It's All Relative

by S. C. Stephens

  So, as she watched her favorite grandson finally be face-to-face introduced to her favorite granddaughter, Millie was having a problem understanding the oddness of their reactions. Kai’s beautiful, deeply tanned skin was paler than she’d ever seen it. His gorgeous tropical eyes were hugely wide as he stared at Jessica.

  Jessica Marie was acting no less strange. Her mouth was wide open, her deep brown eyes struggling with what almost looked like disbelief. The two stared at each other while Millie glanced between them, wondering what the problem was. Maybe their original meeting hadn’t gone well? Maybe one of them hadn’t been nice to the other?

  Just as Millie was about to break the odd silence, the hum of the machines in her room the only sound, Jessica started shaking her head. She took a step back from Millie, breaking their contact. “No, no that’s not possible.” She whispered that and Millie could have sworn that Kai flinched.

  Millie bunched her brow as she watched the strange meeting. “Well, yes, I know you haven’t seen him much…or maybe ever, but he is your cousin.” Jessica’s hands flew to her mouth. Her eyes watered as she looked up at Millie, and then back over to Kai. He lowered his head as Millie gently asked, “Are you alright, dear?”

  Jessica shook her head and looked about to start sobbing, but Kai stood and placed a large hand on Millie’s bony shoulder. “We need to speak outside for a moment, Grandma.” He smiled, although it did nothing to ease the look of almost illness on his face. “We’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

  Millie nodded and he leaned down to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. From behind him, Millie heard Jessica start to mutter repeatedly, “Oh…my…god, oh…my…god…”

  Millie was about to reprimand her granddaughter, but Kai grabbed her elbow, muttered something in her ear, and nearly pulled her from the room. She looked up at him a little horrified as they exited.

  Curious.

  Millie strained to listen as the door firmly swished closed, but her hearing wasn’t what it used to be, and she could barely make out more than the whirl and swish of the air vents circulating the stale currents. Resting back on her bed, she closed her eyes. Her hip ached a little from where she’d fallen this morning. She rolled her eyes as she thought about that. She hadn’t been doing anything more exciting than getting the mail. She’d stumbled on the curb, lost her balance, and landed on her side. Thirty years ago, she would have laughed at the embarrassment, brushed herself off, and sprightly stood back up. But with the crack and the pain that had flashed through her body at that moment, she knew she was no longer a staunch fifty year old. She still felt like one. Heck, she still felt like a teenager. It was a shame her body disagreed.

  She hadn’t been paying close enough attention to what she’d been doing and that had cost her a heap of pain. Oddly enough, she’d been thinking about Kai. She hadn’t realized he’d made it up already. She knew he’d be coming up soon, but hadn’t heard the official date yet. Coming up to start his new job. Millie frowned and opened her eyes at that thought.

  Sighing, she cast a quick look at the door. She wasn’t sure if they were right outside, or had gone for a walk. Maybe they’d decided to head down for some coffee, catch up on what their fathers had been doing. Millie’s eyes went to the clock as she thought about her son in Hawaii. It was late in the afternoon, so he should be up and around.

  Looking over at Jessica’s purse on her nightstand, Millie fingered through it until she found what she was pretty sure was a phone. Popping it open, she frowned. Millie tried to stay as up on technology as she could, but this thing had more buttons than her computer. Ignoring all the fancy icons, she started pressing the numbers. A series of digits lined up on the display and she smiled. Hitting what she hoped was the call button, she brought the phone to her ear.

  She was rewarded with a ringing sound echoing back to her. After a few more moments, a voice rewarded her too. “Hello?” the voice sounded confused, not knowing who was calling.

  “Hello, son. How are you this morning?”

  She smiled into the receiver as she heard her son immediately respond with, “Oh, hey, Mom. I didn’t recognize the number. I’m fine, how are you?”

