Chapter Nine
Mom and grandpa came home after three o’clock in the afternoon and immediately went to their rooms to rest. I don’t know what daddy did during that time, but I stayed in the woods while the sun was up. I grabbed grandpa’s big rubber boots to protect my feet at the lake and put them on. I found comfort as I wandered around. I walked to the lake to be by myself and as far from daddy as possible. I turned around to look at the house, I was pretty far enough to see the entire house. When I looked at it, I felt something growing inside. It smashed the walls and roof with a rhythmic heartbeat. I closed my eyes tight and re-opened them.
I felt as if something in the house was coming for me so I bolted from the spot I stood. I ran blindly like a chicken missing its head. My arms flapped in panic while my eyes searched for somewhere safe. I had to find a place where I could stop to think. My feet took me past the lake, towards the highway. My phone had better service near the gate, at the end of the driveroad. Driveroad, that’s what I call our driveway now for it was over half a mile long. I called Renee, but she was out with her boyfriend. Next I tried Jeff. Our conversation was brief and he didn’t seem interested in what happened with daddy or the house. In fact, it seemed a little silly once I said it out loud.
“Regina! His wife’s mother just died! Geez, give him some space.” Jeff said in a patronizing tone. He loved doing this to me when he thought he had the market cornered on feelings. “So he got mad at you? He’ll get over it.”
“Well? What about never telling me about our family? Why wouldn’t they tell me I had family here?” I asked.
“So what? They didn’t tell you about your aunt, big deal. Maybe she has some deep family secret? Maybe your mother doesn’t like her. I don’t know! The point is Regina, you don’t know why they didn’t tell you about them, so don’t judge the situation before you know it all.” He snapped at me.
“Are you ok Jeff? I didn’t mean to make you upset.” Whoa! What did I just say? I surprised myself with that response. Why would I tolerate this from a guy who is easily replaceable?
“Yeah, I guess I’m just busy this summer. I start football camp on Monday and I haven’t started working out yet.”
I knew this was a big problem for him. Football players were expected to keep in shape even in the summertime and off-season. When school ended last week, Jeff slacked off and partied with his senior buddies too hard. His frustration was evident over the phone. My boyfriend is proud of his athletic and school record. Berkley will not accept anyone but the best, and Jeff strived hard to be the best. After all, Jeff Hamrel is the cutest and most athletic guy in our school. After the summer, he would be a senior.
Before school ended this year, I realized we didn’t have a lot in common. I’m not sure why we started dating each other, but we’ve been together for almost a year. I pictured his handsome face in my mind as I talked to him. His slim face was oval with bright hazel eyes and a long, perfectly pointed nose. His brown hair was usually silky with lighter highlights. Jeff always carried a snobby, confident smile and I can say that his smile was the first thing about him I loved. His attitude was pretty mediocre and I hoped it would improve in his last year in high school. He cared about his parents and what they expected from him. I think he did most of his activates to please them and not himself. His father, famed District Attorney Jackson Hamrel Sr., just won the case against mob boss Dominic Delgado, so his family was pretty high on their horse right now.
After we spoke for a few more minutes, we hung up. I felt drained, as if the conversation took everything out of me, but I did feel better about daddy and the situation. Maybe I am overreacting and misjudged the situation? The afternoon heated up quickly. I could not stay out here forever. With a little trepidation, I went back to the house. Maybe daddy was over his mood? Regardless, I was willing to go in and apologize if I said the wrong thing.
I walked to the house and noticed a little shed made of aluminum on the other side of the house. A vegetable garden grew in a fenced in area to the side of the shed. It was so cute! Carrots, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and some fruit grew in the little sectioned off garden. Inside the shed, I found big plastic bins full of mementos from when my mother and her sister were children. There were old photos, dresses, shoes, report cards, letters, keepsakes, tickets, receipts, and so on. I spent at least a couple of hours going through the items. I’m sure grandpa wouldn’t mind if I looked at the family stuff. I almost thought to go ask him, but then I remembered he just got back from planning his wife’s funeral. I didn’t want to disturb him for this.
My mother attended the Williamson Law Academy. She was a smart kid. She had mostly A’s on every report card. There two pictures of my mother and her sister, Rachel. They were cute girls, my mother especially. Both had their hair in curly pigtails, but aunt Rachel had brown hair. They had the same sweet smile. I saw a dimple on aunt Rachel’s right cheek in a school picture. Her plump baby cheeks and one dimple never changed, even as she got older. From what I understood from the pictures, mom obviously loved her little sister. So why did she keep her a secret? I moved on and searched a box with books. The books were grandmother Lydia’s cookbooks. I flipped through one of them and a picture fell out. I turned it over and saw my aunt Rachel and some man I didn’t recognize. She was dressed in wedding dress and the man was in a nice looking suit. I analyzed every detail of that photo, but it would not relinquish an answer. I looked at the back to see a name and date handwritten at the bottom. Rachel and William, August 1917. This picture had to be of a relative. Possibly this woman is my great-grandmother? I couldn’t ask anyone about it, at least I thought I couldn’t. Maybe later? I decided that would be best to ask mom after she buried her mother.
