Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

***THEO***

B y the time they got down to the dock, Eden's mother was practically screaming at Max, who was just watching her, a stunned look on his face. "You had better take me to my daughter; I know something is terribly wrong with her," the woman screeched. "She hasn't called me in three days, and she would never do that unless there was something wrong. What have you done to her? If you don't take me to her right this instant, I'm going to tear this island apart looking for her."

"Are you going to let me talk now?" Max asked, when Eden's mother took a breath.

"I'm not finished," her mother said, sticking her finger in Max's face. "I'm going to sue you when I get home. What kind of reputable business let's a young girl stay alone? Anything could have happened to my baby while she was here. If anyone has hurt her or corrupted her in any way, I'm going to hold you personally responsible. Now take me to her right this instant."

"That might be a bit difficult," Max said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You haven't told me who your daughter is, lady."

"Lady," Eden's mother huffed. "You will address me as Dr. Bishop and no other way."

"Oh, I see……" Max said. "You're Eden's mother."

"Stop playing games, you knew very well who I was," Dr. Bishop said. "I can't believe an idiot like you is in charge of this place. You have no business running a resort, and I'm going to get you closed down if it's the last thing I do."

"That's enough, Mother," Eden said, stepping up. "You've berated that poor man enough. I'm the one you want, so leave him alone."

"Oh, Eden, look at you," her mother said, a look of horror on her face. "What have they done to you? What is that you're wearing? Cover yourself up at once, you're embarrassing yourself with that display."

Eden clenched her teeth together for a second, then let out a long sigh. "Mother, you may be embarrassed by your body, but I'm not," she finally said. "This is the way I want to dress, and that's just the first of many things that are going to change."

A look of shock appeared on the woman's face; Theo tried not to laugh. "How dare you talk to me that way? I only have your best interests at heart," her mother said. "If you're going to be a successful doctor, you have to think about your reputation. Men can't see you as attractive; it undermines your abilities."

"Well, since I'm not going to be a doctor, it won't matter," Eden said, her shoulders squared for battle. "I'm going to go back and get my teaching degree. That's all I've ever wanted to do, and I know that I'll be good at it."

"You will not waste yourself teaching, I will not allow it. I thought we settled this a long time ago. You're going to medical school, you're going to become a doctor and continue the family legacy," her mother shouted, her face getting red. "I knew that it was a bad idea to let you come here. You're completely out of control, you need to be medicated right away. You must be having some kind of a breakdown."

"I'm not having a breakdown, I'm finally standing up to you," Eden said. "I'm done letting you run my life, I'm going to do what I want when I want, and you're not going to say a word about it, or I'll cut you out of my life."

Her mother's face went from red to pale almost instantly. "I can't believe you just said that," her mother wailed. "After everything I've done for you, you ungrateful brat; you're going to be sorry, I'm going to cut you off. Do you hear me? You won't get another cent of our money; you'll be living on the streets, eating out of dumpsters, and I'm going to laugh at you when it happens. You're nothing without me, nothing."

He'd had all that he could take, knew that Eden had to be wearing down. "That's where you're wrong, Eden will have me," he said, stepping up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "And I promise you, she won't be living on the streets or eating trash while I'm around."

"Who the hell are you?" Dr. Bishop demanded. "Take your hands off my daughter."

"I'll take my hands off Eden when she asks me to," he said. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Theo Mayhew, and I'm the man who is in love with your daughter."

"And I love him," Eden said. "Fate brought us together, and nothing is going to tear us apart, so save your breath, Mother."

Dr. Bishop's mouth opened and closed several times, then she started to crumple to the dock, but Max reached out and grabbed her. "Oh, dear, I can't breathe, and my chest hurts. I think I'm going to die," she wailed. "Everything is going dark, I'm dying, I'm dying, and you did this to me, Eden, you did this."

He felt Eden stiffen under his hands, felt her resolve beginning to crumble, but then Eden's father stepped forward. "Stop this right now, Gwen," he barked. "You are not having a heart attack; you're just in shock because our grown daughter finally exerted her independence. I would also like to point out that you're wearing a wool suit in the tropics; not a very smart wardrobe choice. You might want to take some pointers from Eden. She looks very beautiful."

Dr. Bishop stopped wailing and let Max help her to a bench. "Now that we can hear ourselves talk, I think all my wife needs is something cold to drink and a place to lie down," her father said, then held out his hand to Theo. "It's nice to meet you, young man. I'm Thomas Bishop. I hope we'll have a chance to get to know each other later."

