“Five minutes? Is that all it takes?”
“Babe, I haven’t seen you in over a week. Five minutes is me stretching it out.”
I could easily forget our complicated relationship for five minutes. In fact, I’d like to forget about it forever. But it no longer felt right.
“I think I need to work this out first. Get my head around the whole cousin thing.”
“What are you suggesting?” Matt’s fingers stopped tickling.
“That you give me some time.”
“Like how much time?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been in a situation like this before.”
“But Molly, are you saying that you may never be okay with it?” Panic flooded his eyes as he hurriedly sat up straight. “We’re having a baby. We’re in this whether it’s right or wrong.”
“It’s not that simple anymore.”
“Yes. It is.”
I shook my head and shuffled off the bed, making my way to the bathroom. I needed to distance myself from his gaze, from his scent, and most definitely from his touch, or I had no hope of ever figuring out how I really felt about things.
“I’m sorry Matt. Just give me some time.” With that I closed myself in the bathroom and dissolved into tears.
****
By the time that I had controlled my emotions, straightened my clothing and fixed my make-up, my mood had gone decidedly downhill. It didn’t help that the waist band of my Calvin Klein jeans was a little on the tight side and my pregnancy app was adamant that it wasn’t because of the baby’s growth. Sighing, I conceded it was probably more to do with the three helpings I had of mum’s carrot cake, along with the double portion of trifle I’d had for desert at the hospital last night. I wasn’t exactly succeeding in lowering my sugar levels.
Untucking my rose-pink v neck T-shirt, I popped the top button on my jeans, slung my Prada bag over my shoulder and slipped my feet into my sparkly Jimmy Choo’s. I didn’t care about the risks of varicose veins. Right now, I needed Jimmy.
Matt was sullen as we travelled down in the lift. Fair enough. I’d stirred his hormones and muddled his brain, and I didn’t even want to think about what I was doing to his heart.
“Are you sure this is a good time to visit your grannie?” he asked, quietly.
“Yep.”
“It’s just you’re a bit...”
“A bit what? Uptight? Is that what you were going to say?” It seemed my mood was getting worse.
“I was going to say tense. You’re not supposed to get your blood pressure up. I was wondering if you’d prefer to stay home? I’ll pick Harper up from your parents and drop him to you and you could have a relaxing day reading a book.”
Now that did sound nice.
“I have far too much work to do to sit and read.”
“Then why don’t you stay here? I’ll talk to Carol and let you know what she says.”
“No way! You’re not shutting me out of this.”
“I’m not trying to shut you out. I just need Carol in a good mood.”
“And you think I’ll ruin that?”
“You’re the first person to admit she’s not your favorite.”
“She’s even less my favorite now.”
“Exactly.”
“Matt, don’t even try to keep me out of this,” I warned.
He placed his hand in the surrender position. “Okay. But please remember to stay calm.”
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest as the elevator dinged open. Matt strode ahead of me, reaching the car and beeping it unlocked. Holding the door open for me, his gaze fell to the front tire.
“Oh no! I’ve got a flat,” he hissed.
“Do you have a spare?” I questioned as he hit the remote so the car boot popped open.
“Yeah. I just haven’t checked it for a while so I hope it’s got air in it.”
My bad mood dissolved slightly as I thought of the day he was having. It certainly wasn’t one of his luckiest.
“What the fu—?” He stopped and looked down at his back wheel. “This one’s flat too.”
“How? Did you run over something?”
He ruffled his hair with frustration as he knelt to inspect the tire. “It’s been cut.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This tire looks like it’s been slashed.”
I moved alongside him and agreed that it did look like the tire was slashed. “Is the front one the same?”
Matt stood and checked it out. His sigh told me it was.
“Who would do that?”
I shrugged. “It is a pupil free day at the high school so maybe it was some bored kids.”
Matt kicked the wheel. “Looks like we’ll be taking your car,” he commented resignedly.
“Great. Just one problem with that. My car’s at Danny’s.”
****
Thank goodness for cabs. It took us to Danny’s where I collected my keys and then drove to Grannie Carol’s.
She had no idea we were coming. Which was good as it meant she wouldn’t be able to fake not being at home. Sure, that was more something Grandma Mabel would do, but I wouldn’t put it past Grannie Carol.
Grannie Carol’s house wasn’t overly large, but it was slightly intimidating. Dark brown brick with deep green trim, the house was federation style. Seven white and green painted steps led to the veranda that was dark, and oppressive. The stained glass insert in the door was pretty, though, and added some much-needed levity to the drabness of the exterior.
As I child I’d never liked visiting here. Grannie Carol believed small children should be seen and not heard, which meant Lizzie, Danny and I had to sit on our hands to not fidget, and only allowed to go to the toilet if we were absolutely busting. And don’t even get me started on meals.
Today I was far more anxious about my visit than I could ever remember being. I’d never confronted Carol with anything, and even though Matt had already spoken to her about the subject, I needed to hear it for myself before talking to dad. But I was also pissed. If she hadn’t been hiding secrets then I wouldn’t be in the position I was in.
