by Leigh Smith
Jill planned to spend Thanksgiving weekend at a ski lodge instead of the usual jaunt to her parent's house. She just didn't know how to tell her mother. I'm a grown woman, it shouldn't be this hard, she thought to herself. It's not that she didn't love her parents and siblings and their families, she did. She was a sucker for her nieces and nephews, it was just that she couldn't stand the thought of spending another holiday with her family asking about the details of her life - when all they really wanted to know about was her love life, or lack of it.
Ever since Jill had broken her engagement over four years ago to that two-timing Billy Mitchell, her mom was all over her like white on rice, saying that she wasn't getting any younger. To be honest, Jill was a little jealous. She was the oldest of three girls and her two siblings were already married with children of their own.
Her sister Jan had married her college sweetheart, Mark Stewart. They were a stereotypical American family. Mark was a junior partner in a law firm and Jan was a stay at home mom. They had a house in the suburbs, three children - a boy James and twin girls, Beth and Jane, and a dog and a cat. Jan was the matchmaker and always had some associate of Mark's she wanted Jill to meet. Every once in a while, Jill would give in and accept a date with Jan's latest find and so far it hadn't turned out well. Luckily for Jill, Jan had recently backed off the quest to fix her up with someone.
Her other sister, Jackie, was married to Matthew J. Caldwell III. Matt was the CFO of Caldwell Industries, his family's firm. They lived in a massive house in Naperville with their son Matthew J. Caldwell IV (Matty) and their daughter Stacey. According to the plan Jackie had laid out for her life, she would have another child sometime next year and heaven forbid if anything went against plan. They too had a dog, cat, horses, and lord knows what else. Jackie was so straight she squeaked, and Matt's family was as uptight and straight laced as they came. Jackie fit right in with the Caldwell's and not so well with Jill who was a free thinker and inevitably got into a heated discussion with Matt about the injustice of some situation. He would go off in a huff, and Jackie would be upset with her sister for arguing with him.
Everyone would be at Jill's parents for Thanksgiving and her presence was expected. She just wasn't up to it this year. She wanted to do something different. And besides, she would have to face all of them again at Christmas.
Jill had procrastinated long enough and decided she couldn't wait any longer to call her mother. She picked up the phone and dialed. Mom was a force of nature and would not take the news that one of her chicks would not be around for Thanksgiving without a fight. She could almost hear her mother's disappointment and the connection hadn't even gone through yet. For a moment, she actually thought she might get lucky and have to leave a message. No such luck - her mother picked up on the fifth ring.
"Hi Mom, how are you?"
"Good Sweetie, how about you?"
"I'm fine, everything is going well. I was able to nail down a couple of new accounts this week so I might be getting that new car sooner than I expected. How is Dad?"
"Okay, Jill, spill it. You have something you want to say and you are stalling."
"How do you do that?"
"Honey, I've known you since you were born, remember," Mom said, laughing.
Jill took a deep breath. "I am not going to be joining you for Thanksgiving." For a moment, Jill was almost starting to feel better about having shared her news, but then her mother really started laying on the guilt.
"Why not?" Mom's disappointment was clear from her tone.
"I'm going to Colorado for the weekend."
"I don't see why you can't go another weekend, Jill. After all Thanksgiving is a family holiday."
"I know Mom, but it's a four day weekend and this way I don't have to use many vacation days."
"I understand. It's not for me, but you know how much your father counts on watching the games with you. I just hope there doesn't come a time when you regret giving up spending time with your family," her mother continued.
"Oh Mom, please don't start with that."
"With what?"
"With the fact that you and dad won't be around forever."
"Well, we won't," her mother replied with another big sigh.
When she couldn't take any more guilt, Jill came up with a little white lie. "Oh Mom, I didn't want to tell you ... but I met a guy and he asked me to join him for the Thanksgiving weekend." Her conscience was telling her that half-truths were better than no truth at all.
"Well, why didn't you say so?!" Mom's tone of voice changed completely at this most welcome news. "Just don't plan on missing Christmas, dear."
What a difference that little white lie made. Of course it was all right with her mother, knowing that her daughter was going out with a man. Knowing Mom, she was already planning her wedding. With Christmas just around the corner the questions were already formulating in her mother's mind, she was sure of that. Jill was going to have to start coming up with answers to those questions. She recalled something Mom used to say years back: Oh, what a wicked web we weave when at first we begin to deceive. Crap, another thing she was right about, thought Jill.