The sun heated up the little shed and I was mighty thirsty, so I put everything back into the box. I decided to keep the wedding picture so I could ask my mother about it later. I stuck it gently in my back pocket. When I put the books back, a piece of paper at the bottom of the tub cut my finger. Out of habit, I brought my cut finger to my mouth. With my other hand, I peeled the paper from the bottom and brought it up to read.
It was handwritten. The dainty letters flowed together like a beautiful composition. It was dated October of nineteen ninety.
My sweet baby girl,
If you are reading this letter, then I have died and gone into my next life without you. My concern is for you, my darling daughter, and your future.
As you leave behind childhood, you will find a new person waiting for you in the future. Your emotions will run away with you and anger will settle itself into your heart. Don’t let it. Above all, always remember that you are capable of love and compassion. Avoid the hatred in your heart and respond to the love you desperately need.
When you find this letter, run! Tell no one of your departure, not even your new parents. Find Lady Bird, a little town on the Texas coast. A young man who calls himself Pirate will be waiting for you, he will take you home. Run fast my darling.
I loved you with every breath I took.
Love, your mother Rachel
Well….okay. This is strange. Was this written from mom’s sister Rachel? If it was, was the letter meant for MeKayla? My fingers caressed the paper. It felt crisp and brand new. I guess I can file this one under mysterious. In the end, I took the letter as well. I wanted to read it again and try to get a better understanding of it. I’m sure it would be okay to ask mom once a little time passed. Once everything was put back and in order, I put my discoveries in my back pocket and left the shed. At least I hoped I put everything back as I found it.
I went home and snuck into the sunroom. If I was careful, I could go into grandpa’s bathroom and out the living room without disturbing him. I was pretty sure daddy was in the kitchen, making dinner. I wanted to avoid him at all costs.
My hand was on the door when my grandfather called out from behind me. “Regina?”
I squealed with surprise and spun around. My
sweet grandfather stood in his overalls, looking at me with concern. “We haven’t seen you since we came back.”
“Oh, grandpa! You scared me!” I gasped, holding my hand to my chest. “I was out in the pasture and the lake. I wanted to give you and mom some peace after you returned.”
“Lake? What lake?” Grandpa asked.
“The lake behind the house.” I said as I pointed to the backyard.
“Oh, you mean the tank in the front yard!” Grandpa laughed. “Regina, this is the back of the house. I built this sun porch as an add-on, but the door in the living room is the front door. And that lake out yonder is a tank, not a lake.”
“Oh, okay.” I said. The house layout now made sense to me. “What’s the difference between a tank and a lake?”
“Someone dug out the ground and let nature fill a tank up. A lake is all nature made.” He answered.
I laughed. I guess I had a lot to learn about the country. We went inside for dinner. If daddy still felt the same anger as before, he did not show it at dinner. Rather than be snotty, he was nice to me, like the father I came here with. No one mentioned the fact that aunt Rachel or her kids existed. I wanted to talk to grandpa about it privately, but after dinner, he went to bed. That was strange. At dinner we realized we have a love of staying up to watch old Dr. Who episodes. I thought we were going to watch an episode on the new television tonight. He left me with my parents at the dinner table. I became a little frightened at the thought of being alone with my parents, though I couldn’t pinpoint why. Ever since daddy’s mysterious freak out today, I felt on edge with them.
“So, your daughter asked me an interesting question today.” My father’s voice came out light and full of humor. He reached over to my mother. His fingers entwined with hers as he spoke.
“Really? Well, what interesting thing did she ask?”
“She wanted to know about Rachel.”
“Rachel? What made her ask about Rachel?” My mother asked. Why did they speak like I wasn’t in the room with them?
“Katie Kramer brought it up today at the store. Regina says she wants to know her family.”
Their eyes were locked. I felt as if I disrupted them during their private time. I started to get mad at the whole situation: the dreams about the town, being away from home, missing my friends, Jeff ignoring me, and my parents’ weird behavior. I’ve had enough of it all
“Oh, and don’t forget lying to me about it. I mean, lying to Regina about it.” I snapped. Two could play this weird game.
They turned their heads slowly in my direction as if I dared interrupt them while they were having their moment. Their eyes were darker than normal and their smiles were eerie, like they knew a spectacular secret that I was unaware of. Chills ran up my spine as they looked at me. I wanted to shrink back in my seat from the strangeness of the situation.
“No one lied to you, Regina.” She said with a syrupy sweet voice.
“But I asked you both before about siblings. Both of you said you were only children and your parents were dead. Why didn’t you tell me about your family, mom?”
Her fake, clownish smile started to get to me. They still held hands and rubbed their palms together. I chose to ignore their hands and kept my eyes focused on them.
“I think you misunderstood me. I told you I had a sister a long time ago. We never really got along before, even as kids. No big deal.” Mom said with a shrug of her shoulders.
I looked at her like she was utterly stupid. She was lying and we both knew it. She never mentioned her sister, and the pictures I saw today showed me two happy little girls who loved each other. I wanted to be angry with her for lying to me to cover up her lies, but I didn’t want to aggravate the situation. We would be leaving soon and this place would be a distant memory. There was absolutely no way I would ever come back here! Besides, I was pretty creeped out by them and wanted to escape the situation as quickly as I could.
I nodded my head at her and excused myself from the table.
Regina Page 9