I took three deep breaths before the trembling in my hand stopped and I rang the doorbell, but I jumped as the loud dong echoed through the house.
Grannie wasn’t one to have the radio playing or the television on unnecessarily. She enjoyed the quiet, which was in direct opposition to what I enjoyed, and it wasn’t surprising the house radiated silence as we waited for her footsteps to alert us she was coming.
“It’s okay,” soothed Matt, his dark eyes smiling at me.
“Easy for you to say.”
His chuckle was low in his throat as the locks clicked and Carol’s fuchsia painted lips greeted us in a smile. Actually, it was more of a grimace, but I tried not to take it personally.
“Molly! I wasn’t expecting you. You should have called first. What if I hadn’t been home?” Her white house dress hung loose on her shoulders, telling me she’d been prepared for a day without visitors. I handed her the obligatory flowers I’d purchased on my way here and kissed her cool cheek.
“No problem,” I replied, ignoring her tone. “If you’d not been here, I would have sat on the front steps and waited.”
Carol accepted the flowers her gaze falling to Matt. As it did, her smile froze and we both heard her audible gulp.
“Well, you’d better both come in before the neighbors see you.” Ushering us inside, she checked the neighboring houses for any busybodies.
“What does it matter? They don’t know your grandchildren are expecting a child together. Oh sorry, make that possibly two children.” I couldn’t help myself as the words spilled from my lips.
Carol closed the door behind us and the temperature dropped a good ten degrees.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds, Molly,” soothed Matt.
“It could hardly be any worse,” Carol hissed. Her words were like bullets, hitting me in the place it hurt the most.
<
br /> “Well, excuse me. It’s not my fault that I never knew about Uncle Darryl.”
Her eyes narrowed as she huffed.
“What did you mean by two children?” she demanded.
Matt brought her up to date with the situation. When he’d finished, I wondered if she was about to faint.
“Oh dear,” she muttered, fanning herself with her hand. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. You’d better come through to the dining room.”
Our footsteps thumped against the timber floorboards as we followed her through the house. Sitting heavily on the leather seats, I dropped my bag onto the floor and rested my arm on the mahogany tabletop.
Grandpa Charles had died a long time ago, but Carol had never remarried. She’d continued to live alone, adamant she was happy. She had friends at the Croquet Club. She frequented the bingo hall occasionally, and she took a yearly cruise with her best friend. What she did the rest of the time was a mystery to me.
“Can I offer you a cup of tea?” she asked us both.
“No thank you. I’d rather have some answers,” I replied. Matt placed his hand on my arm, and I heard his quiet sigh.
“No thanks Carol,” he said, his tone much lighter than mine.
“Very well. I hope you don’t mind I have one. This is all so shocking.”
She had a shock? I squeezed my eyes tight and took three deep breaths as her sensible black leather shoes tapped her way toward her kitchen. Only when I knew she’d left the room, did I reopen my eyes and blinked.
Carols’ dining room hadn’t changed from when I was a child. It still had the same cream-colored paint on the walls, the same dark brown trim around the windows, and the same oppressive furniture far too heavy for the room. The natural light was suffocated with the lined curtains and intricate lace hanging over the windows, and the cream-colored rug felt lumpy beneath my feet. I itched to ask if we could sit in the kitchen where I knew the light was a lot brighter, but Carol would never allow guests to sit in there.
Matt was staring at me, a mixture of concern and annoyance etched into his brow.
“Molly, need I remind you I wanted Carol to be cooperative? If you upset her too much, she’s not going to be very chatty, is she?”
“I’m sorry, but just being here pushes my blood pressure into the danger zone.” I winced as my fingernails dug into my palms.
“I did offer for you to stay home.”
“Yes, but I need to hear this for myself, thank you.”
I could see Matt was considering his response, but as Carol re-entered the room carrying her china cup filled to the brim with tea, he bit down on it.
“So,” she said, sitting the cup down on a coaster she’d pulled from the nearby dresser. “What happens now?”
I looked to Matt confused.
“Well, we’d like to ask a few questions about your son Darryl.”
“Of course, but I was referring to the baby. Or babies as you have pointed out. What are you going to do about it?”
“Umm, I guess I’ll give birth naturally and hope I don’t have to have a c-section,” I offered, completely thrown by her question.
“You’re going to have it?” Her eyebrows shot up near her slicked back hairline.
“What are you suggesting?”
“Well, considering the news of the child’s parentage, I would have thought you would have considered your options.”
I felt like I’d been slapped. “I’m not getting rid of my babies, if that’s what you mean,” I hissed.
“Is that wise?” she asked, unfazed by what she was suggesting.
“If that’s how you feel, why didn’t you get rid of your unwanted pregnancy?”
“I didn’t have the options you have today.”
My blood ran cold as I stared across the table at the woman who was my grandmother. I had no idea how she could be so cold about it.
“Carol, fate has brought us to this place, so we’re going to allow fate to lead our way.” Matt was diplomatic.