  Millie laughed, her joints reminding her of her ache as she did so. They’d dosed her up pretty good, and her hip kind of felt a little numb. The rest of her felt sharp though. “A little stumble this morning, but I’m fine. My granddaughter is taking good care of me.”

  A pause on his end and then, “You okay? Really?”

  Millie scoffed into the phone. “Honey, I’ve had nine kids. A little tumble is nothing.” Her son laughed into the phone and she took that moment of levity to make her reason for calling known. “Kai came to see me today.”

  Her son stopped laughing, sighing a little. “Yeah, I figured he would soon. He left Wednesday.”

  Millie sighed and lay back on her pillows, staring at the ceiling. “What are the two of you thinking, sending him here?”

  With a forced cheerfulness to his voice, he responded with, “Well, it’s a great job, and he can be close to you-”

  She cut him off, knowing bull when she heard it. “That’s not why he’s really here, and you know it. Don’t play me for a fool, Nathan.”

  She’d had suspicions over her son’s true motives before, and her son had picked up on that in previous conversations. He seemed a little exhausted, being called out on it now. “Mom…he needs to know.”

  Millie closed her eyes and shook her head. “Why? What difference does it make at this point?”

  He sighed, louder this time. When his voice came out, it was laced with anger. “He deserves to know the truth. Truth matters.”

  Millie opened her eyes, her face softening as she listened to the pain in her son’s voice. “Does it? Did the truth do you any good? Did it do anything but ruin your marriage?”

  He sighed again. “Mom…the truth is important. He should know. Leilani and I both feel that he should finally know. He’s an adult now…”

  Millie bristled and raised her head off the pillows. “Yes, he’s an adult. Couldn’t you just sit and talk with him? Did you need to send him out here…to see him?”

  A long pause from her son, and then in a near whisper, “I couldn’t do it, Mom. I couldn’t look at him and tell him… It’s better this way.”

  Millie sighed. “Better for whom?”

  Her son grunted in frustration. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  Millie knew that she was starting to strain their relationship. She dropped her head back to the pillows and changed the course of what she’d been going to say. Instead, she softened her voice and responded with, “You’re right. I’ve never been in the position that you’re in, and I don’t know what I’d do. But, son, I know you think this will help him, but I’m telling you, you’re wrong about this. You will only hurt and confuse that boy, by forcing this upon him…and I won’t be a part of it. I won’t help you hurt him.”

  Quietly, he responded in her ear, “We’re not asking you to, Mom. We didn’t send him to you, for you to tell him. But it’s already been started. The ball is in his court now and we’ll just see what he does with it.”

  Millie sighed. “So, that’s your plan? You’re hoping that he will break the news for you, for the both of you. You’re making a mistake and I won’t help it along. Kai will never learn anything from me, and frankly, I hope he never finds out the truth.”

  Her son sighed, like he was exhausted. “He’s going to, Mom. One way or another, he’s going to.” Millie sighed, hers sounding just as tired. In a soft voice, her son continued. “I will tell him. If he doesn’t tell him the truth, then I will.”

  Millie tried again to object, knowing it was useless; her son was set on this course. “Nathan…”

  His voice harder, he cut off her feeble attempt. “No, Mom. This has to happen. Kai has to be told…that I’m not his father.”

  Millie’s eyes watered as she pictured her son’s pain, as she pictured the future pain of Kai. None o
f this seemed like a good idea to her. With a stuttered exhale, she told her child, “But that’s just it, Nathan. You are his father. Even if there isn’t a speck of our blood in him, he is family, and he is your son.”

  Her son sighed, tiredly. “He has to know the truth, Mom. Truth matters.”

  Chapter 3

  What's in a Name?

  Jessie was going to be sick. She was sure of it. As she rested her hands on her thighs and inhaled and exhaled through her nose, she was sure her stomach was going to come right up her throat. She’d just had the most amazing sex she’d ever had…with her cousin. Her incredibly hot cousin, who was staring down the hallway of the hospital, looking a little ill himself.

