White Flag (6/?)
Sam sighed as she walked up the stairs toward her daughter’s room. The young brunette had been withdrawn for the past three days since she’d come back from her mother’s house. She hadn’t been her usual self, full of excitement and never ending chatter. She hadn’t even talked about the Orlando Bloom movie that Sam knew Brooke had taken her to see. Normally, her daughter couldn’t seem to get enough of extolling her other mother’s many virtues after spending an elusive weekend with the blonde, but Cara hadn’t said a word. Even when Sam had told her she wouldn’t make her get rid of the piercing, still nothing. She knocked on the closed door and waited nervously for a response.
“Yes?” Came a muffled response from somewhere behind the bedroom door.
“Cara, it’s mom. Can I come in?” Sam asked instead of just barging in. She’d always hated when her mom did that to her, and Cara was still ten, there would be plenty of time for barging in later. Right now she wanted her daughter to trust and respect her.
There was a momentary pause before she heard an exaggerated sigh. “I guess,” the response from somewhere behind the bedroom door was muffled.
She opened the door slowly. Cara was sitting at her desk idly doodling on her sketchpad. She walked over to the bed unsure of how to start. Cara was a lot like Brooke when she was upset. She became cold and indifferent. Her hazel eyes would become vacant, void of emotion. She would hold everything in until it wouldn’t be contained anymore, and then lash out. Whereas Sam always voiced her displeasure right away, often times speaking and acting before she thought about the consequences. Lucky for both of them she had a lot of practice dealing with McQueen sullen indifference. You just had to play their game.
“So, uh, you never told me about the movie Mim took you to see. It had Orlando Bloom in it right?” She asked glancing over at her daughter’s large vintage Pirates of the Caribbean poster with Johnny and Orlando.
“Yep…”Cara replied, not turning around.
“Did you have fun over Mim’s? You never told me what you guys did.” She tried again.
This got the young girl to turn around. Sam wondered if something had happened between her and Brooke. The two hadn’t had a disagreement since Cara had been going through the terrible twos.
“Well on Friday, we rented movies and ate pizza. Saturday, we um, saw the movie, went to the mall,” She looked defiantly at Sam, before continuing in her flat, nonchalant voice, almost like she was bored with the conversation. She was definitely half McQueen, Sam thought indignantly. “We ate Chinese, and I did my math before we gorged on junk food. Then Mim made me French toast on Sunday morning. We hung out reading the paper, and then I came back here.” She finished with a huff before turning back around.
Ah, so that’s what this is all about. Sam had been feeling really guilty for the things she’d said to Brooke. If she were truthful, she hadn’t meant the things she’d said, she just hated when Cara played them against one another. She counted on Brooke to see through these sad attempts and nip in the bud, but instead she tended to be overly lenient with their daughter out of guilt, which left Sam always being the bad guy, and she hated being the bad guy. It was like Brooke did things to deliberately make her look like a fool in front of their child, and worse she seemed to only do it to get under Sam’s skin. What was worst of all was that Sam hated that Brooke seemed to still be able to get under her skin, while Brooke always seemed unaffected by Sam’s jabs and anger.
Well not completely unaffected, Sam thought ruefully. She should have never taken that last jab at the blonde about disappointing their daughter. Sam knew Brooke did the best she could, and it wasn’t her fault that her job was so demanding. She knew how much it hurt Brooke to disappoint Cara time and time again. But more importantly it was hurting Cara, and their daughter had been standing right there when she’d gone in for the kill. Nice work, Sammy, next week why don’t you run over a puppy in front of her. The family therapist said that their fighting in front of Cara had been what caused her downward spiral in the first place, and both she and Brooke had vowed to not do it in front of her anymore. So far they’d only broken that vow twice, three times if she counted what just transpired on Sunday, so she owed not only Brooke an apology, but Cara as well.
“Look Cara, I’m sorry about the things I said to your mother on Sunday. You know I still care about her, but I care about you more. And I only want what’s best for you, we both do, and sometimes we get caught up in who can offer the best to you at the moment. Please don’t think that I was being cruel to Mim. I would never do that.” Sam finished, looking over at her daughter’s back.
The young girl only shrugged, not even bothering to turn around. “Honey, come on, I know I have a bad temper when it comes to Mim, but I do care about her. Talk to me.” Sam tried again. Cara had always been protective of Brooke in a way Sam never quite understood.
