Thank you Silvie.
I'm glad you found that update wonderful. You'll find out in time what's going on with Bobby, Pam, Rebecca and Chris. But first Afton has something to explain to Becky...
Here's the next update:
It was close to eleven at night and Afton was sitting in her double bed with pink covers. She was trying to read a book but she couldn’t concentrate. Knowing that Cliff Barnes was back in her life again and that he had weaseled his way into her daughter’s life she felt torn. Because watching Cliff with their daughter had been a shock to her. He had seemed completely natural and it had made her question if it had been wrong of her to keep them apart for all those years.
Just because he was a lousy boyfriend it doesn’t mean he’s a lousy father, Afton reflected to herself. Yet at the same time she was scared of what it might mean inviting Cliff back into her life again. Since she was doing great without him, her singing career was about to take off, her daughter was a charming, bright, perceptive, healthy, adorable little girl. On top of that Afton even had a new boyfriend, who she loved, who was everything that Cliff was not; young, handsome, successful, from a noble family and rich. All of that appealed to Afton since she had always been a bit of a social climber, an opportunist who took a chance to make a better life for herself when she saw it. She was also a bit greedy, needy and manipulative. So in her mind she knew that Mario was the perfect man for her. Yet he had never made her feel the way that Cliff had, as there was something about him that made her feel weak.
Afton didn’t like the woman she had turned into when she was with Cliff, as he had made her, self-sacrificing, willing to please, concerned and a bit of a doormat. He had her heart in the palm of his hand and walked all over it, because he didn’t appreciate her love. Maybe she’d loved him too much. But after she’d found him lifeless on the floor after that attempted suicide she’d known that she loved him more than she’d ever loved any other man in her life before and that she’d be damned if she’d lost him. So she’d tried her hardest to please him. She’d been patient, loyal, caring, loving and perceptive. But it was to no use. After 3 years together she’d simply had enough, so she’d left him. It was a decision she had only regretted when her daughter was concerned, since she wished that Becky would have had a father in her life. But she didn’t wish for it to be Cliff. Since that man was poison to her and her love for him was no longer blind. She had been so young when she’d met him, but now at age 36, she knew that she deserved more. She needed to be with someone who loved her for who she was rather than who took her for granted and constantly neglected her. Sitting there thinking about Cliff Afton was so lost in her own thoughts that she barely heard the door opening and Becky walking into her bedroom. Becky’s voice therefore startled her, “Mom?”
“Yes Becky?” Afton put away the book she was reading on the black chest of drawers that stood next to her bed. “I thought you were asleep…”
“No I couldn’t sleep,” Becky sighed.
“Why not?”
“I was thinking about my dad,” said Becky. “How come you’ve never told me about him before?”
Afton sighed as she had been expected this conversation but had hoped to be able to postpone it. However seeing the questions in her daughter’s eyes she knew that it was time to have that serious conversation.
Only trouble is how do I explain Cliff to her? Afton pondered before she said, “Becky come here,” she patted on her bed and Becky hurried to climb into her mother’s bed and sat down next to her. “I am going to tell you something really important and I want you to listen real careful, okay?”
“Okay,” Becky nodded.
Afton took a deep breath before she started to explain about Cliff to their daughter, “The reason why I haven’t told you about your father before was because I was trying to protect you from him.”
“Protect me from him?” Becky asked. “But why mom?” Becky didn’t get it. “I mean it’s not like he’s a bad person, is he?”
“No he’s not a bad person. He’s just…Cliff,” Afton sighed before she continued. “You’ll see the Cliff Barnes I knew was obsessed with beating JR Ewing. There was this whole family feud going on between your grandfather Digger Barnes and Jock Ewing, who was JR’s dad, and although Digger was long gone before I met your dad and Jock Ewing died shortly after they somehow managed to pass on the hatred to their sons who continued to fight.”
“So dad’s family is at war with the Ewings?” Becky wondered.
“Well I guess you can say that they were, but not anymore. Pam changed all that.”
“Who’s Pam?”
“Oh sweetie, she’s your aunt.”
“Oh right, I think dad mentioned that he had a sister before…”
“I’m not surprised, they used to be very close,” Afton reflected. “Anyway Pam was married to Jock Ewing’s youngest son Bobby Ewing.”
“You mean she married the man from the family that dad’s family was in a feud with?”
“Yes because she loved Bobby despite the fact that he is a Ewing.”
“That sounds very Romeo and Juliet,” Becky smiled and her comment made her mom laugh.
“Well I wouldn’t go that far, but yes they did love each other a lot and I always used to think that Bobby and Pam were good for each other. They have a son by the way, Christopher.”
“So you mean I have a cousin?” Becky’s face lit up.
“Yes,” Afton nodded.
“Wow!” Becky smiled excitedly. “I get a dad, a cousin and an aunt all on one day. Seems like there’s a lot of things I didn’t know about.”
“Well I am not sure you’ll ever get to
actually meet your aunt as nobody knows where she is. But I can tell you she was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister,” Afton said. “In fact both Cliff’s sister and his mother were wonderful to me.”
“Oh that’s right, what about my other grandma, is she still alive?”
“I’m sorry Becky, but she died in a plane crash before you were born. But she was a strong, very kind, supportive and fair lady. You would have loved her,” Afton said sadly.
“What was her name?”
“Rebecca.”
“But that’s my name too.”
“Yes I named you after your dad’s sister and mother,” Afton admitted.
“I wish I could have met them.”
“Me too.”
“But if you wish so, why did you then try to keep me from my family?”
