Martine - Part 8

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In case you missed the first part of Martine, click here to catch up.

Just as Martine was settling into her favourite chair in the living room, pressing play on the DVD remote control, the door bell rang. She groaned as she got up, deciding to let the trailers play while she got rid of the person at the door. This was her fist Saturday alone at home, James had taken the girls to the mall and they had planned to take in a movie. She had the DVD of a movie that she had been meaning to see, her favourite snacks and her comfy pajamas. Nothing and nobody was going to disturb her day.

When she opened the door, all the irritation melted from her face. On the doorstep stood Alain, his face gaunt, he had shadows under his eyes, it looked like he hadn't shaved in days and his clothes were rumpled. To add to the tragic scene, it had started to rain. He looked so sad and it broke Martine's heart.

"Come in, come in, you will catch your death of cold. Let me get you a towel, have you eaten?" it became evident to Alain where Sophie got her talkative nature. He shook his head, he hadn't eaten since the day before. "Okay, I'll get the towel and you go to the kitchen," Martine instructed.

When she entered the kitchen with the towel, Martine found Alain at the kitchen sink staring outside, his mind a million miles away. His profile remind her of her brother who died when she was eight and he was fourteen. It was no doubt that Alain was her son.

"Here, dry off, it's a good thing the rain had just started or you would have been soaked to the bone. How does scrambled eggs, bacon and toast sound?" Martine asked.

"It sounds good, Maman," Alain answered accepting the towel.

Within half an hour, Alain was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, tucking into the breakfast his mother prepared.

"I was worried about you, Alain, as I had not seen you all week and you didn't come to class," Martine said as she started to clean up the kitchen. There are a lot of things we have to talk about but I'll give you a chance to finish eating."

After Alain had finished eating and helping Martine clean up the kitchen, mother and son went into the living room. Martine sat on her favourite chair and Alain sat on the couch. A brief silence descended over them as they figured out how to start the much needed conversation.

"Maman," Alain began at last, "most of this week, I've been in my room trying to figure things out. I know you gave me up for adoption because you thought it was the best for me. I can't say that my life has been awful, in fact, I have benefited from your decision, but without you in my life, I felt lost, a boat without a rudder. I know my adopted parents love me, but a small part of me wonders why didn't you? Why did you leave me? Did you not care? Was I so unlovable?"

"Never, Alain, you were beautiful, you were, you are perfect in my eyes," Martine interrupted.

"Was it my skin, did it remind you of my father? You never mention him, was he that bad an individual that you never even utter his name? Do I remind you of him?" it was like a bottle and the contents were under pressure, as soon as the cork was removed all the contents rushed out in this case the contents were questions.

"First of all, you don't remind me of your father, in fact, you remind me of my brother who died when I was young. Your father's name was Pierre and no, he was not bad, but his actions at the time were not kind to me and in turn to you. As for the colour of your skin, it does not matter if you are red, yellow or blue, I will always love you," Martine said.

"If colour means nothing to you, why did you marry a black man?" Alain asked.

"Because he was the man I fell in love with, he loves me and I love him and we are good for one another," his mother answered.

Alain stood and walked to the large window looking out onto the street, a little afraid to ask the next question, afraid of the answer. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well Alain, it is up to you, would you want me in your life? Would you feel comfortable being a part of the Carter family life?"

Alain whipped around, he had not expected that answer, "What do you mean?"

"I want to be a part of your life, Alain. I've missed so much of it and I don't want to miss anymore. But I am already a part of a family, the Carter family, and I don't want to have you on one side and my family on the other. I don't want it a "you and them" situation, I want it to be us. Are you willing to be part of us?" Martine asked nervously.

"But what about Mr. Carter, would he be okay with this? I am another man's son."

"James is okay with it and so will the girls. How about this? Think about it, come over for dinner tomorrow and tell me what you want to do. James and the girls will be home and if it's yes, we'll let the girls know you are their brother. If it is no, I will respect your decision and we will work it out. How does that sound?" Martine asked.

That sounds okay," Alain said.

For the rest of the day, they caught up with each other. Alain told Martine about his life, growing up, his likes and dislikes and his dreams and inspirations. Martine told her son about her family, his grandparents, uncles and aunts, her life growing up, how she came to live in the US. They reconnected and not only did they love each other, they liked each other as individuals.

They had spent most of the day talking and eventually it was time for Alain to go, they had agreed to meet up with some new friends and he had to clean up a bit before meeting them. They said their good byes at the front door, exchanging a hug. Just as Alain was walking away from the house, James and the girls drove up from the other direction. Martine waited at the door to greet her family. James reached her first and whispered "Was that who I think that was?"

"Yes, we'll talk about it later," Martine replied with a wink as Sophie rushed to her, ready to show her mother what she got.

Thank you for reading part 8 of Martine, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Come back for part 9 next Friday.

Also if you would like to read the whole story, purchase the story here at Smashwords.