The McCain Marriage Contract

"So even if that father of yours acts like an asshole, you follow suit? Have I taught you nothing, Raymond?"

My mom hardly ever raised her voice at me even when I was a child. I was her only child and, like she always said, the only good thing that came out of her marriage with a demon. Of my two parents I was more fond of her, trying to always be on her good side and such -- it was pointless of course because I could do no wrong in her eyes. But when she split up with my dad I was highly offended because I thought she would immediately fight for sole custody of me. She didn't, she just let me go with him. I hated her for many years after this, for this unexpected betrayal, for letting me grow with the man I loathed, obeying his every whim and carrying out his instructions. Day after day I saw him change women at a faster pace than he did when he was still married to my mom. That was when I completely lost my belief in marriage or happily ever after. It was not a possibility. It did not exist. The closest one could get to true love was reading about it in books or seeing it in movies, an endless platter of make-believe.

"I'm sorry, mom," I said. I truly was, so much so that I flew out to visit her in Delaware. After my return, I wanted to pay my dad a visit and thank him in person for the all-expense-paid trip, but then he mentioned that Valerie was coming too and I decided I wasn't strong enough yet to bear the sight of the both of them together again. Also, I didn't want anything to give away the fact that we had metamorphosed to sex buddies plotting to take him down. The man was way too smart; he would figure us out in a few seconds.

"For which part? For agreeing to get married without my knowledge or for actually getting married without my knowledge? How long did you think you could keep something like that from me?" Mom was visibly upset and rightfully so. I didn't tell her anything about my marriage to Valerie.

Honestly, I hadn't thought about it so much. I assumed I had it all figured out, that I would find a way to convince or annoy Valerie into leaving me. So far none of that had worked.

"I'm sorry, mom. I guess I just didn't want you involved in any other messy situation." I apologized.

"I guess it's all good you finally ended up with Valerie. Such a sweet girl. And she's the spitting image of her mother, Elizabeth. God rest her soul."

I didn't entirely agree with my mom's perception of Valerie but I just nodded. "Indeed, she is."

My mom looked straight ahead, staring at nothing in particular. And then she said suddenly, "You know, it all makes sense now. Perhaps that is the reason your dad always had a soft spot for her."

I could make neither head nor tail of what she was saying. "What makes sense, mom?"

She shrugged. "Let it go, dear. I know I have. It makes me sleep better at night"

I wasn't sure what she was talking about or how much she knew. But I knew that I wouldn't break her heart any further by talking about the past. The past was just that -- the past. It had scarred us all in different ways but it was time to let go. It was time to focus on the now and on the future. It was time to plot revenge.

"About the plan, mom," I started. I had thought of this on the flight down here but I wasn't sure if she would accept my suggestion. "I want to use Valerie to make it all possible."

Kids were highly underrated. It was assumed that they didn't see so much or they didn't know so much, or that even if they did stuff they didn't understand all of it. And so parents did not always understand how much their actions truly affected their offspring. My dad kept introducing Auntie after Auntie to me -- one day it was Auntie Sheila and the next, Auntie Nicole -- so many Aunties that my mother clearly didn't recognize. There were so many of them all over the place and, as a child, I grew up having more Aunties than I had any need for. But all that was before I became old enough to know that the "Aunties" were not related to us by blood or by any other way, apart from the fact that they partook of my father's genitals. I caught my mom crying for days on end, the ones she tried to hide or stifle and the ones where the swollen, red eyes gave her away. And as the years went on I hated my dad for putting my mom and I through that. When she could take it no longer she left us, just the day before things went completely sour between Valerie and myself. From then I vowed to spend the rest of my years making up for my father's maltreatment of my mom. I also promised to ruin his life just as much as he ruined hers. In the interim, I had to play the part of the loyal, obedient son. I swallowed everything he did even when it didn't sit well with me. It was all for the greater good and a few sacrifices had to be made on the way.

"I don't want you to include Valerie in the plan," my mom said. "She has gone through a lot already and I don't want her going through anymore. Honestly, for the life of me, I can't understand why she still has anything to do with that father of yours."

"It beats the hell out of me, too. Why exactly did she agree to meet him in the first place? What does he have on her?"

"Tony McCain is a very convincing man. It is so easy for him to fool people with that charm of his. I can say this because I was once his fool," Mom said.

I sighed deeply. "The plan is still intact and in motion, mom. It might take a while but soon enough, we will wreck Tony McCain for everything he's worth. I promise you this, mom."

My mom sighed deeply and in spite of the worry lines that ran across her face, she remained the most beautiful woman I ever saw. My dad was such a fool to treat her the way he did. All of that would soon change, and I would use this newfound understanding between me and Valerie to finalize it.

As if she read my mind, my mom said, "Remember, leave Valerie out of it. The poor girl has suffered enough."