[Author's Note: If you are reading this, thank you. Soccer Girls 6 was a watershed for me. I had my story that I wanted to tell, but I had to realize that my story had fans, some of whom were getting impatient with the pace of things. And I needed a way to navigate that. If you are reading this instead of skipping ahead to Soccer Girls 11, it means that you've liked my story or at least are willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Either way I am very appreciative. I hope you enjoy these next few installments, but if not, I'd rather you skip ahead then bail on the whole story.]
The girls woke up and Jo went back to her room. They planned to get ready and then they would Uber together to the airport. They would have breakfast at a place beyond the security checkpoint so they knew they were past it and wouldn't get stuck and miss their planes. Although they had different flights and different gates, they would be able to find a place to eat together.
After Jo left, Katie turned to Melanie and said, "I think I am getting better at this."
"What baby?"
"Catching the signs."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, Jo is in love with Margaret, she just doesn't know it yet?"
"Yes, she is and no she doesn't know it yet. Just like someone else I know." Melanie jibed at their shared history which was in a similar vein.
"And I think Margaret might be in love with her too."
"I'd say you're two for two."
"I wonder if Margaret knows that Jo is in love with her?"
"That I don't know. I don't know Margaret well enough to know."
"I hope it works out for them. I'd love for Jo to be happy like we are." Katie came up behind Melanie and wrapped her arms around her and gave her a little kiss on the back of her head.
They met up with Jo and got their Uber to the airport. Jo's flight was leaving first, so they had breakfast at a place near her gate and sat with her until she boarded her flight. Then they went and sat by their gate until it was time to board their own flight and head home.
Katie and Melanie flew in and were picked up at the airport by Katie's mother, Carol Rogers. They came in on December 22
nd
and the plan was for them to stay with Carol through Christmas Eve. Then they would wake up early Christmas morning and go up to Jen Smith's house. She was Melanie's mother and she lived with her live-in girlfriend, Susan McPherson. They would be there from Christmas Day through New Year's Eve. Then they would wake up and go back to Carol's house early New Year's Day and stay until they had to head back to school. There would also be one day over the weekend while at Jen's house that they would stay overnight at Carol's house. Katie's sisters and their families were coming to Carol's for a late Christmas celebration.
There had been some talk about Carol and Jen setting up something for Carol, Katie, Melanie, Jen, and Susan to all get together while the girls were back from school. However, those plans had seemed to fizzle out and there would be no big get together on this trip.
Carol picked up the girls at the airport. They stopped on the way home for dinner and finally arrived at the Rogers' home. While the girls brought their bags up to Katie's room, Carol went into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. They talked about a whole range of things for about an hour a half when Katie announced, "I think I'm going to head up and go to sleep."
"I'll be up in a little bit." said Melanie. "I just want to talk with your mom a little more."
"Okay. But if I'm asleep already, don't wake me up."
"Yes dear. Love you, Katie."
"Love you too Melanie. And I love you too mom. Good night."
"Good night, Katie. It's great to have you home for a little bit. Love you."
Katie went upstairs and Melanie and Carol turned back to each other. Melanie asked "Carol, when you were at the game in Chicago, you and my mom and Susan all seemed to be getting along. But at the playoff game you sat very far apart from each other. And now it seems we won't all get together this trip back. May I ask what happened?"
Carol took a big sip of her now room temperature Chocolate and put down her mug. "You don't miss much, do you Melanie. I am sorry because I know how much you and Katie wanted us to all get along better, and what happened might have been partially my fault. We were trying to get along and it wasn't going so bad. When I actually made a point to get to know Susan, she was a nicer person than I had initially thought. And we were having a pretty good time at the game."
"But after the game, we ran into the Dandridges and we were talking with them. And they were talking about you and Katie getting married and they asked your mother and Susan if maybe they would be getting married. And I felt like I was being forgotten, like an old blanket and they never asked if I had anyone else in my life. I don't, but it would have been nice to have been asked."
"So that night there was this fancy dinner with the booster club, and we were getting dressed up for it. And I had brought this very nice, basic dress, but I had also brought this rather slinky dress. I had not really planned to wear it, but it is not the kind of thing you can just wear around town and so I never get to wear it. And if I do say so myself, I think I look pretty darn good in it. Since I was feeling a little sorry for myself and I wanted to look like someone who would be wanted, I wore the slinky dress and hoped that would make me feel better about myself."
"So anyway, when your mom saw me, she gave me a nice compliment about how I looked. And I don't think she meant anything by it, but the words she used might have sounded like something else. And apparently, Susan thought she meant it the other way, and the two of them had a tiff. And that was kind of my fault so I thought I should just lay low for a while and make sure I am not causing any waves."
"What did my mother say?"
