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The following day
Apparently, another forsaken was spotted last night. A few people staying at the hotel decided not to risk it and left, knowing the hotel was a good entry into the city.
Regardless, it's Saturday, and we're waiting for the food delivery to arrive for the wedding this afternoon.
Like I thought, I couldn't get a delivery truck with the new fridge in time. We had a week's wait, and it took six of us to haul two of the fridges down from the apartments out back that run parallel to the functions room. Thankfully, the forsaken sightings have scared off a few guests, giving us extra rooms in the hotel itself to make up for being down two of the apartments that had been reserved for the wedding guests.
I glance at my watch; the food delivery should have come into the city an hour ago.
“What's wrong, mommy?” Valarian asks as I pace frantically out in the loading dock for the delivery to arrive.
“Just waiting for a supplies truck sweetie. What are you doing?” I ask, stopping and staring at him. He has his hand propped up on his chin while he stares down at a sheet of paper. He'd asked for some photos earlier and I'd given him my photo album to pick some out. He'd been working on some school project quietly in the delivery shed which is out behind the kitchen. He's so patient. Casey has trouble sitting still for long, yet Valarian has been out here for an hour with no complaints while we wait for the truck that's severely late.
“Do you have any pictures of my dad?” he asks. I immediately freeze, hair standing up on the back of my neck. I get closer to him to see what he's looking at.
“Um, no, I don't think I do,” I tell him, brushing his hair back and glancing at what he was working on.
“This for school?” I ask him and he nods. It’s a family tree.
“Casey has pictures of her dad—why haven't you got any pictures of mine?” he asks. I chew the inside of my lip.
There were small, cut-out pictures, and Valarie was at the top, the space next to her empty. I've always tried to be as honest as I could; he knows Valarie was his father's mother and his grandmother. Not that he remembers her very well. The space beside her is empty because I can’t risk having him mention his grandfather’s name at school.
The next line is a picture of me along with a space that's blank. Coming off my picture were some lines where he had glued cut-out pictures of Macey and Zoe.
“You put them in our family tree?” I smile.
“Yes, they are my aunties and Casey and Taylor are my cousins; our little village,” Valarian states.
“That's right; our little village, our family,” I tell him, feeling like I could cry. He stares at the blank spots on the page.
“You really don't have a photo of him?”
I shake my head, wishing I could give him one. I could possibly get one off the Internet, but the teachers at school would recognize him instantly.
“What about your parents, and my grandpa?” he asks, pointing to the other vacant spots.
Again, he's asking for something I can't give him, and it makes me feel guilty, but they're just too recognizable. I had my name changed before he was born—I use my grandmother's maiden name, Summers. That's the only piece I had left of my family and a life I no longer have. My father removed all traces of me.
“I'll check,” I tell him, and he smiles brightly.
“What were they like?”
“My parents?”
He nods. “You never talk about them.”
I think of what I can tell him. I knew this day would come and I dreaded these sorts of questions; the information I could give him is limited.
“Well, my mom looked a lot like me; I have her facial features but my dad's eyes and his dark hair. My dad…” I pause for a second. “When I was little, I used to think he was a superhero; he liked to play and would always play with me and my sister after he finished work.”
“You have a sister too? A real one?” he asks, and I nod sadly.
“She used to be my best friend.”
“What happened to them? Can I meet them?” he asks.
