It's All Relative

by S. C. Stephens

  The cop looked him over, then past Kai to Jessie, who had caught up to him and grabbed his hand. She was no longer calm, her palm feeling as clammy as his own, but Kai held her as if she were the only real thing near him. Nodding at the both of them, his face serious but solemn, the police officer indicated that they could pass under the hastily strung yellow tape line that someone had put up.

  Ducking underneath it, Kai’s heart pounding so hard he thought he might need a medic’s attention soon, he started looking around for the silver haired woman that had never given up on him. “Kai…” He heard Jessie’s panicked voice beside him as he looked around the chaotic area, but all he could focus on was finding the hurt person that was causing this circus of confusion.

  He ignored a pair of firemen who seemed to be looking around as well, maybe hoping an inferno would blaze to life somewhere, and focused his attention on the late arriving medics. Pulling Jessie’s hand, he started walking towards one of them talking with what looked like the head fireman. Kai started breathing heavily as he approached the pair. He couldn’t imagine her gone…when had he seen her last? Had he told her that he loved her?

  Kai stepped up to the men, walking into a conversation he wished he’d never walked into.

  “Elderly woman. Dead on arrival. Nothing we could do for her. We’ve started interviewing some of the neighbors, but it seems that she had a heart attack.”

  Kai put a hand over his mouth, feeling like his stomach was going to come up through it, Jessie beside him started to sob. Tears stinging his own eyes, he forced his voice to break free from his throat. “I’m sorry…did you say…?”

  He felt the tears spill down his cheeks, but did nothing to wipe them away. His heart deadening as the burly men looked him over, he noticed something behind them that made his entire world stop spinning. Another fireman and the other medic were wheeling a stretcher out of Gran’s front door. The EMT was shaking his head sadly and zipping up a bag over the body. It was a black bag.

  Kai’s voice choked up completely as - straight out of a really bad dramatic scene in a movie - the stretcher was wheeled right past Kai and Jessie; the only thing missing was a poorly secured hand flopping down out of the bag right in front of them. Jessie’s sobs increased, but Kai could only gape in stunned disbelief. She can’t be dead. They had too much to tell her. He had too many questions. He wanted to know why she’d hidden the truth, why she hadn’t told him who he was the minute he’d arrived here. He wanted to tell her about his feelings for Jessie.

  He wanted… He needed…

  Disgust at his own selfishness filled him. The world had just lost an amazing woman. Jessie had just lost her last relative in the city. His father, the man who’d raised him, had just lost his mother. And Millie Harper, the woman so filled with life and vitality that it was hard to picture her any other way, would never get to see another sunrise, would never get to play matchmaker for another grandchild, and would never get to see the tomatoes she’d just planted in her greenhouse come to fruition.

  And they’d said heart attack. Was that because of him? Did he do this? Did he cause her so much stress and worry that her aged heart could no longer handle it? Was all of this…his fault? God…why didn’t he call her…?

  As Jessie twisted in his arms to sob into his chest, his arms wrapped around her, clutching her tight. This couldn’t be happening. How did he go from so incredibly happy that he and Jessie could be together, to so incredibly sad that he was sobbing right along with Jessie…in just a couple hours?

  The men offered their condolences for the loss they obviously saw before them, and a warm hand rested on Kai’s shoulder. The hand patted him consolingly as a familiar voice behind him said, “Sad, isn’t it?”

  Kai and Jessie broke apart at the same time and looked over at the person speaking. Kai felt all of the blood drain from his face as what had to be a ghost stood in front of him. Favoring her tender hip as she sadly looked at the ambulance doors that were ominously closing, Millie Harper stood before Kai.

  Sighing as she shook her head, her silver hair pulled up into a loose bun, she calmly looked back at him and said, “She came over for tea, then boom…dead.” Her gray brows bunched together as her wrinkled lips pursed. Her warm, alive eyes flicked back to the ambulance that had started pulling away. “Gosh…I hope it wasn’t the tea…”

  Kai and Jessie’s arms slackened from around the other, as he looked from the woman he’d sworn was dead to the ambulance obviously holding someone else, and then back to his grandmother. His eyes took in her handmade Christmas sweater, her khaki slacks, her slippered feet, the slight dirt under her nails from her endless plant pampering… He’d been so sure that she was gone that seeing her alive before him almost didn’t seem real.

  She smiled warmly as she embraced him. “Kai, I’m so glad you are okay.” Her gaze turned sympathetic as she looked at him. He could still only gape, not even able to return her hug.

  Jessie finally found her voice. “Grams? We thought…” She dropped Kai and grabbed her grandmother, knocking the woman back a step.

  Confused, the older Harper stroked her back. “Jessica, dear, what is the…?” Her voice trailed off as her eyes followed the leaving ambulance. “Oh, did you two think…?”

  Kai’s eyes overflowed with tears as he nodded. “We thought you…had a heart attack.” Kai stepped into her, enclosing his arms around her and Jessie.

