ALONE TOGETHER I OWEN GRADY

Leaving Like A Father

Leaving Like A Father

"The Mosasaurus," the handler began, her voice echoing around the stands surrounding the lagoon, "was thought to have hunted near the surface of the water..."

Zach shifted in his seat, surprised to feel a thrill of almost childish anticipation shoot through him, his dark eyes eagerly scanning the surface of the still water for the first sign of movement. Gray and Morgan sat on either side of him, the three of them dressed in navy plastic capes, Zara having hurriedly draped them over their heads without a word of explanation as to why. She had then ordered them to meet her by the main entrance once the marine performance was finished, before tottering off, muttering under her breath as she moved about having just blow-dried her hair that morning.

As Zach glanced around, it was only to see everyone else in the audience was similarly attired, some filming the proceedings with their phones, whilst others took photos, a mounting sense of expectation filling the stands. To his annoyance, his own phone went off, blaring Ja Rule, Zach thinking it was Cassandra contacting him again for the millionth time. Glancing down, he saw it was just his girlfriend, Zach then turning the sound off and letting the call silently ring out to voicemail, not in the mood to deal with her on top of his aunt.

He had already texted Cassandra several times, answering her messages with a simple yes or no, being deliberately, belligerently brief. He wanted to ignore her outright, but even he didn't dare to go that far, not wanting to push his luck. He had been expecting Cassandra to rain hell down on him after his outburst earlier, but to his shock, nothing had happened. But his relief had been tainted by remorse, Zach now more than regretting what he'd said.

Morgan's father was a family mystery Zach had little interest in, not caring either way. Until a few years ago, he'd always assumed his erstwhile uncle had been Morgan's father. Despite David's charm and the expensive presents he'd showered upon his nephews, Zach had never liked the man. David, 'call me Dave', had always been the life and soul of every family get-together, but to Zach, he had always acted too enthusiastic, as if he was trying to hide how he really felt. When his aunt and uncle had divorced, Zach had been secretly relieved, sick of everyone falling for David's smarmy charm.

One Thanksgiving a few years ago, he had once overheard his father say to his mother that it was a shame David wanted nothing to do with a nice little thing like Morgan, and his mother had said quietly that David wasn't Morgan's father. Not long after that, when Zach and his father had once gone out fishing in a misguided attempt at father and son bonding, his father had recounted a smart remark Cassandra had made about his thinning hair. The insult had angered Scott, unable to let it go, even after all that time, and he'd snapped that no wonder Morgan's father had buggered off, that he would have done the same, dealing with a woman like Cassandra.

That his aunt had a smart mouth, Zach couldn't deny, being the butt of many of her jokes. Sometimes it went beyond joking and became an out-and-out insult on occasion. Cassandra often aired her opinions unasked, not caring if they offended or injured, or she would commence a running commentary where every second sentence became a smart-assed slur. She didn't give a damn if she grated on people; it just seemed to goad her even more into doing it.

Zach could remember a time when Cassandra had been downright twitchy, always squinting at him through her spectacles, her bolshy tongue at odds with her uptight manner, her dowdy dress sense reflecting her deceptively stern demeanour. He recalled someone once saying Cassandra had unfortunately taken after her father, inheriting the Dearing eccentricity from him. But when Morgan was born, she'd began to loosen up, becoming more fun to be around, even as she was covered in paint half the time, consequently developing a questionable fashion sense.