By C. Monique Langston
Part I: The Day Ellie Found Her Mother
On the day that Ellie found her mother, she was elated—well, at first she was elated, but quickly her bliss was annihilated by the feeling of duplicity. Life had slapped her in the face again, but, this time, she was unaware of how she should feel, which aggravated her even more. Even worse, as she looked at Jesse Palmer with bulging eyes, Jesse looked back suspiciously.
"Why is this little girl staring at me?" She thought. Jesse had never seen this little girl before in her life. Not that she knew a whole lot about her life, because most of that was a mystery, too, and Jesse resented that. Maybe she’s the daughter of an old colleague. Jesse continued in her thoughts.
“Mom?”
“Is that your mother?” Ellie’s friend chimed in.
That’s not my child. Jesse hesitantly replied within herself. If I had a child, I’d know it.
Immediately, Jesse turned around and started to walk the other way. As a matter of fact, she ran. When she got to her car, she called her husband. “Brent, I was just in the mall. I ran out.” She paused to catch her breath. “Some girl told me that I’m her mother. Is that true?”
“No, that’s not true, baby. Don’t you think we’d know if we had a child?”
“I guess so.” She replied inquisitively. “But she seemed pretty convinced. I can’t imagine that a mistake like this is common.”
“Well, did she look anything like you?” Brent replied flippantly.
“I didn’t really have time to notice. She startled me and I ran. So much of what I know about myself is what you tell me. That leaves me guarded.”
It was true. Jesse was guarded and more timid now. She didn’t know that she was once an audacious, charming, and, often, outspoken woman. As a matter of fact, to her daughter, Ellie, Jesse didn’t seem like her normal self. 2 years ago, Jesse was the kind of woman that knew exactly who she was and where she was going. She was an independent contractor building her own practice from the ground up. She had clients who respected her ideas and valued her practitioner skills. Her clients knew that she was going to protect their image, because the only thing more important than her clients’ image was her own reputation for being efficient and accurate.
Jesse didn’t feel confident in much other than the relationship she had with her husband. They were close. He took good care of her and nursed her back to health after her accident. He made sure that she still shopped in Burberry and Louis Vuitton was no doubt her best friend. As far as Jesse was concerned, her name was Lisa Paige and she was a spoiled housewife.
On the day Ellie found her mother, Jesse was still orderly in her own way, except now she didn’t sense her own power. Before she ran away from her daughter, she meticulously closed the purse that she was rummaging through to find her credit card. She made sure to neatly place the Victoria Secret panties back on the table where she found them. If Ellie was convinced that she found her mother, it was because of that but that was it. There were no other signs.
Part II: Not My Mother
Ellie sat on the trunk of her 2012 Ford Fusion lying with her back against the rear window staring at the sky. The sun had set and it lit shades of purple, orange, and pink. The car sat in the middle of a grass field in York, PA not too far from where Ellie lived with her father and step-mother. Her boyfriend sat in the car with his seat laid back and he was searching the radio for music that would change Ellie’s mood from her gloomy state. He wanted her to be happy. He remembered clearly the day Ellie was told that she couldn’t see her mother anymore. Michael was there to help her father carry her out of the hospital. Her father had told them that her mother needed special care and that she was going to go somewhere to get the help she needed. Ellie never understood why her father couldn’t take her to see her mother. Chuck had the same excuse every time: “I don’t want you to have to see her that way. Remember your mother the way she was.” As far as Ellie knew, her mother was with her sister and she was taking care of Jesse full-time. Michael could see that same distress weighing down on Ellie’s brow just like he noticed before.
Michael turned up the volume so that Ellie could hear Anita Baker through the speakers. He opened the car door and walked to where Ellie was sitting. “You were doing so well. Please don’t let this incident bring you down. You miss your mother so much. I’m sure you just wanted to see her bad enough that you made yourself think that you did. Your mother would have come back if she was any better, and you know it.” Michael said sympathetically.
