom. The guys only see me and I only see them. There’s no swapping and no others. Just the four of us. We’re faithful and committed. We don’t see what we have as multiple relationships but as “a relationship”.”
Mom smiles and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “That’s good to know. And as long as you’re happy, darling, Dad and I approve. I really like all three of your men. I was just worried about hurt feelings but since you guys are in this together ...”
I feel tears stinging at the back of my eyes but they’re mostly happy tears. I’d always felt that my parents and especially Mom didn’t get me. That they didn’t approve of me because I wasn’t the perfect southern belle they wanted. Now I understand that in their weird, totally “fudged up” way, they were trying to protect me. If anything, I feel a little sad about the fact that they feel like they have to hide who they are.
“By the way, darling, just let me tell you that I’m glad you’re getting fucked good. I haven’t seen what Max is packing but the other two—”
“Mom!” I yell.
“What?” She seems surprised by my embarrassment. Why do I suspect that her confession just opened a can of worms and there’ll be a lot of “over sharing” in my future?
And in the coming weeks things with my mom are surprisingly better, since our weird conversation on the porch.
My parents are back home in Georgia but they plan on coming back in a few weeks for Jen’s wedding. Mom’s especially excited about the bachelorette party and Dad wants to plan a bachelor party for my guys in a few months time when it’s time for my own wedding.
The weird thing is that while before I dreaded the phone calls with my mother, now I’m quite looking forward to them. But I established one cardinal rule for my own mental sanity. “No details about my parents’ sex life”. Because, I mean, eww.
***
Magnolia
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TWO WEEKS LATER
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“THANK YOU FOR COMING with me, Trouble. This isn’t easy but I feel we ought to address this situation,” Blake says as he parks in front of Jen’s condo. It feels strange not to think about it as “home”, I think as I knock on the front door rather than use the set of keys that Jen and Gemma asked me to keep.
“Yeah well, I want to solve this situation once and for all. Jen was going crazy all of last week because stuff kept “going missing”. She thought she was getting distracted because of the stress of the wedding and her upcoming graduation but I guess we know it might not be a simple case of misplaced things.”
“Magnolia? Blake? Hey, how are you? I’m afraid if you’re looking for Jen or Gemma, you just missed them. They’re out cake tasting for the wedding. I would’ve loved to go with them but I got the hunch that they didn’t want company.”
I stifle an eye roll. Jennie keeps telling me that Peaches hasn’t toned down her flirting with her ex and I’m suddenly glad for my bestie if she had the guts to put her foot down and establish boundaries.
“We’re actually here to see you, Peaches. I hope you have a minute?”
I’m always pleasantly surprised by how soft spoken and polite Blake is whenever on “official police business”. I mean, not that this is official but when he has to deal with any kind of investigation or a perp, Blake is calm, collected and extremely kind. I guess his tall and strong figure is intimidating enough without going all “yippee kay-yay motherfucker” on people.
We’re ushered into my old house and I’m very surprised when Shreddie comes toward us meowing at me and waving her tail in an hypnotic, lazy motion.
Her green eyes are intent on me and she sits as if she were waiting for something. I realize that she’s looking for Frank and when I tell her that this time I didn’t bring my puppy along – I didn’t think it would be a good idea since we’re here to confront Peaches – she walks away offended, complaining all the way back to her cat bed in the kitchen.
“So, what can I do for you guys? Can I offer you a tea or a coffee? Maybe a soda?”
Being treated as a visitor in the house where I used to live feels a little weird, especially because Peaches is just a guest herself. Or at least, that was her official title last time I checked.
“I heard that you guys are getting married in July? I don’t know if I’ll still be here then but if I’m still in Silver Springs, I’d be delighted to officiate your wedding. I don’t mind that it’s gonna be a little unconventional, I—”
So she thinks we’re here to ask for her chaplain services. Blake interrupts her taking a seat at the dining table on one side of her, while I take the other.
“Thank you, Peaches. I appreciate the offer and we’ll definitely consider it – will we? – but this isn’t the reason why Magnolia and I are here today.”
The retired army captain looks puzzled. “Ok, then what do you need from me?”
“We’re here because of this.” Blake removes the jade figurine from the shopping bag he was carrying and sets it on the table.
I have to admit that Peaches must’ve missed her calling for a career in theater or as a professional poker player, because her expression remains blank. “Come again?”
Blake sighs. “I was asked to look for this item when it went missing from the Katsura Gardens the night we were there for the ramen tasting.”
“I’m still confused as to what that has to do with me.” Her tone is calm and collected but I notice how her fingers grip the edge of the table so hard that her knuckles turn white.
“The Katsuras were extremely distraught when they couldn’t find this family heirloom and asked me to look into its disappearance.” Blake offers.
“Well, I see you found it,” Gemma’s ex says dismissively.
“Yes, we found it in your purse. During the engagement party. Care to explain how it got there?”
Peaches’ reaction is predictable. “Are you accusing me of anything, Officer Hunk? And are you here on official police business? In which case I wonder where’s your evidence that the item was in my purse? And by the way, why would I take something like that?”
