Monday, January 12, 2015
Today was the day. It had been nearly three years since Kelsey had been told his name and had found the momento box, but today was finally the day. She was going to meet her father, Robert Falco.Instead of jumping at the first chance, she had taken her time and learned as much about him as she could before running off to find him. Her research told her that he was recently married, that she had siblings, that he was a lawyer, and that he seemed like an all around good guy. That was what had made Kelsey reevaluate her stance on how she would approach him. All her life she had been told that her father wanted nothing to do with her, but the older she got and the more she learned, the more she realized the chances of her mother having lied to her were pretty good. Internet searches provided an email address, phone numbers, work place, and home address, giving her several ways to contact him. The most obvious choice was in person, and this wasn't something you really told someone at work, so at home seemed to be where she would finally come face to face with her dad.
After what felt like an eternity of sitting across the street from his house, she clutched the momento box tightly to her person and started the walk up to the front door. Reaching out to ring the doorbell, she was took a step back and a deep breath. With no way of knowing just who would be the one to open the door, she silently prayed it was him to avoid any added awkwardness. Thankfully her prayers were answered, but it still wasn't going to be easy. "Hi, my name is Kelsey Wright, my mother is Kassidy Wright, and I'm your daughter." That wasn't exactly what she had meant to say, but it was like auto-pilot took over and summed everything up for her. Tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, Kelsey stumbled over her words. "Um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just blurt that out, I had this whole little speech I rehearsed, but obviously that's kind of pointless now. Here," she said as she extended the box to him, "I know it's not definitive proof or anything like that, but I'm pretty good at math and I think all things considered, the evidence is pretty damning." She was finally able to stop herself from rambling any further, and looked up at him, trying to find her own features in his.
After he had invited her in and had begun rummaging through the box, Kelsey stood quietly waiting for him to say something, as it hadn't occurred to her that there was another step after telling him who she was and letting him see the contents of the box. "Kelsey, I need to call your mother," were the next words she heard and although she had expected that to come up at some point, she still wasn't prepared for it. Her mother was the furthest thing from an actual mother, and was the person who had prevented Kelsey from knowing anything about her father, which was exactly why Kelsey hadn't told her she knew his name or was planning on contacting him. Scrunching her face, she shoved her hands in her pockets and told him that, hoping it might delay the inevitable call somehow. It didn't though, and she soon found herself scrolling through her contacts and calling her mother. She smirked a bit, knowing what day it was and where her mother most likely was, happy to force her to tear herself away from whatever booze filled establishment she was at for just a moment. It was the first time she had actually heard her mother's voice since her phone call to cancel Christmas, something that wasn't unusual for the two of them. It also wasn't unusual for her mother to keep secrets, some that seemed to be floating through the air making this already awkward encounter a heaping ton more awkward.
Hearing the lengths that had been gone to to keep her existence a secret stung quite a bit, but at least she knew now that her father had never said he wanted nothing to do with her, he never even knew about her. Although she had nothing to do with keeping any secrets from him, she still felt the need to apologize for her mother, something she had been doing her whole life.
Not having thought her plan through all the way, Kelsey let out a slow exhale and tucked her phone back into her purse. "What do we do now?" she finally asked. "I'm trying to figure that out, " Rob told her in a fatherly tone, something she had never really experienced before.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
The easiest part was over and done with in a matter of seconds and now it was time for the hardest part, the waiting. Of course, Kelsey had been waiting her whole life for this so it wasn't like a couple more days would hurt anyone. With her forehead pressed to the cool glass of the window, she considered everything she had learned in the past days. Her mother was a liar, her father knew nothing about her, and her grandparents had hidden her existence from her father with her mother and aunt's assistance. All in all, it had been an interesting week, and it was sure to get more interesting before it was over.
There were a million thoughts and feelings running through her head, but she silenced them for the time being and tried to think of neutral conversation topics. Remembering some of their conversation on the way over, Kelsey cleared her throat before speaking. "I went to San Francisco once for a choir tour. I'll definitely consider going, I would love to get to know everyone better." Kelsey knew that if the test results came back negative she would not be joining the family on their trip, but there was little to no doubt in her mind that Rob was her father and she had a feeling he thought the same. She wasn't trying to interject herself into their lives, but with everything she had learned about her mother the day before Kelsey was eager to get to know the only family she had left who hadn't betrayed her.
