Almost Home

Ch. 4 - Prisoner Of War

Valerie Holt//Danielle Campbell

"Hey, grandma, do you remember a boy named Isaac who lived in this town?" I ask, setting the table for dinner.

"Isaac," she repeats slowly. "Why do you ask about Isaac?"

I shrug. "I just saw something about him in my mom's room."

My grandma smirks a little. "Oh, I remember Isaac. He's the reason my little girl got into so much trouble!"

I lift the bowl of fruit from the counter to the table. "What kind of trouble?"

"Staying out past curfew, cow-tipping, underaged drinking.." She shakes her head. "The list could go on and on."

I raise a suspicious eyebrow. "My mother? Drinking? She nearly killed me on New Years when I had a glass of wine."

"Oh yes," she laughs. "The county sheriff had her locked up for driving under the influence one night. It was she and Isaac, the two troublemakers."

"But she loved him, yeah?"

My grandma nods, draining the pasta. "Honey, that boy made your mother the happiest she has ever been."

"What happened?" I ask, thinking back to the vague diary entry.

She sighs and wipes the counter with a towel to clean up the spilled water from the pasta. "He left her, broke her heart."

"Where'd he go?"

My grandma shakes her head, as if she didn't want to tell me. Instead of answering, she just makes our plates of pasta.

"Do you not know?" I ask, pushing her to tell me. "It's such a small town, so I would assume that-"

"New York."

I open my mouth, not quite expecting that answer. Actually, that's the last answer I was expecting. "New York?"

She nods curtly. "Is this enough pasta?"

I don't even look at the plate, too interested in Isaac. "I mean, you don't think my mom moved us there to be closer to him, right?"

"I don't know, Valerie," she sighs. "I'd like to think your mother was more independent than that."

The door bell chimes, and my grandma is eager to answer it. I sit down at the kitchen table, trying to run through everything in my head.

Had my mom moved to New York for Isaac, then that would mean she never loved my father. They're divorced now, but I know they loved each other once. Did my dad know about Isaac? Is that why they got a divorce?

I wonder where Isaac is now.

"Oh, Valerie! Look who is here!"

A kind looking couple walks in, smiling widely. The wife opens her arms and pulls me into a hug. I'm a little taken aback it don't react in anyway to avoid seeming rude.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" She pulls away from the hug and scans over my face. "You're like a replica of Fiona!"

"This is Mrs. Carlton," my grandma introduces. "She was one of your mom's closest friends."

"Call me Jessica," she says, still smiling so widely that I'm sure her cheeks have to hurt.

The tall man next to her coughs, causing both my grandma and Jessica to laugh.

"Not to be forgotten, this is my husband, Hank."

Hank shakes my hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Did you bring Will?" my grandma asks, gesturing the couple to sit down at the kitchen table.