Vanessa lead her grandparents to their room, helped unpack, showed them the house, and then her room. She stepped inside as they looked around. She spotted the picture of her mother. She eyeballed it. Might as well see if her father told her the truth.
"Did my mom ever tell you where she was going?", she asked.
Her grandparents froze in shock. They were stunned.
"No. She didn't. Didn't call. Didn't message. Didn't email. Nothing.", granddad replied.
"But, we believe--", grandmother is interrupted.
"Honey, hush! She doesn't need to--", he intervenes.
"No...she needs to know! Your father hasn't always been a calm, quiet man. He got in lots of trouble when he was your age for fights and violent disputes. We think that you're father had something to do with her disappearance. Whether he beat her up one night and she ran away, or even if he...even if...", the grandmother begins to break down.
The grandfather hugged her and kissed her head. He rubbed her back.
"Shhh. It's okay. It's fine.", he consoled her.
Vanessa watched in confusion. She never thought they had these suspicions. But now, she had conceived them herself. She was determined to find out.
She went out to the backyard and swung on the swing with her grandparents, then Vanessa and her grandmother began cooking while grandfather set the table. Vanessa started playing "Emotions" by Mariah Carey.
"OHHHH!", the grandmother exclaimed.
Vanessa smiled and giggled at her. The grandmother began moving her hips funnily to the guitar licks. They started singing along.
"🎼🎵YOU GOT ME FEELING EMOTIONS, DEEPER THAN I'VE EVER THOUGHT OF🎵🎼."
"🎤OH BABY YOU GOT ME FEELING EM-O-TIONS, HIGHER THAN I'VE EVER DREAMED OF🎤."
They continued for the verse, and then the famous high note in the pre-chorus arrived. They could resist. They held hands and danced around the kitchen.
"🎶I DONT KNOW IF IT'S REAL, BUT I LIKE THE WAY I'M FEELING...INS-IIIIII-HI-HI-HI-IDE🎶."
"Kill 'em!", Vanessa applauded.
They continued singing and goofing around until supper was ready. They sat down at the table.
"Oh, but what about your father?", the grandmother asked, concerned.
"He texted me and told me he wouldn't make it home for dinner.", Vanessa notified them.
"We'll just wrap him a plate and stick it in the fridge.", the grandfather suggested.
They ate and chatted and then had desert, their grandmother's special recipe: banana pudding over French vanilla ice cream with nuts and whipped cream.
Vanessa helped her grandmother wash the dishes and made sure they were in bed and comfy. She kissed and hugged them, then turned off the light. She walked to the bathroom, wiped off her makeup, tied up her hair, washed her face, brushed her teeth, then wrapped her dad a plate and placed it in the fridge with a note indicating that it was for him.
She did a safety check of all doors and windows, went upstairs to her room, and sat on her bed. She texted her dad to notify him that they were all going to sleep and his dinner/desert was in the fridge. Once he texted back, she turned off the light, extended herself over the bed and drifted to a calm and peaceful rest.
She got up during the night for a bottle of water. Her throat felt very parched and dry. She made her way down the stairs in the dark. She opened the fridge, grabbed a water bottle, and headed back upstairs gulping it. She noticed that her father was not yet back from work, and decided to lay back in bed, this wasn't the first night he stayed out late because of work.
YOU ARE READING
A Daughter's Ignorance
Mystery / ThrillerVanessa's mother abandoned her and her father when she was 6 years old, at least that's what she was told. Her relationship with her mom was so close and connected, she couldn't believe her mother deserted her. Why? What happened that would make her...
