Chapter 5
“I think academics are infuriating. For every expert on Shakespeare there is another one to cancel his theory out. It drives you up the wall. I think the greatest form of finding out the truth is through fantasy.” ~ Joseph Fiennes
“So, Ava.” Mary said after she took a gulp of her fruit-flavored fizzing water, then setting it back down on the table. “What was it like living at the foster home? If you don’t mind me asking.” Mary questioned as she munched on her fried vegetable mix.
Yes I do mind you asking! I thought in my head, as I placed my stainless silver fork on glass, still full plate.
“Hmm, well it was interesting. I mean it was nice, don’t get me wrong Nancy was amazing..”
“Who’s Nancy?” Xander asked with his elbows propped up on the table and his head rested upon his folded hands.
“Nancy, if you must know, was my caretaker.” I said this a smug look upon my face. I was really starting to get annoyed at the consent, feral glances my way at the table, I just wish that I would have been in my room, in bed, just like Caleb was. Lucky duck! He doesn’t have to go through the pain of getting questioned about everything single little thing!
Did you ever do drug? No. Do you have a car? No. Can you drive? No. How old are you? 18. How old is Caleb? 3. Where are you parents? I’m not sure. Are they died? I don’t think so. What is your favorite food? I don't know, I have a lot. You know, now I know what a boy goes through when they meet their girlfriends parents for the first time.
“Okay, sweetie. Can you please continue on about the foster home?” Mary asked trying to stop the reconcile as she saw the look of annoyance on my face.
“Oh yes, so continuing on. The foster home wasn’t as bad as you would think it would be. Yes, there was a lot of people in the house at one time and you had to share a room with three other people, but it was nice. We were all a family.”
“If it was so nice, then why did you leave?” Xander asked again!
I’m really getting sick of you! I screamed in my head towards him.
“I left because I was 18 and the state kicked me out!” I said through clenched teeth? “Why are you still living here, with your mother and father, if you're 20? hmmm? Answer that question.” I said satiate with the question I just asked.
“Thats not...we are not talking about me here! We are talking about you!” Xander said back to me.
Hmm, it looks like he can’t come it with a good resilience. I thought to myself.
“I think I have said all that I need to. I answered all of your questions. Now I think you should answer mine!” I said with as much power and anger that I could bottle up in my tiny voice. “You know what? You can answer mine to tomorrow! I’m going to bed.”
Walking towards the door to escape the kitchen, I was stopped by another question.
“Actually, there is one more question that I still have to answer.”
Without turning around, I answer with a hissing yes back.
“Who is Caleb’s father and what happened to him?”
With my mouth opened, I turned to the person who asked that question. Most of you maybe thinking that it was Xander, but no! It was Mary. Yes, Mary asked that question.
“I...I...I...I.”
“Dear, answer the question!” Mary said with force. Why did she want to know who the father was? Did it really matter?
“Yes, dear. Answer the question.” Xander also said in a mocking tone.
“The father....the father...you don’t need to know who the father is. He is out of my life and I never want him to be back in it again. I will not talk about him, I haven’t since he left me without saying good bye. Now that! Is all you needed to know. Goodnight!” And with that, I walked out of the room and to my room. But before I made it out of hearing range, I heard Mary and Xander talking. Stopping and walking back to the swinging kitchen door, I stopped to listen. As I was listening I heard this conversation.
“Mom! How? Why? Why....why did you ask that question?”
“I had to, I wanted to know. You know me dear, I always need to know everything about everyone, even if they don’t want to tell me. And you also agreed with me that you also wanted to know who it was.”
“Yes, I did want to know who that father was, but couldn’t you have asked that some other time? She just got here! She needs time to settle in before we can ask her about her past.”
Hmm, I guess Xander does have a soft side to him, I wonder why he never shows it when I am around. I thought to myself, as I looked into the room from the small crack in between the door and the wall.
“I guess I could have waited, but I wanted get the answer got of her before Jack does.”
“Dad won’t do anything, you and I both know that you would never let him. You have such a good rapport, you could make him jump off a cliff. ”
“I know, but I just had to call him to make sure that it was alright with him, you know, to have a stranger living under the same roof as you are. So I called him when I was seething the water, for the tea, and he said that he wanted to know everything little thing about this girl and her kid. He is even staying late tonight to see if he can dig any information about her.”
“Why are you having him to that? Don’t you believe her?”
“No, I do. I just wanted to know if she wasn’t telling us everything. And I guess she isn’t because we don’t know who the father is.”
“I know, I want to know who the father is too. I mean look at the kid and Ava, they look so familiar it’s unreal..”
“I know.”
“Wait, I think I know who it is.” Xander said as if it was not a big deal.
My breath and body silenced at those words. Did she really know who the father was? Or was he just making it up?
“Who?!” Mary screamed with such excitement that I thought her heart was going to come right out of her chest.
“I’ll tell you once I find out for sure, but for now I am going to find out my own information.”
“O...okay? Wait,do you think she will ever tell us?”
Why are they so concerned about who the dang father is! I screamed mentally in my head.
“Don’t worry mom. If she didn’t want to tell us, she will some day. Or we will find out and make her tell us.”
“I know but doesn’t she look really familiar, and I mean really really familiar?”
“She does. She reminds me of the girl you used to date back in at the old summer cottage?”
“Yeah, why don’t we ever go there anymore?”
“I’m not sure, when ever I said that we should go, you always yelled no and walked away. Why was that?”
“I don’t...wait! I gotta go!”
And with that, Xander ran out of the room, passed me and ran up the stairs.
Hmm, it looks as if this situation got a little bit more interesting. I thought to myself as I trudged up the stairs forwards my sleep child. Did he really know? Should I have just told him? Will he be upset when he finds out? Will he take Caleb away from me? Could we actually work out? Could we become a family?
