Nancy Parker
Chapter 1/1
Nancy Parker
Has anyone ever wondered what happened to Nancy Parker? I have, so many times, so here’s what I’ve come up with. I wrote this because my stories are usually about Max and Liz and are definitely fluffy…this is very unconventional, not so much fluffy or funny but I think it works. Just a tale of woe actually… Ginger.
I am not affiliated with the show Roswell or any of its constituents. I have borrowed the names of the
characters simply because I like them.
Genre: A/U No Pairing
Rating: Teen: some lang.
***
Chapter: 1/1
Close to Easter
Nancy Parker pulled into the visitor parking lot of West Roswell High School just as Diane Evans was getting out of her car and the two women smiled at each other as they walked toward the front steps of the school together.
“Do you have any idea why we’re here?” Nancy asked in her normally quiet voice.
“Not a clue. The principal just said that Max and Liz were in his office and would it be possible for me to get away. I wonder what they’ve done now. It was bad enough that they spent the night out in the desert together and now this. I can’t believe that Max would get into trouble in school; Liz either for that matter.”
*
Maria and Alex were standing at their lockers watching the mothers and Maria looked up at her friend and nodded as she said. “I don’t think I want to know what is going on ever there.” Alex followed her lead and grinned, “Neither do I!” and both teens went about their business.
*
Nancy continued on with her conversation with Diane…
“Well, I know what you mean. Since we’ve never had to go through any type of trouble with her before it’s just mind boggling that all of a sudden she’s causing all of these problems. Her dad is going to have a fit…although I think I’m the one not coping right now. Jeff seems to think it’s all a misunderstanding.”
“Well, Philip seems to be taking it better than I am as well. Of course, it might be a male thing but still, it’s shocking when there have been years of no trouble.”
Each woman was silently blaming the other’s teenager for the trouble, whatever it was, since neither kid had ever caused any problems until they started this ‘relationship’ with each other. But both women knew better than to make an accusation like that, even if it was the truth it was impolite. Impolite, yeah, that’s a good one thought Nancy as she and Diane continued to make their way through the halls of Roswell High School.
They finally reached the principal’s office where they found their children sitting on a bench outside the entrance just watching their mothers stride down the hall together.
“Max, he’s making too much of this.”
“Well, maybe, I guess Liz, but I can’t seem to keep away from you for some reason.”
“Yeah, me either, from you that is. It’s like an unknown force or something is pushing us together; what do you think Forrester wants with our mothers?”
“Who knows, what are they supposed to do…tie us up or something?”
And both kids giggled as their mothers glared at them, that made them giggle all the more and to say that Nancy and Diane were pissed was an understatement.
Diane was the first to enter the principal’s office and announce herself and Nancy and the secretary told them to have a seat. It wasn’t but a few minutes more that the principal made his appearance and proceeded to fill the mothers in on the actions of their children.
“Wait a minute. You called us in here because they were making out in the eraser room? You’ve got to be kidding, every kid in this school that has a steady uses the eraser room and you know it. If not that it’s the janitor’s closet. What makes them so different?” Nancy wanted to know…she had used that same eraser room herself on several occasions, not necessarily for making out but definitely for privacy.
“Well Mrs. Parker, it wasn’t the making out that’s the issue here it’s the volume that I’m concerned with. They actually had an audience on the other side of the door snickering at the noises coming from inside. Usually the kids are pretty quiet when having these sessions, which is not the case here.”
“I think I’ve heard enough.” Diane and Nancy both got up from their chairs and opened the door to leave when Liz confronted her mother.
“Mom! This is just wrong!”
“Liz, come with me.” And Nancy took her daughter’s arm and led her down the hallway to the entrance to the school. She wasn’t in a very ‘friendly’ mood right now and the best thing for Liz to do was to just follow.
“Mom, this isn’t the first time I’ve ever kissed a boy.” Liz complained.
“I think I’ve heard enough. You are to come straight home from school, is that agreed?”
“No I can’t, I have detention.” Liz wasn’t the least bit concerned about her confession to her mother, regardless of her mother’s mood, she leaned in and kissed her mom good bye.
Nancy left the school acting disgusted with the entire episode, her baby girl was growing up and she knew it, she didn’t like it but she knew it. She had to be very careful with the way she handled this or she could wind up losing Liz’s confidence and that just was not acceptable, especially at this age; an age when a daughter needs her mother probably more than she’s ever needed her.
She didn’t know how she should bring this up to Jeff, he could go either way depending on the mood he was in and she just hoped that he didn’t find out before she got home.
Roswell was a small town and the Crash Down was very popular with the kids…this was not good.
*
Nancy walked up the stairs leading to the entrance of their private quarters only to be met by Jeff, who was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest glaring at her…
“Well?” He all but shouted.
“Well what Jeff?” Nancy asked quietly, she’d had about all the fun she could handle for one day and figured that Jeff had heard the news about the incident at school and wanted to know what it was all about…although the stance he was taking right now didn’t seem to indicate that he was too pleased about something else altogether.
“Can you explain to me why there are no clean towels in the kitchen?”
