I nodded my head, “I…I don’t want to leave.” I wiped my cheeks and wrapped my arms around his waist.
Morgan hugged me tightly, “I wish you didn’t have to. Be sure to call me as soon as you land. When you’re bored, call me—text me…I promise to drop whatever I’m doing.”
The lady called for my flight to start boarding, “I love you!” I said.
He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, “I love you too.”
I hugged everybody else one more time before walking away.
When my flight landed and I walked into the airport and retrieved my luggage, I expected to find my dad waiting for me. Instead, he sent his driver Foster.
“Afternoon Tabitha, you have sure changed since the last time I seen you!” He said and smiled at me.
“Where’s dad?” I asked. It was clear that I wasn’t happy.
The smile on Foster’s face fell, “He had a last minute meeting but Beth is at the house.”
I rolled my eyes, “I’m so excited.”
“I know, I can tell.” Foster said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry for being rude…I really didn’t want to come stay.” I told him.
“No need to apologize Tabitha, hopefully he will make time in his busy schedule for you so that you aren’t with Beth all the time.”
Beth was who my dad had the affair with years back. He eventually married her then a ‘surprise/blessing’ baby was born a few years later. My half brother Langem, would be turning four years old. Beth doted over him non-stop and always treated me like I was an evil red headed stepchild. We didn’t get along, so this summer was going to be torture for me.
Once Foster had all my luggage tucked in the trunk of the car, I climbed into the back seat of the town car and pulled my cell phone out of my purse. As soon as I powered it on, it started chiming with text messages from Morgan and Vidalia asking if I had landed yet. I sent them both a reply letting them know that I was safe and sound on solid ground again.
I continued to text them until I felt the car stop. I looked up and blew out a breath. Dad and Beth were standing on the front porch between the two massive white pillars. Dad was dressed in a black business suit and Beth in a pale yellow sundress. Dad walked toward the car, when I stepped out he smiled at me. “How was your flight?” He asked as he walked around to the trunk of the car. No hugs were exchanged between us.
“Uneventful.” I said with a shrug.
He nodded his head, “Good to hear, grab that last bag.” He nodded at the trunk before walking away.
“Hey!” Beth said with a smile and hugged me.
“Hi.” I tried to sound happy.
“Langem is napping, he’s going to be so happy to have you here! I redecorated your room, I hope you don’t mind.” she said.
“Oh…okay.” I followed dad up the large staircase and Beth followed behind me. When I walked into my room I gasped. It was beautiful. The walls were painted a silver grey color and one accent wall was painted with a bright yellow chevron pattern. The old canopy bed had been stripped of the baby pink canopy and Bratz doll bedding, and was replaced with a bright yellow comforter with large grey and black watercolor flowers on it. Various bright colored throw pillows and an oval rug that matched the comforter finished off the décor. “Wow--I really like it!” I turned toward Beth and smiled. “Thank you!”
She smiled, “I was so worried you wouldn’t. I didn’t go through any of your stuff though. I figured I’d let you do that.” She said.
I stared at Beth giving her a questioning look. She was actually being nice to me…she was acting nothing like she use to toward me. Before I could ask her why she was acting so nice to me, Dad cleared his throat, “I need to go back to the office for a while. I’ll see you two later.” He kissed Beth on the cheek and gave me a weak smile before leaving. Beth and I stood in my room, awkward silence fell between us. “Soo…” I trailed off unsure what to talk about. Beth and I had never really been alone together.
“Oh, I can leave you alone. I’m glad you are here. If you get bored I’ll be downstairs.” She smiled then walked out.
I walked over and put my suitcases and duffle bag on the bed. Before I could put any clothes away I decided to see if the dressers still had clothes in them. When I pulled the first drawer open I couldn’t help but laugh when I pulled a pair of panties out. They were too small, drawer after drawer were full of clothes that I couldn’t wear. Inside the small walk in closet there were more clothes hanging up and shoes on shelves that I couldn’t wear. “Ugg.” I muttered. I went downstairs, “Hey, Beth?”
She was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, “Hey!” She stood up. “Do you need something?” Beth’s smile was so soft and pretty.
I smiled back, “Do you guys have a few boxes? I need to box up all the clothes and shoes that are in there.”
“Oh, sure! Do you need me to help?” She asked as she walked through the house and out to the attached garage.
“If…you want to I guess.” I told her.
As we boxed up clothes she told me stories about Langem and all the funny things he was doing. I smiled, “I hate that I don’t know him very well.” I told her
“In time, listen, I know you don’t like me very much…but I’m really not a bad person. If you have any questions you want to ask I won’t be offended by them.”
I was quiet for a minute or so as I continued to sort through the clothes. “If you knew dad was married why did you have an affair with him?” I finally asked.
