Our worlds were colliding on a very eerie, but very real course and I didn’t know how to escape the collision. Confusion, shock and pain were all elements of an ending that began as a perfect evening, and I couldn’t run fast enough or far enough to separate myself from it.
“I’m not sure that I understand any of this... and I’m not even sure that I want to.” I buried my head in my hands. “Suddenly I’m not feeling very well.”
He sat next to me on the couch and gently laid a hand on my knee, only to remove it immediately.
“I’m sorry; I don’t know what to say.” He raised his arms as though he were going to console me with a hug, and then returned them on his lap. “I almost didn’t tell you.”
“I almost wish you hadn’t.”
Several awkward minutes passed before the irony of our situation became absurdly funny to me.
“My grandmother wanted me to all but tackle you at the party. If she had only known.”
“I thought about that when I met her. I wasn’t honest with her either.”
“Here we are, pitted as arch rivals by birthright, and we’re making out by the fire.” I laughed dryly. “Now there’s a kick in the old family feud, huh?”
I paced back and forth in front of the hearth while he sat on the couch, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
The man I am expected to detest in the name of family tradition is the same man who, only minutes earlier, gave me the sweetest, most romantic kiss I’ve ever received.
He stood, took hold of my hands and led me back to the couch, sitting down next to me.
“Meg, we’ve grown up with conflicting stories about the past and at this point, I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. The one thing I do know is that I like you... I like you a lot, no matter what your last name is or what’s happened between our families.” I noted the glimmer in his eyes, as he continued. “The way I see it, we have a choice. We can either chalk this weekend up as a paradox or we can confront our pasts and maybe, just maybe put an end to this ridiculous feud, once and for all.”
“I don’t know what to say, I’m still stunned.”
“I know. Maybe I should have handled it differently but I want you to promise me...” He lifted my head with one finger. “Promise me, you’ll keep in mind that I’m not my father or my grandfather?”
I nodded in agreement, but my mind was lost in other thoughts. I suddenly had a strong desire to meet the man my grandfather hated so much. Con didn’t want me to judge him by the actions of his father or grandfather and I found myself very curious as to what made this man named Joker such a detestable person.
As if he were privy to my thoughts, I asked, “Would you take me to meet him?”
“Who?”
“Your grandfather. I’d really like to understand all of this better and somehow, I think that would help.”
He shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re asking. He’s... well, he’s different. With the sole exception of my grandmother, he’s never gotten along with anyone in his life.”
His grandmother... I suddenly remembered Gram telling me of Gayle’s death.
“Oh my God, I didn’t realize she was your grandmother until I heard that Joker was your grandfather. I heard about her passing away recently and I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. She was a wonderful woman in her day, but her day was many, many years ago. She’s finally at peace.”
I found his last remark a little cryptic but decided not to ask for an explanation.
“So, what? Are we supposed to leave here hating each other to save face with out families?”
He smiled sweetly. “This whole feud thing belongs to them, let’s not make it ours. We’ll figure out the truth but promise me that the truth won’t affect us, whatever it is.”
I nodded less-than-enthusiastically. “What about the girl of your dreams?”
As he curled a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me toward him, he said, “Now that I’ve found her, I can only hope that I’m the man of her dreams.”
Nineteen
...He’d been able to read me like a road sign since our first meeting and now, if there were any particular words that could cause me to melt at his command, he had just said every one of them...
Con and I spent much of Sunday just getting to know each other better, as we walked hand-in-hand around the pond and nearby woods. We talked about everything except our families and their archaic feud, but somehow, our family differences seemed to aid in strengthening our newly formed relationship. Each time he gazed into my eyes or kissed me tenderly, I became even more determined to overcome the obstacles laid out in front of us.