#29 (Lisa gets some news...)
“Jackson?” Lisa Davenport Collins stepped into the library of her home with a look of concern on her face. “I need to talk to you.”
Jackson Collins looked up from the newspaper with a grave concern. It was unlike to his wife to look so drawn and careworn; this was a woman who took life by the throat and never let go. He patted the seat next to him on the sofa. “Lisa, what’s the matter?”
She sat next to him and let her head fall on his shoulder. “I haven’t had my period yet…”
Jackson felt like the world was going to lurch to a stop. “Are you pregnant?”
Lisa shrugged as a look of worry crossed her face. “I don’t know… I’ve purchased six pregnancy tests and… I…just can’t bring myself to take them.” She closed her eyes as if to block out a horrific memory. “I can’t go through this again, Jackson.”
“I know, my baby.” He grasped her trembling body with all of his might. Although they had separate lives when they traveled, they were still in love, and were still very much devoted to one another. “Maybe this time will be different,” offered Jackson.
“It always ends the same way. Four miscarriages in the last eight years. We weren’t even trying this time… I think that’s why I’m terrified.” Lisa could feel the tears fall from her eyes. “I don’t want to know either way,” she began to sob. “I just…”
Jackson took his wife in his strong arms for what seemed to be a lifetime. “We have Oliver. He’s more than enough,” offered Jackson, quietly.
“I know,” whispered Lisa. “I know.” She dried her eyes with a linen handkerchief. “I should take the test, so we know what to do.”
“Do you… If you are pregnant, do you want to keep it?”
Lisa lowered her head as if in shame. “I don’t know.” It was the truth and the only answer she could muster. “I’ve dreamed about having more children, but now…I’ve become accustomed to being happy with you and Oliver, especially after so many disappointments…”
“I understand,” he told his Lisa.
“And with our careers…our lifestyle… I don’t know if it’s conducive for another child...”
“Oliver will be away at college before we know it. Starting over is a big ask right now.”
Lisa nodded knowingly. “I’m going to call Dr. Shearer for an appointment. I want to know exactly what we’re dealing with and if it’s even viable for me to carry this pregnancy to term…if I am pregnant. Don’t worry about being in town, Jackson. I’ll ask my mother to come with me to the appointment.”
“Don’t be silly, Lisa. I’m coming with you. No matter what happens, you’re not going through this alone.”
“Papa. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Jill Stanhope Montgomery opened the door to the luxurious summer cottage on the coast of Maine she and Warren had rented for the last ten years. She wanted to buy it, but Warren thought it was an extravagance which didn’t make financial sense to him.
Charles Montgomery, IV stepped into the foyer of the cottage, barked his martini order at no one in particular, and made his way to the covered terrace. He sat down in a chair facing the ocean without saying a word to Jill until a member of her staff placed his martini beside him. “I understand,” he said after a small sip, “that you have an issue concerning Hannah and Kate being flower girls in Billy and Connor’s wedding.”
Jill could feel her throat tighten. Charles was the last person she wanted to have this conversation with because she knew he would never cede any ground to her. “I… I think… Papa, it’s a personal matter,” she smiled, tightly. “Warren is making a big deal out of nothing.”
“We both know that Warren isn’t one for tales, Jill. He’s quiet. Measured. Thoughtful. He’s not like India or Billy.”
“Papa, this is really between me and Warren.” Jill wanted nothing more than to run screaming for the hills, but she knew that she would have to endure whatever Charles threw her way.
“It ceased being between you and Warren when my son came to me in outright distress over the way you are behaving when it comes to his children being in his brother’s wedding,” snapped Charles. He took another sip of his martini before adding, “I do hope that your reticence isn’t because Billy’s gay.”
“I am not homophobic! Just because I don’t want to fall in line with what Billy wants doesn’t make me a bad person, Papa.”
Charles shook his head with marked irritation. “You’re a young fool. It’s impossible to separate one from the other. Regardless, Billy is my son. He will always have my unyielding loyalty and devotion.”
“It’s a shame you can’t offer that same loyalty and devotion to India,” snapped Jill. “The way you and your family fawn over Billy when he’s marrying the man who tormented India is sickening.”
“Watch your mouth…”
“Why should I??” snarled Jill. “I will not fall in line when this whole wedding is wrong on a thousand different levels! You people have never believed India when she accused Connor of raping her. Never. You people have instantly welcomed Connor into your inner sanctum just because Billy is in love. It’s sickening, Papa!”
Charles narrowed his gaze on his daughter-in-law. In all of the years she’d been married to Warren, Charles had never seen this side of her. Yes, it had been hinted at once or twice, but seeing it in the flesh was another experience unto itself. “Now, you listen to me, Jill. I will choose to forget how you have slandered my family. You should count yourself very lucky that you are Warren’s wife. However, it would behoove you to remember that you are only a member of this family in name only. And that, my dear, can be taken away from you.”
Jill recoiled at Charles’ threat. She felt like she was going to be sick and die at the same time. “Don’t threaten me…”
“I’m not,” Charles said, coolly. “I’m reminding you that it would be in your best interest to leave your personal feelings to one side while performing your duties as Warren’s wife and the mother of my grandchildren. You may think yourself free to do whatever you like, but all of this…” Charles waved his hands at the expensive cottage without a care in the world. “Well, all of this is by virtue of you being Mrs. Warren Montgomery, not Jill Stanhope.” With that, Charles stood up, admired the view, and turned to his ashen daughter-in-law. “I like you, Jill. Really. I do. However, I love my family, of which you are a part, much more. I’d be very careful before you decide to die on your sword because of a deeply held belief.”
Jill screwed up as much courage as she could muster. “I won’t…be threatened, Papa.”
“I’m giving you the lay of the land. It’s up to you to decide how to move forward, my dear.” Charles took in the view once more. “I wonder if you could get a timeshare like this when if you’re no longer Mrs. Warren Montgomery. It would be a lovely memory to have, Jill. Well, I have to catch my plane back to Kingsport. Do have a nice day.”
In the hours that followed Jill after Charles’ departure, a feeling of dread coursed through her body. It wasn’t that Charles had flown from Connecticut to Maine in order to put her in her place, but the fact that he did it without ever threatening her. She could die on her sword or swallow her pride in order to keep her life the way it was. Jill tried to recall her old life. That life was filled with shabby furniture, pity lunches, and well-worn clothes in need of more mending than they could take. This life was one of excess and quiet abundance. The thought of losing it all made her sick, while the thought of having her daughters in Will’s wedding made her just as ill. She was in a no-win situation. If she wanted to win, she had to think fast. Time was running out. And, in that moment, Jill Stanhope Montgomery pulled the trigger.
In our next installment, Alison confronts India about what happened in Paris...
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