Caught up, p.23
Caught Up, page 23
“Daddy. We’re women. We aren’t little girls with ribbons in our hair anymore. She’s grown and so am I,” I told him, covering his hand with mine. He frowned.
“Let’s just get something straight. You two will always be my little girls. Always. And you never wore ribbons. You clunked around in your grandpa’s old Army helmet until your mama made you put it up,” he said with a fond smile. His smile was contagious but I wasn’t letting him get off that easy.
“Fine, Daddy. So you two decided to pack up and drive seven hours here?” I asked. He nodded.
“Saw your fella, by the way,” Mama said as she walked over with a plate of waffles. My stomach growled and I smiled at her in appreciation. She hand me a fork and plate as well.
“Eat up, ginger snap. You need the energy and so does the baby,” she pointed out. She climbed up on the chair and jumped when Daddy spit out his coffee. Oh Shit.
“Baby!” he yelled. Caitlyn chose to come out of the bathroom at the same time. She looked at all of us and dropped her hairbrush.
“What in the world?” she whispered. Mama held up her hand and looked back to Daddy.
“Randall, your blood pressure!” she squealed.
“Woman, to hell with my blood pressure!” he bellowed again, standing up and putting his hands on his hips. He paced in the kitchen and ran a hand through his hair.
“Well, doesn’t that just beat all?” he muttered. Caitlyn ran over to him and fluttered around him.
“I don’t know how you found out, Daddy. But it’s not what you think. I didn’t step out on him, I swear!” she whined. Mama’s jaw dropped and then she looked to me with a confused expression on her face. I shrugged because I was just as confused as she was.
“What in the name of Christ are you blatherin’ about, Caitlyn Anne?” yelled Daddy. Caitlyn stopped her hand flapping and looked over to Mama and me. We both held up our hands in surrender and she frowned.
“I thought you were mad that I texted you this morning telling you that I was here and that I was pregnant,” she replied. Now it was my turn for my jaw to drop.
“Wait a fucking minute!” I yelled, standing up.
“Clothilde Anna Mae Van Zant!” yelled Mama. I flinched. I hated my full name. Hated it.
“Mama, I’m sorry. But holy hell! You’re pregnant, Caitlyn?” I asked. She nodded. She held up the pregnancy test. Mama’s nose wrinkled.
“You brought that in the kitchen? Where we eat?” yelped Mama. I snickered and Mama shot me a dirty look.
“Out of all that was just said that is your biggest concern?” I asked Mama and she shrugged.
“It’s not sanitary,” she whispered. Daddy looked at all of us like we had completely lost our minds.
“Dear Lord. Take me now. Just take me into your loving embrace. This old man has had enough with contrary women and drama queens!” he said looking up at the ceiling.
“Randall, knock it off. The Good Lord doesn’t have time to listen to your whining,” Mama said with a sigh. Daddy looked at my sister and myself and sighed.
“Who exactly is knocked up?” he asked wearily. Caitlyn raised her hand and I raised mine. He put his head in his hands and sank into the chair.
“Is he praying?” my sister whispered to me. I nodded. Mama climbed down off of her chair and poked Daddy in his arm. He looked up and she put her hands on her hips.
“Randall Artemis Van Zant! You and I are going to have a come to Jesus moment, you keep up this foolishness! These are our girls. Start actin’ right!” she scolded him. Caitlyn looked at Mama and smiled. Daddy stood up, smoothed his hair and plonked his cowboy hat on his head. He looked at me and the look in his eyes made my stomach drop.
“Oh I agree, Belle. There is going to be a come to Jesus moment. But it ain’t going to be between me and you,” he said, his voice scary quiet.
“Mama...” I called to her.
“Randall, what are you fixin’ to do?” she asked. He grabbed his keys and walked out the door.
“Shit, shit, shit!” she yelped. She turned off the waffle iron, untied her apron and grabbed her purse. She fluttered around a minute, muttering under her breath. She patted her up do and faced us.
“Girls, get in the car. I think your daddy is heading over to talk to that fella of yours, Chloe,” she said. Caitlyn grabbed her purse and I grabbed mine as I slid my feet into flip flops.
