✏️ Under One Roof

3. One Gift

This bonus chapter is dedicated to John, with many thanks for all your support!

"I'm sorry, honey. I really am. But money is so tight, you know? Your father never used to give us the things we really needed, and now it's our turn to have a little luxury in our lives." The words had sounded so sincere, but Tegan couldn't believe them at all. She was sitting in an unfamiliar house, while her mother tried to persuade her to come with her and move in with Jorgen. To keep the family together, she said, as if she had already forgotten that her first husband had been a part of that family.

"But... college was my dream," Tegan answered, already sure that she wouldn't get anywhere, but still knowing that she couldn't just give up on that goal. "I got into Anchorage, Mum. They've got the second highest-ranked conservatory in the world. Aren't you proud of that?"

"I think it's incredible, sweetie. But I'd hardly get to see you if you moved away. And without the savings, it isn't possible anyway. You can stay home with your brothers, and maybe they can introduce you to some influential people around here. You don't need to become a professor, Tegan. You don't need to spend however many hours writing a dissertation. You could easily... Look, you should try to find yourself a guy too. This is a successful area, there's plenty of rich kids around who could support you without having to do anything. No need for studying, isn't that better?"

Tegan sighed. She knew her mother wouldn't understand. Mum wanted her in the house, and that was why Tegan couldn't quite dismiss the thought that she might have been behind the disappearance of her college fund. Just to keep Tegan from going to university, so she wouldn't ever have the freedom she really wanted. That didn't answer where the money had gone; but she knew the wedding must have cost a fortune. Her mum had remarried just weeks after the divorce came through; before she'd managed to get her hands on the shared money, and Tegan knew that even if she couldn't prove it, she was sure at least some of her money had gone towards that.

"I'm going to university," Tegan said. "Dad says if I can't find anything better, he's heard about a place close to Moistville. Low property prices, big labour shortage, so he could get a better job there if he works hard. And close enough I could commute to the university. It wasn't my first choice, hell, it probably wasn't even my tenth, but I can do it there. I just hoped you'd be willing to help me, even a little."

"There is one thing," Mum said, standing up so that she didn't actually need to look at Tegan. She was uncomfortable too, and needed to change the subject. "We've got... I mean... we've got some savings. It wouldn't be right to... I mean, Jorgen has been struggling with work, and we can't spend frivolously." Her eyes flickered to the trailer in the front yard, with a gleaming new jetski on it. She at least had the good grace to look embarrassed. "But, well, he's willing to work harder, to go the extra mile to make sure all of our kids have a comfortable life. But he has to draw the line somewhere, and if you don't want to be a part of the family, I'm sorry, but..."

"But you can't help me with college. At all."

"I can give you something," she said. "I can't give you money, Jorgen was clear about that. We don't go around handing out our hard earned savings, no matter how deserving. But I wanted to give you something, to wish you luck. A gift to take with you to college, if you want. Something to remind you that you're a part of my family, and you'll be welcome here whenever you're ready to return."

She couldn't meet Tegan's eyes, and instead turned and walked towards the stairs. She led Tegan to a box room at the back of the house. And there, right in front of the door, was a battered drumkit. It had been used, and scuffed occasionally. As Tegan looked closer, she could see the scratches that had been carefully buffed to hide them; so someone had cared for this thing. But they hadn't exactly been careful with it. Whoever they had been. This was an instrument that had seen life.