Hearing her uncle’s cold voice behind her, Jess’s heart began pounding in her chest. When she turned around, Uncle Jonathon’s blood shot eyes burned with anger as he walked from the darkened grand parlor. He had a drink in his hand and from the way he was unsteady on his feet as he made his way to the table with the telephone, she knew he was drunk.
“H – hello, Uncle J – Jonathon,” she said as casually as she could, but her voice quavered. She hadn’t been cold when she was outside with Marty, but now her entire body was shaking with fear.
“Where’ve you been?” he slurred in a low voice, setting his glass down on the table. Trying to keep up the pretense that nothing was wrong, she removed her boots and began unbuttoning her coat, but her trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons.
“It looked so pretty outside, I decided to go for a walk,” she said, forcing a smile while removing her coat.
Turning away from him to hang it in the closet, she hoped he didn’t see the tremor in her hand when she reached for a hanger. It was reasonable she might go for a walk on a snowy night, she thought, trying to keep the panic down. As far as he knew, she didn’t even know about the cabin. All she needed to do was make sure he didn’t have any reason to suspect she wasn’t telling the truth.
Closing the closet door, she turned to head to the stairs, but Uncle Jonathon was in her way, glaring down at her.
“Good night,” she said, and went to step around him.
“Not so fast, missy,” he growled, grabbing onto her and yanking her back in front of him.
“You must think I’m stupid,” he hissed, the smell of alcohol washing over her as he held her firmly by her upper arms.
“N – no, s – sir,” she stammered. She couldn’t help trying to pull out of his grip as fear began to rise up in her. “I – I was just – walking. I was –.”
“Don’t lie to me!” he roared, giving her a shake, his grip tightening painfully.
“Please, Uncle Jonathon!” she begged, tears coming to her eyes as she struggled. “You’re hurting me!”
“I saw you!” he bellowed. Seeing the rage in his eyes while he squeezed her arms even tighter, a blind terror took hold of her. “How long have you been seeing him? How long?”
“Let me go!” she screamed, struggling wildly to get loose.
“What have you been doing with him?” he shouted, shaking her hard. “Tell me!”
“Dad! What are you doing?”
“Doug!” Jess cried out, hearing Doug’s shocked voice.
“Dad, stop! Let her go!” Doug appeared at his father’s side in his robe and pajamas, desperately pulling on Uncle Jonathon’s arm in an attempt to get him to let go. As soon as he’d wrenched Jess away, she grabbed onto him, sobbing into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. “What on earth are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” he demanded with outrage.
“She’s having an affair with James!” Uncle Jonathon shouted.
“What? That’s crazy!” Doug exclaimed, drowning out Jess’s gasp of shock.
“It’s not crazy! I just caught her!”
“No!” Jess cried. “It’s not true!”
“I don’t believe it!” Doug insisted. “Jess wouldn’t do that!”
“She was coming from the garage, Douglas! I saw her!”
Doug breathed heavily, not saying anything, and when Jess lifted her head, he was looking down at her with horror, as if he didn’t know her.
“It’s not true!” Jess cried, while Doug searched her eyes. “I swear it’s not true! I just came back from a walk!”
“She’s a lying tramp!”
“Don’t talk about her like that!” Doug roared, trying to take a step towards Uncle Jonathon, but Jess’s tight hold kept him back.
“You’re going to take her word over mine?” Uncle Jonathon shouted, his hands balling into fists.
“No! Stop!” Jess pleaded desperately. With Uncle Jonathon drunk, and Doug angry and determined to protect her, she was terrified they might get into a physical fight. “Please take me upstairs, Doug. Please!” He didn’t want to, she could see it in his angry eyes, but then his expression changed.
“Alright,” he muttered. “Come on.”
“Douglas!” Uncle Jonathon shouted while he led her up the stair. Was Uncle Jonathon going to come after them, she wondered fearfully. She felt the urge to run up the stairs to get away from him, but Doug kept walking with his arm protectively around her waist. “Douglas!” he shouted again, but Doug continued on to her bedroom. Once the door was closed, Jess slumped with relief.