“Can you just take me home, Michael?” Ellie was frustrated and she wasn’t going to spend too much time trying to convince a person of what she knew was true.
“What did I do?” Michael asked her. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you.”
“No, I’m not upset. I just need to speak to my father.”
“Well, what do you think that is going to do?
“I am going to force him to take me to see her. Don’t you think this is bizarre? I know that they never really got along, but keeping me from my mother is just wrong. I don’t care what shape she is in. She’s my mother and I need to be there for her. I need to at least know if that was her in the mall.”
“Okay.” Michael replied. When Michael pulled up to her house he wanted badly to go with her. She waved him away, though, and she made her way into her house and up to her father’s bedroom.
“Dad, can I come in?”
“What’s the matter? You look like you haven’t had such a great day.”
“I was in Virginia today.”
“Yea? What were you doing there?” This did not make Chuck worried at all because he had no clue where his ex-wife was. He just knew that she wasn’t with him and he was fine with that.
“What happened between you and mom? Why do you hate her so much?” Ellie thought about this question all day as her lead in. She hoped she could get some answers so that she could assess the situation a little better and do some investigating on her own.
“Why do you ask that? Teressa is your mother now, Ellie. I told you that your mother is in no shape to take care of you and your Aunt asked that I keep you here. You know we don’t know anything about her sister and you don’t need to be dealing with that drama.” Chuck was getting angry now. The last thing he needed was Ellie worrying about her mother and Teressa looking at him sideways. What Ellie didn’t know was that Chuck was having an affair with Teressa while he was still married to Jesse.
“I know. I understand, but—”
“What happened in Virginia, today?”
“Nothing, I just went to the mall. That was it.”
“Look Ellie, your mother was always busy. She never really had time for us. I know that was your mother, but whether she’s here or not you still wouldn’t have the kind of mother you need.” Chuck was right. Jesse loved her daughter, but she was one of those selfish mothers who loved her career just a little bit more. More enough that she worked late, forgot important engagements, and spent most of the time she had with her daughter answering her phone and typing on her keyboard. But it didn’t matter. Ellie still loved her mother.
“I know dad. I’ll leave it alone.” And she did just that. Ellie left it alone, but, before she did, Teressa came running over to her with a concerned look and hugged Ellie tight.
“You’re going to be okay.” Teressa said sincerely, because she had no clue what had happened to Ellie’s mother. She was just happy that she had Chuck to herself.
“I know,” said Ellie. “But you’re still not my mother.” At that, Ellie walked away and Teressa looked over at Chuck and cut her eyes. Jesse was still getting in the way of Teressa’s happiness.
Part III: I Dare You to Leave Me
After Jesse spent some time thinking and searching within herself to look for the child she lost, she found some evidence. She knew it was too strange to be a lie. She didn’t know why she was so trusting before, but for the first time she was determined to see her medical records and find out who she was. From what Brent said, she was a Public Relations practitioner who grew tired of consulting anyway. She was a sister who never liked not being the only child. On the bright side, she was a good friend—loyal and trust worthy. Brent and Jesse had known each other since grade school and both never really kept in touch with anyone from home. It wasn’t that Jesse was too good for them; they were just too different. Jesse was going places and she had no time for anyone holding her back. After the accident, Brent took Jesse home with him to Alexandria, VA and told her that her name was Lisa and encouraged her to make new memories with new friends. This was easy to do since Jesse never really had time for making or keeping friends before her accident. Her new friends, Raelyn and Nicole, had been more than she could ask for.
“Lisa. What is that? What does it say?” Raelyn asked anxiously.
“It says my name is Jesse.” Jesse was taken aback. Her husband never mentioned any of these things to her and she couldn’t understand why. Raelyn looked over at her, stunned.
“What!” Nicole had just about enough. “Do you even know Brent?”
“Yes, we knew each other in grade school. I have pictures.”
