Family Secrets

A Taste of Answers

I took my seat back on the stairs, peering down to see my parents, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Jess. They were all sat there sipping on wine or beer. Thankfully, I missed the updates on me and my siblings to Aunt Jess. Aunt Jess took a breath and set down her glass.

"Amelia really has grown into a great person." She said. It meant a lot. She was always like a second mother to me.

"Yeah, you two did a great job with her." Uncle Nick added. Aunt Jess looked at him and took another sip of her wine.

"Well, she is nineteen now. Are you all ever going to tell her?" Aunt Jess asked. The other three got quiet. I knew it would come up, especially after my conversation with her before dinner.

"How do you tell a kid that? That they aren't like their siblings?" Mom said, downing her glass of wine. What? I'm different? What makes me different? Uncle Nick stared at his glass. He clearly had no answers and didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, we will have to eventually. She deserves to know but when is the question." Dad said taking a swig of his beer. Mom nodded in agreement. I debated standing up and walking down for a good two minutes. I want answers but fear kicked in.

"She's getting suspicious. She heard us talking about it earlier." Aunt Jess said. Everyone sighed. Whatever this was clearly wasn't an easy topic for anyone involved. Just then I saw Mom wipe her eyes and walk towards the bathroom, followed by Aunt Jess. Dad and Uncle Nick sat there in silence until the two walked back.

"We all still haven't even told Jonathan. How would we tell her?" Uncle Nick said. Dad awkwardly rubbed his neck. This was his clear signal that he was hiding something.

"Well about that...he knows. I told him a while back." Dad said. Mom nodded. It seemed apparent that Uncle Nick was the only one who didn't know this. He finished his beer and headed to the fridge for another.

"Ok seriously. Someone needs to tell her." Aunt Jess said once more.

"How do you tell your kid that you got pregnant with her at twenty? How do you tell her that her father isn't her father?" Mom spoke up with her voice cracking towards the end. I froze on the steps. Dad wasn't my dad? But he has to be. How could he not be? If he isn't, who is. A billion questions ran through my head. The adults were all silent. No one had any answers for my mom. I decided this was it. I had to make them tell me. I stood up and walked down towards them.

"Dad isn't my dad?" I said. Hearing it out loud from my own mouth felt worse than I thought. Dad sighed and Mom looked at me. I could see the tears forming in her eyes. I looked to Uncle Nick and Aunt Jess. Aunt Jess looked apologetic and Uncle Nick turned pale white. I had so many questions and no one looked like they could answer. After what felt like a lifetime of silence, Mom spoke up, "Yes."

"Who is my dad? Do I know him?" I spoke up. Now, my eyes started to water. I walked over to Aunt Jess and sat next to her. My parents looked at each other. Then, Uncle Nick took a deep breath.

"I'm your dad." He said shakily. I froze once more. I didn't know what to do. Uncle Nick was my real dad. I looked towards Mom and Dad. A single tear fell down Mom's face and Dad was squeezing her hand. I turned to Aunt Jess and she nodded. Mom and Uncle Nick? What?

"How? What? None of this makes sense." I said, tears now falling. Aunt Jess hugged me. Uncle Nick now had a tear falling down his face. Dad broke the ice this time.

"Listen, it's late. We can talk about this tomorrow, but you should go to bed. Luke, Alex, and Olivia will all be gone tomorrow so we can talk about it then." He said and I nodded. I needed some sleep to help me clear my head. I walked up the stairs and didn't even make it to the top when I hear Mom start crying.

I laid in bed for a while before I fell asleep. My brain kept wandering. How is Nick my dad? When did they find out that Dad wasn't my dad? Who all knows? When were Mom and Uncle Nick even a thing? I had a lot of questions for them tomorrow. I finally dozed off as I heard the adults coming back upstairs.

Morning came faster than I wanted it to. I woke up to the sound of Olivia laughing downstairs and the smell of breakfast. I got up and walked over to my door. Aunt Jess was on the other side. She smiled. "Can we talk?" I nodded.

"Listen. I know what you found out last night is not something easy to hear but I can promise you that your parents love you. Uncle Nick loves you. We all love you. They have worried about telling you since the beginning and never knew how to but just try to remember that this is hard for them too." She said quietly and calmed. I nodded and she hugged me. "Now, let's go get some breakfast while it's hot." We walked down the stairs and I saw everyone sitting at the table, as if last night's events never happened. I smiled and sat down.

"Lia! Guess what!" Olivia yelled. I turned to see her bright blue eyes staring me down. Hmm, she has blue eyes like Mom and Luke. Alex's eyes are green like Dad's, yet mine are brown like Uncle Nick's. Maybe I really am his kid. Just then, I snapped back to reality.

"What O?" I questioned.

"I get to go to practice with Luke today!" She squealed. Luke's play needed younger kids for extras and Mom volunteered our little pride and joy to go with. Olivia has always been a character, so it only made sense for her to get involved with theatre as well. I smiled at her. She was excited and I was happy she was getting to do things like this.

"Oh yeah. Well. Um. Well, I get to. Um....I GET TO GO TO THE SKATE PARK WITH DANIEL!" Alex exclaimed. Everyone laughed. For being older than Olivia, sometimes Alex really seemed like he could be the baby of the family. Mom usually brushes it off as him being competitive but who knows. I didn't even know my own dad apparently.

"Will you two give it a rest? Christ." Luke said, putting his head on the table. That's when it dawned on me. Luke and Alex went camping in the backyard last night so they probably didn't sleep much either. Aunt Jess quieted the table down as Dad and Uncle Nick carried breakfast to the table.

After our meal, everyone disbursed. Luke grabbed his bag, keys, and Olivia and headed out the door so they could stop by Dunkin Donuts before practice. Alex ran upstairs to change and grabbed his skateboard. Mom and Aunt Jess cleaned up the dishes while Dad, Uncle Nick, and Uncle Jonathan all went downstairs to talk about Uncle Jonathan's new job. I felt lost so I headed back to my room. Just as I laid down, Mom walked in.

"Hey. Alex left so if you want to talk about, ya know. We can. Everyone's downstairs waiting." I nodded and we headed down. I was met by all four adults sitting in the living room.

"So, what questions do you have for us?" Dad asked.

"When did you find out that Uncle Nick was actually my dad?" I asked. Mom took a deep breath.

"At that time, there was no question. He was the only one I was doing anything with so there was no way it could have been anyone else. Nothing had even started with your Dad yet." Mom stated. I nodded. Dad grabbed her hand. This was tough for all of us.

"If it helps at all, I did want to be there. I just was out of the state for work and I couldn't come back due to a contract. I wanted to be there for you, but I couldn't." Uncle Nick added. I could see the tears forming in his eyes.

"How did it happen? How did it start between you two?" I asked. Aunt Jess smiled slightly. Dad and Uncle Jonathan exchanged looks, not of anger or happiness. Almost as if they knew some secret story. Mom and Uncle Nick made eye contact and that was when I knew. This was not just some one-night stand.