we’ll be right back guys.”
Ellis didn’t get a chance to reply before her son pulled her up by the arms and pulled her back in the house. While it was nice to know he treated everyone like his personal doll, I was bewildered that he thought this was a good time for internet browsing, and why he’d just leave me outside, alone, with his father when he was the one who’d invited me there.
“Is everything in this folder real?” Connor asked me in the same stern tone he had used with his son.
“Well, yeah. But that stuff is really private, and very important. I’m gonna kill Cash for stealing it… uh, not really, but do you mind giving that back please?”
“Where is your father and why didn’t he tell us all this? What exactly-“ I knew the start of a tirade when I heard one, so I decided to cut him off right there.
“Look sir, I don’t owe you anything. I’m not your child, and I haven’t done anything wrong. Oh, and I don’t have a father. You obviously didn’t read very carefully when you were going through someone else’s private things.” I punctuated the last word by reaching across the table and grapping the folder from his hands.
“ Do you know who I am?” he asked, like he was someone important like a mobster or something.
“No! I just met you! I think I’m going to go. Thank you for your hospitality or whatever. Tell Cash to stay away from my house in the f uture.” I was convinced my ever-trustworthy people instincts had finally expired, because this was turning into a nightmare. I stood up and started to make my way around the house to leave, to avoid seeing Ellis and Cash inside, when Connor stood up and called out to me.
“Wait! Just, sit back down.” I ignored him and kept walking. “Just… Della, Gabriella was my sister. Now just park your butt in that chair so I can think for a minute.”
Well, that certainly caused a pause in my step, one which Connor took advantage of by grabbing me by the elbow and directing me back to the table where I sat in stunned silence for who knows how long. The exact situation I’d been trying to avoid had come up much, much sooner than I had anticipated.
“Now, would you please explain to me what is going on? I didn’t read much further through those papers after finding out my baby sister died after giving birth to a child no one knew she was pregnant with, and I’d much rather hear you tell me everything than have to read through the rest of that damn folder!” he exclaimed.
I felt equal parts guilt and bewilderment at the crack in his voice when mentioning my mother; it was as if he didn’t already know about her death, which was impossible since the police file clearly stated that family was notified upon her identification.
“Wait, didn’t you already know? I mean, the police file ,” which I pulled out to show him, “says that her next of kin was notified after she was identified. See, right here, they talked to her father ‘Tobias Neale’, they told him everything.” And I handed the report to him and watched as his mouth pursed in consternation while he read.
“Oh Gabby ,” he sighed softly to himself. “Della, you said you don’t have a father. Did Gabby have a friend out there who took care of you?” he asked almost hopefully, though the answer was obvious.
“If she had a friend out there then she wouldn’t have been labeled as a Jane Doe for most of my life.”
“So you were adopted?”
“No. I was fostered out. Nobody would take me, and I didn’t exactly have family that would take me in.” He flinched at that. “I didn’t even know my mother’s name until my birthday, and that was only a few weeks ago.”
“I don’t know what to say.” He truly did look flummoxed. “If we had known… Della, you do have family, and believe me when I say that I will find out what the hell my father was thinking when he decided to keep this from us. I wish I could deny that he knew, but the man was always a
Ellis didn’t get a chance to reply before her son pulled her up by the arms and pulled her back in the house. While it was nice to know he treated everyone like his personal doll, I was bewildered that he thought this was a good time for internet browsing, and why he’d just leave me outside, alone, with his father when he was the one who’d invited me there.
“Is everything in this folder real?” Connor asked me in the same stern tone he had used with his son.
“Well, yeah. But that stuff is really private, and very important. I’m gonna kill Cash for stealing it… uh, not really, but do you mind giving that back please?”
“Where is your father and why didn’t he tell us all this? What exactly-“ I knew the start of a tirade when I heard one, so I decided to cut him off right there.
“Look sir, I don’t owe you anything. I’m not your child, and I haven’t done anything wrong. Oh, and I don’t have a father. You obviously didn’t read very carefully when you were going through someone else’s private things.” I punctuated the last word by reaching across the table and grapping the folder from his hands.
“ Do you know who I am?” he asked, like he was someone important like a mobster or something.
“No! I just met you! I think I’m going to go. Thank you for your hospitality or whatever. Tell Cash to stay away from my house in the f uture.” I was convinced my ever-trustworthy people instincts had finally expired, because this was turning into a nightmare. I stood up and started to make my way around the house to leave, to avoid seeing Ellis and Cash inside, when Connor stood up and called out to me.
“Wait! Just, sit back down.” I ignored him and kept walking. “Just… Della, Gabriella was my sister. Now just park your butt in that chair so I can think for a minute.”
Well, that certainly caused a pause in my step, one which Connor took advantage of by grabbing me by the elbow and directing me back to the table where I sat in stunned silence for who knows how long. The exact situation I’d been trying to avoid had come up much, much sooner than I had anticipated.
“Now, would you please explain to me what is going on? I didn’t read much further through those papers after finding out my baby sister died after giving birth to a child no one knew she was pregnant with, and I’d much rather hear you tell me everything than have to read through the rest of that damn folder!” he exclaimed.
I felt equal parts guilt and bewilderment at the crack in his voice when mentioning my mother; it was as if he didn’t already know about her death, which was impossible since the police file clearly stated that family was notified upon her identification.
“Wait, didn’t you already know? I mean, the police file ,” which I pulled out to show him, “says that her next of kin was notified after she was identified. See, right here, they talked to her father ‘Tobias Neale’, they told him everything.” And I handed the report to him and watched as his mouth pursed in consternation while he read.
“Oh Gabby ,” he sighed softly to himself. “Della, you said you don’t have a father. Did Gabby have a friend out there who took care of you?” he asked almost hopefully, though the answer was obvious.
“If she had a friend out there then she wouldn’t have been labeled as a Jane Doe for most of my life.”
“So you were adopted?”
“No. I was fostered out. Nobody would take me, and I didn’t exactly have family that would take me in.” He flinched at that. “I didn’t even know my mother’s name until my birthday, and that was only a few weeks ago.”
“I don’t know what to say.” He truly did look flummoxed. “If we had known… Della, you do have family, and believe me when I say that I will find out what the hell my father was thinking when he decided to keep this from us. I wish I could deny that he knew, but the man was always a
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