Chapter three
Coffee. I needed coffee.
This was going to be a hell of a day. I was looking forward to seeing Neri and Sam, but at the same time I was nervous as hell.
What if they both hated me? Sam had been too young to understand what had happened, and I was sure Neri still blamed me. That was the big reason as to why I had left in the first place. Mom hadn’t exactly been the supportive mother of the year afterwards either; in fact, if I remembered correctly, she’d called me a ‘lying little bitch’. I’m pretty sure ‘whore’ was mentioned on more than one occasion too.
At seventeen, after dealing with what I had for two years, I’d needed my mother’s support, not abuse, and certainly not her judgment. With him out of the picture, I didn’t have to worry about Neri and Sam’s safety. When I’d realized Neri blamed me that had been it.
Decision made.
I’d applied for colleges away from home, and I had never looked back. Until now.
I grabbed the paper. Flicking straight to the classifieds, I ran through the offerings, which were not surprisingly, pretty limited for someone with very little experience. My two years at the café would help, as would my willingness to work hard, but most check-out jobs these days required a degree.
Receptionist. Research assistant. Cleaner. There were a few jobs available, but nothing really that would have me home before and after school. I had just about given up when an ad caught my eye.
Receptionist required for a high class hotel establishment. Nights only, 10pm-2am.
I skimmed over the rest of the details, before circling the ad. Ara waltzed back into the kitchen, glancing down at me as she reached for the coffee pot.
“Anything?” She asked, filling her cup.
“Only this one, but it’s nightshift, so that’s pretty much a no.” I shrugged, showing her the ad. Her face screwed up in concentration as she read the ad.
“I’m home.” She finally said, shrugging, “Call up about it. The kids would be fine here with me.”
I stared at Ara in surprise. She would really do that for me?
She was right. She was always home. Luke being away meant she didn’t have the need to go out much, and her parents covered all her expenses so she didn’t have to work, but this was a big commitment. One I hadn’t expected her to make.
“No, Ara. I couldn’t do that. They’re my responsibility. Not yours.”
“So the responsible thing for you to do would be to accept help when it’s offered, right?” She took a sip of her coffee, “Look Kait, you need a job, and frankly, your options are pretty bleak. You have one semester left of college. I will not let you drop out to get some half assed job when I can help out.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it were non-negotiable.
I reached out and hugged her, “You are an amazing friend, Ara.” I grabbed the phone and punched in the numbers, trying to get my pitch straight in my mind while I waited for someone to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hi. I’m calling about the job advertised in the paper. My name is Kaitlin.”
“Right, sure. Can you call back Monday morning, any time after nine? Ask for Mauve.”
“Sure, thanks.” I hung up the phone, and smiled at Ara, who gave me a thumbs up.
At two o’clock, I sat nervously on the edge of the couch, waiting.
Inside, I felt sick with nerves. Or it was possibly the gyros I’d had for lunch from the random food truck downtown. Either way, my intestines felt like they were going to explode any second, and not in a good way.
Damn you, random gyros.
I had spent the afternoon blowing part of my savings on things for the kids, as well as looking up schools. For the past two years I’d worked hard and saved, and determined to make them feel as at home as possible, I’d gone a bit overboard on my spending spree.
Ara’s house was on the south side of West Park, where the schools actually had a pretty decent reputation. Monday, I’d need to enroll Sam in kindergarten, and Neri in high school. Sam I wasn’t worried about. When you’re five, everyone’s your friend. It was a whole different story at fifteen. Groups and cliques had already been formed, and not everyone is welcoming towards a newcomer. I really hoped Neri would fit in. My own high school experience had been less than wonderful. Teenagers, especially girls could be horrible if you didn’t fit the mold.
The sound of a car pulling up grabbed my attention.
Through the open blinds, I spied a silver sedan pulling up outside the house. I saw Devon first, his dark hair blowing in the wind. God he was sexy. His skin was tanned and toned, his wavy hair fell over his forehead as he fought to keep it out of his eyes. My stomach fluttered.
I convinced myself it was the gyros, not his allure.
Opening the door, I met them halfway down the path.
“Hey again.” smiled Devon, eyeing my appreciatively. The extra fifteen minutes I’d spend on my appearance may or may not have had something to do with seeing him again.
Sam stood behind him, eying me suspiciously. He cautiously stepped out to the side, gauging my reaction. I knelt down, smiling.
“Hey Sambo.” I said.
“Hi.” he replied quietly. He clutched a worn brown rabbit in one hand, and a purple suitcase in the other. The last time I’d seen Sam had been just after his first birthday.
I hadn’t expected him to remember me, and from the way he was looking at me, I knew he didn’t. He had no idea who I was. Though expected, part of me was hurt, as though I’d been hoping to see a spark of recognition.