“Are you okay?” Doug asked. “Did he hurt you?”
“Yes,” she replied, the tears returning, and she wiped them away with a shaking hand. “I thought – I thought he was going to kill me.”
“Oh, Jess,” Doug said mournfully, putting his arms around her and rubbing her back. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“I was so scared!”
“You’re safe now. He won’t hurt you again. What happened down there?”
While she clung to him, the events that had taken place that evening ran through her mind; her going to the cabin to confront Marty about his date with Sharon, their argument, her kissing him, and then their struggle to get back home in the snowstorm. Uncle Jonathon must have been drinking in the grand parlor with the lights out and when he saw her walking back from the garage, he’d assumed she’d been visiting James.
She wanted to tell Doug the truth. It was possible he might understand since he’d had his own troubles seeing Donna, but now that she’d seen what Uncle Jonathon was like when he thought she was in a relationship with James, it made her doubly terrified about what he might do if he found out about her visits to the cabin. And if he could be that out of control with her, what would he do to Marty? She was just going to have to convince Doug her lie was the truth.
“It looked so pretty outside with the snow falling,” she explained, wiping her face. “I wanted to go for a walk. So I went out the kitchen and walked to the woods behind the garage. I was going to walk around the edge of the yard, but the snow was too deep, and I decided to come back. That’s when Uncle Jonathon must have seen me.”
Doug let go of her and she looked up at him.
“Jess,” he said soberly. “Please be honest with me, okay? You didn’t go out there – so you could see James, did you?”
“Doug, no!” she exclaimed. “I hate him! Ever since I’ve lived here, he’s always been rude to me. I would never have anything to do with him!”
“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her close so he could hold her again. “I didn’t think you would do something like that.”
“What am I going to do?” she cried. “Your dad doesn’t believe me! What if he tries –.” She couldn’t finish as she was overwhelmed with emotion, remembering how terrified she was when he attacked her.
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Doug replied with a resigned sigh. “I’ll make him see the truth.”
“I want to leave! I don’t want to stay here tonight!”
“What?” he asked loudly, looking down at her with shock. “You can’t leave!”
“What if he comes in my room when I’m sleeping!”
“Jess, be reasonable. We can’t leave now. The snow is too deep to drive.” Jess slumped against him, realizing he was right. She was trapped. “Look, I’ll stay here with you,” he said decisively. “I’ll sleep in the other bed and that way you don’t have to worry.”
“Okay,” she conceded. “But I want to go tomorrow! I don’t want to live here anymore.”
“Jess,” he sighed. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay? It’s late and we’re too exhausted to think clearly.”
Jess didn’t reply. She had the impression that Doug meant she was too exhausted to think clearly, but that wasn’t the case. She didn’t know how, but she had to get away. She would never live with her uncle again after tonight.
“Why don’t you change in the bathroom and we’ll go to sleep,” he said, letting go of her.
Getting her nightgown and robe, she went in the bathroom and closed the door, but when she turned, she saw the other door, the one leading to the kitchen, and she immediately felt the fear rise up in her. There was no lock on that door. What if her uncle came up the back stairs? She went back in her bedroom.
“Do you mind if I change in here?” she asked. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Doug replied quietly. Before he turned away, she saw his sad expression.
Going to the second bed, he sat with his back to her and leaned over, putting his head in his hands. She quickly changed into her nightgown and then put on her robe, feeling like she needed it for protection.
“Okay,” she said, tying her belt, and he stood and pulled back the blankets on his bed.
Once they were settled under their covers, Doug reached to turn off the light on the table between them, then pulled his hand back.
“Do you want it on?” he asked.
“No, you can turn it off.”
“Okay. Good night, Jess,” he said sadly, and then the room went dark.
