Chapter 11: Cecile--A Clean Conscience

Chapter 11: Cecile—A Clean Conscience

Cecile knew something wasn’t right after she had come back from the park with the children. The twins were fussing in their stroller and Mitchell was yawning and trying to stay alive much less stay awake. That was how Cecile knew Debbie Sakic liked the children coming home. It meant that they would nap no doubt for a few hours, and give Debbie’s fragile body needed rest. So that wasn’t out of the ordinary. What was, was how quiet the house was when she entered it.

Usually Debbie was already out the front door with a large smile and hugs for the babies and for Mitchell. Debbie liked to tuck them in for their naps, maybe read them a story. But she didn’t greet them this time.

Cecile frowned and looked around the large living room, she could hear some female voices in the kitchen but she couldn’t tell who they belonged to.

"Mrs. Sakic," Cecile called out, "We’re home!"

Briefly, she thought of what had happened to Mimi Roy just a couple days ago and quickly she shook the thought off.

"Oooh!" she heard Debbie say, "Cecile, darling, put the babies to bed and come into the kitchen."

"Yes, ma’am," Cecile said and she placed Mitchell on the floor, grabbing a twin on each hip. They whimpered a little bit but quickly, they buried their little faces on each of her shoulders. "Come on, Mitchie," she looked down into Mitchell’s big watery eyes and said, "I can’t carry all three of you."

"OK," Mitchell said, and he grabbed onto her elbow, following her up the stairs to the bedrooms.

Cecile smiled a bit, she liked these babies. They were so quiet and sweet, little Mitchell couldn’t say boo to a goose, and he was so unconditional in giving his trust and obedience. All he ever seemed to do was cuddle with his mom, or with his dad or any other adult arms present and talk quietly.

Cecile frowned, Mitchell was definitely not like those insufferable Roy children. Those kids were psychopathic! She hated when the team had parties and she had to constantly run in on the kids before they tired out poor Mitchell to a pulp.

The twins were asleep as soon as they were laid in their little beds and she carried Mitchell to his. He fell asleep as she was pulling his shoes off. "Sweet dreams, kiddo," she whispered before she kissed him on the forehead.

Cecile sighed as she came down the stairs, Danny hadn’t called her last night. He had broken off dinner with her last night because he had been asked by Patrick Roy to keep an eye on Mimi for the roadtrip, so he had dinner at the Roy house. Danny had invited Cecile, but Cecile had declined. She didn’t want to be at that house with those screaming children if she didn’t have to. He had said he’d call, but he hadn’t, and he hadn’t that morning either. It wasn’t that serious, Cecile figured, but she felt a bit empty for the day now. Usually she fed off her latest contact with Danny all through the day.

He’ll call tonight, Cecile thought to herself, or maybe stop by and surprise me, take me out to dinner. He’d be smiling that huge smile of his, and opening the doors for me and pulling out chairs for me.....maybe giving me flowers. He was always so thoughtful. Cecile felt better about the day until she went into the kitchen. Sitting at the small kitchen table was Debbie, beaming that huge smile of her, but also sitting at the table, sipping a cup of tea, was Cecile’s mother.

Cecile sucked in her breath and her mouth dropped open a bit. Pauline, her mother, stood up with a smile on her red lips, holding out her arms. "Darling," she said,
"I thought I would surprise you!"

"Oh.." Cecile said, catching herself and then smiling back, "Mommy, this is a surprise what are you doing here?"

No, no, no, no! Cecile thought, No! Why now? I was so happy, I was so happy this isn’t fair!

Pauline crushed Cecile in a vise-like hug, Cecile cringed a bit as she felt all the sharp bones in her mother’s body.

"You know, Cecile," Debbie said, "How I’ve been meaning to redecorate the house? Well, I remember you mentioning how your mother was an interior decorator and I looked her up, and I love her work! Why should all the ladies in New York be the only ones privy to her? She’s been lovely enough to take some time out of her life, and come here to help me with the house."

Pauline giggled and held Cecile out at arms length, looking her over. "Ooo," she said, "Won’t this be fun? Mrs. Sakic has been nice enough to let me have a spare room next to yours, now you won’t be so lonely!"

"Oh," Cecile said a little weakly, "wow!"

Pauline frowned and looked Cecile up and down again. "Have you been gaining weight?" she said, "I think you have....you’re getting a bit hippy."

"Oh," it seemed like that was all Cecile could say.

"Well," Pauline said, "I’m here now, so I can help you put a stop to that. You won’t be so alone so you won’t need to eat for comfort. We’ll have tons to do!"

Cecile nodded, looking at her feet.

"Oh, she’s not so lonely," Debbie chimed in coming up behind Cecile and putting her tiny hands on her shoulders, "She’s had Danny, he takes her out for dinners and movies, haha maybe you’ve had a few too many steak dinners Cecile? I know if Joe could, he’d be shoveling the steak and potatoes down my throat! Hockey players are such fiends!"

Cecile closed her eyes while Debbie spoke, she did not want to see the expression on her mother’s face. She had to. Looking up slowly, she met her mother’s eyes.

"Oh," Pauline said with false charm, "A..hockey player? A hockey player has been taking you "out" Cecile?"

Cecile opened her mouth to speak but she couldn’t say a thing.

"Oh he’s really a sweet boy Mrs. Darcy," Debbie said, "He has a great personality, he’s always smiling, a sweet, sweet boy."