“Because of your father,” Afton sighed, since after she’d seen Cliff in her house earlier today playing with their daughter she wasn’t so sure if she’d done the right choice anymore.
I mean just because Cliff and I didn’t work out maybe I was selfish to keep his child away from him? Afton sighed, as seeing Cliff again had made her feel so confused.
“What about my father?” Becky asked.
“Well like I tried to explain to you before, when I first dated your father he was obsessed with beating JR Ewing and always tried to prove that he could be bigger and better than him. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to get ahead in business. Towards the end of our relationship we started fighting more and more.”
“What did you fight about?”
“Oh money, other women, just about anything.”
“Dad cheated on you?” Becky asked.
“I’m not sure. But he had this business partner, Marilee Stone who sure had her eye on him. I didn’t like it when he made business with her.”
“What kind of business is he working with?”
“Oh he’s in the oil business,” Afton explained.
“But that’s great, so does that mean he’s rich?” Becky asked excitedly.
“No,” Afton shook her head. “He’s not
that good at business. You’ll see during our last year together he gambled everything on an oil deal. He was losing big time and when he lost, he drank and he got nasty,” Afton explained.
Becky grimaced, not liking what she heard, “What do you mean with nasty?”
“Well he was upset with me, because I had used the money his mother left me to buy your grandma Arliss a better house since he wanted to use that money to finance his off shore oil drilling. That sort of thing,” Afton explained.
“Okay,” Becky nodded. “So did you love him?”
“Yeah I did,” Afton sighed. “Very much, actually and I tried to stand by him but eventually he pushed me too far. I was sick of always being second best to his business. I needed a man who would put me first. So I packed my bags and left him. It wasn’t until after I had moved away from Dallas that I realized that I was pregnant with you. But by then I figured that we’d both be better off without him.”
“I don’t get it. The man you’re describing sounds nothing like the man I met today,” Becky was puzzled by all this.
“I know baby. But that’s the way he was back then.”
“So that’s why he said he acted stupid,” Becky sighed.
“What?”
“Dad said that he’d been stupid to put his business before you,” Becky clarified.
“He did now, did he?”
“Yes he did, I bet he regrets letting you go,” Becky said in a way that was making Afton feel nervous, as there had been a time in her life when she’d wanted nothing more than to become Mrs. Cliff Barnes. He had been the love of her life and yet the idea that he might still have feelings for her scared her.
I can’t go back to him. Not after all I’ve been through to get him out of my system, Afton reflected before she told Becky, “Maybe.”
“I know he does, he more or less told me straight up.”
“Okay so maybe he did. After all when I met him six years ago he was nicer.”
“You met him again?”
“Yes I took a gig at a local club here in Dallas. Then one evening after I had finished singing he just showed up.”
“Then what happened?” Becky asked.
“He asked me to have a drink with him. So I did. He told me that he was a changed man. That Pam’s accident had changed him and that he was now working at Ewing Oil with Bobby and JR.”
“Pam’s accident?”
“Well yeah, she was in a car crash back in 1987 and then she left town. Nobody knows what happened to her ever since.”
“Oh,” Becky said disappointed. “But that’s horrible.”
“Yeah it is, anyway, your dad said it had changed him. So we started seeing each other again and I did notice that he had changed. He was willing to put me before his business for a change and played out all his cards right, he even asked me to marry him.”
“But mom that’s great!”
“Well not really, you’ll see the only reason why he asked me was because he had found out about you and I didn’t want to marry him until I knew for sure that he wanted me for me and not for you if you know what I am saying?” Afton regretted her words the moment she had said them, as it was obvious that her honesty had hurt her daughter’s feelings.
“No I don’t get it. All I know is that I could have had a father for six years and it’s
your fault that I didn’t…” Becky said angrily, as she stood up and was about to leave.
But Afton caught her arm, stopping her from leaving, “No Becky, please don’t go. I want you to understand that I only did what I did because I thought that if I had married him and it wouldn’t have worked out I could have lost you in a custody battle and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you to him. I love you too much for that Becky,” Afton pleaded with her daughter and to her relief Becky sat back down again.
“I love you too mom. But I still think it was wrong to keep me from my dad for all these years and I don’t care what you’ve told me about you and him. I want him to be a part of my life from now on,” Becky finally said the exact words that Afton had dreaded that she would say.
But knowing better than trying to stop her daughter Afton just nodded in defeat, “Alright, I can understand that.”
“Good, so could you please call him for me and set up a meeting?”
“Why don’t you call him yourself?” Afton asked.
“Mom you know how I always get all shy when I am to call people up…”
“Alright you win. I’ll call him tomorrow and set up a meeting.”
“Thanks mom,” Becky hugged her mother, “Oh and one more thing?”
“What?” Afton asked.
“Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”
“Oh honey, of course you can,” Afton smiled, relieved that she hadn’t lost her daughter, at least not yet. Afton and Becky then laid down and Becky quickly drifted off to sleep, but Afton was not afforded the same luxury, as her confrontation with Cliff earlier that evening and now her conversation with Becky had left her with a lot to think about.
Oh Cliff, why do you always have to show up just when I think I am over you? Afton reflected to herself, as she knew that a part of her was still weak when Cliff was concerned and she hated it. Since she was actually happy with Mario and had even hoped that he might be the man that she would eventually get married to and have more kids with. So to have Cliff appear again like a bad rash was the last thing she needed at this stage of her life…
; I hope now Bobby is really going to believe Pam this time that rebecca is his daughter ; I look forward to see what is going to happen next