A Mother's Love

Chapter Three

    "Gracelyn honey, you can't stay in your room forever." Carl says softly on the other side of her bedroom door, "Now would you come out so we can talk?", "I can't...I don't want to Dad, Mom is mocking me and I hate her!". Gracelyn never really did see eye to eye with Karissa but has always been a daddy's girl to Carl. "Your mom isn't mocking you and she doesn't hate you either.", "Yes she does, she hates me and doesn't like anything I do, no matter how hard I try!!", "Gracelyn honey, don't think like that. Your mother loves you very much and is just concerned about you and wants you to be safe and so do I. We both feel that Harvey isn't a nice boy for you and we don't want you to get hurt.", "Why are you taking her side all of a sudden? You guys don't know how sweet he is and how amazing of a guy he really is!".
    Carl takes a deep breath, almost biting his lip in which he already knows how stubborn Gracelyn can be, like any other teenage girl. Both him and Karissa know that Harvey has come from a family of anger problems and they know that he has been mischief and abusive in school. "Would you please come out so your mother and I can talk one to one as a family?", "No! Dad I rather stay in my room and die, I don't want to talk.". Carl sighs and walks away from her telling her to stay if she wants to but supper won't be there for her. Gracelyn didn't feel like responding back as she feels no one is her friend right now.
    Carl, Karissa and Daniel eventually sat down for supper and left an extra place setting in Gracelyn's seat, just incase she ever decided to come down for supper. Then they all heard her come downstairs without making eye contact nor saying anything to anybody. She grabbed her plate and dished out her food while everyone was looking at her which was making them stop what they were eating. She walked back upstairs and slammed the door leaving Karissa's heart broken, wishing her daughter would connect. "She will come around dear." Carl assures Karissa which she knows that may not be the case. She sees Daniel stare down at his plate, eating his mashed potatoes slowly.
By the time supper was finished, Karissa washed dishes and Daniel helped out drying by hand while Carl was working away in his office which was in the family basement. "Mom, I love you." Daniel breaks the silence, "Thank you son, I love you too.", "Why is she so mean Mom?", "She's just going through a phase dear unfortunately...hopefully you don't be like that with your father and I in the next two years.", "I promise Mom, I won't" Daniel smiles. Karissa smiles back and kept looking at the window that was above the sink and was having a flashback of Gracelyn as a sweet, little girl who was playing outside of the family home. She remembers the one time when she was pregnant with Daniel that little Gracelyn was playing in a pile of leaves that Carl had just raked up. This had made Karissa giggle at the time and watches her daughter pounce and pretend she was a puppy. Carl couldn't resist but laugh along too as he heard her pretending to bark. Karissa comes back from the flashback when she had felt Daniel tapping on her shoulder. "Mom?", Karissa shakes her head looks at Daniel who was concerned for a minute, "Oh Honey, I'm fine.".
Karissa washes the last plate in the sink, drains the water and wipes her hands with a kitchen towel. She then approaches the basement where she sees Carl sitting at his desk, working away on his paper works. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around his chest and her head was on his right shoulder. Carl had felt her touching him and places the pencil down and takes his hand and places it on top of Karissa's head. "I love you." She whispers in his ear, "I love you sweetie, don't worry about Gracelyn, she will soon realize.", "I sure hope so, I hope that she doesn't make the same mistake that I have done at a much older age...".