When we were wallflowers

4

We moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and everything looked like I expected. The city was old, so I'm sure there were many museums. We had a taxi take us to our new home, and it was just like the picture. The house was a dark orange type of color and was made of brick. "Your school is a few streets down, and we live very close. You both will have to start in another week, and I am enrolling the two of you for this year; I do not want you to fall behind. You both can walk or take the school bus," papa smiled.

"School bus?" Matthew asked. "Dummy! They are real! They take the kids to school," I nudged him. He looked at me, annoyed, and began to mock me. "Alright, come on! The movers said they would be here tomorrow, so we will make do with what we brought in our luggage," papa smiled.

"Come on, Mattie! We should ride the school bus! It could be fun!" I cheered. "Eh? You don't want just to walk?" He asked. I was getting excited as we walked up the steps. "No! We need to have the full American experience!" I laughed. Papa began to take out his keys, and we waited.

"HELLO! You must be our new neighbor!" A voice spoke. We all froze in our spots and turned to our right. There was a woman there; she was smiling and leaning against her fence. "Oh! Hello! Yes! These are my sons, Matthew and Alfred! My name is Francis, and it is nice to meet you!" Papa smiled.

"My name is Yekaterina, but you can just call me Yeka! My little brother and sister are around your son's age, and I think they might meet! When you start school! Their names are Ivan and Natalya!" She smiled.

Oh, well, that is a good sign, we might make friends with them. "Actually! They are here now! Let me call them!" She cheered. She quickly ran into her house, and the three of us looked at each other. "Hmm, she seems nice," Matthew laughed.

"Hopefully, she doesn't fall in love with papa," I teased. "Oh please," he rolled his eyes. Matthew and I started laughing, and we stopped once she returned. "Ivan, Natalya, say high to our new neighbors!" Yeka spoke. They both looked at us, and suddenly, that boy stared at me.

"Where is their mom?" Yeka smiled. She began to look around, and we all stayed silent. "Ah! Well...my husband passed away about a year ago; we have been married for about seventeen years and will be eighteen in may," papa smiled. "I'm sorry for your loss; how did it happen?" She asked. "A car accident," papa responded.

They all looked shocked, and suddenly the air changed. "Eighteen? I think once they die, that means the marriage is over," Natalya spoke. My eyes widened, and Matthew and I looked at our papa. He was holding up a smile, trying not to say something to that girl.

"Natalya! That was inappropriate; apologize!" Yeka demanded. "No! It is true!" Natalya spoke.

"Ivan! You agree, right!" She continued. My eyes widened, and I looked at the boy who had been staring at me. "Wait, does that mean that you two are gay too? Since your parents are fags!" He suddenly spoke.

My jaw dropped, and I saw how Matthew flinched at what he said. He and that girl began to laugh, and my blood began to boil. I looked to my papa, who stopped smiling; he was uncomfortable. "Hey! You think that's funny?" I yelled. I took off my glasses and handed them to Matthew.

"Eh? Stupid kid," Ivan laughed. "That's it! Come over here then! I may not be able to punch your sister, but I'll kick your ass!" I glared. His eyes widened, and I began to walk over to him.

"ALFRED! DO NOT FIGHT!" Papa yelled.

I immediately froze and turned to him, shocked. "It was nice meeting you! If you excuse us, we need to settle in," papa spoke. He pulled my arm, and I continued to glare at that boy. "Go on, little boy," he mocked.

"Alfred, come on!" Papa demanded. I groaned, rolled my eyes, and turned away from them. Matthew grabbed my luggage as papa continued to pull me. I was highly pissed.

"Don't say anything at all," papa whispered. Something about his demeanor changed, and he began to rummage through his bag for his phone. "What's wrong?" Matthew asked. He began to unlock the door, and the three of us stepped in.

"I asked the realtor! Specifically to make sure there were no people like that around! Unbelievable!" Papa spoke. He began to text, annoyed, and I felt terrible. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so angry," I spoke. Matthew handed me my glasses and shook his head. "I don't blame you! I would have done the same if I wasn't such a bad fighter," he laughed.

"It's okay! We will make the most of this situation!" Papa smiled. He suddenly grabbed our heads and pulled us toward his chest. "What is it?" Matthew asked. "Can't your papa hold you? Or are you no longer my babies," he laughed.

He kissed the top of our heads and held us tightly. "Don't worry! We will be just fine! We have each other," he whispered.

I worried about our papa because one day, Matthew and I would have to leave, and he would be alone. That made me want to stay with him forever, but I knew he wouldn't like that. He would tell me to go live my life. "How about we get takeout tonight?" Papa spoke. "Sounds good to me," I uttered.

I feel terrible every single day. Nothing I do could ever bring back our dad. Our papa will never tell us how he feels; this strain will forever be in our relationship. Nothing terrible, but some things will be hard to talk about. I think that is the most challenging thing that could happen.