Delphic Song

Chapter One

"When’s dinner going to be ready?" I asked as I entered the kitchen.

"What, no hello for your good old pap?" Dad joked, lifting the lid off the pot of bubbling marinara sauce and inhaling deeply. "More thyme," he muttered to himself as he turned away to rummage through the cabinets.

"Hi, Dad," I said, exaggerating both syllables whilst rolling my eyes.

 Dad swiveled back around; a jar of dried fresh thyme in hand, and raised an eyebrow, but then grinned, turning back to the stove. “And how is my favorite chap, Liam? You’re awfully quiet today!" I rolled my eyes at my dad’s enthusiastic behavior, but smiled to myself. He was in a good mood today.

When there was no answer from Liam, I glanced over to where he had been standing beside me only seconds ago, but he was no longer there. I scanned the room, noticing him standing in front of the calendar across the kitchen. He started when my dad said his name, whirling around. His face looked a little pale.

“What’s today’s date?” he asked, his voice sounding off. I couldn’t detect what was odd about it, but I could hear the difference in his tone. I had known him for so long, I picked up on these kinds of things.

“It’s the 18th,” I answered, leaning back against the counter. “Any particular reason why you want to know?”

Liam’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t even blink. The only bit of movement I caught from him was a muscle twitch in his jaw before he answered with a completely blank face, “So that means your birthday is in six days?”

Oooh, right. I had totally forgotten about that.

August 24th, my seventeenth birthday, was in less than a week and I hadn’t even thought about it once since it had happened last year. My birthday wasn’t really something I cared about. Sure, who doesn’t love gifts and cake and ice cream, but I had another, more personal reason why I didn’t particularly look forward to my special days.

When I was born, my mother had left me at the hospital. Lacey Jones had looked at me, held me, and then left me in the nursery and never come back. She has never contacted me, and I don’t know anything about her, and my dad would like to keep it that way. He has no pictures, no letters or old emails or any mementos for me to remember her by, but it’s not like I have any desire to know her or anything. She left me, and if I ever did see her, she would be a stranger to me. The only thing I have of hers is an old, rusted silver dream catcher charm tied to a worn hemp cord that I wear around me neck that she left with me in the crib, but I'm not even sure why I keep it on. It’s not like it has any deep meaning or anything; she probably just left it out of guilt before skipping town. As if an old present would somehow make up for what she did.

But I know my dad loved her. I used to be able to tell by the way he would get a faraway look in his eye in when I used to ask about her when I was little, or when he looks at me and I can tell he’s thinking of her. When I was younger, he used to tell me I had her eyes, but he doesn’t talk about her anymore. In fact, ever since he met Liz when I was six year old, I haven’t heard a word about her. It’s like she has been erased from our lives. And I know that’s a good thing. I’m happy for him and Liz, and I would hate for anything as stupid as his past with Lacey to get in the way of them spending the rest of their lives together.  She’s already screwed with our family enough.

I frowned as these recollections circled around in my head. I hadn’t really thought about her in a long time. It’s always around my birthday that memories of her resurface. It sort of makes me feel like I’m imposing on someone else’s life when I think of her. I don’t know this woman, and she doesn’t know me. We are living completely separate lives.