Wolf

Welcome To Schenectady

Chapter 1

            My father is an idiot. The biggest idiot I’ve ever had the curse of knowing. Thank God, the biggest idiot I knew was not sitting in the car with us. It felt weird to be heading towards my grandparents house, knowing in the back of my mind it wasn’t a holiday, it was permanent. We were on the I-87, passing Albany. The closer I got, the more dread I felt. I knew my old life was over and that a new one was beginning. New York City and my idiot father were two hours away from me now and Schenectady was right up the road. My mother glanced in my direction as she checked the lane to see if it was clear.

            “Oh cheer up Elle, it’s not that bad,” she said to me. I smirked; I loved how she tried her hardest to make this situation positive. It wasn’t working to tell you the truth. I shook my head. “It’s not that bad! You and Bella are just coming back to my old stomping grounds that’s it.” I looked in the rearview mirror at Bella; she was leaning on the luggage, out cold, drool sliding down her mouth onto her shirt and neck. My mother’s phone started to ring and I knew it was my father, judging by the way my mother’s mouth twisted sour. For the last two hours he had been trying to get us to come back to NYC. I was all aboard for it, but my mother said he had to pay. I honestly thought he paid when his mistress took all his money and left him. I mean what goes around comes back around, right? She clicked the lock button twice and the ringing stopped. Then my phone started to ring, except it wasn’t my dad, it was my grandmother. “Answer it!” I hit the green button and put the phone on speaker.

            “Elena!” my grandmother greeted, causing me to smile.

            “Hi grandma,” I greeted. Every time my grandmother called me, it made me happy, even if I was seventeen years old.

            “How’s everything?” she asked. I hesitated, what was I going to tell her? Oh well mom found out about dad’s mistress, so she decided to take me and Bella and move us in with you guys? I think that wouldn’t have boded over too well, especially with my mother driving a six ton car. I looked to my mother for guidance as she exited the freeway. She breathed in a sigh.

            “Mom,” she said, reluctantly.

            “Carrie?” my grandmother asked.

            “I’m on my way to your house; I’ll explain when I get there.” My grandmother was silent for a few minutes.

            “Okay, good thing I’m cooking. I’ll see you when you get here.” My grandmother hung up the phone as we started to drive through Schenectady. I really did like the area, but only vacation wise. I was always a city girl, which is why I loved New York City. My mother sped all the way to my grandparent’s house and when we arrived my grandfather was sitting on the porch. He helped us carry the bags into the house then carried Bella, setting her down on the couch in the living room. The house smelled of baked chicken and the smell was invigorating. I loved it and was soaking in all the seasons. I could pick some of them out but I was too tired to. I settled in the living room, wanting to hear what my mother would say. “So what has happened Carrie?” My mother wiped her face and shook her head.

            “Well, I’ll put it simple. Come to find out my lovely husband, had a mistress on the side,” she paused, and I giggled quietly. I thought what she was about to say was funny, nobody told him to have a mistress. “And he decided to leave me, Elle, and Bella for her. Well come to find out she took his money and just took off.” My grandmother laughed; good to see she had the same train of thought as me. My mother chuckled a bit, but not much.

            “He got what was coming to him,” she commented. I nodded in agreement.

            “So now we’re here, permanently,” my mother added. My grandmother smiled a huge smile. I hated the word permanently, I wanted to go back to NYC, and I missed it already. I never liked the country, even though Schenectady was right near Albany, I still considered it country. If you didn’t have sky scrapers, you weren’t a city, sorry. I didn’t want to live in Schenectady; this was the last place I wanted to be. I was optimistic, but only so much.

            “Well, welcome to Schenectady, permanently,” my grandmother smiled, excitedly. God kill me now.