Thanksgiving

Chapter 11

A little while later, we are sitting at the dining table eating the grilled salmon that Mrs. Taylor has left for us. Miss Evelyn has retreated to her bedroom with a bowl of soup and plans to take a shower after her pool time with the children. The children are wrapped in big fluffy towels and talking animatedly about swimming and their plans for the week having Ava to play with. I had almost forgotten about our plans for cooking dinner. So much had happened on our weekend that I needed a break from my break.

"Are you going into work tomorrow?" I ask Christian.

"Do you want me to?" he says dryly as he drops his fork on the plate.

Not really sure what that answer is supposed to mean, I gather up plates and take them to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher after rinsing them.

I turn to get more and Christian is standing at the breakfast bar with plates in his hand. I take them and look at him, "what?"

"You just walked out on me in there after asking me a question."

"Had you given me a reasonable answer and not thrown a mini-tantrum, I would have stayed... but since you had nothing but a cynical reply, I decided it was best for everyone that I kept my mouth shut."

I put Christian's plates in the dishwasher and head back to the dining room, wipe Ted and Phoebe off and help them out of their chairs. "Can we go swimming again mama?" Ted asks.

"Not today, sweetheart. It's getting late and Aunts Kate and Mia will be here early."

Ted looks sad, but doesn't argue. "Why don't you two go brush your teeth and I'll come up and help you two get baths? I'll read you and your sister a bedtime story, too. You can each pick one book to read." I say as I walk them to the stairs. Ted smiles and heads up the steps holding his sister's hand.

I turn around to finish cleaning up after dinner and Christian is leaning on the breakfast bar eyeing me as if he's not sure what kind of battle armor he needs to select for the impending discussion.

"So, you're mad at me?"

"I'm not mad," I say. "I'm disappointed. You have an opportunity to get questions answered that you've wanted to know for as long as you can probably remember and you're throwing it all away because of your pride."

"My pride? How about my family's safety? You were about to welcome him into our home without so much as a how-do-you-do and you're talking about my pride?"

"Christian, I know what I saw on that porch. The way you treated him made my heart hurt."

"Why? You don't know him. Like I said before, we don't even know if he is my birth father," says Christian as he follows me back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen like a needy puppy.

"No, but I could see you in him. He has your eyes, your mouth, your hands. He looked like such a broken man, I probably would have invited him in even if he hadn't said he was your father."

"Well now I find that rather disturbing."

"I'm sure you do. Did you meet anyone at the house?" I ask.

"No, he said his son and daughter were out," he says.

"Those could be your brother and sister, Christian. Don't you want to know?"

"My brother and sister are named Mia and Elliot."

"Oh, you are impossible!" I grumble as I take the first few stairs to head up to the bedrooms.

"Mr. Grey," says Sawyer as he walks into the room from the office.

"Sawyer?" says Christian.

"Bryan and I were wondering if we could have a word with you?" he says, Bryan standing silently behind him.