A Quiet Kismet

Chapter Twenty Two

AGE 18

I didn't mean to find the papers from Mom's lawyer. I was just looking for my dorm information, I had gotten my acceptance letter in March from UT Austin. When I got my hands on it, my mind went singular and only one thing mattered in my life. College. By June they were sending out dorm information with my roommates school email so we could coordinate over the summer before school started. I had become a feign waiting for the mail to arrive everyday.

It was a complete accident that I had even found the envelope. I was only rifling through the mail when I saw my Mother's name and our old county name printed underneath it. It struck me as odd because when we left Gable my Mother had cut off all ties to that town.

"We need a fresh start." She had said as we drove our packed uhaul farther away from the town. I didn't fight her on it, we needed a fresh start.

Then I took a closer look at the sender and saw it was from Gable, and his name, Ruben Villa Sr. My dad...Without hesitating I carefully opened the manila envelope and skimmed it. The word, divorce, stuck out like a blinding light. My mouth went dry as I read the lawyers divorce contract. In it Mom didn't ask for a single thing, only to be granted a divorce.

I looked at the document longer than I should have. His current address was right there, in Gable. He wasn't lost in the Alps, or in the villages of Spain, he wasn't in the Amazon rainforest foraging for herbal remedies. He was right there in Gable, right where we had left him.

"What's that?" Ruby asked, coming up from behind me. I jumped and stuffed the envelope behind my back.

"N-Nothing." I stammered. It wasn't that I didn't want him to know, I was pretty sure Ruby wouldn't care that I found our parents divorce agreement. He didn't really know Dad, and had never seemed bothered by that fact. I just didn't want to share that I actually knew where he was. For years I had dreamt up adventures for him, and I wanted to be the one to see for myself why all this time he had been in Gable. Selfishly, I wanted to get answers before anyone else. "What's in your hands?" I questioned him, gesturing to the bottle of water in his.

"What do you think it is?" He rolled his eyes,"Weirdo." He mumbled.

I narrowed my eyes at him and tossed a piece of junk mail at his face. He glared at me, and I hightailed it to my room, the envelope safely tucked under my shirt. I wasn't ready to put it back, I had plans for it.

***

"I don't think it's a good idea." Mom mumbled, as we sat in the living room folding laundry together. "I need you home right now, mija. It's summer and I can't have Julia and Ruby running around town while I'm at work. You keep the fort down."

I had copied Dad's address and used google maps to help me find the exact house. Even before I put the envelope back in the stack of mail for Mom to find, I knew I was going to see him. My only problem was having a reason to leave town for the weekend.

Mom worked most nights and liked having me around to watch over Jules and Ruby. But I had devised a fake trip with my friends and hoped Mom would let me go. I was already eighteen and I had already graduated from high school. I could go without even asking, but I knew deep down inside I needed Mom to approve on some level, or else I'd lose my nerve and never go.

"Mom, Garret and Riley know I'm leaving in July. We don't have a lot of time to hang out before we all go to college. All I'm asking for is one weekend where I don't have to worry about Julia and Ruby. One weekend where I can go out with my best friends and just...I don't know find an adventure." I begged and pleaded with her.

Though she and I both knew that begging didn't work for her. Mom didn't care about a lot of stuff, but being home and doing your job was something she stuck to her guns. My job of course being, taking care of Jules and Ruby. I was convinced it was a lost cause. Then she sighed and nodded.

"Fine, one weekend. But you call me when you finally get to..." Mom trailed off not completely sure of the fake plans I had made up.

"Riley's aunt's house." I supplied her readily.

"Yes, tell me when you get to her Tia's house." Mom nodded, going back to the laundry, then added, "Be careful Millie, you never know what kind of monsters lurk out there."

I smiled but it felt pasted on, "I promise Mom, don't worry about me."

She gave me a doubtful look, "I'm your mother Amelia, I'll always worry about you."

Hello beautiful readers! I'm back with another chapter and I hope you guys liked it. After next week I'll take a short two week break because this year I'm hosting the holidays at my house and I want to focus all my energy on that. But worry not! I'll be back in 2021 like no time has passed.

-Rhea