It's Above Me Now.

12: Make It Make Sense

The chitchat with my parents was cute and all, but I could no longer contain my excitement. Margo was here. How? Why? I would soon know. Barging into the dining room, I spotted her. And she spotted me. She flashed me her signature smile, and I instantly felt warm inside. It was her. She was really here in the flesh.

Deciding if I should embrace her or not wasn't even up for debate. Margo bounced up from her seat, rushed over to me and pulled me into the tightest hug. Now normally your boy Chance was never the emotional type, but this instance right here was enough to make a thug cry. Margo felt like a breath of fresh air. She was everything I've been needing in my life. I didn't want this moment to end, ever.

Veronica and Ruben took turns clearing their throats, making their presence clearly known. They were obviously over Margo and I's reconciliation but I didn't care. I just couldn't believe that the woman who was such a beacon in my life was here standing before me, embracing me like old times.

"Oh, look at you. Look at you!" Margo exclaimed. "Oh my, you've gotten so big and tall. And handsome too might I add. Do you still like snickerdoodles? I remember you used to eat those up and the crumbs would be all over your cute, little mouth! I've brought some home made ones. I perfected them just for you."

"We have gourmet chefs from seven different countries." Veronica sarcastically, pleasantly said. "Let's not waste time on silly nonsense. Sit and tell us why you came."

I rolled my eyes at Veronica's cold, rude response but Margo simply smiled at my mother and nodded. Ruben smiled apologetically at Margo, and ushered her back to her seat. Ruben snapped his fingers and the chefs quickly appeared, serving their specialties and disappearing just as quickly. Everyone moved around here so fast, it made me giddy.

"Well Veronica if you must know." Margo announced when everyone started eating. "I was invited by your husband, Ruben Moss. Mr. Moss, why don't you tell us why I'm here."

Veronica's ebony eyes darted into Ruben's, but he ignored it. Clearly Veronica was left out of this equation. And as my mother shifted in her seat and titled back her wine, I could tell she wasn't pleased with that decision.

Ruben stopped digging into his steak, and exhaled deeply. He gave off the impression that he wished Margo didn't put the spotlight on him, and that only made me wonder what scheme he was trying to pull. I studied his body language, and then Veronica's. I wasn't even hungry anymore. My sneaky ass parents and whatever they were hiding done ruined my appetite.

"Well, Chance." Ruben spoke, dabbing his chin with a napkin. "I had an interesting conversation with Tomas, and he thought I should help you understand the past so you can face the present with no distractions. My elder sibling helped me realize that I at least owe you an explanation for some of the things that happened in your childhood. Chance, your mother and I put you up for adoption because we weren't in the right mindset, nor were we in the right financial and situational position to take care of you. But like I said before, I never left you. I was always there. I found Margo for you, and she was determined to make your life better than your mother or I ever could. She'll explain more."

I huffed. Look at this fuckery. So basically uncle Tomas ratted me out for trying to dig into the family's secrets, and now Ruben was trying to save face. Perfect. And now Margo was somehow wrapped up in all of this fabrication. Splendid.

It was just so hard to believe that anything my parents did was genuine, especially Ruben. His track record since I've known him wasn't the best, and now I felt like he was just covering his ass and hiding the real truth. I don't know why it was so hard for my parents to sit me down and just talk to me about everything. Karin, Phil, my adoption. I wanted to know the real reason behind it all. Why didn't they want me to know? What were they even afraid of? The truth always came to the light, and I knew whatever plot Ruben and Margo constructed and planned to present to me was the furthest thing from sincerity.