Jailbreak

Myriam was with Sheila helping to prepare the patio table for dining when Mary and her parents arrived. Mary approached Jason, who was grilling the shrimp and steaks.

She put her arm through his and said, "She's beautiful, Jason."

He replied, "I agree. Every time I look at her, I'm so proud to be her father. Of course, she gets her beauty from her mother."

"Are you trying to make me cry? If so, you're doing a good job. I was talking about your girlfriend."

"I know you were. Thank you. She's been good for me."

"Then, I'm happy for you. Or at least I'll try to be."

"Let me introduce you to her."

Jason introduced Mary and her parents to everyone, and they had a good evening. Well, everyone except for Mary had a good evening.

Mary's dad asked, "Jason, having met Myriam, I don't know how many of our family holidays you'll be attending in the future, but just know that you, and Myriam, have a standing invitation."

"Thanks, Dad. You know that the reverse is also true. Anytime you want to visit, please do. You don't even have to call. Just show up."

He hugged Jason, who had been a good son-in-law. They were going to miss each other.

_______________

On Thursday, Jason and his kids plus Grace, took Myriam, William, and the McClane's to see a few of Pittsburgh's sites. They started at the Phipps Conservatory, which was always Jason's favorite. There are many, many different rooms to visit, and one of the last rooms is the Broderie room, which is modeled after the formal gardens of a French chateaux and is a popular setting for small wedding ceremonies and photo shoots.

An elderly lady was deep in the room, behind a gate, taking pictures of flowers with her camera and a lens the size of a 32oz. beer can. When she saw them enter, she noticed all the red hair and exclaimed, "Oh, my what a lovely family. Can I take a picture of all of you?"

Everyone snickered a little since while they were a family, they were fairly confident she had the wrong idea. Soon she had everyone positioned with the rest of the beautiful room in the background and was snapping away. Getting into the spirit of things, she began posing them and pulling certain people in and out to get different looks, including a few of just the kids, just the grandparents, and just the 'parents,' which of course was Myriam and Jason.

The photographer asked, "You two look so in love. I think it is sweet to have children their age and for the two of you to still look at each other that way. Can I get a picture of the two of you in a kiss?"

The two lovers turned towards each other and provided a gentle peck on the lips.

The photographer said, "That isn't really what I was expecting from a couple that produced these four beautiful children. Would you mind doing that again?"

Next Sheila spoke up and said, "Come on, Mom. I know you can kiss him better than that."

William chipped in, "Same thing, Dad. Act like you've done it before."

The twinkle in Myriam's eye let Jason know that this was going to be quite the kiss. It was. Jason put his right hand behind Myriam's head and left arm around her waist, and he pulled her to him for a passionate kiss. For the next several seconds, it was just the two of them enjoying their moment together. Their onlookers were blocked from their minds, as they fell into each other in their pleasuring of the one they loved. When they finished, they smiled at each other and looked towards the photographer who was smiling from ear to ear.

Mrs. McClane was squeezing her husband. She was so happy for her daughter and grandson. They deserved to be a complete family again.

The photographer said, "Good! That's what I was looking for. How should I send these to you?"

Sheila gave her an email and cell phone number. She asked, "Do you come here often? They don't let just anyone take pictures behind these gates."

She said, "I'm Olive. I used to have a studio until I retired. I've always loved coming here and taking pictures. They let me behind the ropes as long as I give them copies of what I take. When I get home this afternoon, I'll send these to you. I think you'll like how they turn out."

They all thanked her for the pictures and left to walk to a café for lunch near the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Art, which was their early afternoon activity. It was not their first trip to Pittsburgh, having come for the funeral of Leanne's husband, but it was their first opportunity to see anything interesting in Pittsburgh.

After the museum, they went shopping in the Strip District, which was very close to Eleven and they finished their day of exploring at the restaurant. They were all enjoying a beverage when Mary's parents arrived, followed shortly by Jason's parents, then Leanne. Soon they were all sitting at the table with their drinks, waiting for Mary to arrive.

When she did arrive, she saw them all having a good time chatting. It pleased her that everyone was together. When she looked to the head of the table, she saw Jason sitting there with Myriam on his left. Next to him was an empty seat with a glass of red wine waiting for Mary.

