Building on Dreams

Chapter 24 - The Acceptance of Mates

Susan and Greg showed themselves out the Cooper’s front door, over hearing what was promising to be a heated exchange between Michael and Rachelle already beginning in the kitchen as they left.

Susan arched a brow at her husband as they returned to their car.

“What do you think?” Susan asked him as they both got in. “As an impartial observer, how do you think that went?”

“I am hardly impartial, Susan,” Greg objected as he started the car and headed towards the area of town where they’d seen a few restaurants which were also in the direction of the sporting goods store Michael recommended.

“Maybe not, but you were the most objective person in that room,” Susan told him.

“That is most likely true,” Greg agreed. “The topics discussed today were highly emotionally charged for nearly everyone present, but none more so than for Michael and you.”

“It wasn’t, until I brought up the topic of the children,” Susan remarked. “I think Rachelle’s comments really surprised him.”

“More like shocked, in my opinion,” Greg told her. “I know you’ve tried talking to Michael before about how she treats Zackary with very little success, however until he heard his wife describing the measures she’s taken to excise you from their lives, my impression is he was completely unaware of it.”

Susan just shook her head. “I know I’ve tried to tell him that, and it sounds like Matthew did too. I didn’t know the extent to which she’s been interfering, but obviously she has … very actively. It makes me wonder if she actually did know I was alive, but was intentionally trying to keep them from finding out.”

“She might have, if she read your letters. And it does sound like she opened them in order to find the photographs,” Greg commented. “In my opinion, Rachelle feels very threatened by you.”

“She shouldn’t,” Susan said. “She knows Michael divorced me and I’m married to you.”

“Yes, but you must see that from her point of view, that is a relatively recent development. Much of the time this was actively going on, you and Michael were legally still married. She may have feared Michael would go back to you in the event you really were alive and did manage to return. So from that point of view, she did what she did to protect her relationship and her marriage to Michael, above all else,” Greg said. “Given that they seem to be well suited to one another and a good match, what I can’t figure out is why they didn’t simply talk to one another about it and work it out. I know that’s what I would have done.”

“Oh, that part’s easy,” Susan told him as they spotted a restaurant that looked good and Greg steered the car into the parking lot. “Michael doesn’t like to talk. He hates it in fact, and it sounds like Rachelle does too, which works out well for him most of the time I suspect. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about you … from the first few days I got to know you in this life. You welcome any question and are willing to openly and honestly discuss anything. You have no idea how much I treasure that quality in you.”

“He did seem willing to talk to you about things today,” Greg commented.

“Because he knows me and he knows I would insist. I had some valid issues we needed to work through and he couldn’t reasonably refuse, though he did hope to deter me from getting into it too deeply by having both you and Rachelle there,” Susan said.

Greg arched his brow as they got out.

“Just one more thing about this before we go in,” Greg said.

“Yes?”

“You said Michael doesn’t like to talk, and yet he and Rachelle were talking as we left,” Greg commented.