She rolled over onto her side with her back to Doug as fresh tears pricked her eyes. How could her life have gone so wrong in an instant like that? Oh, Marty. I need you, she thought, her heart aching for him. If he was there, he'd protect her and make her feel safe, and then she suddenly imagined him making his way to town in the dark, walking through deep snow on the highway. He was in danger too, of being hit by a car, or of slipping and being too hurt to walk. What would happen to him if he was unable to get out of the cold? While she wiped her tears and tried to stay quiet so Doug wouldn’t know she was crying, she desperately wished Marty was there with her – for both their sakes.
When Jess woke, sunlight was streaming in through her windows. Rolling over, she was surprised to see Doug sitting on the other bed watching her. He’d already dressed and the bed was made. How long had she been asleep?
“Good morning,” he said quietly.
“What time is it?” she asked, and he checked his watch.
“After eleven. I talked to dad.” She sat up with her stomach clenching. “He doesn’t remember last night.”
“What?” she said with shock. “I don’t believe it!”
“It can happen sometimes when you drink too much. It’s called a black out.”
“How can he not remember what he did to me?”
“He feels terrible about it, Jess!” he insisted. “He wants to apologize.”
“No! Not after what he did! I don’t trust him!”
“Please listen to me!” Doug pleaded, his eyes suddenly red and shiny. “I know what he did scared you, but he won’t do it again! He knows he made a mistake, a terrible mistake, and he wants to make it better. Please let him apologize.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and then closed it, seeing Doug wipe tears from his eyes. It suddenly occurred to her how bad this was for him. This was the only family he had, and it was being torn apart right in front of him. She didn’t want to hurt him, but when she considered forgiving her uncle, her mind balked.
“I don’t know, Doug. I can’t forget what he did to me.”
“Will you at least listen to him? Let him explain? Maybe then you’ll believe he’s sorry.”
“Okay,” she sighed. She could give Doug at least that. “But I want you to go with me.” Appearing relieved, Doug stood.
“You get dressed and I’ll be waiting in the hall.”
When she got out of bed and looked out the window, her heart sank. There were deep drifts in front of the garage doors. Even if she tried to leave, it would be impossible. With the snow so deep, how was she going to get to the cabin? Or would Marty even come? She didn't even know if he'd made it to the drugstore last night. Feeling utterly alone and afraid, she slowly dressed.
Doug took her to the library where they found Uncle Jonathon sitting in front of a fire, reading from a stack of papers.
“Dad, Jess is here,” Doug said quietly, and her uncle looked up.
“Jessica,” he said standing, and Jess automatically moved closer to Doug.
“Douglas told me what happened last night,” he said in a serious tone. “Apparently I’d had too much to drink and jumped to conclusions. It was wrong, and I hope you’ll forgive my actions.” He waited, and Jess realized that was all he was going to say. It wasn’t enough, she thought angrily. Not after what he'd done.
“Jess?” Doug prodded, and she looked up at him. His eyes were begging her to forgive his father.
“But – it might happen again,” she said faintly.
“It won’t,” Uncle Jonathon said emphatically. “I’ve promised Douglas, and I’ll make the same promise to you. I won’t drink at home while you’re living here. He assured me that you would never have anything to do with James, and I believe him, so you don’t need to worry about being accused again.” What about Marty, she thought. Would he attack her if he found out about him?
“See? It’ll be okay,” Doug suggested gently.
In the silence that followed, Jess felt the pressure to forgive her uncle increasing. She didn’t want to do it, but what choice did she have? She didn’t know when, or even if she was going to be able to leave. If she refused to give him the answer he wanted, he could make her life even more unbearable.
“I – forgive you,” Jess mumbled without meeting his eyes.
“Thank you, Jessica!” Hearing the relief in his voice, she lifted her head, but he’d already turned towards the fire to put another log in. Maybe he really had been sincere, but he just didn't know how to show it.
“The snowplow from the mine is on its way here,” Doug said, addressing Jess. “But it’s probably going to take a while since they have to plow the roads on the way. We probably won’t be able to get out until this afternoon.” She looked at him hopefully. Did that mean he was going to take her away? “Uh, I meant dad and I. We're going to work later,” he said uneasily. “Are you hungry?” he added, quickly changing the subject. “You haven’t had anything to eat yet.”