  Peeking back through the slit of a window into her grandmother’s room, she could just make out the old woman frowning at the door. She wondered if she suspected. How would Jessie explain that to her? God, she couldn’t even explain it to herself.

  Looking back at Kai, she managed to squeak out, “We’re …related?”

  Kai flinched, his unbelievable eyes narrowing as his face contorted. “It would seem so…” His hand went to his stomach and Jessie was pretty sure he felt the same nausea she did. She couldn’t believe she’d slept with someone who also called her grandma…grandma.

  Jessie straightened, her hand still clutching the light fabric of her sweater. She watched Kai’s eyes flash down her body and then immediately dart away, his face going even paler. Jessie crossed her arms over herself, hiding as much of her curves as she could. While she’d enjoyed his attentions before, she definitely didn’t want him looking at her that way anymore. She wasn’t sure how she wanted him to look at her now. Cousin or not, she hadn’t been expecting to see him today. Really, she’d kind of been thinking that she’d probably never see him again.

  When Jessie had been dragged away from his place this morning, it had been pretty irritating, especially since she’d wanted to stay a little longer. But she knew that Harmony was just being concerned for her…although, threatening to call her dad in D.C. if she didn’t leave was a little over the top. Jessie knew Harmony well enough to know that she’d do it too, and since Jessie didn’t need that sort of trouble, she’d grudgingly left his side.

  She’d gone home with her friends and roommates and had successfully avoided any of their questions by faking that she’d passed out. She’d even slept on the couch to sell her fib. She just hadn’t wanted to talk about him yet. And honestly, she didn’t have a whole lot to say. He’d been amazing, and their connection had been intense, but she hadn’t known anything about him; she couldn’t even remember his name. She’d never been that drunk in her life and the rager of a headache that she’d woken up with had convinced her that she’d never get that drunk again.

  She’d gone out to visit with her grandma, same as she did most Saturday mornings, and was greeted by a swarm of ambulances and chaos. Grams had fallen getting the mail and her kindly neighbor had called in help for her. Jessie kicked herself the entire drive out to the hospital that she hadn’t dealt with her hangover better. If she hadn’t been so slow that morning, she wouldn’t have been an hour late and her gram wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Once she’d arrived, Jessie had done all that she could to make her grandmother comfortable. Luckily, she’d only fractured her hip and hadn’t broken it.

  Seeing her fling causally sitting with her grandma had been eerie, like he’d been stalking her. She’d heard of that happening with girls. Guys got obsessed and couldn’t let go. She had no idea how he’d found her, or why he’d chosen to cuddle up with a frail, old woman, but it had freaked her out. When the fact that Gram knew him had come out, confusion had completely blanked her mind. Gram had had to stupidly spell it out for her; she couldn’t even connect the dots herself.

  The wave of sickness that had hit her once she did know was nearly overwhelming. She’d wanted to deny it away, not admit it. There was just no way that that had happened. What were the odds? Her…cousin, perhaps seeing her on the verge of a mental breakdown, had excused them from the room, grabbing her elbow and whispering, “Not here,” as he’d pulled her out of the door. Sickeningly enough, him touching her again, even completely sober, had excited her a little bit.

  Watching him now, seeing the conflict swirling through that beautiful face, she could still feel the residual attraction. She couldn’t help it. He had perfect skin, a charming smile, hot hair and a sculpted physique. And then there were the eyes…so amazing that she couldn’t even look at them anymore.

  “I need a drink,” he muttered.

  Jessie frowned at him. “Isn’t that what got us into this mess in the first place?”

  He ran a hand through his hair as he looked her over. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

  Jessie nodded automatically, even though she wasn’t sure if that was what she really wanted. A part of her wanted to go back to the room her grandma was recovering in and hide under the blankets with her, like she used to when she was five. A part of her still wanted to hide under some blankets with Kai. She immediately hated that part of herself.