It nearly brought tears to her eyes. Here he was again, thinking of her. She proudly walked over to take her seat, and Jason stood to pull out her chair. She hugged him and gave him a long kiss on the cheek when he stood.

She whispered, "I'll always love you, Jason."

"I love you, too, Mary."

When Jason stood to toast the graduates, he gave the toast as a co-host, along with Mary. Everyone was so pleased that the two of them were getting along so well. No one would have imagined this a year ago. After sitting down, Mary squeezed Jason's hand and was happy to have everyone with her. Myriam leaned in and kissed him on the neck, whispering, "I'm dating the classiest man I've ever met. That makes me so hot for you."

Jason had a 'hard' time containing his smile for the rest of the evening.

The next day, Friday, was graduation day. Early in the morning, Jason took all the men to the country club to play golf. Mary invited the women to join her for an early brunch at a bakery in Wexford, followed by a session for all the ladies at a nearby spa for manicures and pedicures for each of them. The ladies then returned to Mary's house to finalize the setup along with the caterers.

At the golf course, Jason rode with Mr. McClane and William rode with Matt.

On the front-nine, Mr. McClane asked, "Jason, I was expecting an announcement by now. I'm a little surprised by the delay."

"No delay, Mr. McClane. I'm just trying to get through this graduation and get my ducks in a row. If I'm going to be moving to Knoxville, there are some things I need to wrap up here, first. Also, I told William that when I was ready to ask Myriam, that he would be the first to know. I need to tell him first."

"Well, in that case. Why don't you ride the second-nine with him? I know everyone is looking forward to the two of you being engaged."

"Thank you, Mr. McClane. I appreciate that. I'll talk with William as soon as we switch carts."

He did, and William was pleased for his mother and thankful that Jason kept his promise. He had grown to really like Jason.

The mid-afternoon graduation was boring as usual, but everyone was happy for and proud of Matt and Grace. The party was a huge success. Dozens of graduates and friends of Matt and Grace came. Like the party the previous year, it didn't end until the wee hours of the morning.

Around midnight, Mary found Myriam and told her, "Please take good care of Jason. The two of you seem like a good pair. As I'm sure you know by now, he's a special man."

"Thank you, Mary. I intend to do just that if he'll let me. He still needs to ask me to do that."

"Oh, he's going to. I've known that man for over two decades. I'm sure he already has the ring purchased and the proposal planned out by now. I'd be stunned if he didn't."

That caused a broad smile to appear on Myriam's face. She said, "Thank you for being so nice to me, Mary. I know this is hard on you, but if I can ever do anything for you, just ask. You'll always be welcome in our home." She thought for a second and said, "Who knows, you might even like Knoxville. You should come to visit."

Mary thought for a second and a stricken look came across her face, "Oh my God. He's moving there isn't he?"

"I believe so."

Mary looked crushed. Not being married to him was one thing, but not even being in the same city? It was like he was being completely removed from her life. Damn.

Myriam hugged Mary, "It's going to be okay. Sheila is still here, and you can come and visit any time you want. You can stay with us or my parents, and Matt has his own place, too."

Sadly, Mary said, "I believe I'll have to take you up on that."

"I hope you do."

It took her a while, but finally, Mary had recovered enough to face Jason. She went looking for him.

"Hey Mary, I know I told you earlier, but I'll tell you again. This is a great party. The caterer is superb."

She gave him a sad smile. Who knows how many more times she was going to get to see him? She broke down, crying, and ran inside.

Jason was on her heels catching her in the family room. "Mary. Mary. What's wrong?"

"You're leaving."

"Not for another hour or so."

She guffawed and couldn't help but smile a little. "Not tonight, stupid. Pittsburgh. You're moving to Knoxville."

He chuckled at her calling him 'stupid.' He could tell she wasn't being mean. "Well, that remains to be seen, but if Myriam answers a little question in the affirmative, then yes, I will move to Knoxville to be with her. I thought you knew."

She shook her head. "I should have known that. A sharp, partnered attorney is supposed to be able to figure out things like that rather quickly. Over the past year, I seem to have developed a blind spot when it comes to you."