“I guess so,” she muttered. She felt a pain in her stomach when she said it, and then she remembered the last time she’d eaten was breakfast the day before.
The only thing edible in the kitchen was eggs, and Doug scrambled some for the two of them, while she made toast. When they sat at the table, Jess contemplated her food while she blinked back tears. She didn’t know if Marty was okay or not, and she was trapped with no one to help her.
“Please don’t be sad,” Doug said, leaning forward. “I know you still want to leave, but if you give it some time, you’ll realize you have nothing to be afraid of.” He looked so sincere, and she wanted to believe him. She would give anything to have her life go back to the way it was.
“Maybe you’re right,” she conceded with a sigh. If her uncle treated her the same as before, she could tolerate living there until she was able to go to college. It was less than a year away, after all.
After they ate, she excused herself, saying she was tired, but in reality she just wanted to be alone. She’d pushed her concerns about her uncle away, but she was sick with worry about Marty. She knew he would have had plenty of time to get out of the road before a car could overtake him the night before, but what if he’d fallen and broken his leg, or it got too difficult for him to walk? If something had happened to him, he would be buried under the snow before anyone saw him and could help him.
She now knew he wouldn’t be able to come to the cabin even if he wanted to, not with the roads so bad that Doug and her uncle needed their own private snow plow. That meant she wasn’t going to see him until tomorrow at the earliest, and that was far too long to wait. The only way she could ensure he was okay was to make a call to the drugstore, but with Doug and Uncle Jonathon in the house, she didn’t dare risk it.
She laid in bed, thinking positive thoughts about Marty until she heard the sound of a truck engine outside. An enormous snow plow slowly made its way down the drive, and she watched it, willing it to move faster while it pushed the deep snow into huge piles on the sides of the road. When it reached the house, the driver hopped out and helped James shovel out the garage doors. There was a knock on her door, and after a hesitation, she went to answer it. To her relief, it was Doug wearing a suit and tie.
“We’re going to work soon but I wanted to be sure you’re okay. I can stay home with you if you want.”
“No, it’s fine Doug. I’m okay,” she replied quickly. He seemed disappointed before he managed to hide it.
“They’re going to plow the road to the Lindstrom’s next so James can pick up something for dinner. I called over there this morning and gave Mrs. Lindstrom some suggestions for the kind of food we like. I figured I’d better before dad realizes what she’s been sending over. Dad will stay late, but I’m coming home for dinner. I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Thanks, Doug,” she said sincerely, and he pulled her close so he could hug her.
“If you need anything, call me,” he said, his deep voice rumbling in his chest.
“I will.”
She watched from her bedroom window until the black car disappeared from view, then ran down the stairs. Once she’d found the phonebook she quickly turned the pages to locate the number for Dwyer’s Drugstore. After dialing the number with shaking fingers, she listened to it ringing with her eyes squeezed shut, praying Marty was safe.
“Hello,” a deep voice answered. It was Mr. Dwyer.
“Hello. Is Marty Cappellini there?” she asked, her voice shaky and breathless.
“No, he’s not,” he replied brusquely. “He’s out making deliveries. Did you need something?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, slumping with relief, and then she realized he’d asked a question. “I don’t need anything. I just wanted to check – I mean, no, I’m fine.”
“Who is this?” he demanded.
“I – I’m a friend. Thank you. Good bye.” She hung up the phone before Mr. Dwyer had a chance to respond, and then let out a deep breath as she went to sit on the stairs.
Marty was okay, she thought with her head in her hands. He’d made it to the drugstore just fine. Then she realized Mr. Dwyer would probably mention someone had called about him. Smiling as she stood to go back to her room, she imagined the look on his face when he realized it was her. She was certain now she’d see him tomorrow, and she needed him. He would comfort her, and he could help her decide what she should do after she’d told him what happened.