“Holy hell. This isn’t going to be pretty!” Said Mama as she climbed into the passenger seat of my car. She looked in the side view mirror and applied her lipstick.
“Lipstick, Mama?” I asked. She nodded.
“Always leave the house in fresh lipstick, a bra, and clean panties,” she replied. Shaking my head, I started the car and tore off down the street. I prayed Daddy left his GPS at home and we got there before he did.
“Are you going to do right by my daughter?” I heard as I got out of the car. Slamming my car door, I ran up the lot to the garage. Daddy was nose to nose with Aaron, bending down a little. Aaron stood his ground, hands on his hips, jaw clenched. I could see the headlines now: “Local Tattooed Ex-Con Mechanic Beaten Down in Angry Domestic Argument by Sword Swallowing Cowboy.”
“Daddy!” I screamed. Daddy didn’t even turn my way. Mama walked as fast as she could and when she reached my side she was huffing angrily.
“Randall, you get your face away from that boy’s,” she yelled.
“Boy? He ain’t no boy. He’s fifty three!” Mama looked at me and I shrugged.
“That makes him close to my age then,” she replied. Caitlyn grinned.
“Daddy, age ain’t nothin’ but a number!” called out Caitlyn. She looked at me and shrugged.
“Caitlyn Anne, I’ll deal with you later!” He pointed his finger at her and she flinched.
“Daddy, leave Aaron alone. He didn’t seduce me. I consented!” I called out. Mandy who was working in the garage came over to us. She wiped her grease covered hands on a red bandanna then tucked it into the back pocket of her coveralls. She nodded to Mama and Caitlyn.
“Got any popcorn?” I asked her. She looked at me with a confused expression.
“Popcorn?” she asked.
“Yeah, for the show,” I replied sarcastically. She patted my shoulder.
“I grew up in a trailer park. My parents aren’t nor will they ever be members of the country club. No judging here,” she said. I smiled at her and she gave me a small hug.
“Let me know if I need to turn the hose on them,” she whispered to me before going back into the garage. Mama walked closer to Daddy and glared at him.
“Randall, you’re makin’ a scene,” she whispered. He looked at Mama and sighed. She tapped her foot and put her hands on her hips.
“Is there somewhere inside we can talk?” he asked Aaron. Aaron nodded and led the way into the shop. Bleu waved to us as we walked inside, but her smile faded when she saw Daddy’s face. She gave me a sympathetic look and I gave her a small smile. Mama came in behind me with Caitlyn. We followed them into the office and Caitlyn shut the door.
“I repeat my earlier question. Why do you intend to do with my daughter?” he asked. Aaron sat down and looked my Daddy dead in the face.
“Nothing,” he replied, his voice cold and hard. Mama put her hand to her chest and I was shocked into silence.
“Nothing? Care to explain yourself?” asked Daddy. Aaron nodded.
“If you think you can come in here and try to scare me into marrying your daughter, it’s not going to happen. She is a grown ass woman and she can decide what she wants to do,” he replied. Mama nodded.
“Oh really? So you two decided to fornicate and now you’re just going to what? Shack up like a couple of sinners?” asked Daddy, his voice raising. Caitlyn looked at me, mortification written all over her face.
“Mama, Daddy is starting to sound like Reverend Boudreaux,” I whispered. Reverend Boudreaux was an over- zealous, fire and brim stone Southern Baptist minister from Arkansas that Daddy idolized. Every Sunday he listened to his podcasts on the internet.
“Hush, honey bun. I’ll handle your daddy,” she whispered back as she patted my hand.
“I love your daughter, Mr. Van Zant. And I have loved very few women in my lifetime. My sister, my late wife, my daughter, and my granddaughter. And now Chloe,” he replied. My heart thudded in my chest and I smiled.
“Daughter? Granddaughter?” yelled Daddy and then he started to pace. Good Lord this wasn’t good.
“Yes. I have a daughter in her twenties and an almost two year old granddaughter,” replied Aaron.
“Honey, exactly how many children do you have?” asked Mama. Aaron gave her a smile.
“Counting the one in your daughter’s belly, five,” he replied. Mama put her hand to her chest and nodded slowly. She looked to me and mouthed the word “five.”