The rest of the car ride was small talk, nothing too deep, just barely skimming the surface. She had spent a large amount of time researching Rob, and respectively Soledad, but her own existence was all new to them. Although she was sure that one or both of them had done some googling of their own after she left yesterday, there were things that the internet could not tell them, no matter where they searched. It was impossible for them to know that she has never wished her mother a 'Happy Mother's Day', per her own request. No web search could tell them that she lived in her treehouse for two week after her Mawmaw's passing or that her choir teacher had coerced her from the branches and back to school. What they would find however, would be pictures of her smiling at prom, singing at various choir events, and laughing with her friends. They would find her name mixed in with the words of Mawmaw's obituary, in a list of graduating students, of scholarship recipients. They would find her social media accounts and catch a glimpse of the life she leads, but there was so much about her that they would have to wait to find out.
Kelsey recognized the driveway and parking lot of her apartment complex as they pulled up. "Thank you," she said as she opened the car door. She wasn't really sure if thank you was the appropiate thing to say considering their situation, but it felt like the right thing to say since she kind of turned their lives upside down. "So I guess, I'll talk to you in a couple of days. Drive safe, and again, thanks." Closing the door, she sighed and began digging through her purse for her cell phone. Searching through her list of contacts, she opened her front door and listened to the ringing on the other end, waiting for it to be picked up. Her keys landed on the counter with a thud and she let out a heavy sigh. "Hello, mother..."
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
It had occurred to Kelsey that waiting for the results would be nerve racking, but she hadn't anticipated how anxious it had made her. Trying to keep her mind focused on anything except the results of that paternity test was proving to be quite the challenge. Halfway through her run that morning her mother had called, trying to cover her ass from being caught in the web of lives that surrounded her her existence, but it was too late for that. "...It was a hard decision, but I thought I was doing the right thing...You have no idea what it's like being a teenage mother...I was practically forced to sign the papers...Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I did what I had to..." all of her words fell upon deaf ears, Kelsey didn't want to hear any of it and cut her mother off. "You had twenty years to do the right thing and you never did. How much did they pay you to keep me hidden? What dollar amount was attached to my life?"
The rest of her run was fueled by the anger and aggression boiling inside of her. Her relationship with her mother was strained and practically non-existent, but this only made things worse. She had known for a long time that Kassidy was cruel, selfish, and manipulative, but this was way beyond all of that. This was a whole new low, even for her. Knocking over a picture of her and her mother on her way down the hall, Kelsey left a scattered trail of clothing and shoes from the door to the bathroom. She had thought for certain that her rage would have subsided at least a little bit, but as she stepped into the shower she was still reeling over the whole ordeal. The cold water cascaded down her body and stung, but not nearly as much as the sting that came from finding out that several people who were supposed to be your family, including your own mother, had gone to great lengths to hide you. Before she knew it her shoulders were shaking as her salty tears mixed in with the streams of water from the shower head.
Skipping her normal post shower routine, Kelsey went looking for familiarity. Tucked away in a her closet, was the chest her Mawmaw had given her many years ago. It contained her most cherished moments and markers of the phases of her life. Holding a photo of herself from her senior prom, she began to wonder what life would have been like had her father been involved. Would she have grown up in Texas? Would she and her mother get along better? Would Kassidy and Rob have gotten married? She chuckled aloud and answered that one for herself with a strong, "No." The two were polar opposites and even if they had, with the way Kassidy went through husbands it wouldn't have lasted long.
Grabbing a few photo albums she sprawled out on her bed and flipped through the pages, trying to remember simpler times. Before she knew her mother couldn't be trusted, before she had lost the only person that put her needs before their own, before she knew that she was secret.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Nobody had told them what time the courier would arrive or even given them a rough time frame, so every phone call and text message sent Kelsey's heart racing. For some reason when she pictured this playing out, they had their answers first thing that morning and were able to go about their daily lives in a somewhat normal manner, but that was not the case. Kelsey found her mind wandering in classes and decided it was time to go after an instructor called on her and she had no clue what they were talking about.
At the front desk she gave his name and was led down a long hallway with a deafening silence. Seeing two somewhat familiar faces calmed her more than she had expected it to, maybe it was because she knew that they were most likely just as anxious as she was. Eating was something that had completely slipped her mind until food was presented to her and she was suddenly very aware of how hungry she was. "Thanks, Iced Tea is just fine by me," she said before taking a long sip. As she mixed the salad together the tense silence was broken by Rob's voice. He asked her general questions about her life, about college and the like, but it was clear that as soon as they started talking about music and art she lit up like a Christmas tree. They continued to talk about this and that until the young woman who had led her in returned with the results they had all been waiting for.
Rob read the paper over, first to himself and then aloud. "In plain English, that means I'm your father." That was answer to the question that had haunted her for most of her life, that she had been waiting for for the last fifteen years. Looking around the room, Kelsey realized that she had no idea what came next.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Stirring from a very sound sleep to the sound of her doorbell being rang repeatedly, Kelsey rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. "Who in the actual fuck has lost their mind?" she wondered aloud as she glanced at her clock. It was 9:17 in the morning on a Friday, unless someone was dead or there was a fire, someone was going to get an earful. Without peering through the peep hole, Kelsey flung the door open and prepared to let somone have it, but was stopped when she saw her mother standing on her porch.
