Back at Madison house Jennifer's mother Linda was sipping a cup of herb tea, trying to calm her nerves. Her husband didn't like that their daughter was at Karyn's place, but Linda made a stand and told him to deal with it. Honestly, though, she was at her wits end on how to deal with whole situation.
She loved her daughter very much. Jennifer was such a ball of sunshine growing up. Always eager to help, kind and polite. Her best friend Karyn also was a wonderful girl. Both of them went shopping with Linda lots of times. Sure, both were kinda tomboys, but they still liked shopping. The fact that they had quite a sweet tooth for ice-cream and that Linda couldn't resist their puppy eyes when the two were little also helped.
Linda took another sip of her tea, smiling on fond memories. If only everything would be as simple as back then... But it wasn't. Two little rascals she used to watch over grew up into beautiful young ladies and started to date each other. Honestly, she was happy for them. She could see in their eyes that they adored and loved each other. And in the end that is what matters most, not the gender of your partner, right?
If only her husband could see it...
Linda looked at her wedding ring. They were married for 20 years already. Jennifer was born 2 years after they got married and was now 18 years old. Zoe was born 3 years after that and was now 15 years old. Finally, Jacob was born 5 years after Zoe and was now 10 years old. She herself was now 45 years old woman...
Who was thinking about divorcing with her husband.
Linda loved Adam. She really did. The first few years after their marriage were amazing. And when Jennifer was born it was as if god sent her the most amazing gift ever. But after years passed, the passion disappeared. After Jacob was born, Linda and Adam made love maybe... a few times. She probably could count them on her one hand. As years went Linda's loving husband changed. He started complain about money, about their status and even their children. Honestly it got so bad that they argued almost every other night.
Her husband become cruel, distant and he even started to drink heavily a couple years back. The children didn't know that about him, because he could hide it well, but she knew. He always had stench of alcohol when he went to sleep.. At least he wasn't trying to hit her yet, but she sometimes wondered if that was only a matter of time...
So yes, Linda was thinking about divorcing with her husband. The only thing stopping her was her children. She had a good job, really, but not enough to support three kids. Sure, Jennifer probably would offer to get part-time job to help, but Linda didn't want her to drop studies. This was her last year in high school and after that Linda hoped that Jennifer will go to nice college or university. She was smart girl, so she would be able to do that. Jacob wasn't much of a problem, he was good boy and reminded her of when Jennifer was his age. It was a pity that Jacob and Jennifer didn't spend much time together. They had similar likes, maybe just the age difference was a bit too high for them to have fun together.
What concerned her the most was Zoe. Zoe was... well, her father's daughter. Dark, cynical, angry at the world. Cruel, even. If what happened with Jennifer yesterday was any indication she was doing it on purpose too. Linda felt that she failed as a mother when it concerned Zoe. She really didn't know how to help her. Zoe didn't even seem to want help...
Linda sighed again, sipping her tea, only to find out that it got cold while she was thinking. She was about to make fresh cup when her phone started ringing. Without looking at number she answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sis. Missed me?" Linda could hear a cheeky female voice from other end of the phone. Voice she immediately recognized.
"Ember! You cheeky little devil. How are you doing? I thought you were too busy handling your company."
"Heh, found a nice CEO to handle stuff for me. Only get weekly reports now, so lots of free time on my hands. I was actually calling you to let you know that I'm moving in." Linda heard her sister's voice saying.
"Wait, moving in? As in moving here, into our town?"
"Yep. Bought that nice mansion near the lake. I should be there tomorrow."
Linda didn't know what to say "Woah, that is nice surprise. What brought this?"
"Well, figured I might rejoin with my family, return to my roots. Since dad died not that long ago, you and your children are the only family I have left. I still feel like scum that I couldn't make it to the funeral. I fired the secretary that misplaced that letter..."
Linda smiled sadly "It is okay, I'm sure you did your best. What matters is that you are coming now. I'm sure he would love to see you visit his grave."
"I hope he would... I wasn't the best daughter. Anyways, enough about sappy stuff. How are you and kids doing? Is Jennifer dating anyone yet?"
Linda frowned "Well, about that..." she started and launched into explanation on what happened in her life recently.
