Part 35
Dinner was every bit as awkward and tense as Chelsea had anticipated. She tried to make conversation with Dianne but Dianne remained as cool and aloof as she’d been when they arrived. Kevin and AJ tried to ease the situation by telling the girls about the Up Close and Personal tour but that only seemed to intensify the situation. Chelsea saw that every time her interest in what the guys were saying Dianne’s disapproval deepened. Annie even tried to help by telling more about her trip to Kentucky but to no avail.
With dinner over, Dianne excused herself and began clearing the dishes while Annie excused herself to go pick out a book for Chelsea to read.
“Well, that was fun,” sneered AJ.
“I’m really sorry, Kevin,” apologized Chelsea. “We shouldn’t have stayed for dinner.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chels. I asked you to stay. Besides, this is my fault. Annie said she saw Dianne crying before dinner.”
“You think she saw you kiss me?”
“Probably, but it’s not your problem. I’ll talk to her tonight.”
“Do you want us to take Annie for the night?” offered AJ.
“No,
it’s not necessary. I’m taking her to enroll her in school tomorrow so….”
”I’m coming too,” said
Chelsea.
“So that’s not a problem,” finished AJ. “Let us take her for tonight and we’ll meet you in the morning.”
Relief flooded Kevin’s face. “Thanks. I guess I just assumed Dianne was okay with all this since she’d done so much over the weekend for her and because I was so excited.”
“Its okay, Kev,” assured Chelsea.
“Let me go help Annie get some clothes for tomorrow and I’ll bring her back down.”
Kevin left AJ and Chelsea alone and AJ took Chelsea’s hand. “I’m sorry, ‘Beautiful’.”
“Don’t be. We can still spend the time together after Annie goes to bed.”
“You sure?”
“Positive! I have nothing to hide from her and she already knows that we sleep together.”
AJ leaned to her to give her a kiss. “I’m gonna go get ‘Bo’ for her,” he whispered.
Chelsea watched AJ go outside but Dianne interrupted her thoughts as she returned to gather more dishes. The temperature dropped ten degrees when Dianne realized they were alone and she hastily grabbed what was left to return to the kitchen.
Wanting to help Kevin, Chelsea decided to try to talk to Dianne. Grabbing her crutches, she pulled herself up and hobbled into the kitchen where she found Dianne.
Unaware of Chelsea’s presence, Dianne was mumbling to herself. “The little tramp! She couldn’t be satisfied with getting pregnant by MY husband but now she has to swoop in and try to steal him. And she THINKS having AJ pretend to be her boyfriend is going to fool me.”
“Dianne.”
Startled, Dianne whirled around dropping the plate in her hand. As the plate shattered on the floor, Dianne swore, “Damnit!” and tears began to fall.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I think we need to talk.”
“You have NOTHING to say that I want to hear.”
“Dianne, I’m really sorry about all this.”
As her tears continued to fall, Dianne stood just inches from her. “Sorry? You’re SORRY? You get pregnant by MY boyfriend, keep it from him for seven years, and all you can say is ‘I’m sorry’?”
“Look, at the time, Kevin told me you two were broken up…otherwise, I wouldn’t have messed with him in the first place. And you don’t know the whole story.”
“The whole story? You mean how you’re still in love with Kevin and how you want him back? Oh, I completely understand that. He stayed in Virginia to take care of you after your little accident and that little kiss on the deck earlier…the way you held his hand and put your head on his shoulder…that told me ALL I need to know. And it’s a really nice touch having AJ pose as your boyfriend.” Stopping to wipe her tears, Dianne caught her breath and quickly went back at Chelsea. “Why did you wait all this time? Was it the money? That’s it, isn’t it…you’re after Kevin’s money.”
“No, I’m not after his money…and I’m not after Kevin either. Yes, I care about him a great deal but I’m in love with Alex,” replied Chelsea calmly. “What you saw was not because we’re in love…it was because we share a beautiful daughter that we both love a great deal.”
“Oh, okay. I believe that,” snipped Dianne sarcastically. “That’s why he bought that puppy…one just like you had when you were young…because he’s not in love with you.”
“You can believe what you want.”
“I’ll tell you what I believe. I believe you’re still in love with my husband but you hear me and you hear me good. I will NOT just roll over and let you have him without a fight. What’s more…I will make sure that Kevin gets FULL custody of Annie.”
“That’s enough,” came Kevin’s deep voice from the doorway. “Chels, AJ and Annie are waiting for you in the living room.”
Turning to Kevin, she said, “I’m sorry, ‘Boo’. I was just trying to help.”
Kevin’s expression softened. “I know and don’t worry. I’ll straighten this out. Go on and spend some time with AJ and Annie.”
“See you in the morning.”
An awkward moment passed, both wanting to give the other a hug but knowing it would only make matters worse. Instead, Kevin held the door for Chelsea and as she passed, he whispered ‘good-bye’ to her, his eyes telling her he’d make this right.
