Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (5 page)

Josh scrambled looking for his boxers and jumped into them before running down the hall behind her.

Jenny was on her knees in front of Emmie, holding her, but the child's screams had not stopped. She was at the open door to Josh's office, fighting Jenny and screaming repeatedly.

"Emmie," Josh exclaimed falling to his knees in front of his baby girl. She whirled around and her screams changed to barely discernible words as she burrowed into him sobbing, "Don't go! Don't go!"

Josh hugged her, carried her back into their bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed holding her tightly in his arms to comfort and settle her down. The noise had awakened Adam, who now was screaming his displeasure. Jenny went into the adjoining room to care for their son.

"Daddy's not going anywhere, Emmie," Josh promised as he rocked his little girl. "Daddy's not going anywhere."

Fifteen minutes later, Emmie had calmed but was back to being silent. Jenny came into the room carrying Adam.

"Emmie, baby, go get dressed, pick up your room, and we will have breakfast together," Josh said gently. "Today is no different from yesterday. Daddy is going to work in his office. I will be right here, and you can sit on my lap while I work. I know you couldn't find me, but Daddy is sleeping back in Mommy and Daddy's room. I'm not going anywhere."

Emmie nodded as she scooted off the bed, and then she turned and wagged her finger three times, frowned, and went down the hall to her room.

Josh smiled. "She still gets her point across, doesn't she?"

Jenny sat down on the bed letting Adam crawl into Josh's lap. "Something we said terrified her into thinking you were leaving. She must have overheard us arguing at some point. I will call Dr. Strickland's office as soon as they open. At least Emmie spoke some words."

"She did, but they were words that shame us," Josh said, his eyes meeting hers.

Jenny nodded. "We should be ashamed. What is on your agenda today?"

"First, reassuring my little girl I am not abandoning her. Then, finding out how much Dad gave us, and sitting down with the bills and seeing where we stand."

Jenny bit her lip. "There are probably a few you still don't know about," she whispered.

He took a deep breath. "I will find out about them this morning. As of today, your habit of hiding things from me is over. I know where you learned it, and it stops as of this second."

* * *

The kids were napping. Josh had gone out earlier and taken Emmie with him to the bank. When he returned, he handed Jen cash telling her it had to cover their groceries and incidentals for the next two weeks. Until their credit and charge accounts reported zero balances, they would only use cash. He was unusually stern and warned her if she could not control her spending, he would take over all the shopping.

Next, Josh retrieved the new credit card bills he had recently discovered, and Jenny handed him a few more from various independent department stores. She had not wanted him to know about those at all and had been cheating on the grocery money to pay on them. Not ten minutes later, a high-end department store in the mall called. The credit department wanted to know if Denise Marsden could charge $427.87 to Jenny's credit account. Jenny said no. She heard her mother in the background protesting. Denise came on the line berating Jen for embarrassing her in public. This time Jenny held firm. "I said no, Mom. I mean no!" Jenny repeated, and she disconnected the call.

Jenny went to their bedroom and pulled out her journals from the last five years. She didn't log every detail of her life in her journals, but she tried to write in them nearly every day. Her entries were a reasonably accurate account of her activities, her spending, not to mention a chronicle of her frustrations when dealing with her mother. She was reading her second journal when Adam's crying interrupted her.

She came to some hard realizations while diapering the baby. Her journals verified what she had suspected for a long time but had been afraid to admit. In only two years of her journal notations, her mother had pressured her into buying merchandise that more than equaled the original amount her mother had supposedly
gifted
them for the down payment on the house.

Jenny knew she had been avoiding and ignoring major problems for a long time. She now comprehended the enormous power her mother's
gift
had given Denise over their lives. Something snapped inside Jenny as she recognized that by appeasing her mother, she had nearly destroyed her marriage. Why? Denise Marsden had never been a loving mother. She had left the raising of her two daughters first to a nanny and later a housekeeper. She had always been distant and cruel with constant expectations of perfection from Jenny and her sister, Mila.

She picked up her now fresh smelling son and went to her husband's office.

"How is it going?"

"Dad was generous," Josh said. "Thorough too, I should have expected it. Tyrell has already called three times, each time calling me an idiot."

Jenny laughed. "Tyrell always calls you
idiot
. It's his nickname for you, there's nothing new there. He declares it is his privilege as your big brother."

Josh smiled thinking of his closest and most competitive brother. "I know. He is going after Pugh and Barkley. He has already slammed their HR department with numerous subpoenas for information. He says they are skirting gray areas of a dozen labor laws, most of which he could and would argue in court if he's given a chance. I gave him a list of all the people caught in the original layoff, and those of us hired back as contractors. He is looking into all of it."

"Which means he will threaten to sue them and try to get a settlement," Jenny guessed.

"More than likely," Josh agreed. "He knows his stuff. Pugh and Barkley are part of a billion-dollar international corporation now. Barkley may be dead, but Pugh pocketed hundreds of millions through the company purchase. Since then, the working conditions for the employees have steadily deteriorated. I thought Barkley was a tough old goat, but now I believe he was the ethical one in the partnership. David Pugh has no moral code at all."

"Actually, I came over to ask about the bill paying. Is there enough left over to pay Mom back?"

"I put it at the top of the list," Josh answered, motioning for her to come nearer. He put Adam on the floor to play and pulled her into his lap. "It's not me and you as separate entities anymore. It is we… together. Dealing with your mother will be difficult. Your usual response is to buckle to her requests rather than standing up to her. Remember though, I have your back on this. Denise may be a grown woman, but everyone has spoiled her for her entire life. She is still a child… see it, want it, get it. She lies and manipulates to get what she wants. She preys on
you
. It has to stop now."

