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- The Education
of Matthew Buchanan - Chapter 2
-
- Matthew walked slowly up
the long, horseshoe shaped driveway. His backpack was slung over
one shoulder, a baseball clutched in one hand. It was going to
be a long weekend. He had a decision to make. But which parent
to tell first. Neither would be happy. He tossed the baseball
from one hand to the other, his thoughts moving the same way.
He could wait until Sunday night; not ruin the weekend for any
of them. He flipped the baseball back to his other hand. But
doing that would just add more disappointment – and probably
a longer punishment. Flip; baseball to first hand. Failing American
History was not an option and unless he aced his final AND his
semester project, summer school was in his near future. That
did not fit into his summer baseball league plans. He gripped
the baseball hard in one hand and shifted the pack on his shoulder,
the weight somehow heavier that usual; or was it just his imagination,
the worry of the failure warning he carried for his parents to
read and acknowledge the real weight on his shoulders.
-
- He had gone over thousands
of reasons and defenses to explain away his failing grade. But
each argument was more lame than the next, all really excuses
and not reasons. Bottom line, he had put baseball ahead of school
and homework and American history had lost. He made a grimace
as he adjusted the shoulder strap again.
-
- What did he care about which
President said what to whom thousands of years before he was
born? He aced science and math, which was most important for
someone like him who wanted to be a doctor. Politics, government,
law – those subjects no longer interested him. Politics
got his father fired from the police force and his mother barely
practiced law anymore. All she ever seemed to do was oversee
the ADAs and their cases. He couldn’t remember the last
time she was actually in court, prosecuting a case, making a
difference. His parents had gone into law enforcement because
they wanted to help people, wanted to make a difference in the
world and the people that lived there. But the law and politics
wouldn’t let them and now both of them seemed further away
from positions of power to help anyone. Being a doctor would
allow him to always help people, not have to worry about the
“red tape” his parents always seemed to refer to.
-
- He continued to flip the
ball continuously between his hands again as he ended his trek
up the long drive. Seeing his father’s jeep off to the side
of the curved drive had him cursing the fates. He glanced upward.
“You had to send him by today, of all days? Thanks a lot.”
-
- As he detoured around the
side of the large house, he stopped to allow one of the limos
to pull out. It slowed as it past him, the rear window rolling
down.
-
- “Uncle Clint,”
Matthew greeted, leaning in the open window. “Where you
going?”
-
- “Business meeting.”
-
- “On a Friday night?”
Matthew asked amazed.
-
- Clint smiled at him. “Some
business deals aren’t conducted during normal business hours.
Some happen over dinners or sporting events, on golf courses
or even on a Friday night. The key to succeeding is to meet your
business adversary on neutral territory and then move in for
the kill.”
-
- “Grandpa used to say
that all of the time,” Matthew replied, smiling sadly.
-
- “Yes he did. I’m
glad you got to spend time with him, to learn things from him.
He was the best there was at making business deals. He was known
as a maker and a shaker in the business world.”
-
- “I miss him,” the
teen-age boy said quietly, thinking of the world renowned business
tycoon that he had known simply as ‘Grandpa’.
-
- “Me too,” his uncle
said softly.
-
- Matthew pulled back from
his thoughts of missing Asa, now thinking of the help he would
need when he told his parents of the failure warning. “Will
you be back for dinner?”
-
- “No. My meeting is in
Philadelphia. I’m staying there the rest of the weekend
and than I’m leaving Monday on the corporate jet and going
to Grandpa’s ranch in Texas.”
-
- “I thought Chuck the
third owned the ranch now.”
-
- “He does, but the ranch
is a business and part of Buchanan Enterprises; livestock and
cattle, the oil fields, the hay fields. I like to personally
go over the ranch P&L statements with Chuck and review the
summer intern program with him.”
-
- “What intern program?”
-
- “When Grandpa was alive,
he used to offer internships to kids ages fourteen to eighteen
to come work at the ranch during the summer; learn the basics
of ranching, wildcatting and cattle care.”
-
- “Grandpa never told
me that.”
-
- “Grandpa had a lot of
public service programs that BE supported that people didn’t
know about.”
-
- “So Chuck doesn’t
mind you coming down, giving him advice on how to run the ranch?”
-
- “Between you and me,
I think Chuck appreciates any advice we Buchanans can give him.