Cara turned around, accusation in her hazel eyes. “Why are you wearing a ring on your finger?” She asked abruptly, throwing Sam’s equilibrium off kilter for a moment.
She looked guiltily down at her left hand before moving it out of the view of the piercing hazel eyes. “I’m wearing a ring because Kat gave it to me on Saturday,” she answered slowly. She hadn’t really wanted to tell Cara this way, but she didn’t see any way around it.
“Did she…did she ask you to marry her?” Cara asked in a small quiet voice. She couldn’t seem to make eye contact with her mother.
“I…I…yes she asked me to marry her,” Sam responded finally.
“And you said yes…” It was more of a statement than a question.
“I said yes.” Sam confirmed.
“What about Mim?” Cara asked, her hazel eyes sparked with confusion, anger, and accusation.
“What about Mim? Cara, Mim and I aren’t together anymore,” she started. Surely Cara hadn’t been thinking that one day she and Brooke would be getting back together.
“But you just said you care about her!” Cara raised her voice.
“Cara, I do care about her. I care about her a lot…”
“Then how can you marry someone else?”
“Because I don’t care for Mim in that way anymore…”
“Don’t you love her? Don’t you love me?” Cara asked outraged. She faced her mother, hot, angry tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Of course I love you Cara. How could you ask me something like that?” Sam asked. Did Cara really think that Sam didn’t love her?
“How could you do this to me? I thought we were a family. You said we’d always be a family.” Cara whispered furiously wiping her tears from her face.
“We are a family. You and I are a team. But now our family will include Kat.”
“If we’re a team, shouldn’t I get a say in who is and isn’t in my family?” Cara asked in a low angry voice.
“Well, I suppose that would be the case if…”
“Well I don’t want Kat in my family.” Cara stated firmly.
“If this were up for discussion, then you would get a say. But it’s not, so you’d better get used to it.” Sam said with finality in her voice. Cara simply turned away from her and threw herself on the bed, refusing to look at her mother or even acknowledge her presence.
Sam walked out of the room, closing the door quietly. She squeezed the bridge of her nose. Well that went well.
Sam woke up with a grumble, wanting to throw her alarm clock across the room. She hadn’t slept well the night before. She really didn’t like having arguments with Cara. It hurt her to have to “lay down the law,” but it would do no good to indulge Cara’s fantasy that she and Brooke would get back together. She rolled out of the bed and walked into her bathroom. She found pictures of her and Brooke tapped all over the mirror. The irony was not wasted on her. A sudden newfound respect formed for her mother as she brushed her teeth and showered. She just had to stay positive. Besides, it wasn’t like she and Kat were getting married tomorrow or this year. There would be plenty of time for Cara to adjust. At least she doesn’t have a stepsister to suddenly get used to, she thought with a chuckle as she dressed for work.
She’d thanked God many a day that she’d been forced to live with Brooke. Otherwise, she would have never had the opportunity to get to know the blonde and fall in love with her. Even with all they had been through she’d never regretted falling in love with Brooke.
She made her way to the kitchen and found Cara sitting at the kitchen table, her arms folded over her chest. She obviously gotten up early and even put her uniform on. She sat defiantly at the table, an empty bowl in front of her.
“You obviously had enough time to get up, get dressed, make a lovely little collage on my mirror, and come down here and brood. Shouldn’t you have poured yourself a bowl of cereal?”
“I actually wanted French toast, if we called Mim, do you think she’d come over and make me some?” Cara asked insolently.
“I doubt it, because she’s probably on her way to work, if she isn’t already there, but I would love to fix you some if you would like.” Sam replied sweetly.
“No thank you, I’m not hungry.” Cara huffed standing from the table. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car,” she said stomping out of the door.
“Ahh, the joys of preteen angst. Maybe I should send my mother a bouquet of roses today.” She muttered with a chuckle.
The trip to the school was made with attempts at conversation from Sam, and grunts and sighs from Cara. As they pulled up at the prestigious school, Cara made a move to get out of the car, but Sam put her hand on her arm to stop her.
“Look, I know how you feel. Believe me, I know better than anyone, but I want you to keep an open mind. I only want what’s best for you. And I know things seem really heinous at the moment, but they will get better. I promise. You like Kat. I know you do. Please give her a chance.”
Cara looked uncertain for a moment before nodding.