“I know, Mama,” I replied. She nodded and looked back to Aaron and smiled nervously.
“What are you going to do then?” asked Caitlyn.
“Love her,” was Aaron’s reply.
“This... this isn’t one of your reality shows where everything gets solved in twenty seven minutes! This is real life dang it! My daughter needs to be provided for!” yelled Daddy. Mama walked over to him and put her arm on his thigh. He looked down at her and sat down in a chair.
“I can provide for myself, Daddy. And Aaron works here, making good money. Plus he restores cars for people on the side. We will be fine,” I told him.
“Sir, you can’t really come in here, in my place of business and talk to me about fornicating and sinning. You and your wife are hardly Ozzie and Harriet. If memory serves me, you swallow swords and your wife breathes fire in a freak show in New York City. And you had a child out of wedlock...no offense, Caitlyn,” he said. Caitlyn smiled.
“No offense taken, Aaron,” she replied with a grin. Daddy looked at the two of them, then at my mama and me. He shook his head.
“Daddy, he has a point,” I said softly.
“Clothilde, I need time to think,” said Daddy. He stood up.
“Aaron, I’ll be talking to you later,” he said and walked out. Aaron watched him and then turned to me.
“Clothilde?” he asked. Caitlyn grinned, then covered her mouth with her hand.
“It was my Grandma’s name. Forget you heard it,” I muttered. He came over to me and pulled me in his arms.
“It’s going to be alright. I promise,” he replied. Nestling against his chest, I closed my eyes and sighed. I hoped it would be alright. I loved my parents and looked up to the both of them. I would hate to lose a relationship with them because of who I chose to love.
***
I pulled into the lakeside spot that Bleu showed me and I killed the engine on my car. Drumming my fingers against the steering wheel, I stared out at the lake. With a big sigh, I got out of the car and walked down to the water. A duck and her ducklings were playing in the water and it made me smile. I sat down in the grass beneath a huge tree and plucked a few blades of grass, twisting them in between my fingers. I thought back to when I first met Aaron. He was all big and manly standing in my kitchen talking to Bleu, who was all banged up on my couch. The way he talked to her and wanted to make sure she was alright, it touched my heart. The way he smelled and looked had me nearly break my vibrator on more than one occasion. But, and he didn’t know this, I was scared. Terrified even. I was never really sure that I wanted to be anyone’s wife or even their mom. I had no idea what to do. My hand brushed my belly and I sighed. Whether I was ready or not, I was about to be someone’s mom in the near future. My sister being pregnant shocked the shit out of me. The whole situation was like a big fucking circus. I felt frustration rear its ugly head and burn inside of me. The ugly part of me.
“What are you doing, twerp?” called Matt. I snapped out of my zone and shrugged. I hadn’t even heard him pull up. He lumbered over to me, looking all tall, dark and sarcastic in faded jeans and a black t-shirt. He kicked at a rock and pointed to me.
“Feeling sorry for yourself?” he asked.
“No, not exactly. I’m frustrated,” I replied. He sat down next to me and attempted to sit Indian style and epically failed. He stretched his long legs out in front of himself and leaned back on his elbows. I grinned.
“You want to know what memory stands out the most about my mom?” he asked. My eyes snapped to his and I shook my head slowly. He never really talked about his mom. I knew that she had been in a mental institution and that she had disappeared when he was thirteen.
“Seeing her in this Plexiglas looking cell, restrained. My mom. You know she tried to kill me?” he asked. Biting my lip, I nodded my head and placed my hand over his.
“Yeah. My Papa Kyle, left her with me for like fifteen minutes when I was a baby and she tried to drown me. Said my father needed to suffer. She also, from what Aunt Kellan told me, tried to kill my Grandfather Maximus before I was born. So yeah, she deserved to be in that cell,” he remarked. Maximus that must be Aaron’s father?
“Why... why did she bring you there?” I asked. He shrugged and plucked the head off of a dandelion.
“I have no idea. It was around the time my Papa Kyle got really sick and ended up in the hospital. She told me something weird,” he said. He twisted another dandelion stem around his fingers until it snapped. I took the destroyed flower from him and flung it into the grass.