“I’m confused.” Raelyn sat on her living room floor scratching her head in disbelief.
“This says here that you are from Hanover, MD and you were in a car accident.” Nicole said.
“Yea, I know. The car accident I’m aware of, but I have no clue what I was doing in Hanover.”
“It also says you’re 39 years old, is that true?” Raelyn interrupted.
“Yes that’s true. I am aware of how old I am Rae.”
“I’m just making sure. All of this is beginning to be kind of weird.” Raelyn responded.
“I know.” Jesse answered. She was not really present in the conversation. Jesse looked down at the carpet and fell into a stupor.
“What are you going to do now?”
She woke up. “I don’t know. I have no clue. I need to go find my daughter. I can’t believe I have a daughter and she was with me and now I have no clue where she is.”
“Calm down. Everything will be alright.” Nicole comforted her.
“I’m a horrible mother. I saw my child and I didn’t even notice her. She looked so hurt and so broken. I probably destroyed her life.” Jesse was convinced that she had to do something. She couldn’t tell Brent because he hadn’t been honest with her thus far. She was going to go back to Hanover and talk to people in her neighborhood to find out what she didn’t already know.
Later on that day as Jesse was packing a Louis Vuitton suitcase, her husband came walking through the bedroom door. “Where are you going, babe?”
“I have to go; I have somewhere that I need to be.” Jesse said calmly. There was no sign in her voice that she was disturbed in anyway.
“Okay, fine. Where is it that you’re going?” Brent paused. There was no answer.“This is last minute. Why didn’t we talk about this? It doesn’t look like you’re going to be back any time soon by the size of that suitcase.” Brent suddenly found himself panicking, but he didn’t let it show. “Is everything okay? Do you want me to go with you?”
“I’m fine. I’m just taking a trip with my girlfriends. We’re going to Maryland for a while to see some of their old friends.” Jesse knew that would drive him crazy. “Come on babe, I dare you to leave me alone for a couple of days. I’ll be fine. I’m feeling a lot better and I’m ready to start having some fun.” Jesse smiled and walked to the bathroom where her toiletries were packed in a makeup bag.
“Lisa, before you go, I have something that I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” She asked, not expecting what she’d hear next.
“That girl was your daughter. At least, it’s possible that she could have been.” Jesse stopped what she was doing and looked at him. He explained that what he did was for her protection. After Brent unlocked a box he kept in his closet and pulled out some papers, he handed the papers to Jesse and asked that she come back after she finds her daughter.
“You probably don’t like me right now, but after you go home and see your daughter, you’ll understand why I did it.” Brent had a point. If he didn’t take Jesse away and give her a new life, he wasn’t sure what would become of her. Chuck was crazy and he seemed like he’d do anything to have things his way. As a matter of fact, he did all that he could to keep Jesse out of his and his daughter’s life. Brent was going to let her go, but he was not going to be too far behind.
Part IV: Reborn
When Ellie saw her mother again, she turned away and looked back. She wanted to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. This time, her mother didn’t look afraid or clueless; instead, Jesse was determined and it was evident.
“Mom?”
“I believe you are my daughter.” Jesse responded. She didn’t know what else to say. She had practiced her lines over and over again until she thought she had the perfect introduction, but she had long forgotten the words once she looked into her daughter’s eyes.
“I know you’re my mother. The question is why don’t you know who I am? What happened? Where is Aunt Renee?”
“Who? We haven’t spoken in years as far as I know. I think that we should go have a talk with your father.” Now, Jesse looked afraid. She didn’t know Chuck, but she was aware of how much he hated her. She had no clue what she had done to him or why he was so determined to keep her from her child. Brent had warned her of his threats and Jesse had insisted that she was going to do whatever she had to do to know her daughter.
“Stay right here.” Ellie commanded. She couldn’t be sure of what her father would do after he heard the news, or, better yet, what she would do to him for what he had put her through the last 2 years.