Besides, it gives me an excuse to get away from here for awhile.”
-
- “Mom not going with
you? Grandpa used to say having a pretty woman at business meetings
never hurt.”
-
- Clint shook his head, glancing
down at the papers on his lap and avoiding his nephew’s
eyes. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
-
- “Wish I could come with
you,” Matthew said wistfully, thinking of his failure warning,
hoisting the sliding shoulder strap of his backpack up onto his
shoulder. “I could use an excuse to get away from here for
awhile too.”
-
- His uncle looked back up
at him and smiled. “School’s almost out. I’ll
take you with me next time.”
-
- Matthew pulled back from
the window. “See ya.”
-
- Clint pressed the button
that raised the window, Matthew holding his hand up in a still
wave, watching the car pull out of the drive. He continued on
his way around the side of the house, heading to the service
entrance by the kitchen. If he didn’t see his mother and
father, he wouldn’t have to answer the “how was school
today” question, thus avoiding the decision on telling them
about his failing grade. His plan was to slip in the back, hit
the kitchen for some double stuffed Oreos that were always in
the large, horse shaped cookie jar, grab a tall glass of cold
milk and sneak through the service hallway up to his room and
put the finishing touches on his semester project. It might gain
him some points when he faced the ‘rents later with the
failure warning. If he followed up the failure notice with the
completed essay and then ran them through the presentation, it
might reduce his punishment for the lack of effort on his tests.
It would definitely gain him points with his father, he thought
with a smile and that alone could reduce his punishment for the
failure warning. His mother never could resist their father/son
connection. He carried that thought with him as he headed towards
the kitchen entrance.
-
- Nora almost spit the water
she had been sipping, water droplets forming on her chin. Bo
moved to her quickly, grabbing a small napkin from the service
bar and thrusting it at her, moving away from her as quickly
as he had moved towards her. Keeping distance between them would
help him keep his thoughts straight.
-
- “Wow,” she said
softly, dabbing at her water spewed face. “Not expecting
that. I didn’t realize you were dating anyone seriously,
having your hands full with baby-sit….” she caught
herself, “…as legal guardian to Lindsay. Here I am,
all concerned for your health and you hit me with this. So who’s
the lucky lady?” she asked, sipping at her water again to
keep her voice from cracking.
-
- “It IS Lindsay,”
he said quietly.
-
- She half choked half spat
the water out. “Are you serious?”
-
- “Now look, Nora, I know
that the two of you have issues.”
-
- Her anger was immediate.
“ISSUES?” she spat sarcastically. “You call what
Lindsay has done to me, done to us, ISSUES?”
-
- “You’re just as
much to blame as she is.”
-
- “How dare you,”
she hissed, trying to keep from throttling him. “She is
a two time murdering liar, one which you seem to be able to forgive
over and over and over. Why is that exactly?”
-
- “She’s changed
since Jen died. She’s learned from her mistakes.”
-
- “And I haven’t.”
It was a statement rather than a question.
-
- He ignored her inference
and continued his defense of his bride to be, not really sure
why he felt he needed to. “You have never tried to see things
from Lindsay’s point of view,” he said out loud. “You
just continually push her buttons which forces her to push yours
right back.”
-
- “You call her trying
to kill me pushing my buttons? Keeping me away from my son was
pushing my buttons? Changing your fertility results to make us
think we couldn’t even conceive a child was pushing my buttons?
Helping to keep me prisoner by an insane doctor was pushing my
buttons?”
-
- “That was a long time
ago. You just won’t let go of old grudges.”
-
- “That’s the pot
calling the kettle black.” He glared at her and she ignored
his gaze, continuing her angry rant. “Then let’s look
at something more recent. She killed Sam Rappaport when she was
actually aiming for someone else. She killed Spencer Truman,
low life that he was, but he was still a human being and she
had no right to kill him.”
-
- “She doesn’t even
remember killing him.”
-
- “I see you’re still
buying her breakdown excuse.”
-
- “And you’re still
not, because of the bad history between you two.”
-
- “My history with Lindsay
has nothing to do with my position as DA and enforcing the law.
The only contact I have with her these days is because she breaks
the law that I have sworn to uphold, an oath I seemed to recall
you took as well, even if you aren’t in a position of enforcing
the law any longer. So if you call that pushing her buttons,
maybe you need a refresher in law enforcement.”
