Forever And A Half

45

Week 7:

Joe and I had been home for a while. Our mums were avoiding each other and us. Joe and I sat in my room together.

"I understand why my mum said Tracey only had one child," I said with my arms rested behind my head.

"Apparently Zoe destroyed something in mum so she had to adopt a child instead of having her own," I nodded. We were both lying on the bed with our heads together just staring at the roof.

"How did Graham take it?" I ask. I had heard yelling a while ago but the noise had died down. He took a while to figure out how to explain it.

"Not well. He yelled and he wants a divorce," he finally said.

"It's understandable. What's going to happen with you and Zoe?" I was really curious.

"Dad says we can decide who to stay with," he didn't seem worried. His voice wasn't different; he didn't seem emotional about the situation at all.

"I do know that Tracey is going home with mum and I. So if you stay with your dad then you might come and visit every so often. But if you stay with your mum then you'll be with me a lot,"

"I think I might stay with dad. If mum was ignoring Zoe and I through this holiday then what would she do when we get to Brisbane? And then there's Oli and Caspar," I could tell he was having an inner debate with himself. He was weighing up the pros and cons.

"Do you think Zoe will stay here?" he nodded.

"She definitely will. Dad has always been her favourite parent and Alfie and Louise are here," I sighed. I didn't want to talk about this subject anymore.

"So you're adopted. Do you know your birth family?" he shook his head.

"My dad died in jail before I was born and my mum died during child birth, that's why I was up for adoption," I could see some pain shielded in his eyes so I didn't pry further. We were silent for a while caught up in our own thoughts; too busy debating with ourselves to speak to each other. Joe got up and left the room so I was lying alone. I thought about having to go home with mum and Tracey. Would they ignore me as much as they had during the holidays? This whole situation was just one big question mark.

I got on my phone and went through my social media. I was suddenly bored, alone in the room. Joe opened the door and came back to sit with me,

"I have a gift for you," he smiled. I looked up at him but there was no present in his hand. I tilted my head to the side to show my confusion. He shook his head and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room.

"Hey Adalyn," Graham smiled from the table. I smiled back,

"You seem happy," I was glad that he wasn't too upset. He shrugged.

"I have a gift for you," I looked at him intently. They both had gifts for me or were they both sharing a gift.

"Thanks," I looked over at Joe and he pointed to the seat before sitting beside his father.

"It's more of an offer, actually," Joe cleared up my question.

"Okay, shoot," I meant it metaphorically. Mum and Tracey both entered the kitchen and sat down with Joe and Graham. They sat down with the boys between them. I sat up straighter intrigued by the events going on in front of me.

"As you know, Tracey is going home with Nikki and Joe has decided to stay with me even though I am not his biological father," Graham started. Tracey continued,

"And we know that it would be strange to have me living with you," she said quietly,

"And all my attention will be on Tracey so there won't be much time for me to get you to school and look after you," mum said her part.

"Gee, thanks mum. I'm glad I'm such a burden on your relationship," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. She went silent. I might have been a little bit annoyed as to why mum hadn't spent much time with me,

"So Nikki thought it would be nice if you stayed with dad and I," Joe finished. He looked at me hopefully, "You have friends here and you could finish your schooling here. Your mum would send money over each month for your schooling and clothes. You'd just be staying in this house," I sat in awe. It was a strange thing to think about.

"I don't know, I'd never see my mum again?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Tracey and I would come up every holiday to see you. And we would be able to facetime or skype," I thought for a moment. Joe was looking very hopeful and I could tell he really wanted me to agree to the idea. Tracey and mum were smiling at each other while Graham was sitting calmly with his arms resting on the table.

"I need more time,"