“I think you’re foolish, but I can see you’re not going to listen to any advice I have to give.”
“What we’d really like is to ask you some questions regarding Darryl.”
She sat back in her chair, her back rigid and straight.
“I guess that’s reasonable.”
“How did this happen?” I demanded. “Who is Darryl? Where is he today? Why didn’t we know about him? And why, oh why didn’t we know Matt and I were cousins before we got into this predicament?”
“It was a very long time ago. My memory isn’t what it used to be, but I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
“I’m sure your memory is just fine.”
Carol huffed and allowed her gaze to stop somewhere outside the window. “About a year after your father Bill was born, Grandpa Charles was searching for work. Westport wasn’t thriving then like it is today. Jobs were hard to come by. However, Charles was offered a position in Western Australia where he was working on a property. He wanted me to move there with him, but the station was remote, and I was worried about having a small child so far from a hospital.”
I’d never met Grandpa Charles, but I did recall dad telling us a story of how his father worked away from home when he was young.
“So, I chose to stay,” explained Carol. “The station paid all of Charles accommodation and living expenses, so we did okay. But it was lonely. Yes, I had friends, but it was difficult being a single mother in the 1960’s. Plus I was young. I had needs.”
“You sure did.”
Carol sneered, her frown full of disdain.
“You have no idea what it was like,” she snapped. “Charles and I were still married, but our relationship was in tatters. It was difficult maintaining a marriage when he was away from home for nearly twelve months at a time. And it’s not like he was faithful to me either.”
That was far more than I ever wanted to know about my grandparents.
“Carol, we’re not here to upset you,” Matt soothed, placing his hand on her arm. “We just need information so I can find Darryl.”
She turned her watery eyes towards him and gave a curt nod.
“Who was the father?” he asked.
“He was my neighbor. And before you ask, yes he was married and already had five children.”
“What was his name?”
She went to speak, but hesitated.
“I guess I can tell you as not long after Charles came home, he took his family and moved away.”
Matt leaned forward on the edge of his chair, his eyes glued to her lips.
“His name was Michael St James.”
Matt hurriedly scribbled the name in his notebook.
“The baby stayed in Westport?” I asked.
“Yes. I knew the family who adopted him. They agreed to keep my secret in exchange that I would never contact the child or let him know I was his mother.”
I bit back my words and touched my stomach. As much as I was angry for what had happened, I knew giving that child up would have been the hardest thing Carol had ever done.
“Michael didn’t want to be a father again?” I asked, a touch more sympathetically.
“He never knew. It wouldn’t have been fair to him. Or to his wife. I took Bill and moved to my sister’s in Littlebrook. I stayed there until I was due.”
“And Grandpa never suspected.”
“Why would he? I told him I was struggling to stay in the house alone and my sister offered for me to stay with her while he was away. I rented the house out temporarily and returned when I’d had the baby.”
Grannie Carol was a lot more manipulative than I ever gave her credit for.
“Have you ever heard from Darryl?”
“No. I kept my promise to the couple who adopted him. They changed his name and he was raised as theirs.”
“So, what is his name now?” I asked, as Matt scribbled in his notebook.
“Lewis. Darryl Lewis.”
“And you never saw him
again?” Matt asked.
“No. I needed to wipe him from my memory, and I couldn’t do that if I saw him or kept a track of him. He lived with me for a week before they took him and that was hard enough. I accepted what I had, loved Bill with all my heart and made a vow to myself to make my infidelity up to Charles, and be a good wife. I’ll have you know I succeeded. No one knew about the baby. My secret was kept safe. Until now,” she finished through gritted teeth.
“That’s what happens when you keep secrets.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at her defiantly. How dare she put this on us?
“Molly,” Matt warned with a single glare, before turning back to Carol. “I just wanted to know who my father was.”
“And you’re certain it’s my Darryl?”
“I’m almost positive my mother fell pregnant to Darryl Lewis. Have you been to your doctor and asked for the DNA test yet?” Matt queried. “If they have your DNA to match against mine then we’ll know for sure.”
“Then I’ll be certain to get that done. But what should I tell my doctor? He’ll want to know why I’m being DNA tested.”
“Just tell him you’re helping me with a genealogy story.”
“You’ll keep this quiet the both of you?”
“You’ll have to tell dad,” I threw in.
“I do not need to tell your father. If you would just do the right thing and end the pregnancy, there’s no reason he will ever have to know.”
“Are you kidding?” I stood, outrage making it difficult to sit.
“I certainly am not. Do you know what it will do to that man if he learns the truth?”
“Yeah, he’ll be disappointed and start to question what he really knows about you.”
“I was talking about the grandbabies you’re carrying. When he learns the truth about you and Matt, what do you think that will do to him? Do you think he’ll love those children the same way?”
Dad flashed through my mind. The way he loved me, the times he’d held me tight when I’d needed him, and the way he would be there for me no matter what. “Yes. He will love them the same. Because that’s the kind of man he is. What he’ll think of you though, is out of my control.”
Wicked Little Lies- Molly Page 10