"Well don't be rude, invite Mommy in," said the blonde woman as she pushed her way in. "Yeah, come on in..." Kelsey replied dryly, closing the door and shaking her head. Kassidy Wright was the very last person she wanted to see right now, but even if she tried to kick her out there was no chance of that happening. "You know, not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here?" Considering that her mother had cancelled spending Christmas with her daughter to go on a tropical getaway, the likeliness that she missed her daughter or was just dropping by for a visit was little to none.
"I just thought that I may have lost the invitation to the little family reunion you seem to be throwing." And there it was. Rolling her eyes and sighing heavily, Kelsey grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and turned back to her mother as she took a sip. "I would offer you something to drink, but I only have water." She considered adding a comment about Kassidy melting like the Wicked Witch, but she liked Elphaba far too much to insult her by comparing her to Kassidy. "Why don't you go shower and put yourself together, and then we'll go see your father, or is it Daddy? Maybe Dad?" Kassidy enquired. "It's Rob..for now." That was one thing that Kelsey had thought about after they got the results. Did she continue to call him Rob or did she call him Dad? She wasn't really comfortable calling him Dad just yet and maybe he wasn't comfortable with her calling him Dad, but Rob worked for now. "I'll go shower and all that jazz, you...sit..somewhere." There was no way out of this, but at least she could try to warn Rob. She called his cell phone and it went straight to voicemail. "Rob, uh hi. It's Kelsey, listen my mom just showed up at my door and is hell bent on seeing you. I'm sorry, I had no idea this was going to happen." She would try again after her shower, but she had a feeling he was tied up in court.
Despite trying to stall her mother by any means possible, Kelsey soon found herself sitting in Rob's office with her mother. "That one looks just like you," Kassidy said, pointing at a picture of Rob's daughter Hayden. While Kelsey certainly looked like her mother, there was no denying that there was a striking resemblence. "Oh is that her? The new wife?" She said grabbing Rob and Soledad's wedding photo. "She looks like she could be one of your sorority sisters. Doesn't that bother you?" Kelsey had been listening to her mother for over three hours by this point, and was in desperate need of a break. "No, not at all. She's a perfectly nice woman." In truth she wasn't sure how her stepmother felt about her, but Kelsey knew that the past week was definitely not what she signed up for when she married Rob, but she sure was rolling with the punches like a real trooper and she deserved credit for that. "I'm gonna go grab a soda. Stay put, and stop nosing through things for Christ's sake."
Leaning against the side of the vending machine, Kelsey breathed a deep sigh of relief and took a moment to enjoy the silence. She took a long sip from the beverage in her hand and pulled out her cell phone to see if there was any word from Rob. Nothing yet, but hopefully he would check his messages before being ambushed.
Walking back to the office, she imagined that when she walked back in her mother would have found all sorts of things in Rob's office to gossip abut. Looking up from her phone, Kelsey stopped dead in her tracks as she saw her mother and father standing in the hallway talking. She could see Soledad approaching from the other end of the hallway, and her heart began to race. If she knew her mother as well as she thought she did, this was going to get ugly. Mentally preparing herself as best she could, Kelsey bit her lip and headed down the hallway.
"I'm right behind you, Mother." She mouthed I'm sorry to Rob and Soledad as she ushered her mother out of the building. Kassidy had done enough damage and Kelsey was never going to get to establish a relationship with her new found family with Kassidy there. She let Kassidy rant and ramble on the entire car ride back to her hotel, hoping she had had her fun and was ready to leave. "Look, Mom. It's great that you want to have a hand in all of this, but you had your chance a long time ago to do things right. The fact is you didn't, so you don't get to burst into both mine and Rob's lives acting like you deserve something. I deserved the truth, I deserve to have a mother and a father, and I deserve to be able to get to know my father...without you and your ulterior motives. So go back to Texas, please. I don't ever ask you for anything, so I'm asking you just this once put my needs before your own."
The blonde stared back at her with a look Kelsey didn't recognize. "Well, if that's what you want." Gathering her belongings Kassidy opened the door and got out. "I know I don't always do what's right by you, but I thought I was doing what was best. For everyone. I'll leave, tell your father to send me whatever he wants signed. God damned Falcos and their paperwork..." she muttered before sauntering into the hotel.
Once back at her apartment Kelsey called Rob. "Hi, it's me, Kelsey. I'm so sorry about today. She just kind of showed up and took over, but I called with good news. She's going back to Texas today, she said she'll sign whatever you need her to. Again, I'm really sorry. Anyway, if the offer still stands, I would love to go to San Francisco with you guys."
|
