- 9.
The online buzz reached Jason’s mother. She
showed up at his office, frantic. And she wasn’t alone. The woman from the phone call, Molly,
<
was with her. Years after our first awkward
meeting
when I’d nervously told her, “I’m
Jason’s girlfriend. We’re both planning on
applying to UCLA” I stood before her again.
Back then, she’d been lying in a hospital bed,
smiling kindly. Now, her face was tight with
disapproval. “Can you please stay away from
Jason? If you were going to leave, why couldn’t
you just stay gone? Why did you come back?
Haven’t you hurt him enough?”
We were in the conference room on the top
floor of Jason’s office building. His mother
paced, glaring at me like I was her enemy. I
didn’t understand. I’d broken up with Jason to
spare him the financial burden, to make a deal
with my own mother. And she, the one who’d
benefited most, was accusing me of hurting
them? “Mom, stop it,” Jason said, his face grim. “I will not approve of you and Lynn. Give it up.”
His mother was unwavering. “If not Lynn, then who? Her?” he gestured towards Molly. “I like Molly. She’s taken care of me for five years. Is
<
it so wrong that I want her as a daughter–in-
law?”
Molly…was that Molly Lewis? The slightly
chubby girl from the other class? I suddenly
remembered finding a love letter tucked
amongst Jason’s papers once, signed with a
drawing of a moon. Could it be her? Or just a
coincidence? “No, it’s not wrong,” Jason said,
his voice trembling slightly. “But I want to be
with the person I love.” His mother’s face
softened momentarily, but then hardened again.
“But she abandoned you. Because we were
poor.” “She had her reasons,” Jason argued.
“No. You will marry Molly. Her family helped us.
They paid for my hospital bills when you were in
high school. We can’t be ungrateful.”
I froze, feeling like I’d been struck by lightning.
“What?” Was this why she hated me? I frantically called my mom. “Mom, did you pay for Jason’s mom’s hospital bills? Did you actually give them the money?” My mom
<
answered immediately. “Of course, honey. I still
have the receipts. It was a lot of money. If
anything happens to your dad and me, you take
those receipts and make Jason take care of
you.”
Jason’s mother stared at me, dumbfounded.
“What?” She turned to Molly. “Molly, you
said…” She didn’t finish her sentence. She
collapsed. Jason caught her. We rushed to the
hospital. While we waited outside the
emergency room, Molly turned to me. “Lynn,” she began, her voice barely a whisper. “I hate
you. You’re smart, you’re beautiful, your family
has money. You had everything… and you had Jason’s love. I never thought he’d love me back,
but I selfishly wanted to use his mom, use
marriage to tie him to me. I thought maybe he’d grow to love me. Or at worst, we’d have a comfortable life together. But why you? You left
him! Why is he still so devoted to you?”
“So that’s why you lied about the money,
<
Molly?” I asked quietly. Molly broke down,
sobbing. “It was my only chance to get close to
him. How could I let it go? I didn’t know it was
your family at first. I thought… I thought it was
someone else. I’m sorry.” She apologized and
ran.