-
- “I knew coming here
to tell you this in person was a mistake.”
-
- “Then why did you? What
exactly did you expect from me? In your warped mind, did you
expect me to wish you well?”
-
- “I expected you to be
happy for me, yes.”
-
- She folded her arms across
her chest. She was furious and hurt and heart broken all at the
same time. She wanted to hurt him back, make him feel just as
badly as he was making her feel, had always made her feel since
he walked out on her, on them, without a backwards glance. She
wanted to stop loving him, stop wanting him, so she said the
words without thinking of anything but the pain in her heart.
“Well then you can congratulate me and be happy for me.
I’ve been offered a new job and I’m taking it.”
-
- “What job?” he
asked suspiciously, rocked a bit by her sudden change of subject.
-
- “A judgeship, in Chicago.
Matthew and I are moving at the end of the summer. Looks like
we both have a new life ahead of us. You enjoy your new life
with Lindsay; I’ll enjoy my new life in Chicago.”
-
- Bo was shell shocked while
Nora tried to hide her own shock at blurting out what she had
convinced herself she wasn’t going to do.
-
- “When did all this happen?
And when were you planning on telling me?”
-
- “It doesn’t matter
when it happened. I’ve accepted the position and I’m
leaving Llanview. Consider yourself told.”
-
- “What about Matthew?”
Bo asked.
-
- “What about him?”
-
- “You’re going to
uproot him, from his life and family, from me, just like that.”
-
- “I’m his life and
he has family in Chicago that he has been missing out on because
we live here. I think its time my family had chance to get to
know my son.”
-
- “He’s my son, too,”
Bo corrected.
-
- “Yes he is, but that
doesn’t mean we have to stay in Llanview because of it.”
-
- “I have rights,”
he started and she stopped him with a finger.
-
- “We’re divorced.
You don’t get a say in where I work or where I live.”
-
- “I do where Matthew
is concerned.”
-
- “No, actually, you don’t.
I’m the custodial parent.”
-
- “You’re pulling
that card out of the deck?” Bo asked in disbelief.
-
- “Whatever works,”
Nora shot right back.
-
- “You expect me to allow
this to happen to him.”
-
- “For what to happen
to him?”
-
- “To be moved away from
me?”
-
- “Not you. Lindsay.”
-
- “He cares about Lindsay.”
-
- “He doesn’t KNOW
Lindsay,” Nora corrected.
-
- “There’s nothing
for him to know, Nora.”
-
- “Isn’t there?”
-
- “I knew you wouldn’t
be happy about this. But to turn this into a game of tug of war
over Matthew is beneath you.”
-
- “Maybe I’ve taken
a page out of Lindsay’s playbook. I will not allow her in
my son’s life on a permanent basis. You want to be sucked
back into her sickness, be my guest. But you’re not taking
my son along with you.”
-
- “I have a say in his
life,” Bo argued.
-
- “Not when it comes to
bringing Lindsay into his life you don’t. You marry her;
you’re making a choice of her over your son.”
-
- “What’s that supposed
to mean?”
-
- “It means I won’t
allow Matthew in the same room as her. You want to spend time
with your son, it’s without Lindsay.”
-
- “You don’t have
any right to make that demand.”
-
- “Don’t I?”
she argued right back. “Who’s the lawyer here? I will
take you to court and expose every single one of Lindsay’s
crimes. I swear it.”
-
- “What about your crimes?
Don’t they count?”
-
- “My crimes?”
-
- No one in the kitchen area
seemed to notice him as he slipped into the pantry, grabbed his
snack and using his back, pushed the swinging door out into the
service hall that snaked through the house and had entries to
every staircase and into every room. He preferred the service
hallways and stairwells. They gave him a sense of privacy within
the large house.
-
- As he made his way down the
corridor, he heard the echoes of his parents’ voices. They
both sounded seriously pissed off. He hoped school hadn’t
mailed a copy of the failure notice. Even more reason to avoid
them. It was so typical of them lately, screaming at each other
that he had stopped listening to their exchanges. He was about
to make the turn towards the back stairs to head to his room
when he heard his name hollered between them. “tug of war
over Matthew and Lindsay’s crimes” were the few phrases
he caught and it had him stopping in his tracks.
