HURITT
The scent of burnt coffee wakes me up. As I look around, I find Istu still asleep, Kitchi checking on the horses and Rowtag getting water by the river.
"Did you put the coffee in without the cloth filter?"
"Of course not, I know how to make camping coffee," Rowtag says as he walks back. "What you smell is your crappy pot. It's ancient!"
"Don't you dare insult it. It's a reliable tool," I stand up and stretch.
I slept well and don't remember any dreams. My mind and my heart felt lighter after the events of the previous afternoon; only my mouth still throbs from the punch I got from Kit.
"Do you want an egg?" Rowtag asks while putting a pan with water on the fire.
"Not if you are making them. I rather have a dry cracker."
"I can boil a damn egg. I'm not that useless in the kitchen," he takes eggs out of a covered bowl.
"You fed me under cooked rice and frozen meatballs once!"
Rowtag stares at me and then laughs hard. Istu turns around and pulls a blanket over his head.
"In my defense, I was only 14. Olivia has been teaching me some basic cooking skills. I haven't messed any eggs so far."
"Okay, I'll have one. About yesterday... Again, I'm really sorry for the punch I gave you," I say while adding boiling water to the coffee pot.
"We'll have to make up some heroic stories on how we got hurt."
"Our women are smart. We'll get the questions anyway," I touch my mouth carefully. "Kit is a menace when he is pissed. We must promise we won't keep any more secrets, or punch each other."
"I should have told you a long time ago, but didn't know how to do it without hurting you."
"There was no way to soften that blow. Row, who was our biological mother?"
"I don't know much about her. According to Grandma, Dad loved her a lot. Karen had his eye on him already as they worked together and when our mother died, she took her chance while he was mourning."
"Why doesn't it surprise me? Have you seen photos of her?"
"Just one. I look a lot like her," Rowtag serves us coffee in two metal cups.
"I would have loved to meet her."
"Me as well. Morning, Kit," Rowtag says to my brother as he joins us.
"Morning. I have saddled the horses already so we can pack after breakfast."
Istu looks groggy after waking up and pats around him for his glasses.
"Here," Rowtag holds his hand and places the glasses on it. "Almost stepped on them this morning."
"Thanks. I should get me a second pair, seems I like living in the blind edge," he jokes.
"There's probably a bunch of ladies interested in what we have been up to. Prepare to relay a play-by-play."
We spend our breakfast time teasing each other about our new relationships. It feels like old times.
After an uneventful trip back, we arrive at the stables where Ben receives us. Kitchi stays behind to deal with the horses and the rest of us bring the camping stuff to the storage shed.
Melanie, one of the front desk girls, approaches us as we come inside.
"Good morning, Rowtag. I'm having problems to log into the reservation system. Clicking does nothing. I restarted it already and still doesn't do anything."
"Maybe the Wi-Fi is down. Let me check the connection," Istu says.
"Mel, is Amy in?" I ask.
"I haven't seen her yet, but it's quite early still."
I check my phone and see it's a bit past seven in the morning. I grab my brothers' backpacks and head upstairs. As I open the door to our apartment, I find a visitor in our kitchen.
"Dad?"
"Hey, Huritt!" He walks to me and grabs me in a hug.
He looks different; tired, sad, as if suddenly the years have taken a toll on him. In front of me is a simple, vulnerable man in jeans and a checkered shirt. Not the usual one exuding power in designer clothes.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need my kids more than ever," he pats my cheek with affection.
"Row and Istu are fixing a connection issue and Kit is at the stables. We went camping for a night and just came back."
"Ma told me about it. Did you have fun? What happened to your mouth?"
I try to come up with a story, but since I have so many questions left, it's better if I tell the truth.
"Rowtag told me that Karen isn't my mother and that he isn't related to the guys. We got into a fight afterwards and Kitchi gave me this."
"You were all going to find out eventually," Dad sighs. "When your brothers come back, I will explain it all. You are adults now, and I don't need to embellish the truth."
I nod, then pick up the backpacks I left on the floor and bring them to the bedrooms. My brothers return as I walk back to the living room, but don't realize we have company.
"I'm not happy with this supplier, and it's so frustrating they have a monopoly on this side of the valley," Istu says. "What if the shutdown happened during check in?"
"There must be another solution for data. Sebastian's dad worked in IT and might have other ideas..."
Rowtag stops when he registers Dad's presence.
"Hello, boys," Dad stands up from the couch and they all take turns greeting our father.
"What brings you here? Don't you need to be at the hotel?" Rowtag asks.
"I don't have a job, the board fired me for inappropriate behavior. Ironic when over half of them have mistresses. Karen got what she wants," he shrugs.
"Where is Grandma?" Kitchi asks.
"Went to do shopping in the village. At her age, her energy still amazes me. I feel older than her."
My father returns to his place on the couch and motions for us to join him.
"Huritt gave me a heads up. I'm sure you all have many questions still unanswered," he looks around.
"Can you tell me about my biological mother?" I break the ice.
"Ivy," he smiles a sad smile. "That was her name."
"How did you meet her?" Rowtag asks.
"We used to work in the same hotel. Ivy was a housekeeping maid, and I worked in maintenance. She was 23, and I was 21 and had just moved to the city. I fell in love with her quite quickly, but she was tough to convince, probably because she was already expecting Rowtag and was afraid of going through another failed relationship. I showed her that I wasn't that kind of man and asked her to marry me."
"Now we know where you get that," Kitchi says to Rowtag, earning a glare.
"We were very happy. I got promoted to assistant manager of operations, and Huritt was born shortly after," Dad looks at me. "Rowtag was thrilled that he was a big brother and wanted to hold you all the time. Then Ivy started having terrible migraines. One night it was so bad, she took three doses of medication and never woke up again."
Dad breaks down, and Istu places his arm around his shoulders to comfort him. He lets out shaky deep breaths to calm himself.
"I loved her so much," he whispers.
"When did Karen come into the picture?" Istu asks and I'm surprised at him referring to his mother by her first name.
"She worked in the management as always, so knew firsthand I was a widower. She was kind and supported me through the whole grieving process. I felt grateful for her, so after a year, I asked her out and ended up in bed together. I wasn't careful and got her pregnant with Istu."
"So, you married her because of me?" My brother asks.
"Not entirely. I cared for her and it was the honorable thing to do. She signed the adoption papers for Rowtag and Huritt on our wedding day."
"And she agreed to do that?" I ask.
"I convinced her to do it. Later I realized she only did it because she was afraid that I wouldn't go through with the wedding. When she got pregnant with Kitchi, that's the moment things went down for us. She was bedridden, and I had to split my time between work, her and you three. We grew apart, and she resented me for being ill. Kit was born too early, something she also blamed me for, and she spent a long time away at the hospital to be with him."
"Dad, did you love me then?"
We all turn our attention to Kitchi who frowns while looking at his lap.
"I loved you then and I will love you forever. I remember when I finally was allowed to hold you. You were tiny and cried because you were hungry. Your hands turned into fists as you sucked on my pinky finger. My little man was a warrior like my other boys."
I can't say what my brothers are thinking or feeling, but I have a knot in my throat, moved by Dad's memories.
"Dad, did you know the golf cart was hers?" Rowtag asks.
Dad looks shocked at first and then stares at the empty cup of coffee in his hands. "Yes."