That evening, she and Doug ate a delicious hearty stew and a strange brown bread that Jess found quite tasty. Now that she wasn’t worried about Marty and her uncle was away, she was able to relax. Maybe Doug had been right and that she just needed time in order to feel more comfortable. Through the meal, she noticed Doug was quieter than normal, seemingly lost in thought. When they finished, Jess stood and began to collect their dishes, but Doug put his hand on hers, gently guiding their bowls back to the table.
“Will you sit for a minute, Jess. I want to talk to you about something,” he said. The serious look in his eyes let her know it was important
“Okay,” she said taking her seat and wondering what it could be. He put his hands in his lap and slouched forward, frowning at the empty bowl in front of him.
“I’ve been thinking an awful lot ever since last night,” he said to the table. “Seeing my dad do that to you – it hurt me – and I think I finally know why.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “You mean a lot to me, Jess.” Jess blinked back tears, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion that Doug cared so much about her.
“You mean a lot to me too, Doug,” she replied, and he looked up with surprise.
“I do?” he asked.
“Yeah. You’re like a brother to me.” He slumped forward again, looking like he was in pain. “You’ve always been there for me when I needed you, and that means a lot.”
“No, Jess. I mean I love you.”
Jess’s dinner became a rock in her stomach as she stared at him with horror, realizing what he was saying.
“I’ve been in love with you for a long time. For years, and I –.”
“What about Donna?” she blurted out.
“Donna!” he replied, lifting his head with surprise. “I broke up with her a long time ago.”
“I saw you kissing her on graduation day!” He immediate looked guilty.
“That was – nothing,” he said, avoiding her eyes. “It was – a mistake.”
“I don’t care about what you did with Donna. I’m sorry, Doug, but I don’t feel that way about you. I love you, but like a brother.” Doug slumped even more, as if her words had crushed him.
“If the reason is – because I’m your cousin,” he mumbled with his head hanging. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not related to you – by blood. I’m – adopted.” He looked so ashamed, that in spite of what was happening, Jess’s heart went out to him.
“I already know,” she said gently. “That’s not the reason.”
“You can learn to love me!” he insisted, looking up at her, his eyes full of desperation. Jess opened her mouth to argue, but Doug’s face became hopeful. “You said you didn’t want to live here anymore! We can live in town! I’ll buy you house – and you can see your friends whenever you want! I’ll give you anything, Jess! And we’ll take our time. I won’t expect you to love me right away!”
“Doug, please! I can’t –,” she began.
“Just give me a chance, Jess! I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I know you can fall in love with me if you give it time!”
“I’m in love with someone else!” she shouted, and there was a ringing silence in the kitchen as Doug stared at her in shock.
“How?” he demanded with incredulity. “You’re not dating anyone!”
“I met him at school. He’s a nice boy, but he’s not the kind Uncle Jonathon would approve of. That’s why I haven’t mentioned him.” She kept her eyes steadily on his, willing him to believe her.
“Is he in love with you?”
“Yes, he is. We’ve been in love for a long time,” she said confidently. Doug’s face fell, and he dropped his head. Taking deep breaths, he stared at the table while fighting back tears. Watching him, Jess felt terrible. She’d never wanted to hurt him.
“I’m really sorry, Doug. I’m sure you’ll find another –.”
Without a word, he got up from the table and walked out.
****
An extremely rough chapter for Jess! I'm sure you have plenty of opinions about what went on with Uncle Jonathon. Do you believe he was sincere? And what about Doug? How do you feel about his actions in this chapter? What will happen between him and Jess? And what will happen when Jess sees Marty? I can't wait to hear what you think!
Dedicated to a very dear friend, Dynese. Just before posting this chapter, I found out she'd passed away from cancer. She was kind, funny, a fellow knitter and spinner, and could make a mean mixed drink. I'm going to miss her a lot.
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, I hope you'll consider giving it a vote to help support it in the Watty's. The video is Bobby Vee's Take Good Care of My Baby.