She nodded her head briefly, “I’m being honest when I say that I didn’t know he was married. We passed by each other all the time in the lobby of the building. He worked on the top floor and I worked on the third floor as a secretary for a lawyer. I would usually go to the deli down the street and get my lunch, then go sit in the courtyard and read while I ate. Imagine my surprise when he found me out there and asked if he could join me. There he was, all tall dark and handsome—intimidating too. I never asked him to meet me for lunch, he just started coming out there on a daily basis. The first thing I did was check his left hand to see if he was married. He didn’t wear a ring and I couldn’t see a pale circle from one so I figured he was single.” She gave me a sympathetic smile before continuing. “So, over time our lunch dates turned into having late night dinners in his office or him taking me out to a fancy restaurant. One night after too much wine…one thing led to another and we—you know. This carried on for a few months, and then one night he told me he loved me. I had known for a while that I loved him too. He was so much fun to be around and so easy to talk to. One day I decided to surprise him in his office, his secretary gave me a questioning look when I told her I was there to see him but let me into his office to wait for him. I took our lunch in there and spread it out on the small coffee table and waited for him to come in. While I waited I started to get nosey, when I sat down in his big office chair I pulled open the top right desk drawer and found pictures. They were of him with a woman and little blonde hair blue eyed girl. Some of him and a woman on a yacht, kissing and smiling in front of the camera, and then one of the little girl on his shoulders smiling and him looking up at her smiling. Then his office door opened and in walked your dad with the woman in the pictures. They didn’t see me sitting there as she argued with him that he never spent time with her and Tabitha. When she noticed me, he spun around and his eyes got big then he turned to your mom and told her, “I’m sorry Claire but I’m in love with somebody else.” Beth finished.
I stared at her in shock, “Just like that…you two ended up together?” I asked.
She shook her head, “Oh heavens no, I stormed out of his office. I took a weeks paid vacation and locked myself in my apartment. He called me non-stop but after I ignored his call for the hundredth time he showed up at my apartment. I didn’t want to talk to him, he hadn’t been honest with me and I wanted nothing to do with him. He set outside my door for hours, until I finally opened the door and let him come in. I mad
e it very clear that he had broken my heart and that I thought he was a major asshole for doing what he did. I told him to leave and never contact me again. When I went back to work I effectively avoided him for quite a while. A few months later he barged in to the office and demanded I talk to him. Then he showed me the divorce papers and begged me to take him back. We argued that he had ruined his family, I was so mad at him for walking away from you. I don’t know what made me take him back but I did. I do love him, what happened was wrong and I know you and Claire both hate me for it. I just want you to know that I didn’t encourage him to leave you two.”
“Wow…he’s an asshole!” I breathed out. Then I thought about what I had done with Vance and how it had hurt Morgan and Julia. I shook my head, “I have no room to talk.” I told her.
Beth cocked her head to the side, “He does love you, when your mom told him that you two were moving away he took it really hard. He wanted to fight for custody of you but he knew that you wouldn’t be happy living here. When you say you don’t have room to talk, are you talking about what happened between you and those two boys?” She asked.
I nodded my head, “Yes…it was so stupid what happened.” Then I launched into the story. Just as I finished, Langam walked into the room. He was clutching a thick fuzzy blue blanket in his arms. His brown hair was naturally curly and stuck up in several different directions. Langam’s big brown eyes looked at me in question, “Momma I thought you runned away!” He said to Beth then launched himself at her.
Beth and I both laughed, “Nope I had to leave your room because you were snoring so loud. Dinosaurs don’t even snore that loud.” Beth said and winked at me. “Do you remember Tabitha?” She asked.
Langam’s little rosy lips twisted as he thought, “No, is she my new babysitter?’ He asked.
I looked at Beth in question, surely that’s not why dad insisted I come stay for the summer.
“Oh heaven’s no, she’s your sister sweetie. She’s staying for the summer, how exciting is that?!” she said with excitement.
Langem shrugged a shoulder, “She can’t eat all of my Froot Loops!”
I laughed, “I promise I won’t.”
He smiled at me then climbed onto the bed and started jumping, knocking a box of clothes onto the floor. Beth sighed, “Langem, please stop and pick those clothes up.”
Dad’s voice echoed upstairs letting us know he was home, Langem threw the last pair of jeans into the box and ran out of the room. “Daddy you’re home!”
Beth and I both stood up, “Maybe tomorrow we can go shopping and talk some more?” She asked.
“Oh…ok.” I stuttered out.
Dad walked over to the doorway with my little brother on his shoulders, they both looked the same, Langem was dad’s little ‘mini-me’ for sure. The only difference was their eye color, dads were a striking blue and Langem’s were a deep chocolate like his mom’s. “Looks like you two have been busy, do you want me to order something for supper?” He asked.
“Sure! We’ll finish up here then we can all relax and watch a movie while we eat. How does that sound?” Beth asked.
“Sounds like a good plan.” I replied and smiled at her. The three of them left my room. I looked around at the boxes before falling backwards onto my bed. My phone vibrated in my pocket, when I pulled it out I smiled when Rachel’s name showed on the screen.
“Hello friend!” I said with a smile.
“Ahhh—when do I get to see you?” Rachel squealed into the phone. “We need to get together for supper!”
“I don’t think it’ll be until tomorrow, we are getting ready to eat shortly. I’ll talk to dad though. OH, maybe you can go shopping with me and Beth!”
