Sweet Magnolias Autumn

Why Are We Here

Kyle

"Nana, why do you have boxes everywhere?" Katie asked Nana as we sat around her round kitchen table and worked on our homework. 

"Well, I...I am going on a vacation, well a long trip, with a friend of mine. You see, my friend asked me to help set up and decorate his new house. So, I am going up to help him for a while." Nana explained to Kaite. 

"For how long?" Katie asked. 

"I don't know, Sweetie," Nana answered. 

"What about the book?" Katie asked. 

"Well, I am still going to help with it, and don't worry, you can call me whenever you want to talk about the book or anything else, Okay?" 

"Okay." Katie agrees. 

I checked the time on my phone and saw it was around 8 o'clock. I thought by now I would have heard something from my mom, but we hadn't. I knew we were staying here for a reason, and I wanted to know why. 

"Nana, it's getting late. Shouldn't Ty and Annie be here by now? Since we are spending the night," I asked. 

"Oh, um...Annie is going to spend the night staying with Helen until your Mom is able to come home, and Ty isn't spending the night. He has a big test to study for, so he needs quiet time to study. It will just be the three of us tonight." Nana answered. 

"I don't remember Ty mentioning a test," I say. 

"Well, maybe he forgot to mention it, or it just came up. Senior year can be challenging; I remember your mom forgetting to mention stuff all the time." Nanan responds. "Who knows." Nana waved her hand aimlessly in the air before turning her focus back to the drawing she was working on. 

"Why are we staying here again? Mom had a function?" I asked, trying to see if Nana had a different answer than the original one she had given us. Sometimes, binging cop shows can pay off, I think to myself. 

"She got held up at the Spa and asked me to watch you too because she would be there late," Nana answered. 

"How come Coach didn't come over," Katie asked. "He came over Sunday night, and we had a family game night; it was so much fun." 

"I'm not sure why, but I am glad you had fun, and I am very happy I get to spend the night with the two of you," Nana told Katie. 

"What about Ty?" I asked. I thought he would at least join us for dinner; I mean, he has to eat, right?" 

"I believe he ate at home so he could keep studying for his test, and he didn't have to take as long of a break," Nana answered. 

"How come Anie didn't come with us?" I asked. Nana turned to Katie and placed her arm around her shoulder. 

"Katie, I think it's time for you to start getting ready for bed. Why don't you go get ready, and then I will come read you a story, alright?" Nana suggested to Katie. 

"Sure, Nana," Katie said before she began packing up her schoolwork and art stuff with which she had been drawing. She grabbed the bag and left the room. After a moment, when the bathroom door closed, Nana turned back around to face me. 

"Kyle, please stop asking questions. I need you to stop." Nana told me. 

"What's going on, Nana, why are we really staying with you? Why are Ty and Annie not here? Why was this all last minute?" I asked her, even though she asked me to stop asking questions, that nothing was adding up, and I needed it to all make sense. 

"Kyle, please just leave it. Your mom will tell you when she is ready, but for now, I need you to wait until she talks to you. keep this all to yourself; it's for the best." Nana says. 

"But it doesn't make any sense, Nana. Why won't you tell me what's going on." I asked her.

"Kyle, please wait for your mom to explain, and don't say anything else in front of Katie," Nana said before she got up and left the room. When she reached the door frame, Nana turned around to face me once more. "Trust me, it's important that you wait for an explanation and don't say anything to anyone else." Then Nana left the room, leaving me more confused and with more questions than before.