He chuckled, "I need to do this Mary. She and I are a good match, and we love each other. William and I get along well, too. It will be good for me to get out of Pittsburgh. I have a lot of good memories from here, but it's time for me to go make some new ones."

The tears continued to well up in her eyes, "Can you look after things for a bit. I'm going up to our..." He could see her clenching and unclenching her hands for a second, then she huffed. "I'm sorry. I'm going up to my bedroom for a minute to freshen up."

"Sure, Mary. I'm sorry."

"Not nearly as sorry as I am," she replied. As she reached the first step to go upstairs, Jason was almost to the back door. She called out, "Jason?"

He turned to look at her.

"Will you promise me that you'll see me before you move?"

"Of course."

"I need to hear the words. Please. Promise me?"

"I promise, Mary. I'll make sure I see you before I leave."

"Thank you," and she fled up the steps.

Jason found Sheila and asked her to keep an eye on her mom.

He found Myriam, who hugged him, wishing she could help Mary with her pain.

_____________

Chapter 10 -- A lifetime sentence

Tuesday saw Leanne and Grace pulling out of town along with the movers. Their house had sold, and they were looking forward to living in Knoxville near their family. Myriam was hugging Jason, looking forward to his coming to Knoxville permanently. Mr. and Mrs. McClane were caravanning along with them. Jason bid them a good trip and looked forward to seeing them the following weekend.

Matt was miserable watching Grace leave. He didn't expect he would get to see her until he started school during the second summer session, four weeks away.

Jason could empathize a little, but he wasn't ready to send Matt down without something like school to occupy his time. Otherwise, he and Leanne would likely need to put some kind of ankle monitor on Grace to keep her out of what was going to be Matt's house. Though Jason suspected that if they hadn't been intimate yet, they would as soon as Matt moved down there.

______________

Jason stayed with the McClane's the following weekend. While he didn't expect a 'no' from Myriam, if that were to occur, he could simply move into a hotel until he flew back. He wasn't expecting that.

He convinced Myriam to go for a hike on Monday. It was the same hike that he and William took up the Alam Cave trail to Myrtle Point. It was a good hike, and he thanked her, again, for his wonderfully comfortable hiking boots.

She told him that she loved to hike, so she knew something about hiking boots. He knew that he loved watching her butt in front of him in those tight shorts on the way up the trail. Several times, he grabbed her hips and held her so he could kiss it before they continued. She didn't mind that at all.

Once they reached Myrtle Point, they relaxed and ate their lunch, as he and William had. It was a Monday, and there wasn't anyone else there that early. It was very peaceful.

After finishing some trail-mix with a lot of chocolate chips mixed in for dessert (thank you Mrs. McClane), he said, "I've got one more thing for us."

She wondered what else her mother had packed away for them to eat. Their sandwiches had been delicious.

From the bottom of his backpack, he pulled a small box from a jeweler in Pittsburgh that he had known most of his previous marriage. He said, "Myriam, you know that I love you and want to spend my life with you. Will you give me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?"

Her face lit up and the smile filled her entire face from her lips to her eyes.

"Of course. That's what I want more than anything. It took you long enough."

He chuckled, "Well, I needed to get William's permission, and I wanted to get past all of Matt and Grace's end of school activities. I've wanted this since before Valentine's Day."

She leaned into him and hugged him, "Me too. You actually asked William?"

"I didn't use those exact words, but yeah. I did. When he and I hiked up here a couple of months ago, we had a good long talk."

She laughed and said, "Like how to fart the alphabet? I thought it was supposed to be burp the alphabet."

"I was thinking on my feet."

"I love you, Jason. William really likes you too. That makes me even more happy."

He said, "You've raised a good young man. He's definitely your son. Oh, you need to send a picture of you wearing the ring to your mother. That way she'll know the celebration is still on for this evening."

"Celebration?"

"Yeah. Your mom and dad seem as pleased as William, so everyone is getting together for dinner and some cake, including Leanne and Grace."

"Sounds like mom. Let's get going. I'm ready to celebrate with everyone. You've made me very happy, Jason."

"Me too."

__________

Myriam, her mom, and Leanne wasted no time pulling together a small wedding. If they wanted less stress on the kids, it needed to be held during the summertime, otherwise, their next significant school break would be Thanksgiving or Christmas.