  He started walking, not looking to see if she was following. Shaking her head, she hurried to catch up. After she did, he glanced over at her. “I can’t believe this…” His hand went to his stomach again.

  Jessie let out a shaky breath as his eyes flicked over her face. “I can’t either.” As they walked down the hall, nurses in scrubs scooting around them, Jessie thought again about the odds. Of all the cities, of all the clubs, of all the nights she’d let herself go, she’d run into her cousin…that had lived his entire life on an island she’d never even been to. Crazy. Irritated at the universe, she glanced up at him. “How could you not recognize me? You knew I lived here?”

  As they walked through a set of double doors into the main artery of the hospital, Kai looked down on her, his face incredulous. “I haven’t seen a picture of you in years. And I think you were twelve in it.” He flung his hand out at her body. “You certainly didn’t look like this.” His eyes lingered on her hips for a moment, before quickly pulling away.

  She flushed and tried to shield herself as they walked back down to the first floor. “Well, you could have recognized my name. I did give it to you.”

  He stopped walking and she looked back at him, her brow scrunched. “You’re joking, right?” She was about to speak when he added, “They all call you Jessica Marie. You introduced yourself as Jessie. How was I supposed to make that leap?”

  She put her hands on her hips and watched his face as he struggled to keep his eyes above her neck. Irritated at his very good point, she stepped directly in front of him. “You’re the one that came here, to where you knew I was. You should have been looking out for me.”

  With a tight jaw he cocked his head and said, “I wasn’t expecting you to throw yourself at me.” Her eyes widened at that and she considered storming off, but his next comment firmly ground her in place. “Besides, Gran had nine kids, and they all had a crap load of kids. Do you have any idea how many cousins I have?”

  Irritated again, she found herself snapping, “Yes! I get the yearly Christmas letter too!”

  He flinched at that, but recovered quickly, irritation in his voice too. “Why didn’t you recognize my name? How many Kais have you heard of around here?”

  Her hands dropped to her side as she sputtered on something intelligent to say. He did have a point. But honestly, she’d thought he was still thousands of miles away. She wasn’t expecting him to show up, looking all hot and lonely. Plus, she’d sort of forgotten it…right after he’d said it.

  Seeing her at a loss for words, he smirked. “You didn’t remember it, did you?”

  She stepped back, trying to look defiant. He saw right through it, crossing his arms over his chest. Her eyes flashed to his shoulder, remembering the tattoo there and horridly enough, wanting to see it again. “You forgot it. Immediately after you commented on my eyes, you forgot my name, didn’t you?”

  Jessie hat
ed how that sounded. She generally was very good with names, but she’d sort of had quite a few at that point and truly, barely still remembered their first meeting, although she could faintly pinpoint the stupid rhyme he was referring to. “I was a little…out of sorts.”

  He smirked again, his crooked grin disturbingly sexy. “You were wasted.”

  Her hands went back to her hips. “Look, you were supposed to be on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, not in my backyard. And yeah, I didn’t remember your name, but you know what, Grams said she didn’t know when exactly you were coming, so no, I wasn’t expecting to find you in my city, at my club.”

  He only stared at her, his eyebrow still cocked. She sighed at how attractive that was, her stomach churning, and grudgingly added, “Yes, I was wasted, okay. I’ve been having a bad streak lately.” She groaned that her bad streak had shifted into an especially bad streak.

  He released a long exhale and relaxing his arms, started to walk down the hallway again. Stopping at a vending machine, he plopped in some quarters and they watched in silence as the machine spit out some black liquid that vaguely resembled coffee. When it shut off, he handed her the cup and put in some more quarters. Jessie found her eyes straying to his hips, her mind flashing back to places it really shouldn’t be going. When he turned to face her, she was still staring at his hips. She flushed and brought her eyes back up to his. Being caught staring at her cousin’s privates was not helping her nerves.