“Who’s this?” I pointed at the rabbit.
“Tony.”
“Hello Tony. Would you and Sam like to come inside and see your room?” I glanced back at Sam, who gazed back at me with his big green eyes. His head nodded ever so slightly. I reached for his hand, turning my attention to Neri.
She had blossomed since the last time I had seen her. At fifteen, her body had filled out, and her features had become feminine. Her long willowy figure would make her the envy of every girl in Seattle. She had the same long blonde hair as Sam, and the same green eyes as Sam. There was no mistaking the resemblance between those two, but I couldn’t have looked more different if I tried. Where Neri and Sam were images of our mother, with their golden blonde hair and green eyes, I took after my father. Dark hair and blue eyes.
Dad.
Now there’s someone I hadn’t thought about in years. All I knew of him was he’d left my mom when she was three months pregnant with me. He’d never tried to contact me, and I’d never tried to find him.
“Hi Kait.”
“Hey, Neri. Wow, you are so beautiful.” She blushed, as I reached for her hand and squeezed it. Devon met my gaze and winked. Now it was my turn to blush. Suddenly I felt like the fifteen year old.
The four of us walked inside. Sam still clutched my hand, as he looked around the house. To Ara’s credit (or her parents’), the house was awesome. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, lots of living space, the house was the kind of home perfect for a small family. I led Sam down the hall to his room. His eyes widened when he opened the door. I had brought a few toys, some new clothes, and a few other trinkets to make him feel more at home.
I turned to Neri, “Your room is next door.” I pointed down the hall, following her and Devon into the room. Sun shined through the windows, pouring over the pink and green covered bed. I eyed Neri as she glanced around.
I’d had no idea what fifteen year olds were into these days, so I had left it pretty simple. An iPad lay on the bed, Neri caught sight of it and smiled at me.
Yes, I was trying to buy back into her good books with technology.
Devon and I left the kids to settle in. He followed me into the kitchen, where I filled the coffee pot with water.
“Coffee?”
“I can’t say no to a coffee.” His brown eyes twinkled at me. I blushed. Why was I blushing? Damn, I hated that I blushed so easily.
“Well that went better than I was expecting.” I admitted, setting his drink in front of him. He thanked me and nodded. He leaned back in the chair, stretching his long legs under the table. Every now and then I found myself just staring randomly at him, which he seemed to enjoy catching me doing. I’d blush and look away, and he would chuckle. Yet five minutes later the pattern would repeat itself.
“They are a couple of really good kids.” He said honestly.
“Yes, they are.” I agreed. Could I even say that?
It’s not like I’d been around the last four years. How would I know what kind of kids they were? Sam could be a little rat, and Neri could sneak out every night to sleep with boys for all I knew. The pit in my stomach returned with a vengeance.
God, I hoped they were good kids.
“So, you haven’t seen them in a while?” He tone wasn’t accusatory, just curious. I didn’t blame his curiosity. It wasn’t like I lived a huge distance away. The drive to Silver Lake was less than half hour away, so the distance was hardly reason enough to keep me from returning home.
“No. It’s weird, I was so nervous about seeing them again. Especially Neri. It went much better than I thought it would.” Sitting down opposite Devon, I smiled slightly at him, “So what now?” I said, trying to avoid further questions on why I had left home.
“Well, we keep looking for your mother. In the meantime, we will arrange support to make this transition as easy on you as possible.” Transition. That made it sound so permanent, so final.
I toyed with the handle on my cup, my nail running over the groove of the chipped paint in the porcelain. I hadn’t given much thought to mom’s disappearance, as awful as that sounded. I’d been so overcome with the idea of looking after two kids, mom’s disappearance hadn’t had a chance to sink in.
“What do you know? What happened?” I wondered.
Regardless of my issues with mom, she was always there for Neri and Sam. The idea that she’d up and leave them was ridiculous. Me, on the other hand, that was a different story. She’d had no problem abandoning me when I needed her.
“We don’t have much information yet.” Devon admitted, tapping the rim of his cup, avoiding my eyes, “She left for work, and never arrived. Her car was found, with her bag, purse and phone all inside. Her bank accounts haven’t been touched.” He added. I felt sick. “The good news is ninety-five percent of missing people show up fine within 72 hours.” He smiled softly.
Why did I feel he only added that last bit for my benefit?
“Okay.” I began, a million things whirled around in my brain, “So I guess I should chat to the kids.” I stood up. Devon stood too, taking the hint that it was time for him to leave.
“Hey, thanks for your help.” I added as I walked him to the door. He shook his head.
“Seriously, it’s no bother. I will drop past tomorrow to see how things are going.” He was halfway down the path when I called out to him. He turned around.
“Will you call me if you hear anything?”
He smiled, cocking his head to the side, “Of course I will.” I smiled, already looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.