  His grandmother, by nurture if not nature, shushed them both, patting their backs. “Oh, no, sweethearts, that wasn’t me. My ticker is just fine.” Kai and Jessie pulled back to take her in, still surprised that she was a living, breathing person. She smiled warmly, brushing dry one child’s cheek, then the other. Cocking an eyebrow, she said, “It will take more than a leisurely cup of tea to end this old girl. I plan on going out in a blaze of glory…sky diving or something.”

  Kai shook his head and inadvertently chuckled at her. Grudgingly releasing the woman, so they didn’t accidently crush her to death, Jessie laughed softly and dried her eyes. “Who was that then?”

  Their grandmother sighed and looked across her lawn, to the neighbor that had helped Kai out on his first visit to Gran’s house. “Betty…my neighbor.” Shaking her head as she sighed again, her eyes came back to Kai’s. “She was centuries old…and really didn’t take very good care of herself. But, she was sweet, in a nosey sort of way.”

  She paused a moment, seemingly reflecting over the loss of life that had taken place in her home. Then her face brightened as she twisted to look at Kai. “While I’ll miss that old broad, I can’t help but think that her home was a rental, and will probably need a new tenant now.” She smiled warmly at Kai. “You could move out of your tiny little apartment, dear. You could be my neighbor…if you’re staying, that is.” She raised her eyebrows inquisitively, waiting for his answer.

  Kai laughed lightly at her finding a silver lining in all of this. Then he sighed at the look of hope on his grandmother’s face. She was hoping that he’d choose to stay, even knowing what he knew now. His relief that she was alive evaporated his earlier nerves about sitting down and talking with her.

  Rubbing her shoulder, he told her, “Well, about that, Gran…” He glanced over at Jessie, grabbing her hand. “Jessie and I have some things we should talk to you about.”

  ************

  Millie watched the fire engine pull away from her house, the last lingering ambulance watchers starting to disperse, and thought about her chaotic morning. First, Kai’s natural father had called her in a seeming panic, anxious to know if Millie might have any idea where to find Kai. Not having been aware that he’d spoken with Kai, that Kai now knew the truth, Millie had been shocked, and started to panic a little herself. But then she remembered Kai and Jessica Marie’s obvious fondness for each other. If he was anywhere in the city, he would be with her, she’d been sure.

  And so, Millie had found herself doing something that she’d never in a million years thought she’d be doing
. She’d comforted the man that had split up her son’s marriage. She assured him that Kai was most likely with his cousin. Millie had always told Jessica that Kai was going to need their support. She was sure the girl hadn’t understood why at the time, but she was equally sure that the natural caregiver in Jessica had been taking very good care of him.

  Mason had seemed to relax with that statement, but it was obvious to Millie that he was going over there, that he was going to go speak with his son. Millie wanted to speak with Kai too, but decided to let the man say his peace first. She supposed there were quite a few words the father and son needed to have with each other.

  Not having been able to get back to sleep after his phone call, Millie had tinkered around her home before shuffling out to her garden. On the way back indoors, her kindly neighbor had spotted her and invited herself over for tea. Millie was used to the curious woman, and didn’t mind the intrusion or the company. Besides, Betty had been the one to call an ambulance for Millie when she’d had her little tumble, so Millie felt that a little neighborly generosity was in order. It gave her yet another opportunity to brag about her grandchildren anyway.

  She’d been reminiscing about Kai, hoping that his heart wasn’t too broken, when the woman had dropped her tea cup mid-sip and fallen out of her chair. Millie had rushed to her side and done all she could think of to help, but once poor Betty’s heart had stopped beating, it had refused to start again.

  Twisting around, she tore her attention away from the large window framing an empty bird feeder. While she felt sad that her nosey neighbor wouldn’t be commenting on the beauty of the various birds that were attracted to Millie’s home anymore, she did hope that Kai took her up on her offer. She’d love to have the boy closer.

  On the couch behind her, Jessica Marie and Kai were sitting close together, holding hands. Millie was warmed to see that the revelation of Kai’s paternity had seemed to pull the pair closer, instead of driving a wedge between them. Indeed, they seemed quite cozy as they watched her with awe on their faces; Kai even seemed to be stroking the back of Jessica’s hand with his thumb. For just a second, it reminded Millie of how her husband used to touch her.

  Millie had repeated the story of what had happened to Betty about three times, but her grandchildren still seemed to be reeling from the incident. Millie tried to not be offended that they both thought her so old and frail that the idea of her just keeling over in her home wasn’t an outlandish one. She herself didn’t feel like she was walking around with one foot in the grave. But, she supposed that all youth looked upon the elderly like they were time bombs, waiting to go off at any given moment.

  Smiling at the thought, she sat in her favorite comfortable chair opposite the two. Her hip ached, as it had started doing once the weather had turned truly chilly, but she ignored it, and didn’t let the slight pain show in her features. All she let show was the concern she had for Kai. Scrunching her brow, she placed her hand on his knee. “Are you sure you’re alright, dear?”

  Millie watched the teal eyes shift over to Jessica before coming back to her. He smiled slightly, although Millie thought she could see the weariness behind it. He may have come to some sort of terms with the new facts in his life, but they’d been hard earned, and had left their marks. “I’m fine, Gran.” He tilted his head and then shook it. “Do I still call you that?”

