It’s that time of the week again for Weekend Writing Warriors, a time when writers share a snippet of their work for the comments and critique by other writers. When you have read my piece, I hope you will follow the link (www.wewriwa.com) to read other posts.
After finding out that Dan and her mother had been lovers twenty years earlier, the distress brought back a lot of childhood trauma for Vicky, remembering the way her parents had virtually deserted her when she was a young child. She challenges her mother about all the hurt and distress that was caused by her.
Therese’s face was white and she looked shocked, as though she had never really concerned herself with the damage she was causing as she passed through her life. She spoke in a tremulous voice. “I have been a terrible mother. I know that now, but when I was younger, and you were just a small child, I allowed your father to control me, even to the extent that I would abandon my own daughter to please him. There is nothing I can do, except to say I am sorry, to both of you, and to try to make amends. Please, please forgive me, Victoria. If there was any way I could undo any of the harm I have caused, I would do it in an instant.”
“I don’t think I can ever forgive you, Therese. As far as I am concerned, you are no longer my mother. I don’t hate you, because that would make me bitter inside, and I don’t want to be like that, but I no longer want to see you.”
Can the rift between Vicky and her mother ever heal? And how will this impact on her fledgling relationship with Dan?
A Love More Precious Than Diamonds is now available from Blushing Books and Amazon US
Danny was a 21-year-old student when he met Gem in London in 1992. She was the most beautiful, sensuous and sexy woman he had ever met, and she was some years older and married to a wealthy businessman. So why did she pick him from all the men she might have chosen?
Their affair was brief and dramatic, and introduced Danny to sexual passion, the like of which he had never experienced before. It also introduced him to the kind of woman who desired control and discipline in her life. Even though the affair lasted just a few weeks, it changed his life and changed his perception of the type of woman he wanted.
Twenty years later he met a young woman and, for the first time in his life, he fell in love; but fate was not kind, and the events of twenty years earlier came back to haunt him as he realised that he might lose the woman of his dreams. He was powerless to act. He could not rewrite his life history.
Oh gosh, that would be a hard situation to get over. I understand her resistance.
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Yes, it’s not a think a woman wants to hear about her new partner.
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Because of the tone of this confrontation, I’d guess they may have a chance for a reconciliation. After all, they aren’t screaming at each other.
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You may be right. But I think that Vicky is in need of some therapy. The episode has dragged up a whole lot of angst from her childhood, and Dan is just a part of it.
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Awe, if she’s sincere, I’m starting to feel kind of sorry for her. Well done, Rachel. Redemption can make such a great story twist. 🙂
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Thanks Teresa. I do like to create quite convoluted lives for my characters. Therese may eventually be forgiven, but in the meantime I think that Vicky is in for some therapy to deal with the memories of her childhood.
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I don’t feel sorry for the mother. I don’t understand how boasting about her exploits with her impressionable daughter could be caused by a controlling husband. No sympathy from me.
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I tend to agree, Cara. There are other shameful incidents from the past. It’s a wonder that Vicky turned out as well-balanced as she did (a tribute to her beloved grandparents, who mostly brought her up). Therese (Gem) was a selfish and manipulative mother, and she is now paying the price.
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The coldness of that conversation – awesome and perfect.
Tweeted.
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Thanks, Daryl. Time for some therapy, I think.
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How very civilized. I’d be going at her with cutlery. But that’s me. But Victoria, being the better woman with so much at stake will probably choose more wisely if she’s going to rescue her relationship. Can’t wait to see what she’ll do.
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Vicky is very sweet, and became that way despite her mother, and because of loving grandparents, who brought her up. That’s what Dan loves about her. But I’m still leaving their future relationship in the balance, just to tantalise you all.
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Quite the situation. I have to say that if I was dating someone and found out he’d been my mother’s lover (my mind can’t even entertain the thought LOL), I’d be totally done with him. But you’ve surely created a plot with unique aspects and I salute you! Great excerpt and everyone probably needs therapy here!
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Yes, as I’ve said earlier, I do like to create quite complicated lives for my characters. Therapy all round!
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Hmmm. I can’t help asking how deep Gem’s contrition really runs. She seems too self involved to really mean what she says.
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Yes, I agree. I think she is a narcissist. Thinks life revolves her and her needs.
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Nope. It’s over. As for me, I couldn’t forgive the mother. She had the option to say NO! Regarding the young man, he was caught in a complicated web. It may be possible to work it out. Fiction at it’s best, Rachel.
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I agree. She had her choice to be a good mother and blew it. Thanks for calling, Charmaine.
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I can’t blame Vicky for this at all. It’s probably the only way she’ll be able to heal.
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I would say that she grew up well despite her mother, rather than because of her.
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How sad, for both of them. Everyone loses.
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Some people shouldn’t be mothers. However, I think that Vicky is resilient and will recover from this to be happy.
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We reap what we sow. Theresa made her own choices and now they’ve come back to haunt her. Her apology to Vicki doesn’t sound sincere. More matter of fact. I’d like to see more remorse. I’m not sure Theresa has that in her, though.
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No, I think she is a little shallow. I don’t think she ever put her daughter before herself and no idea of the damage she was causing. Thanks for commenting.
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That doesn’t sound promising, but I do understand her point.
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Yes, me too. Thanks for calling, Elaine.
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Oh my… her apology seems genuine, but actions speak louder than words… 😉
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Very true, Amy. I think she will be part of Vicky’s life eventually, because Vicky is a caring and compassionate woman.
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Talk about mothers who eat their young…wow. Just wow. The boyfriend…that will be a complicated fix for sure. Very interesting situation.
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Thank you, Elizabeth. I do like to construct complicated lives for my characters, I’m afraid. But I also like them to sort out their various problems by the end.
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