"I know, but I realized something else this morning," Jenny said honestly. "My mother is not to blame for
my
actions. She is the instigator for sure. I grew up knowing she lied to my father all the time. She explained they were 'little white lies hurting no one'. Dad would yell and scream at her about the bills, but it never stopped her. Now, I know even her little white lies hurt. We need to get out from under the obligation of her
gift
."

"We will do it," Josh agreed. "I should have put my foot down long ago. We have to face both our parts in this mess, accept it, forgive it, and move on. We can do it, but Denise will not relinquish her hold on you easily."

"You don't have to convince me," Jenny exclaimed. "I have harbored a dream of a perfect relationship with Mom, but I have finally acknowledged it will never happen. She will never be the loving mother I wanted as a child or a loving grandmother to our kids. What little she has to give comes with constant disapproval, criticism, and a price tag. I can't afford to pander to her anymore or allow her to manipulate me. I will not sacrifice my husband, my marriage, and my family for her.

"I wish we could move away from here, across the country, or to another country entirely. We need to put distance between her and me. It would be easier for me and I know Mom would never leave her country clubs and social circles."

Josh's eyebrows rose at Jenny's easy acceptance of a complete break from her mother. "It might be possible. I have sent a lot of resumes to west coast locations."

* * *

Denise was giving her daughter the silent treatment, which was a typical behavior for her. If her daughter did not comply with her demands, she shut her out. She neither called nor appeared on their doorstep for a week. She had no idea how much Josh and Jenny enjoyed the peace. They were at last concentrating on their relationship. They had set their goals and were determinedly following through with their plans. They dreaded the moment Denise would reappear, yet they knew she would eventually.

A
For Sale
sign sat on their front lawn. They spent late evenings packing, deciding what was necessary for basic living and what could go in storage. It was unbelievable how much extraneous stuff children seemed to require, which was shortly afterward mere clutter.

* * *

"What have you done?" Denise demanded sharply, bursting through the front door.

"Did you forget how to knock, Denise?" Josh asked pointedly.

She ignored him as usual turning to her daughter. "Why have you put this house up for sale?"

"Because we can't afford it," Jenny said, barely looking up from a box she busily filled with books.

"You can't sell this house!" Denise exclaimed. "I won't allow it!'

"It has nothing to do with you, it's none of your business," Josh said. "Regardless of what you may believe, you have no legal connection to this property. The mortgage is in our name, not yours, and we have decided to sell."

"I most definitely do have some say in this," Denise exclaimed. "I gave you the down payment for it!"

"We know," Jenny said taking a deep breath. "You have reminded us of your
gift
nearly every day for the last five years." She walked to the fireplace mantle to pick up an envelope and hand it to her mother. "We do thank you, but we are returning your
gift
."

Denise opened the envelope and was furious at what she found. "Where did you get this kind of money? I don't want this back. I gave this to you to put a decent roof over your head!"

"You will take it back, though," Josh informed her firmly. "We are cutting the strings, Denise. We are no longer under any obligation to you. Things are going to be different from now on. If you want something, you will have to buy it yourself, as we will not."

"You ungrateful bastard," Denise exclaimed. "I was helping you and my daughter. I got you out of the roach-infested apartment you lived in before!"

"Actually, it was no such thing, it was a very comfortable rental," Josh said interrupting her arguments. "Denise, take the check, cash it, do whatever you want with it, but don't come back to us expecting any more. We are paying off our debts, including many purchases we can attribute directly to you. We don't owe you a thing."

"Jennifer! Are you going to let him speak to me like that?" Denise demanded.

"Yes," Jenny said, not much over a whisper. "I am tired of it, Mom. Tired of your constant criticism and interference. You called Josh's father! What business was it of yours to call Henry?"

"Someone had to do something," Denise exclaimed, looking at Josh in fury. "He is taking you into the gutter! Maureen Pugh called me. She said Josh is suing her husband's company. How do you think this makes me look? I have social obligations to these people."

Jenny sadly contemplated her mother who was in full rant mode. She saw a grown woman throwing a temper tantrum as if she were a two-year-old. "Obviously, your social status means more to you than my husband's mistreatment. Josh has every right to protect his property. You, on the other hand, had no right to interfere and call Henry."

"It wasn't your business," Josh interjected firmly. "We are busy, Denise. Close the door on your way out. Oh, and the next time, show some manners before entering our home!"

Denise looked from her daughter to her son-in-law in fury. She spun around and marched out the door slamming it in her wake.

Josh went to his wife, pulled her in close, and rocked her. "Step one, accomplished."

Jenny leaned into his embrace. "We are well beyond step one. Josh, are we hypocrites? We are returning what my mother gave us, but we accepted money from your parents."

"The difference is, Jen, my parents helped every one of their children, and what they gift, they rarely mention again. My father may ask, 'Have you straightened out your little problem, son,' but that would be the end of it. He would never ask me exactly how I spent the money. He would never imply we owed him anything.

"Your mother doesn't give anything without taking more in return… she takes and takes, and takes. The toll it has taken on your self-esteem and confidence has been devastating. I want my old Jenny back. I want my girl brimming with enthusiasm and excited about taking on new projects. I don't say this to be cruel, but your mother sucks the life out of you. I have never heard her give you a compliment. She finds fault with everything you do, with everything anyone does."