Blake sighs. “That’s the same question I’ve been asking myself. And I’m well aware that I have no proof and that the fact that I took the stolen item back, would make it impossible to prosecute you if Hiroshi and his family wanted to press charges.”
“Well, then what the fuck are you doing here? I’ve never seen that item before. If this is Jen’s attempt to get rid of me, I—”
Blake’s voice is eerily calm. “Cut the bullshit, “Captain Brady”. At first, I thought it was really an accident and that the item had gotten in your purse by some kind of mistake. I returned it to the Katsuras and was going to let it go. Then Debbie complained that one of Porter’s signed baseballs was missing from his room.”
Peaches’ eyes dilate in surprise as Blake continues. “Obviously I wanted to check if that had also “accidentally” ended up in your possession, Peaches. I came here last week while you were out and I’m betting all my money that the baseball is still in Magnolia’s old dresser’s top drawer. Along with a few items you took from shops all over Silver Springs that still have their price tags attached to them.”
I gasp. Even though Blake already told me what he discovered last night, when he asked for my help, I’m still shocked.
“Whatever your reason for being here in Silver Springs, I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. I’m here to give you the chance to return what you stole and go away quietly.”
Her eyes narrow. “Or what?”
Blake looks sad when he issues his threat. “Or I’ll tell Gemma what you’ve been up to. I’ll tell her that you didn’t get your retirement from the army for medical reasons, but that you got dishonorably discharged about a year ago and you’ve spent the last year in a military prison on petty theft charges.”
This time, Peaches’ calm façade crumbles and tears begin rolling down her face. “Fuck. I— ok, I lied to everyone, including my family about my separation from the army. Please don’t tell anyone. If Gemma and my parents knew what happened, I’d die.”
She shoves her hand in her pocket and places a round chip on the table.
It says “seven days sober”.
“I’m getting help, I swear. Please don’t tell anyone. I’m already on thin ice with Gemma. She told me that if I didn’t stop flirting with her and provoking Jen, I’d have to go. I have nowhere to go. I can’t go home to Montana. My parents know everyone in our small community and if I look for a job, a simple background check would be all it takes for everyone to know.”
I know, I know. I should hate Peaches, right? She’s been nothing but a pain in our backsides since she arrived and she’s made Jen’s life miserable. But there’s something in her eyes that pulls at the strings of my heart and I want to at least hear her out. “But why, Peaches? Why steal, especially since it doesn’t look like you go for expensive stuff. It’s not like you do it to turn a profit.”
The ex-army captain’s shoulders sag and she bows her head, humiliation clearly etched all over her delicate features.
“It started right at the time when I broke up with Gemma, after I graduated from Officer School. I got to my first duty station and .... I don’t know. I felt so empty and alone and I guess at first it was a little thrill to remind me that I was alive. A pack of gum from the Class Six on post, a lipstick from the mall. Then after my first deployment, it was hard to adjust back to civilian life and taking stuff somehow made me feel like I had control over my life again.”
I look at Blake, his expression is serious but I can see compassion shine in his light blue eyes and I love him all the more for that. Peaches continues to tell us how the impulse to steal eventually got harder and harder to control and how she was caught stealing a couple of inexpensive items and how that resulted in her losing her commission and ending up in front of a court martial. “I was sentenced to a year in a military prison and had mandated rehab while there. I thought I was doing well. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t come here to get Gemma back. I swear though that I didn’t know that she was engaged. I really don’t do social media and— regardless, I thought it’d be easy to get her back. She’s the one that got away and I was convinced that deep down, she still loved me too. When I realized that Gemma had really moved on and she was head over heels for Jen ... something snapped. I felt like I was spiraling out of control and ...”
Her voice fades away, her gaze downcast. The silence between us is as heavy as the clouds that have started rolling in for a bout of forecasted April showers.
Blake is the first one to talk. “So you’re seeking help?” He nods towards the sobriety chip that Peaches is nervously fidgeting with.
“Yes. I can accept that I lost Gemma as a lover but I couldn’t bear to lose her friendship too. I need to do better.”
“Do you have a sponsor?” my fiancé asks.
“Not yet. But I found a meeting at Stone Hill High in the evening and I’ve been sober for a week. I know a week is nothing but—”
“Call me,” Blake offers. “I don’t know anything about what you’re going through but until you find a sponsor, every time you feel out of control, you call me. I’ll listen and I’ll remind you why taking stuff that isn’t yours isn’t a good idea.”
Peaches lifts her gaze for the first time since her confession. “Would you really do that?”
Blake nods. “Yeah, I would. And I’ll tell you more. I think you should move out of this place. I think that being with your ex and her new fiancée doesn’t help matters.”
Peaches sighs. “I’ve started looking but it’s hard. Until I find a job, I don’t know how—”
“I know someone who’s looking for a roommate. A colleague of mine who’s just split up with his girlfriend. And Hiroshi is looking for a receptionist at the dental practice because his just quit.”
She looks doubtful. “I don’t know about that. Do you think he’d ever hire someone who stole from him?”
“Let me take care of that, Captain Brady,” Blake says. “I’ll explain the situation and I’ll vouch for you. I know you won’t disappoint me.”
And this is one more reason why I love Blake, he has the biggest heart.