"She said I looked good enough to eat. And we were at a fancy dinner, and I am sure that is what she meant. But I think Susan may have taken it a different way and that seemed to cause a problem for some reason."
"So, Susan knows about you and my mother?"
"Knows what about us, dear?"
"That you two were once lovers."
"Melanie! What makes you say that?"
"Well Carol, you told me, indirectly of course. That night after the funeral when you had that talk with your daughters, well by then Katie and I were already together so she told me everything you said. And we pretty much had it figured out that night. What you just said only confirms it."
"Well, like I said, you don't miss anything do you? Does it bother you at all?"
"No. Not in the least. Carol, after my father died, mom had a few people she dated and some of them she even brought home to meet me because it had gotten a little serious. But I never saw her as happy as she was when you and she were always seeing each other. I knew you meant a lot to her. And when things went bad between you, you were both so unhappy. Now it makes even more sense why."
"Carol, I think you two had something incredibly special and I just hope that you both find it again someday. I know it will be great to have you as my mother-in-law, but I think it would be even greater to have you as my stepmom."
"Melanie, I am not saying anything you have said is true, but even if it was, your mom and Susan have been together for three and a half years. I think you're going to have to be satisfied with me as a mother-in-law only."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that Carol. Yes, they've been together for three and a half years. And that's a long time. But ask yourself this; when you were all talking with the Dandridges and they mentioned about mom and Susan maybe getting married did either of them say anything to suggest that was going to happen?"
Carol did not respond, but Melanie gave her a look which suggested she already knew that the answer was in fact "No." "
Was it a lucky guess or is she really that perceptive?
" thought Carol. Since her trip out to see a close friend that summer, she had finally faced up to the fact that she had been falling in love with Jen despite still being married to her husband Paul when Jen first got involved with Susan. But now that Susan was in the picture, Carol had just decided that what she had had, though special, had spun off into the universe and those feelings were a part of her past. But Melanie's words suddenly allowed that little bit inside of her to have some hope. And it brought a smile to her face.
Melanie saw the smile and she felt confident that from her what she had been studying so far in college (even though she had been focusing on children specifically, her overall college degree was to be in Psychology), she knew what was going through Carol's mind. And it fit in perfectly with Melanie's plans.
"I don't want to sound impertinent Carol, but I think you brought that dress hoping you would decide to wear it so that everyone, but especially my mom, could see how sexy you looked in it. And when you had the conversation with the Dandridges and they made you feel a little unhappy, that allowed you to give yourself permission to wear the dress. And you could blame it on the Dandridges so that if there were problems you wouldn't feel like you were being a home wrecker. But trust me Carol, when things end with my mother and Susan, it is not going to be because of something you did."
Carol really didn't know what to say. She did feel that Melanie was crossing a line by saying all this. She probably would have said so, except for the fact that she was too busy thinking that Melanie may have been absolutely correct.
Melanie decided that was enough for tonight. She stood up and said "Well, good night future mother-in-law." Carol was snapped out of her own thoughts, and she reflexively stood up and said, "Good night future daughter-in-law." Melanie came over to her and gave her a big hug, then headed to the stairs. Carol was picking up things to put in the kitchen when Melanie turned at the first step and said "Oh, and Carol, I bet you killed them in that slinky dress." Then she turned and went upstairs.
The next morning there was no apparent effects from Carol and Melanie's talk the previous night. They both remained the same in their interactions and had fun doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. They all exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve and Carol saw them off early Christmas morning for the girls' drive to Jen and Susan's house.
On the car ride up, Melanie finally filled Katie in on her talk with Carol two nights previous (Katie had already been asleep when Melanie came up to the room that first night and they had been too busy all the next day). While Katie definitely felt Melanie had stepped over the line; since it did not seem to affect her mother at all, she was not upset. No harm, no foul. She still thought Melanie's hope that her mom and Katie's mom would also get together seemed a bit far-fetched.
When they got to Jen's house (Melanie refused to allow the house she had lived with her mother to be called Jen and Susan's house), Jen and Susan welcomed them inside. Jen gave them both a big hug while Susan gave them a casual nod of the head. They exchanged gifts and had a lovely dinner, which Susan had prepared while Jen and the girls got caught up in the living room.
With school being out, Jen was able to stay home for the week, but Susan had to go to work. A number of the girls' old friends from the Blue Lightning Team stopped by to see them. They were home for the holidays as well and wanted to offer their congratulations on the engagement. They had seen a few of their former teammates during the previous soccer season, but many had not had a chance to see them since they had announced the engagement six months before. Some of Melanie's friends from high school also came to offer their well-wishes. They were tickled pink to know that this wonderful love story had started the night they had all gone to the prom.
For New Year's Eve, they stayed home and watched television. Jen had bought a few bottles of champagne and allowed the girls to drink some, although most of the consumption was done by Jen and Susan.