Nancy stood there looking at her husband, her eyes searching his body for some indication that he was kidding. He had to be.
“What are you talking about Jeff Parker? What clean towels?”
“I thought we agreed that you would launder the towels and now there aren’t any.”
Nancy was losing control…”Why don’t you just pay someone to do it?” And then she got control of herself and decided to at least try and be civil.
“No Jeff, you said I should launder the towels and I told you that it was against the law for us to launder them because we don’t have a sterile environment, you know the health department would shut you down in a second. End of subject. If you forgot to tell the laundry to pick them up after telling them not to then point the finger at the guilty party and quit giving me grief. That diner is yours Jeff Parker, not mine. You’ve made that perfectly clear many times.”
Jeff Parker just stood there looking at his wife with a scowl on his face; he looked like some two year old that had just had a cookie taken from him and it was at that moment that Nancy Parker made up her mind that she would not tell him about the incident at school.
Liz didn’t need to suffer her father’s tantrums due to something else that was bothering him. If he found out through the grapevine then they would deal with it.
Nancy left her husband standing there looking like the fool he was and went to their bedroom to change her clothes so she could finish up her household chores before Liz got home from school. She wanted to talk to her daughter before this situation with Max Evans got completely out of control.
*
Later that evening Liz came through her window much later than she should have and Nancy was sitting there waiting for her…
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
Liz looked at her mother and felt like the world was crushing her; this constant battle she had going on inside her over Max was about all she could deal with right now. Neither she nor Max could understand what was happening to them…
“Mom!” She begged.
And then they started…They wound up with Liz shouting at her and going into her bathroom and slamming the door. Nancy had never had an argument with her daughter like this and really wasn’t too sure just how to handle it. And this thing with Jeff wasn’t helping matters any.
Liz was a good kid, an A student, a candidate for valedictorian of her class and she had a chance at a scholarship at any school of her choosing.
“I’m so proud of her; God, I don’t want her to ruin her life now; it’s just getting started. God help her.” And Nancy was nearly in tears.
About that time Jeff came into Liz’s room and wanted to know what all the shouting was about and it was Nancy’s turn to glare. This thing between her and Jeff wasn’t getting any better either and she suddenly started to feel helpless.
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with Jeff; go look for towels or something.” And Nancy left Jeff standing there slack jawed.
*
The next morning Liz was up and gone before Nancy or Jeff ever got out of bed. Where she had gone that early in the morning was a mystery but she was gone. Jeff asked Nancy if she knew where Liz went and she told him the truth…
“I have no idea.” And she left the man standing there.
He knew he’d screwed up about the towels, he’d forgotten what she had told him and he just plain hadn’t thought about it. He knew the health department would check on things like that and even if business was slowing down a little he would have to cut corners somewhere else but he never bothered to apologize to his wife and she really could use some words of encouragement about now.
And besides that the damned annual Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled for Sunday and he had promised the Rotary Club that he would donate 500 colored eggs…Christ, what was he thinking. “I hate this Easter egg hunt!” he thought to himself.
The next 6 weeks didn’t seem to improve any for Nancy and Jeff and Liz was becoming more distant and Nancy was just about at her wits end.
*
The school year eventually came to a close and Liz was now more distant than ever. She was withdrawn and unhappy and Nancy wasn’t feeling much better. The more she tried to talk to Liz the more the girl withdrew into herself and the situation with Jeff was definitely worse than it had ever been. She finally made a decision…
“Liz, how about you and I go to Aunt Betty’s in Florida for the summer; I think we could both use a break. What do you say?” Nancy asked as she folded laundry in the living room while Liz pretended to watch Ellen on TV.
Liz perked up; Florida was just what she needed.
“That sounds like a great idea mom; are we talking the entire summer?”
“Yes. Let’s just pack our bags and take a nice long vacation. Get away from the blahs and get tanned.”
“Okay; when?”
“You go check out flights and I’ll call Aunt Betty and tell your dad; is tomorrow soon enough?”
“Yes…” And Liz was gone that fast.
Nancy went to her room, took down all of the luggage she could find in the cupboards, cleaned out her closet and drawers and called UPS. When they showed up she had just about everything she owned packed up and ready to go with the exception of the things she would need for the next two weeks. She packed photo albums, clothes, mementos and everything she thought she might want and then she called the limo service and ordered a car for tomorrow to take two to the Albuquerque airport. She wasn’t coming back. She had thought about renting a car and just leaving it at the airport but then, on second thought, she figured to hell with it. Leave in style.
She would not prevent Liz from coming home; all of her friends were here, her school was here and she was 17 years old and had a mountain of common sense. And since she and Max Evans were no longer an item Nancy wasn’t worried about that.
Her biggest problem right now was how to tell Liz when summer was over. Maybe when Liz saw all the stuff Nancy had packed up she would know without being told but there was no way she was coming back to this life.
Besides, she felt that Jeff had a thing for Any DeLuca for a long time now and maybe it was just what he needed. Fresh meat; and then she laughed and thought to herself…’yeah, that’s fresh alright!’