  She swatted his knee just as she would have swatted his bottom when he was a toddler. “Of course you do. Who fathered you does not change the fact that we are a family.” Millie’s eyes shifted from Kai to take in Jessica as well. “We are all still family.”

  Jessica bit her lip and she and Kai locked gazes. Millie watched their odd, silent conversation, wondering what was not verbally being said in the room. Millie couldn’t be sure, but she suddenly felt like there was a piece of the puzzle that she wasn’t seeing. Just as she was going to ask what was going on, Kai cleared his throat and twisted to look back at her.

  “Um…Gran.” He worried his lip for a moment and Millie thought he looked a little…perplexed as to how to put his thoughts into words. “I…we,” his free hand swished back to indicate Jessica while their clutched together hand lifted, “we’ve sort of decided to…not be family.”

  Millie bunched her brows, deeply confused. Why would two people that only had warm things to say about each other, choose to sever their familial ties? Not that she would let them. If Kai was staying in Denver, then Millie would make it the remainder of her life’s mission to see them closely bonded again. Regardless of whether or not they were family by blood or family by association, family didn’t just abandon family. “You can’t just…decide something like that. You are family, Kai, regardless of what your blood says. You can’t just choose to not be…connected anymore.”

  Kai smiled at her, then ran his hand back through his hair. “Well, um, we actually are still going to be connected, Gran, but just not in a cousinly sort of way.”

  Millie shook her head, still not understanding, then Jessica Marie laughed lightly and looped her arms around Kai’s body. Snuggling into his side, she looked up at Mille. “What he’s trying to say, is that we’re dating, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.” She shrugged, smiling brightly. “We’re in love with each other.”

  Jessica Marie looked up at Kai then, as he twisted to look down at her, and Millie saw a look pass between them that suddenly filled in all of the pieces for her. The puzzle now clear, she could easily see the love shifting between the young couple before her. They were in love, and from the looks of things, they loved each other on a level that rivaled her and her late husband’s. As Millie watched them lightly kiss in front of her, she wondered when exactly that had happened.

  “Oh…I see,” she whispered, removing her hand from Kai’s knee.

  Kai and Jessica pulled their love-filled gazes from each other, bringing their attention back to her. Millie wasn’t sure if her face was pale, although she certainly felt that way. She wasn’t a prudish woman, by any means, but it was a little difficult to go from seeing them as loving cousins, to seeing them as a loving couple.

  While she struggled with something profound to say, Kai’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Are you…okay with that?” His eyes flicked over her body like she might instantly have that heart attack that would send her off in a body bag to match poor Betty’s.

  Irritated at the idea that they thought her so weak, Millie snorted. They both satisfactorily raised their eyebrows. “Well, of course I’m fine with it. Love is always a good thing.” She raised her own eyebrow. “The world could use more of it.” They both smiled and glanced at each other. Millie sighed at the feelings that she’d completely missed between them. Shaking her head, she told them, “I will need a minute to adjust to the idea…but Kai isn’t blood, so, I guess, I’ll get there.”

  Kai looked back at her, placing his hand on her knee now. “Thank you, for understanding.”

  She sighed and rested back on the pillows. Jessica relaxed even more into Kai’s side. Her granddaughter appeared to be happier than Millie had ever seen her, Kai too for that matter. And isn’t that what she’d always wanted for them, happiness? Smiling, she patted his hand on her knee.

  Wondering if Kai’s acceptance of his true father’s identity had more to do with his love for Jessica than anything else, she tilted her head at him. “Do you understand, Kai?” He shook his head at her and she added, “Why I could never tell you? Why I never wanted you to know…about your real father?”

  Kai’s smile dropped as his gaze lowered to the carpet. “No, not really.” He peeked back up at her. “Why would you hide the truth from me?”

  Millie sighed as she adjusted her sore hip. “I suppose I was trying to protect you. In my head, Nathan will always be your father. I only saw that knowing the truth would give you pain.” Her lips twisted into a wry smile as she watched Jessica Marie’s eyes drift over Kai’s face. “I certainly never saw the benefit of you discovering it.”

  Kai chuckled and
peeked up at Jessica, and then Millie. “I suppose I can understand that. I just wish…the news had come from someone I knew.” He sighed, then shook his head. “I think that would have been an easier way to hear it.”

  Millie grabbed his cool hand with both of hers. Feeling the smoothness of his dark skin under her gnarled fingers, she leaned in so that her small frame was as close to Kai’s as she could get it. Pressing her lips into a firm line, she matter-of-factly said, “I will never keep anything from you again.”

  Kai nodded then reached over and wrapped his arms around her body. As she hugged the child that fate had given her, Millie considered him becoming a member of the family through marriage. She always had adored him, and while it was still a little odd to think of him with Jessica Marie, the woman she still wanted to refer to as his cousin, Millie had to admit that they did complement each other remarkably well. So well in fact, that if Millie could have invented an ideal partner for the other, she would have invented Kai for Jessica, and Jessica for Kai.