“Hey, and just think, Mim will be at your game on Friday.” That brought a smile to the once sullen girl’s face. She reached over and hugged her. “You know I love you, right?”
“I know, Mom. I love you too,” Cara said before getting out of the car.
Oh yeah, I’ll be sending Mom two dozen of roses.
“Yes?” Came a muffled response from somewhere behind the bedroom door.
“Cara, it’s mom. Can I come in?” Sam asked instead of just barging in. She’d always hated when her mom did that to her, and Cara was still ten, there would be plenty of time for barging in later. Right now she wanted her daughter to trust and respect her.
There was a momentary pause before she heard an exaggerated sigh. “I guess,” the response from somewhere behind the bedroom door was muffled.
She opened the door slowly. Cara was sitting at her desk idly doodling on her sketchpad. She walked over to the bed unsure of how to start. Cara was a lot like Brooke when she was upset. She became cold and indifferent. Her hazel eyes would become vacant, void of emotion. She would hold everything in until it wouldn’t be contained anymore, and then lash out. Whereas Sam always voiced her displeasure right away, often times speaking and acting before she thought about the consequences. Lucky for both of them she had a lot of practice dealing with McQueen sullen indifference. You just had to play their game.
“So, uh, you never told me about the movie Mim took you to see. It had Orlando Bloom in it right?” She asked glancing over at her daughter’s large vintage Pirates of the Caribbean poster with Johnny and Orlando.
“Yep…”Cara replied, not turning around.
“Did you have fun over Mim’s? You never told me what you guys did.” She tried again.
This got the young girl to turn around. Sam wondered if something had happened between her and Brooke. The two hadn’t had a disagreement since Cara had been going through the terrible twos.
“Well on Friday, we rented movies and ate pizza. Saturday, we um, saw the movie, went to the mall,” She looked defiantly at Sam, before continuing in her flat, nonchalant voice, almost like she was bored with the conversation. She was definitely half McQueen, Sam thought indignantly. “We ate Chinese, and I did my math before we gorged on junk food. Then Mim made me French toast on Sunday morning. We hung out reading the paper, and then I came back here.” She finished with a huff before turning back around.
Ah, so that’s what this is all about. Sam had been feeling really guilty for the things she’d said to Brooke. If she were truthful, she hadn’t meant the things she’d said, she just hated when Cara played them against one another. She counted on Brooke to see through these sad attempts and nip in the bud, but instead she tended to be overly lenient with their daughter out of guilt, which left Sam always being the bad guy, and she hated being the bad guy. It was like Brooke did things to deliberately make her look like a fool in front of their child, and worse she seemed to only do it to get under Sam’s skin. What was worst of all was that Sam hated that Brooke seemed to still be able to get under her skin, while Brooke always seemed unaffected by Sam’s jabs and anger.
Well not completely unaffected, Sam thought ruefully. She should have never taken that last jab at the blonde about disappointing their daughter. Sam knew Brooke did the best she could, and it wasn’t her fault that her job was so demanding. She knew how much it hurt Brooke to disappoint Cara time and time again. But more importantly it was hurting Cara, and their daughter had been standing right there when she’d gone in for the kill. Nice work, Sammy, next week why don’t you run over a puppy in front of her. The family therapist said that their fighting in front of Cara had been what caused her downward spiral in the first place, and both she and Brooke had vowed to not do it in front of her anymore. So far they’d only broken that vow twice, three times if she counted what just transpired on Sunday, so she owed not only Brooke an apology, but Cara as well.
“Look Cara, I’m sorry about the things I said to your mother on Sunday. You know I still care about her, but I care about you more. And I only want what’s best for you, we both do, and sometimes we get caught up in who can offer the best to you at the moment. Please don’t think that I was being cruel to Mim. I would never do that.” Sam finished, looking over at her daughter’s back.
The young girl only shrugged, not even bothering to turn around. “Honey, come on, I know I have a bad temper when it comes to Mim, but I do care about her. Talk to me.” Sam tried again. Cara had always been protective of Brooke in a way Sam never quite understood.
Cara turned around, accusation in her hazel eyes. “Why are you wearing a ring on your finger?” She asked abruptly, throwing Sam’s equilibrium off kilter for a moment.