"Well," Pauline said, smiling thinly into her daughter’s face, "My daughter deserves the best."

"Yes," Debbie said, "Cecile, I’m going to take my nap now, so you and your mother can have some time together while the babies are sleeping."

"Yes, darling," Pauline said to Debbie, "You need your sleep, I can’t wait until we get started."

Cecile shuddered inwardly.

Pauline was quiet as Cecile helped her take her bags, and cases and charts into the second guest room. Cecile was dying inside, she knew what was coming, but as usual, her mother was letting her suffer. When finally the last bag was brought in, and Pauline had sat on the feather-down bed, Cecile knew it was coming.

"Why haven’t I heard about this....hockey player?" Pauline said.

"His name is Danny, mom, and....and...I love him," Cecile said quickly, she was determined to hold her ground here, "He’s beautiful."

Pauline nodded, lifting her overplucked eyebrows. "You’re nineteen years old, Cecile, what do you know about love? Have you had sex with him?"

"Mother!" Cecile gasped, "Of course not! You know I wouldn’t do something like that! Danny understands, he feels the same way I do in fact!"

"I’m sorry, Cecile," Pauline said, standing up and holding her arms out, "But a "hockey player" could never feel the same things as you do. You’re worth more than that, and he only is waiting for one thing and you know it!"

Cecile shook her head, "Mother," she said, "You don’t know him, he’s not like that....he...he’s a virgin too! He believes in the bible just like I do!"

Pauline began to laugh and clutch her thin little body, "Oh Cecile," she said, "He’s lying to you, and you’re too naive to know it.

"What a blessing that Mrs. Sakic called me here, it must be God’s way of bringing me here to protect you. Now, Cecile, I’m here now to take care of you. I’m your mother and I know what’s best. Tonight you will call up this "hockey player" and end this infatuation. I don’t want to hear his name spoken, I don’t want to see what he looks like."

Cecile crossed her arms, trying to look defiant. "And if I don’t?" she asked.

Pauline leaned her head forward, impaling Cecile with her eyes. "Then no more money from me to tide you over here, nothing. In fact, I’ll go home and be done with you. If you want to wander astray, I can’t stop you, but what I can do, is tell you that you won’t be coming home. If you choose this "hockey player" over your family, than it will be permanent. And when he has had his way with you and left you for another girl, then maybe you’ll see how right I was."

That night, Danny called and Cecile was already sobbing into the phone. "You must understand how important my family is to me," she sobbed, "Danny please, and my religion too....I can’t leave it with a clean conscience!"

"Cecile!" Danny cried into the phone, "I’ve never asked you to leave your religion! Let me meet your mother, let me explain to her, I have nothing against your religion or your family! Don’t let it end this way!"

"I’m sorry," Cecile whispered into the phone, "You don’t know my mother...she’ll never change her mind. I’m so sorry. I think when she’s done here, I’ll, I’ll go back to New York with her, just forget about me Danny."

"Cecile!" Danny almost yelled into the phone, "I love you!"

Cecile’s face crumpled as she gripped the phone in her palm. "I love you too," she whispered, "I’ll always love you, Danny Hinote."

Abruptly, Cecile hung up the phone, and she looked up at her mother whose arms were crossed against her skeletal body. "There," she said as she wiped tears from her cheeks, "I did it...are you happy?"

Pauline nodded with a frown. "Mmmm, yes," she said, "A little melodramatic for my taste but it got the job done. Now have your cry out tonight and you’ll feel better I guarantee you, this boy will forget you and you will feel silly and forget him."

Cecile sniffled and smiled through her tears. "There," she said to her mother, "Forgotten."

Pauline smiled and she leaned over, kissing Cecile on the cheek. "There’s my girl," she said, "Be strong...now read your bible before you go to bed, it’ll give you comfort."

Cecile stayed in bed for a few hours, awake. She knew her mother was asleep finally when she could hear her snoring. Such huge snores for such a tiny old woman.

She needed help. Cecile couldn’t leave Danny just now, she just couldn’t. Something deep inside her told her that he was the perfect one, he was her soulmate and if she ended it now....then she would never be happy again, she knew it. But she thought of her family, her little sisters, her father, her aunts and uncles....if mother cut her off, they were too afraid of her money and wrath to defy her. She couldn’t live without her family either.

When her mother’s snores reached a fever pitch, Cecile knew that the old woman wouldn’t be waking for hours. That’s when she got up and threw on whatever clothes she had worn that day.

Her heart pounded as she padded down the stairs as quietly as she could, disabled the security alarm and ran out to her car. She needed help, and for some reason she could only think of one person who could help her.

"I’m not doing anything wrong," Cecile kept muttering to herself as she ran up the long driveway, and it being one in the morning, she rang the doorbell, and then pounded on the door.

After a minute or so, the door was opened by a disheveled and very annoyed looking Michele Roy. When she recognized Cecile, her narrowed eyes opened wider and she looked concerned. "Cecile?" she said, "Mon Dieu is Debbie alright?"

Cecile nodded and then broke into tears again, instinctively, she flung herself into Michele’s arms, "Oooo Mrs. Roy," she sobbed, "Please! Please you have to help me, I don’t know who else I can turn to!"

"Oooh," Michele cooed as she patted Cecile’s black hair, "Tell me what’s wrong I assure you, I’m the first person who would love to help you. You’ve come to the perfect place."

What Cecile didn’t see, was how animated Michele’s eyes had become and her smile was not so much sympathetic, as it was pleased.

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