“Whoa—wait…did you just say that you two are going shopping?” I could tell she was surprised.
“Kind of have to since everything I have here is now in boxes because they’re too small.” I said with a laugh. “Hey, Morgan is calling me. I’ll call you after supper.”
She growled, “Okay, if you don’t call me I’m calling back.”
We both laughed then I switched over to Morgan. “Hey hot stuff!” I breathed out.
“I seriously don’t like you being so far away.” He said with a chuckle. “I miss you already.”
“I miss you too.” I told him.
We started talking about my flight and what he had done during the day. I would never get tired of hearing Morgan’s voice. When I yawned he chuckled, “Am I boring you that much?”
“No…not at all. My day is finally catching up with me.” Before I could say anything else, there was a knock on my door.
I sat up on my bed, dad gave a nervous smile, “Supper will be here in about ten minutes. Why don’t you come downstairs for a bit.”
“Morgan, I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Ok, I love you. Oh don’t forget to ask if I can come stay for a couple of days.” He said.
“I’ll ask. I love you too.” I said with a smile then hung up.
Dad was still standing in the doorway, “You’ll ask what?”
“Morgan wants to know if he can come stay for a couple of days since he’s going to be leaving for college before I get back.”
Dad barked out a laugh, “You want me to allow a horny boy to come stay in my home with my daughter? You can count that idea out! I’m guessing it’s one that you were involved in that little tryst with too?”
My mouth dropped open, I stood there speechless. Dad shook his head before he turned and walked away while mumbling something I couldn’t understand. The doorbell ringing snapped me out of my daze, then Beth yelled upstairs to let me know that supper had arrived.
At the table Beth dished up some food for Langem and dad put some food on his own plate before sliding the takeout boxes toward me. “So tomorrow I think I’ll take Langem to the fun center and let him play for a few hours while Tabitha and I go shopping.” Beth said to dad.
“Is it okay if Rachel comes?” I asked.
“No…” dad was quickly interrupted by Beth.
“Absolutely! It’ll be a fun day!” She said then glared at dad.
Dad never asked me anything about school or how my junior year went. Beth would ask questions and listen intently then tell stories about when she was in school. After we finished eating I took my plate over to the sink and rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher. Beth and Langem went upstairs so she could bathe him then put him to bed.
“If you plan on being on your phone all the time and spending all your time with Rachel, you’re sadly mistaken.” Dad said as he walked into the kitchen.
“What is your problem? Why did you insist that I even come here if I’m going to be secluded from everything?” I asked him.
After he had rinsed their plates and put them in the dishwasher he turned around and pinned me with a stare. “Well apparently you moved away and turned in to a slut. I know how Rachel is too. The two of you will be off gallivanting around doing god knows what and I’m not going to allow any of it.”
Tears burned my eyes, my own dad had just called me a slut. I tried to blink away the tears that were blurring my vision, “I want to go home.” I told him. Before he could respond I turned away from him and quickly went upstairs.
I slammed my bedroom door and walked over to my bed. Tears fell down my face as I cried. My bedroom door flew open, when I looked up my dad was striding toward me. “Don’t you ever walk away from me again when I’m trying to talk to you!” He said through clenched teeth.
“You—called me a slut! You have no idea what Rachel is like because you’ve never taken the time to get to know her! I hate you so much right now!” I told him.
He narrowed his eyes at me and his jaw muscle ticked as we glared at each other. “If you want to throw your whole life away and become a mom at your age then keep doing what you’re doing. It wont’ be tolerated in this house!” He didn’t apologize to me or try to talk to me anymore, he turned and walked out of my bedroom
. I walked over and shut the door when I was sure he wasn’t coming back.
Morgan didn’t bother texting me back, my phone rang and I quickly answered it. Before I could say anything Morgan’s angry voice filled the line, “You’ve got to be shittin’ me!”
I sniffled, “I want to come home…he’s so mean.” I cried.
He groaned in frustration, “Damn’it Tabitha, call your mom.”
“I’m so tired, I’ll call her in the morning. I miss you.” I said.
“Mmmm, god I miss you too.” He said with a sigh.
“Are you in bed?” I asked with a chuckle.
“Yep, but I doubt I’ll get very much sleep.”
I crawled into bed and snuggled under the blankets, “We’ve been apart for one day, Morgan. How are we going to survive you going away to college?”
“We’ll be fine, only a few hours away from each other.”
I yawned, “I hope so.” I said softly. The thought of what the future held for us worried me.
“You get some sleep, beautiful. Call me tomorrow after you call your mom.”
“Okay.”
“I love you, Tabitha.” He said and I could tell he was smiling.
I smiled, “I love you too.”
“Night.”
“Night.” I replied then we ended the call.
The following morning I woke up because I could feel someone staring at me. When I opened my eyes, I was startled to come face to face with Langem. He smiled at me, “Hi!”
I looked around the room, “Umm, Hi.”
“I have someting for you!” His eyes were wide with excitement. He held his hand out to me and shook his fist. “Here!”
I sat up on my bed and put my back against the headboard, with hesitation I extended my hand out to him. “It’s not a bug or something like that is it?”
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