Little Red Balloons

Chapter 9

The funeral was… grand. Family members from all over came and ‘apologized for my loss’. I didn’t know how to respond to any of them, I just smiled and nodded. Late into the evening after I had a good 4-5 drinks my grandfather decided to cover over and get a drink at the bar. Until then I sat at the bar, on my own. S walked around and mingled smoothly, she took my place even though she knew no one at this funeral. The only time she ever knew my mother, she was being given cold stares and disappointing glances. Yet everything she said about my mother was kind and sweet, she depicted my mother as an angel. Every moment I spent watching her I thought about how there was no way Melanie would do something like this. Melanie was a trophy but all she did was sit and shine; S was a winning game, she didn’t sit still and she kept all of those around her on the edges of their seats ready to cheer.

Well, my grandfather came and sat next to me at the bar. “A gin and tonic please,” he said a big smile on his face, he then noticed I was there. “Oh… James, you’re all grown up! It has been ages since your mother sent me a picture of you in ages.”

“Same for you gramps.” I said and took a big sip of my vodka.

“It is a shame that we had to meet up at something like this. I am sorry for you loss.”

“I am sorry for yours. I mean, ” hiccup, “Uh she was your daughter before she was my mom.”

“I guess so.. but Jamie, son, can we have a man to man talk here?”

“Yea sure, of course. What’s wrong, well besides all of this?”

“Oh.. well I don’t know if you had any idea what your mother was going through, while she raised you.”

“I didn’t know she was going through anything.” I was surprised, my mother was always happy.

“Well, your parents didn’t really have a very happy marriage. Part of it was my fault, I will admit.” He licked his lips and took a gulp of his newly arrived drink. “I knew what kind of man your dad was-is… you now know too right?”

“Um.. yeah.. he took my ex-girlfriend from me.”

“Yes, sorry, I heard about that. Your mother didn’t know about that though. Thank god. I am glad you didn’t tell her. She was already heartbroken about the other girls.”

“Other girls?”

“Yes, there were many in fact. But if your mother found out that one of them was under 18 or your girlfriend, she might have killed Andrew.”

“Yeah, at this point I feel like I could kill him.”

“Well don’t. If I were you I would just stay away from him and all of his businesses. I would not be surprised if wife number four came along soon. And plus that little filey you got over there,” He pointed right at S, she was smiling and laughing at some old aunt watever of mine, “she is a keeper.”

“I know.” I responded rather hastily, almost without thinking. The only future that seemed possible was one where I could legally call S mine.