Jill was not really listening to her mother's conversation anymore. When she finally tuned back in she heard her mother telling her to have fun, but there followed a litany of the usual do's and don'ts that had been drummed into her head since she began dating.
Jill's conscience pricked; she felt uncomfortable for lying but it couldn't be helped. If she told her mother the absolute truth her feelings would be hurt. This way everybody was happier, and truth be told she felt sure her absence at Thanksgiving would be barely noticed. In previous years, after the first five minutes of any visit had elapsed, if the grandkids were around, the visit was all about them - it was as if Jill and her sisters simply disappeared into the background.
Jill loved her life. She was thirty-five years old, had a great job, a large circle of friends, no shortage of dates, and a great condominium she had purchased with her first bonus check. It was just when she was around her sisters and their husbands and children that she felt as if she was missing out on something.
Could she help it if Billy had turned out to be a class A jerk? She met Billy Mitchell at her first job after graduating from college. Everyone told her what a catch he was and she agreed with them. He could have posed for one of those Ralph Lauren ads. He was tall and tanned with light brown hair and beautiful green eyes. She was deeply in love with him and was sure he was the absolute love of her life - until that fateful day that she caught him cheating on her.
She was just glad she found out before the wedding. One day she was coming out of a business meeting, happened to spy him standing on a corner, and was just about to call his name when this gorgeous redhead appeared. He immediately hugged and kissed her and ran his hands up and down her curvaceous body. Obviously, it was not a chance encounter. She confronted him that evening and at first, he denied it.
"Don't you dare lie to me," Jill told him. "I saw you with my own two eyes, and I have very good eyesight."
After he hemmed and hawed, he finally admitted the truth. "It's just a flirtation that got out of hand."
"Based on what I saw, I will agree with that, your hands were all over her."
"It doesn't mean anything and it certainly doesn't have anything to do with us," he said.
"It has everything to do with us. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life with a man, I want to be able to trust him. I want to be the center of his universe, not just someone to come home to at night. I want someone I know will be there and love me. You are a good looking man and women are going to be attracted to you, I don't want to have to worry about every new staffer or person with whom you come in to contact."
"Oh, Jill, you're making too much of this. I just made a mistake. It'll never happen again."
"Billy, marriage is just too important to me and I don't want to take that chance. Maybe you'll find someone else that won't mind your mistakes - but it isn't going to be me!"
That was it. She took off his ring and walked out of his life. It had devastated her, and for a long while she had no desire for any man, but eventually she started dating again. So far, she had not found anyone she wanted to wake up next to for the next 30 or so years.
At the time, JBC Pharmaceuticals was looking for drug representatives and she applied for and accepted a position. She hated leaving her cushy job at Sanderson's, but being around Billy all the time was just too hard. Things had worked out; she loved her new job, met many interesting people, and got to travel on the company's dime.
Although she would miss her family, she was looking forward to her forthcoming trip. She would be flying out on Sunday, spending the night in Denver and then taking the shuttle to Keystone the next day. The extra time would give her time to adjust to the altitude and still give her three full days of skiing. Colorado was one of her favorite places, and now that the dreaded phone call was out of the way, she was excited and eagerly anticipating what a great time she planned to have. Purchasing a new ski outfit and skis seemed to alleviate any remaining guilt. She was packed, ready and waiting for Sunday to arrive. It could not come too soon.
Jill splurged and used some of her frequent flier miles to upgrade to first class. As she boarded the flight, she noticed a handsome man also waiting to board. She sat down and was just getting out her iPad when the handsome guy sat down in the aisle seat across from her. Once the rest of the passengers had boarded and the door was closed, he started chatting with the attendant. It was obvious they knew each other, and by discreetly eavesdropping, Jill learned he was a pilot for the same airline and on his way to Keystone for the holiday. He was joining his sister's family who lived in Denver.
When the attendant walked away, Jill smiled and leaned across the aisle.
"Hi there. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I couldn't help but hear your conversation. I'm also going to Keystone. I haven't been there before and I'm wondering if it's all that is promised in the brochures?" She reached over and offered her hand. "My name's Jill Donald."
"Hi Jill. I'm Derek Andrews." He returned the smile. "I haven't seen the brochures but based on experience I think Keystone is fantastic. The runs are good and well groomed. I've been going for years and I recently purchased a condominium there. I'm hoping it's a good investment - and with my sister and her family living in Denver and also being ski enthusiasts, it seemed to make sense."
Not to be reposted, reproduced or distributed, in part or whole.