There was a nice venue for weddings near the Smokies, which they reserved for mid-August. It was a small wedding with less than one hundred guests. They only invited family and their closest of friends. Mary and her parents were invited, and while her parents accepted immediately, Mary did not.

Jason did as he promised and visited Mary the night before he moved to Knoxville. It was a somber evening for both of them. For Mary, it was because the man she loved was leaving town to be with another woman. For Jason, it was because he was worried about Mary.

She cried as he drove away that night. Jason struggled to contain his tears also.

The next morning, she, Sheila, and her parents were at his house early, saying 'goodbye' one last time. Mary was disconsolate as he drove away. She didn't go into work that day, and her parents did their best to try and cheer her up, with little success.

As the wedding approached, Matt and Sheila tried to encourage their mother to attend, but she was reticent. Matt was already in summer school in Knoxville. Over the summer, Sheila, who worried about her mother, deliberately spent more time with Mary. She wondered how this fierce, battle-hardened attorney had turned into such a mopey and despondent woman in her personal life. Finally, on a Friday evening a couple of weeks before the wedding, she bought a bottle of wine and planned to spend a Friday evening with her.

"Okay, Mom. What's the problem? Why can't you attend the wedding?"

"It would be too painful for me. It hurts me to see Jason marrying another woman."

Sheila asked, "I don't get it, Mom. I'm really happy that you've taken a greater interest over the last year or so in mine and Matt's life, BUT you spent years not really caring what was going on with any of us, including Daddy. Is there something that caused this switch? Because while I'm enjoying this new you, I have no idea where she came from. Was it the counseling?"

Mary shook her head sadly. "No and yes. The morning after I slapped Matt, I woke up in my house all alone. I worried that I had lost the last person in my life, my baby, Matt. At the time, you were barely speaking to me, and then if he didn't, I wouldn't have anyone in my life that cared about me except for my parents. I know my acquaintances at the club don't count. I wondered how it was that I had become successful professionally, but completely lost my family along the way. That was when I realized I needed help figuring it out."

Sheila mused. "So, over the last year, you began to realize that you were truly alone and didn't like it?"

Mary nodded. "I couldn't figure out how I got to that point, but more importantly, why did I allow it to happen. What was wrong with me that allowed me to drive myself towards a partnership but couldn't see what I was doing to all of you? I'm terribly sorry."

"Mom, it's all worked out okay, though. You have your kids back. You know we love you. Dad is moving forward with his life and is happy. I know he wants you to be happy. Why isn't that enough? It wouldn't have been what we wanted when we were little but given where we all were a couple of years ago, I'd say that was one hell of a turnaround."

Mary looked guilty after that statement. "It shouldn't have come to that, though. I feel terrible for what I put all of you through. I have my partnership, but not my family. My therapist helped me to understand why I did what I did, and even laid out how to move forward. But I have to tell you, somedays I don't want to leave work because outside of the office, the guilt is almost soul-crushing."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I am. But I'll tell you again. You should be happy for Dad. William loves him, and that will be good for William. Myriam loves him and is in love with him. He's in a good place. He wants that for you, too. Don't come to the wedding to mourn. You should come to put a stake in the past."

She could see Mary considering it.

"Please, Mom. The whole family will be there. This is a good opportunity for you...to grow."

She smiled at her daughter and said, "I'll try Sweetie. I will."

______________

The week of the wedding, everyone except for Mary flew in a few days early. Matt and Grace gave Sheila a tour of the campus. It was very different from the one at the University of Pittsburgh. She had liked her previous visit to Knoxville, and she liked this one too. It was much smaller than Pittsburgh, so it didn't hold as many professional opportunities, but she could see its appeal. She had a great week with everyone there.

The McClane's loved having so much family, including Jason's in town. Their home was grand central station for the week, and they were thrilled.

The rehearsal was held early, and the rehearsal dinner was held in Knoxville at Calhoun's on the River. Jason looked around the room seeing everyone who was there. He noticed Mary was absent and looked at Sheila, raising his eyebrow. She gave a small shake of her head indicating that Mary wouldn't be there, which saddened Jason for a moment. But only a moment before he turned to his beautiful fiancé and had a pleasant rest of the evening.