Theo shook his hand. "My cabin is empty. You and your wife are welcome to stay there," he said. "I look forward to spending some time with you as well. I've been learning to spear fish; if you'd like to join me later."

"Sounds exciting, just let me get my wife settled," Thomas said, then looked over at Eden. "Sweetheart, would you mind helping your mother? It might reassure her a little."

Eden looked over at her mother, then up at him. "I guess I should," she said. "I'll just get her settled and meet you back here."

***Eden***

Eden closed the bedroom door and tiptoed across the living room, slipped out onto the porch, and collapsed into the chair next to her father. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "I could have handled that better," she finally said. "But once I got started, it all just came pouring out."

"She'll be okay, it's about time you let her have it," her father said, shaking his head. "I'm just sorry I didn't step in sooner. Your mother……well……as terrible as she must seem to you, she really does love you and thinks she's doing what's right. I've known that you were unhappy for a long time, though. I should have done more to help you."

She looked over at him. "It's okay, Dad, it all worked out in the end," she said. "Mom will get used to the idea eventually; she doesn't really have any choice. Thanks for being there for me today. You are really going to like Theo, he's a good man."

"I wouldn't expect my little girl to choose anything but a good man," he said. "If you love him, I'll love him too."

Tears came to her eyes. "I didn't know it was possible to love someone the way I love Theo, Dad," she said. "I can't imagine my life without him, and he just wants me to be happy."

"Then it sounds like you've chosen well," he said. "I'm sure your mother will sleep for most of the afternoon. Why don't you go find him and let him know that everything is fine, I'm sure he's worrying."

Eden stood up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he said. "Now go before your mother hears us and wakes up."

Her feet flew on her way to the village. She'd stood up to her mother, something she'd never imagined doing, and she wanted to relive the experience with the one person she knew would understand best. She spotted Theo right away; he was sitting with an older couple, and she remembered that his parents were on the boat with hers. The heat of shame burned her cheeks, and she paused, not sure she was ready to meet them, not after what they'd witnessed just a few hours before.

She watched them for a second, then took a couple of steps toward the table, hoping that they'd see her standing there, then realized that even though their voices weren't raised, Theo's parents weren't happy. Suddenly unsure of herself, she backed into a shadow and stood there, unable to stop herself from listening to their conversation.

"Theo, this is ridiculous. You can't honestly think that you're in love with this girl," his mother scoffed. "Love is nothing but a construct that poor people have made to make their lives a little easier; in reality, it does nothing but make their lives worse."

Theo sighed, "I didn't expect you to understand," he said. "And this isn't really up for discussion, Mother. I love Eden, and we're going to spend the rest of our lives together."

His mother stared at him for a long time, then shook her head. "I will not allow this to happen. You will not marry that girl. You will do what's expected of you and marry to strengthen the family name. just like your brothers. You can keep her as your mistress if it pleases you; society won't care, but that little…is not going to get our family name."

"Maybe I'll take her name," Theo said, shrugging his shoulders. "Then you wouldn't have to worry about what your so-called friends would say."

"Theo, this is not funny," his mother hissed. "Just because some young slut spread her legs for you, that's no reason to go off and get married."

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth, tears springing from her eyes, but Theo got to his feet. "I warned you, Mother," he said. "This conversation is now over, and we won't be having it again. I love Eden, and someday I'm going to marry her, and we're going to have a house full of kids. You can choose to be part of it or not. The truth is, it doesn't really matter to me."

He turned to walk away and she realized that she was trapped, that he couldn't walk by her without seeing her, and tried to shrink further into the shadows. Only a second later, Theo saw her and a look of disappointment spread across his face, but he walked over to her, took her hand, and led her away from his parents. They walked through the village in silence, the weight of what she'd just heard heavy on both of them.

"I'm sorry, Theo, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she finally said. "I was going to join you, but then I heard your mother talking and I chickened out. I should have just left or something."

He stopped on the trail and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm not mad at you," he said, holding her close. "I'm angry and disgusted by my parents and disappointed with myself for thinking that they would react any differently than they did. I'm sorry you had to hear all of that, but as you heard, my parents aren't very nice people. Honestly, I think we're better off without them."

"She's not going to give up, and neither is my mom," she said, resting her cheek on his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. "I knew this was going to be hard, I just didn't know how hard."

"But that doesn't mean we're giving up," he said, looking down at her. "You're worth fighting for, Eden."

"So are you, Theo," she said. "I guess we'll just have to fight a little bit harder for what we want."