“Dad, can you come outside.”
“Yea, sure. What’s wrong? Can you hold on for a second?”
“No, I can’t. It’s important.” Before she knew it, Teressa was standing outside on the porch staring at her mother as if she were disgusted and shocked all at once. “Do you two know each other?”
“We should let your father handle this.” Jesse said.
“You won’t be coming near my husband.” Teressa barked back.
“Excuse me ma’am, but I don’t know what you’re talking about or who you are.” Jesse replied. She could feel her hands shaking a little bit and she was hoping that the woman wouldn’t come any closer to her. The woman’s intentions didn’t seem good. Just then Teressa started walking closer.
“Jesse? What are you doing here?” Chuck couldn’t believe his eyes and he was angry that Brent had broken the deal that they made. “Teressa, get back here. Now!”
Teressa started crying and ran into the house.
What the hell is going on here? Jesse wondered within herself.
“Dad. Why don’t you look surprised? Mom did when she first saw me, what’s wrong with you? What did you do to my mother?” Ellie was upset, she was crying and yelling and at any minute she would pass out if she didn’t get answers soon.
“I told Brent to keep you away from here! Get off my property. Ellie is not your responsibility anymore!” Chuck just about lost his temper. He was appalled at the nerve of her to come to his house, and he wondered how Brent knew where he was. “You go back and tell your husband that he better keep you away from my family or I will kill you.”
“Mom, what is going on? Dad, why are you saying these things?” Ellie was standing in between her parents. Her makeup was running down her face. Chuck hated to see his daughter crying, Jesse hurt inside for what she may have done in the past. Whatever she did, she knew her daughter didn’t deserve this.
Suddenly, Brent was seen flying down the one way road. He parked his car and jumped out. He ran up the steps and stood next to Jesse. “Chuck, tell her the truth. Tell your daughter why you sent her mother away and how she got into that car accident that caused her to lose her memory.”
At that moment, Chuck wished he hadn’t come outside without his gun. He was furious. Who the hell did Brent think he was? Chuck had paid him $20,000 to stay away from his family. He walked away and started walking toward house. “Ellie, get in the house.”
Brent whispered in Jesse’s ear, “We better not be here when he gets back.” He pulled Jesse with him and headed towards the car. He was not going to be there to see if Chuck was going to keep his word and kill the one woman he’d ever loved.
“Wait!” Jesse screamed. “What about my daughter? Ellie!”
Ellie stopped and turned around. She was furious with her father. The lies and the betrayal cut her deep. She knew her mother was never around before, but what if things were different now? She had to find out. Ellie pushed past her father and ran to the car with her mother and Brent. Teressa stood in the hallway pounding on Chuck’s chest. She thought he had gotten rid of her and she hated him for not doing what he had promised. “I thought you killed her!” All Chuck could think was why the hell he didn’t go outside with his gun.
In the car, Ellie was happy to be with her mother. Brent told her and Jesse everything that had happened. He told them about Chuck’s affair and Jesse’s neglect. He told her about Teressa and how she told Chuck to get rid of her so that she could be in his life. Finally, he told her about their childhood relationship and how they’d always been in touch. When he heard about the car accident, Brent rushed to the hospital to see her and ran into Chuck. Chuck said, if she lives, unless he takes her away and keeps her away, he’ll kill her for sure this time. He hoped that Ellie would find her mother later in life and he would explain everything then.
“I can’t believe I wasn’t there for you in the past. It just doesn’t seem like anything that I would do—Not Lisa anyway.” Jesse turned around and looked at her daughter sitting in the back seat behind Brent. “For some reason, I feel reborn. I feel like we can start over and I can be the mother you need me to be.”
Ellie felt good about that. She was tired of pretending like Teressa was her mother. “What are we going to do about dad?” After all he and Teressa put her family through, she wanted them to suffer.
“I don’t know, but it won't be good.