She looked guiltily down at her left hand before moving it out of the view of the piercing hazel eyes. “I’m wearing a ring because Kat gave it to me on Saturday,” she answered slowly. She hadn’t really wanted to tell Cara this way, but she didn’t see any way around it.
“Did she…did she ask you to marry her?” Cara asked in a small quiet voice. She couldn’t seem to make eye contact with her mother.
“I…I…yes she asked me to marry her,” Sam responded finally.
“And you said yes…” It was more of a statement than a question.
“I said yes.” Sam confirmed.
“What about Mim?” Cara asked, her hazel eyes sparked with confusion, anger, and accusation.
“What about Mim? Cara, Mim and I aren’t together anymore,” she started. Surely Cara hadn’t been thinking that one day she and Brooke would be getting back together.
“But you just said you care about her!” Cara raised her voice.
“Cara, I do care about her. I care about her a lot…”
“Then how can you marry someone else?”
“Because I don’t care for Mim in that way anymore…”
“Don’t you love her? Don’t you love me?” Cara asked outraged. She faced her mother, hot, angry tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Of course I love you Cara. How could you ask me something like that?” Sam asked. Did Cara really think that Sam didn’t love her?
“How could you do this to me? I thought we were a family. You said we’d always be a family.” Cara whispered furiously wiping her tears from her face.
“We are a family. You and I are a team. But now our family will include Kat.”
“If we’re a team, shouldn’t I get a say in who is and isn’t in my family?” Cara asked in a low angry voice.
“Well, I suppose that would be the case if…”
“Well I don’t want Kat in my family.” Cara stated firmly.
“If this were up for discussion, then you would get a say. But it’s not, so you’d better get used to it.” Sam said with finality in her voice. Cara simply turned away from her and threw herself on the bed, refusing to look at her mother or even acknowledge her presence.
Sam walked out of the room, closing the door quietly. She squeezed the bridge of her nose. Well that went well.
Sam woke up with a grumble, wanting to throw her alarm clock across the room. She hadn’t slept well the night before. She really didn’t like having arguments with Cara. It hurt her to have to “lay down the law,” but it would do no good to indulge Cara’s fantasy that she and Brooke would get back together. She rolled out of the bed and walked into her bathroom. She found pictures of her and Brooke tapped all over the mirror. The irony was not wasted on her. A sudden newfound respect formed for her mother as she brushed her teeth and showered. She just had to stay positive. Besides, it wasn’t like she and Kat were getting married tomorrow or this year. There would be plenty of time for Cara to adjust. At least she doesn’t have a stepsister to suddenly get used to, she thought with a chuckle as she dressed for work.
She’d thanked God many a day that she’d been forced to live with Brooke. Otherwise, she would have never had the opportunity to get to know the blonde and fall in love with her. Even with all they had been through she’d never regretted falling in love with Brooke.
She made her way to the kitchen and found Cara sitting at the kitchen table, her arms folded over her chest. She obviously gotten up early and even put her uniform on. She sat defiantly at the table, an empty bowl in front of her.
“You obviously had enough time to get up, get dressed, make a lovely little collage on my mirror, and come down here and brood. Shouldn’t you have poured yourself a bowl of cereal?”
“I actually wanted French toast, if we called Mim, do you think she’d come over and make me some?” Cara asked insolently.
“I doubt it, because she’s probably on her way to work, if she isn’t already there, but I would love to fix you some if you would like.” Sam replied sweetly.
“No thank you, I’m not hungry.” Cara huffed standing from the table. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car,” she said stomping out of the door.
“Ahh, the joys of preteen angst. Maybe I should send my mother a bouquet of roses today.” She muttered with a chuckle.
The trip to the school was made with attempts at conversation from Sam, and grunts and sighs from Cara. As they pulled up at the prestigious school, Cara made a move to get out of the car, but Sam put her hand on her arm to stop her.
“Look, I know how you feel. Believe me, I know better than anyone, but I want you to keep an open mind. I only want what’s best for you. And I know things seem really heinous at the moment, but they will get better. I promise. You like Kat. I know you do. Please give her a chance.”
Cara looked uncertain for a moment before nodding.
“Hey, and just think, Mim will be at your game on Friday.” That brought a smile to the once sullen girl’s face. She reached over and hugged her. “You know I love you, right?”
“I know, Mom. I love you too,” Cara said before getting out of the car.
Oh yeah, I’ll be sending Mom two dozen of roses.