Maybe Jeff and Amy could become partners and combine their businesses. Amy’s store would make a great addition to the alien themed café…yeah, they could become partners, that would really send the town in a whirl. Great gossip is just what it needed to brighten everyone’s day. And Nancy laughed, actually laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of her thoughts.
*
Nancy and Liz arrived in Florida on a sunny Monday afternoon and Nancy’s sister Betty met them at the airport. Betty hugged her sister and whispered in her ear…it’s about damned time and then she hugged Liz who stood there waiting her turn. Liz was as happy as her mother was to be out of Roswell and soon they had their luggage loaded up and was on their way to Aunt Betty’s condo on the beach.
Liz couldn’t get over how beautiful and clean looking everything was. Roswell’s sand was nothing compared to this and she couldn’t wait to get out into the ocean.
Nancy and Betty watched as Liz practically jumped with glee at the sight and the beach was full of teenagers and this made Nancy smile as well. Maybe Liz will be able to get Max off her mind for a little while anyway. She knew that Liz’s heart was breaking…so was hers but she had enough time to come to terms with hers. This was going to be a very good move.
Betty’s husband showed up from work just as the three ladies came into the house from their swim in the ocean. Nancy was still built like a teenager and Betty was no slouch either but when Liz walked in Joe just looked at Nancy and shook his head as he said…
“The boys on that beach won’t know what hit them.” And the two older women laughed.
“It’s good to see you Nancy and I’m glad you decided to come.” Joe said.
“Thanks Joe, it’s way past time but Liz doesn’t know yet so let’s keep it light, okay?”
“Sure. You mean she’s not staying?”
“No, I don’t think so. She has a good shot at valedictorian, she’s got a good head on her shoulders and it wouldn’t be fair to her at this stage of her life to uproot her. I think she’s old enough now to deal with things and we’ll just let it go for now. I’m looking forward to spending the summer with her; I’ll take my Florida state boards and get my nursing license renewed and find a good job somewhere. This is going to be good Joe…I can feel it.”
“Great. Light and fun it is.”
About that time Liz came out to join her uncle while wearing a pair of cutoff’s and a tee shirt and looking like the seventeen year old she was and she immediately picked up on something strange. You know the feeling you get when you’ve interrupted people when something important was going on but you weren’t supposed to know about it…that’s how Liz felt and she wasn’t wrong.
*
Over the course of the summer Liz played on the beach most of the day and Nancy took care of all of the important things on her calendar. She passed her state boards with flying colors and found a position in a hospital not far from Betty’s condo as a full charge surgical nurse. The pay was unbelievable. She wished the Crash Down could make that kind of money and then she laughed. that was not her problem.
She had informed Jeff that she wasn’t returning with Liz and he informed her that she would get nothing from him; she only hoped he didn’t demand something from her. With these wages she could guarantee that Liz would not have to work her way through college. She would see to it that enough was put away for her regardless if she needed it or not.
She was not to start her new job until Sept. 1st and this suited her plans just fine. Liz would have to leave at least by Aug. 15th to get ready for school so by August 1st Nancy broke the news to Liz.
“Liz, I’m not going back to Roswell with you honey. I need to make a life for myself and if you want to you are more than welcome to stay here with me but I will not force you to change schools. I know your father will take good care of you and I know you have a good head on your shoulders so the choice is yours. I am going to find a two bedroom place to rent so that you will have a room whether you stay or not but I definitely will be staying.”
“I know mom. I’m not stupid and I’m just glad that you understand that when I go back to Roswell it’s not because I don’t want to be with you but I do need to finish school there. I don’t think it would be a good idea to go changing right now. There’s too much at stake and I’m in the upper 1% of my class. Max is the only competition I have and it’s always been that way so I need this if I want Harvard.”
“I know honey; maybe you can come back and spend holidays with me?”
“That sounds like fun mom and I want you to be happy too. I know you and dad haven’t gotten along in a very long time so this is definitely the right thing to do. Do you have any plans for your future?”
“Yes I do as a matter of fact. I passed my state boards and I start working at Miami General on September 1st as head surgical nurse. The pay is wonderful and I can afford to send you tickets anytime you want to come and visit. I won’t be coming to Roswell for anything except your graduation honey so the visits are up to you.” And Nancy fought back the tears; she knew this was the right thing to do for all of them.
“Great mom. I love you, you know.”
“I love you too honey, more than you’ll ever know.” And so the conversation went on for hours. They talked about anything and everything, they even talked about Max, and then the big day arrived and Liz had to leave
.
*
Nancy stood at the gate of the airlines and when her brave little girl disappeared down that concourse she cried like a baby. Her heart was breaking but this needed to be done for all their sakes and she bravely turned around and started back toward the escalators that would take her to her new life.
She said a silent prayer…’thank you God, for giving me the courage to do this.’ and she made her way out of the airport, got into her new used car and drove herself to her brand spanking new two bedroom condominium on the beach not two doors down from her sister. And then she smiled…yes this was a good thing.
The End.
(My baptismal name is Mary Margaret... 
)