-
- If they were fighting about
him AND Lindsay, it wasn’t good. He would have to referee.
He loved them both so much. Why was he such a bone of contention
between them? He heaved a sigh as he moved in the direction of
their voices. He stopped just before the service door to the
library, pushing it opened every so slightly to hear them better.
-
- “What about what you
DID to us.”
-
- “You mean what I did
FOR you?”
-
- Bo let out a sarcastic chuckle.
“Your spin.”
-
- “It’s not spin.
What I did, I did for you. And for what? You never even wanted
Matthew, right from the beginning.”
-
- He spun on his heel. “That’s
a lie.”
-
- “Is it? If we’re
really going to have this out now, let’s put all the cards
on the table, shall we?”
-
- He extended his hand. “You
first.”
-
- “Fine. How about a refresher
course on us having a baby. When we first talked about it, you
didn’t want to bring a child into the world. You were dead
set against it.”
-
- “We were going through
a rough time in our marriage.”
-
- She nodded. “Yes, we
were. But I thought we had worked through it and yet you still
were against having a child. Not until Drew died did you get
on board.”
-
- Bo’s face went beat
red. “Don’t go there,” he warned.
-
- Her own hurt feelings had
her continuing out loud what she never would have said otherwise.
“What a fool I was, thinking you wanted a child with me,
when all you really wanted was a replacement for Drew. That’s
all the idea of Matthew was for you. And Lindsay used that against
both of us.”
-
- “Having Matthew had
nothing to do with losing Drew. And your obsession with Lindsay
had nothing to do with Drew or Matthew or me for that matter.”
-
- “Don’t you have
that backwards?” Nora threw right back. “Lindsay’s
obsession with us led to your fertility issues, Matthew’s
paternity issues and the destruction of our lives!”
-
- “No, Nora. You destroyed
us just fine all on your own. Lindsay didn’t force you to
sleep with Sam.”
-
- “No, you did that,”
Nora spat out angrily.
-
- “I did that?!”
Bo asked incredulously. “Now you’re blaming me? What
you won’t do to avoid taking responsibility for your own
actions.”
-
- “I was trying to save
your life!” Nora screamed at him.
-
- “No,” Bo corrected.
“You wanted to save your own. You wanted a child so desperately;
you cheated on me and slept with Sam.”
-
- “I wanted that child
for you,” she defended herself, as she had over and over
again. “I thought a child was something we both wanted but
after Drew died I realized all you really wanted was a replacement
child – another Buchanan heir to add to the brood.”
-
- “Don’t bring Drew
into this,” Bo warned again.
-
- “My God, you can’t
even deny it.”
-
- “I could say the same
for you. You didn’t want my child, you wanted A child. And
sleeping with any man would do.”
-
- His words stung and she let
the angry tears come. “I wanted YOUR child. And when Lindsay
deceived us and then Drew died, you went off the deep end, just
like you did when Sarah died. You were ready to end your life
because you couldn’t cope with another loss. I wanted to
be the reason you still wanted to live. But living for me, for
us, wasn’t enough for you. I wanted a child, yes, but the
reasons became more desperate when it was your life I was trying
to save. So I whored myself out to give you a child, a reason
to live, and what did I get back from you in return? You walked
out of our marriage without so much as a glance back in my direction
and then you slept with Lindsay to get even with me, even after
everything she had done to me. I was your wife but she got your
love AND your forgiveness.”
-
- “Losing a child changes
a person, Nora. You just can’t understand that because you’ve
never lost a child. You still have Matthew and Rachel.”
-
- “You’re wrong,
Bo. I did lose a child. We both lost Drew.”
-
- “He wasn’t yours
to lose,” Bo said. “He was mine and it was my loss.”
-
- “You’re right,”
she said after a moment. “He wasn’t mine. But I felt
his loss because I lost you when you lost Drew.”
-
- “That’s not why
you lost me.”
-
- “Isn’t it?”
Nora asked.
-
- “You had an affair with
Sam; you cheated on me and lied about it, for months.”
-
- She nodded in defeat. “You’ve
always seen it as an affair, as something torrid and secret.
It was a one night thing, a desperate attempt by me to save your
life, but you have never tried to see it from my point of view.
I did what I had to do to save your life. Most men would be grateful.”
-
- “Grateful? Grateful
their wife slept with another man?”
-
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