“What...what did she say?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“She told me: that whore will pay for buying you,” he replied, his voice full of confusion. I turned to him, my hands in my lap and for some reason, what Matt’s mom had said sounded familiar.
“My Aunt Kellan, pulled me out of there after that. I was a teenager. Thirteen. A few weeks later, she escaped and they never found her,” he replied.
“Um.....okay? As Lifetime Family as that sounded, what is your point, besides scaring the shit out of me?” I asked. He sighed.
“My point is, your parents love you. I don’t doubt that my dad loves me. It was a fucked up situation from the beginning. Thank God I had my Papa Kyle and my Aunt Kellan, even if she has completely lost her fucking mind lately. Try and talk to your parents,” Matt said.
“It’s... it’s not about my parents Matt. It’s about Aaron. This whole crazy life he lives. His wife is killed, he gets accused of it and he goes to prison. His son disappears and then he finds out he has a granddaughter that he never knew. The list goes on and on. When does it ever end? Now Axel is acting like a complete and total dick. I’m scared, Matt,” I said as tears coursed down my cheeks. Matt pulled me to him and smoothed my hair off of my forehead.
“That is why you’re here? Sweetheart, I grew up in an MC clubhouse until my aunt met her husband at her sex club. That whole sentence I just said sounds like the beginning to an erotica novel, by the way. I like to fuck girls and have a guy involved too. Oh and apparently, Sid wants me to take over the gavel for the club or at least join, so yeah I’m fucking normal,” he said with a grin. His whole rambling threw me. I had no idea about the MC. Lately, I had been too wrapped up in Aaron to see that my best friend was going through some shit too.
“Yeah, you got me there. But I’m tired of being the mature one. The one who never says anything. It irks me to no end that Aaron has never tried to find out who killed his wife. It irks me that Axel whores around and refuses to settle down. It even irks me that I never got to fuck you!” I yelled. Matt fell back and his eyes widened. My hand went to my mouth and I gasped.
“Uh yeah, that last part? Can we forget that I said that?” I murmured. He grinned.
“Oh hell no! I’m going to hold onto that shit for a few years at least!” he said with a laugh.
“I’m serious. I’m going to start saying shit. I don’t know what I’m going to do about Aaron. I haven’t a fucking clue. I don’t know if I want to marry him. Hell, I didn’t even plan on getting involved with anyone. I was fine and he fucking comes into my life. And here I am. Talking to you by a lake, hiding out from my family,” I said. Matt was trying not to laugh.
“Fuck, Matt. Seriously? You’re still on about me wishing I had fucked you?” I yelled. He nodded and snorted.
“You’re as immature as your father and brother!” I yelled and stomped off to my car. Matt attempted to get up but he was laughing too hard. I reversed onto the road and drove off. Fucking assholes, I was surrounded by them.
I pulled into my driveway and Caitlyn was sitting on the front porch with a mug resting on her knee. I waved and shut my car door. She smiled.
“Hey, little sister,” she said softly. I looked around for my daddy’s massive SUV and sighed with relief when it was nowhere to be seen.
“They are at Almeida’s? Does that sound about right?” asked Caitlyn. I nodded.
“It’s Aaron’s sister,” I replied. I pulled up a chair and sat beside her.
“What’s up?” I asked. She shrugged.
“Where did you run off to?” she asked softly. I looked at her. Her eyes were red and swollen, like she had been crying.
“I was talking to Matt. Why...why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?” I asked. She laughed softly.
“I wasn’t always mean to you, you know? I used to help Belle change you and I couldn’t wait to give you a bottle. I thought it was so neat to finally be a part of a family,” she replied.
“Wait what? I thought you hated my mama and most of all, me,” I replied with confusion swirling in my head.
“No. Never. I was jealous and hurting inside. I couldn’t figure out why my mom was so mean and yours was so nice. I didn’t trust Belle. I thought she was going to hurt and use me like my mother did,” she replied matter of fact.
“Was your mom mean to you?” I asked. She nodded.
“Yeah. She was mean as a snake. Only used me to get more money from Daddy. When she found out he got married to Belle, she tried to take him to court for full custody, but the joke was on her. The judge awarded Daddy full custody and I was promptly left at the courthouse with him. I haven’t seen her since then,” she replied. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
