Life won't sparkle until you do

chapter 10.

    

       May had been awake since the early hours of the day thinking. Thinking deeply about what her mom said to her.

   " I am not your mother."

   Whenever she remembered those words, she started doubting everything she had known all her life. Her life was slowly turning into a soap opera.

   
     She decided that she was going to speak with her dad about it later that day. But first she needed to go for a run to clear her head a little and maybe stop by the gym after.

      She got dressed in a grey sweat pants and matching sports bra. She then had her hair done into a ponytail  and slid on her white sneakers.

     She grabbed her air pods and phone  from the bed side table , she got fluffs leash and they both went on a run.

 
    
       After getting in some hours of workout she showered and did her business then  got changed into a simple black strapless gown that stopped mid thigh.

       She just had to get to the bottom of it. So she picked up her keys and drove to her dad's house ( more like mansion).

      She walked into the house and noticed the quietness of the environment. As she walked in search of her father, she got this nostalgic feeling like she was transported back to her childhood . She could hear the faint giggles of when her dad , her mom and her played around the house. She remembered when she sprained her ankle from trying to reach the kitchen cabinet that was so high for her height. Where she got to hold fluff for the first time.

       She found her dad holed up in his office . He was sitting on the leather couch by the side of the room with a frame in his hand. He had his head down with the free hand holding his head up.

    " Dad". She  called out softly " are you okay?" She asked. When he looked up she noticed he was crying. He quickly cleaned up his tears and kept the picture frame behind him.

     " I'm fine Bambi. What are you doing here ? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" He replied.

     " I haven't been feeling too good lately so I had Chelsea take care of things."

    She was sitting beside him by now. She reached behind him and picked the frame. The picture had her shell shocked. Her father had his arm around a woman's stomach. They looked so young. Possibly in their early twenties. The woman was heavily pregnant. But what struck May most was the striking resemblance she had with this woman. The woman was beautiful. She looked like Mays twin down to their hair , facial features , body structure, everything.

    " She is my real mother isn't she?" She asked as her voice quivered.

  
     Mr Anthony took his time before nodding in answer to Mays question. They sat in silence for a while before May asked.

   " What happened to her?"

Mr Anthony opened his arms in a motion for May to rest her head on his shoulder while he leaned back on the chair. May rested gently by his side with her head tucked in his chest .

     " Your mother and I were....as you kids call it ,high school sweethearts. We loved each other with all our hearts. I loved her so much to the extent that I proposed to her on our graduation day. Although she turned down the offer then saying we were too young, I still loved her. She was beautiful. Just like you" he said making her blush a little.

    " During our senior year of college,  I proposed to her once again a second time. This time she said yes. That day she also gave me the best news of my life. She told me she was pregnant."

     " With me?" She asked.

    " Yes. With my little Bambi. I was so happy I don't think I ever stopped smiling . She said she wanted to have you first before we got married . So that she won't look like an elephant on her wedding day." He said with a chuckle making me smile a little.  " Her words not mine. Everything was going so well. We were so happy . One day , while I was at work, I got a call that she hit by a car while walking home from her favorite ice cream shop. She loved chocolate ice cream. That picture was taken two weeks before the accident. When I got to the hospital, I was immediately taken into the doctors office. He gave me the worst news any man in love would want to hear."

By now they were both in tears. He looked like a knife was twisting steadily in his heart as he said this.

  " She was not going to survive it. But the doctor said they could save you because there was no impact on her stomach. I felt like I had died and I was saved again . I could have something that we created together which was you. But at the same time, I felt devastated because the love of my life was dying by the minute."

     " Needless to say she passed away. You were just a week old when I buried her. My God. That was the worst day. I took care of you by myself but having no clue about anything baby related took a toll on me . A few months later , I had a baby sitter watch you while myself and some of my workmates went out for a drink. And that was were I met Mary. It was a one night stand gone wrong. She came back two months later claiming she was pregnant with my child and I had to marry her as my responsibility. So we got married. I later discovered that she wasn't actually pregnant and just did what she did to get me to marry her. But I didn't divorce her.  I needed someone to take care of you. A mother figure for you. "

  
    " So I kept her around and you grew up to know her as your mother.  I got her pregnant for real this time again on another drunken night . I thought it would be good for you to have a sibling so I just went on with it. Everything was fine until that incident happened with the miscarriage and I guess the rest you already know."

    He wiped her tears from her  face and gave her a hug that she was certain they both needed .