When Love Arrives (H.S.)

Chapter 44

Author's Note: At long last! I've missed you guys. I'm back from London and finally have a new computer so expect updates from me! I promise it won't be so long next time. This chapter was kind of complicated for me to write, for some reason. Thanks for being patient :)

About a half an hour after Mom left, a half an hour of the three of us sitting in silence, my father reached into his desk and pulled out another menacing manila folder. He gestured for me to sit across from him. I wanted to get up and leave, but I needed answers. My mom was nuts, but there is always some truth behind all the bullshit that woman spews, and I needed to know what it was. 

I awkwardly crossed the room, feeling my brother's gaze on me. My dad slid the folder towards me with the letter "T." written in red on the front. I hesitantly opened it up and scanned the contents. There were all these documents inside. I couldn't tell what they were at first. They looked like charts and reports, I couldn't really concentrate on what they said, what they meant.

Luckily, Gabe was over my shoulder and on the case immediately. "When the fuck did you have a paternity test?"

"This was a paternity test for me?" I chimed in, unsure of how this could have happened without me knowing it.

He nodded. "When you were around six."

A beat of silence.

"So... You've known about this since I was six?"

"Well, I've known for sure since you were six," my father said a little too calmly. "Your mother was the one who pushed me to get the test."

"Okay, just--" Gabe sighed, and pulled over a chair so he was sitting next to me. "Can you just explain the whole story to us, and stop acting like this isn't a big fucking deal?"

"It is a big deal, I'm not saying it's not a big deal," he responded, slumping into his seat, defeated. "I just... Think we need to remain calm. And I think we all need to be ready and open to change."

"Open to change?" I mocked him, laughing with no humor. "You say it like I have a choice. Don't lawyer us, just spit it out."

"Right, well..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... Your mother and I always had a rocky marriage... We were kind of forced together when Gabriel was born, as you both know, and while I'm very happy with my family now, I wasn't always... satisfied with this situation."

"Wait... You cheated on Mom?" Gabe asked.

"Yes... When you were much younger I was involved in... A few affairs outside of my marriage."

"Well, that isn't shocking," my brother snapped. "I just mean... Wouldn't it have to be that Mom cheated on you? In order for there to even be a paternity test?"

Which made sense, to me at least, and I might have had the same thought if I could have formed a coherent thought in my mind.

"I'm... I'm getting to that," my father exhaled. "When Gabriel was a kid, for many many years, I had a secretary--"

"Jo?"

"Who's Jo?" I interrupted, getting angry now. My numbness was turning into anger quicker than my father could explain himself.

"Yes... Jo was my secretary for many, many years, I figured that you would remember her, Gabe."

"Yeah... Sure. She would babysit me sometimes. I thought she was fired before Mel was even born."

"She... Well, she quit actually. She didn't have much of a choice. She was seven months pregnant..." my father trailed off, looking at us cautiously.