Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next morning, I told Mom the full story, and she reacted by calling Dad and letting him know what a, and I quote, "son of a bitch," he was.

"Mom's awesome," said Brianna, smiling brightly.

I smiled a little as I heard how Mom yelled at Dad, telling him how much of an idiot he was and how she hoped he would someday realize how terribly he had acted. She was really angry because he was going to run away from us once again.

Mom even had the nerve to tell Dad that she had this theory that his new wife was a gay man, and we all started laughing as we heard her. I could not believe she actually told him that. We had always joked about it, but we never thought she would seriously say it to him.

I admired Mom for sticking up for us. I felt really loved as she defended us and told Dad that he was a coward.

Mom was no longer hurt. She was angry. She was done being hurt, just like Brianna and I were. I could see Brianna smiling as Mom told Dad that he was not worth it, that she could get us a better father with her eyes closed.

After she hung up, Mom simply smiled, turned to see us, and asked, "Who wants to go to somewhere fun?"

Brianna, Teddy, and I smiled and raised our hands.

Mom grinned. "You guys can invite your friends," she said. "And tell them to bring their swimsuits."

***

Henry and Louise did not hesitate to go with us, and Brianna invited two of her friends. Neither one of us knew where we were going because Mom argued that she wanted to surprise us.

Once we arrived, we noticed what the fuss was all about. Mom took us to a beautiful waterfall. It was very small, but it was really pretty, and it had a lake on which we could swim, which made it even better.

"This is amazing!" exclaimed Brianna.

"Your mom is so cool!" exclaimed one of her friends. I think her name was Leah or something like that.

"Heck yeah!" exclaimed her other friend. I was pretty sure her name was Matilda.

"I can't wait to get in the water!" remarked Brianna, unfastening her seatbelt and rushing out of the car.

Both of her friends smiled and followed her.

I smiled. It was just very beautiful. Mom had never taken us there. I had no idea of why, but I really thought it was awesome.

"It's beautiful, Mom," I said, smiling.

She sighed. "Your dad used to bring me here," she said. "It used to be our secret spot, but now I'm ready to share it with you."

I smiled.

"Oh, we shouldn't have come," muttered Louise.

"Don't be silly," said Mom. "You guys make my daughter happy, and anybody who does that is welcome to this family."

I smiled. "Thank you, Mom."

"Thank you, Ms. Walker," said Teddy.

"Yes, thank you," said Henry.

We got out of the car and took off our clothes. We were wearing our swimsuits under our clothing, so we were now ready to enter the lake. Henry smiled and took Louise's hand. They jumped inside and screamed triumphantly as they hit the water.

"What do you say, Chris?" asked Teddy. "Our turn?"

I smiled and nodded. Teddy took my hand, and together, we jumped.