Ace of Hearts - All We Are Series [NaNoWriMo 2014] [#JustWriteIt]

Chapter Six [Edited]

“PUMPKINS!” Kaleb screamed, causing Margaret and I to cringe.

“I think I’m going deaf,” I winced.

“I am never having kids,” Margaret vowed. I nodded along with her furiously.

My mom just chuckled at us. “You never know, you might change your mind. Kids can be the greatest things in the world,” she said, beaming proudly at me.

Velisa, Margaret’s sister, sighed. “Kaleb is a great kid, but he’s a crazy little monkey. He just loves running off. The nice thing about the farm here is Kaleb can run free through the corn maze, pick pumpkins, terrorize other children… he should fit in pretty well.”

Velisa and Margaret looked somewhat alike. Velisa’s hair was slightly darker than Margaret’s, though both had straight hair and a longer face shape. While Margaret looked forever young, Velisa was obviously a bit older, though still beautiful. The two years alone with Kaleb after her husband died took its toll on her, and some stress lines were obvious on her face. She was almost ten years older than Margaret, yet the sisters still got along well. From what I’d heard from Margaret, Velisa was partially an older, motherly figure to her.

“Should we be concerned about Kaleb terrorizing children?” I questioned.

“Kids will be kids. Don’t worry too much,” my mom suggested.

“Thanks, Ms. Isabel,” Velisa smiled. “It’s just a little crazy. I swear, I never get much sleep with this child around.”

“Doesn’t his father help out?” My mother questioned innocently. Margaret and I cringed.

“His father was a soldier,” Velisa said quietly, looking at the ground. “He died serving his country.”

Velisa and her husband were married for almost fifteen years when he passed away. She was only twenty when they got married, but the two were high school sweethearts. It was the picture-perfect story. Velisa had Kaleb when she was twenty three, after she finished college. Margaret was about fourteen at the time. When Kaleb was five or six, his father had been deployed. Velisa worried about him, but no one thought he would actually see combat and get killed a few years later while overseas.

“My condolences,” my mother said, equally as softly.

“It’s okay. He’s in a better place now. It’s been a few years since he passed. My brother, Will, helps out with Kaleb when he can, but he’s busy a lot.”

“You should move down here,” Margaret suggested.

“I know; you keep telling me to move. However, I have to work. I kind of need the money for Kaleb.”

“Find a job down here.”

“Then I’d also need a place to live, a new school for Kaleb, even someone to pick up Kaleb when I’m running late at the office.”

“We can help take care of Kaleb,” I suggested.

“You already work too hard, Anaya.” I rolled my eyes at her, and she laughed, but it was a bit tense. “Maybe in a couple of years I will be able to move; if I get a promotion, then I can transfer to the office half an hour away from here.”

“I’ll be hoping for a promotion, then, big sis,” Margaret said. “I only get to see Kaleb a few times a year. I need to see him more so I can spoil him.”

“You already spoil him enough,” Velisa rolled her eyes. My mom just laughed.

“Aunts are for spoiling their nieces and nephews,” mom informed Velisa.