13. The Ordinary Family
13
The Ordinary Family
R eturning to his childhood home always made Spencer nostalgic. His childhood wasn’t perfect. His parents were often away, working to provide for him and Melanie. It made for a lonely existence, but Spencer knew he had it better than most and tried to not dwell on it. Coming back to the place where it took place made him long for the simpler days when his only worry was sneaking back in without waking his parents.
He let himself and Nessa in through the backdoor. “Mom, are you home?”
“In the kitchen!”
Nessa made a beeline for her, him trailing behind. Her eyes widened as she took in the chaos surrounding her grandmother. There were pots and bowls scattered across the countertops. She had flour in her hair and batter splattered on her apron.
“You’ve been back in town for less than a day and you’re already baking?”
She turned her head back to them, her smile wide. “You’re here early. If you had come at the time we talked about, I would have had a plate of fresh baked goods ready for you to take home. And fresh baked goods ready for my favorite grandchild to eat.”
“I’m your only grandchild,” Nessa said, rushing over to hug her waist.
She hugged her back. “Yeah, because your uncle likes playing the field so much. Now I only have you to spoil.”
Spencer stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Mom, I just walked into the house. Can I get comfortable before we get to the settling down talk?”
His mother was just teasing him, but it was incredibly frustrating for Spencer when she spoke about him like this. She didn’t recognize the growth he’d undergone since taking over the agency and getting custody of Nessa. He wasn’t the same party boy who spent every weekend night with someone new. Maybe if his mom spent more than a month or two at home, she would see that.
Rayna brushed off his annoyance, something she’d gotten used to since he was a teenager. “You’re lucky, Nessa. Since you’re my only grandbaby, I get to spend all my money on you.”
“Does that mean…” Nessa trailed off, not wanting to jinx it.
“That I got you some presents? Yes! They’re in my bedroom closet.”
“Yes! Thanks, Grandma.” She gave her another tight hug, then ran out of the kitchen, her backpack bouncing up and down with her clothes.
Spencer waited until she was gone to say, “Don’t let her eat too many cookies. She’ll be up all night.”
“I’ve raised two kids, Spence. I’m more than capable of caring for one for two nights.”
Rayna was in town for Nessa’s birthday next month. After her husband, Neal’s passing, and her 60th birthday, Rayna retired as an urban planner. She used their retirement fund to travel like they’d always planned. For the past two years, she had been all around the world. She dropped back into her home in Philly for holidays and birthdays, but otherwise was always on the move.
Spencer was happy she was getting to experience that. She worked hard her entire career and deserved to do what she wanted. There was a time where he thought his father’s death would stop her from wanting that for herself. He was never more glad to be proven wrong.
The only downside to it was they went a lot of times without speaking. Depending on where Rayna was, they couldn’t make a phone call or video chat work around their schedules and time zone differences. Yet that’s what made her visits feel special.
“It’s good to see you again, Mom.” He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Good to see you too, honey. How’s the agency?”
“Fine,” he said, pulling out of her embrace.
“Is that true, or are you saying what I want to hear?”
“I’m working on a big case right now. Everything is more than fine.” He didn’t want to tell her more than that. Something told him she would find something wrong with him working with William or working undercover. He didn’t want her poking holes in a case that would stabilize the business when it was over.
“Okay, that’s good to hear. You know how much your father and grandfather loved that place. One of the first private detective agencies in Philadelphia to be run by a Black man. It’s important that it stays afloat. It’s what they would have wanted.”
“Believe me, I know, mom. I’m doing everything I can to make sure it will.” The last thing Spencer wanted was to disappoint his father and grandfather. He did it a lot while they were living, finding a way to do it in death was something he couldn’t stomach.
“Tell me about your trip. How was Jamaica?”
“Hot,” she chuckled. “But I loved it. The jerk chicken was divine. Nothing here compares to having the real thing over there. Their street musicians were so talented. Reggae isn’t even normally my thing, but I found myself listening to it all the time. Oh, and their beaches were beautiful. You and Nessa would have loved it.”
“I would love to take her on a trip once school is out, but I don’t know if I could manage that right now. I would have to take time off from work—”
“Not unless you let me take her on a trip. Have ourselves a girls’ trip.”
“While I stay home and work?”
“Yeah, but we wouldn’t keep you hanging. We’ll send you postcards.”
Spencer shook his head and chuckled softly. “I’m glad you’re home, Mom.”
“Me too. I didn’t want to miss Nessa’s birthday.”
“Are you leaving again after?”
“I might stay a little longer.”
“How much longer are we talking?”
She went back to stirring her batter, avoiding his eyes. Even when Spencer wasn’t looking for signs of secret-keeping, he usually found it. “Mom, do I need to remind you I’m a PI and I know when you’re hiding something?”
“You sound exactly like your father. It’s eerie.”
“Don’t change the subject.” He took the bowl away from her. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“I talked to Melanie.”
Spencer groaned. “Mom, you should have called me.”
“If I had, you would’ve stopped me. I know she messed up. That she’s messed up, but you need to talk to her. Despite her mistakes, she is still your sister.”
“A mistake is leaving your passport at home when you have to catch a flight. Forgetting to put butter in your cake batter is a mistake. What’s not a mistake is abandoning your child. That is a choice,” Spencer hissed, his blood starting to boil at having to talk about her .
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but she’s sorry. She wants a chance to show that to you and Nessa.”
“Is that what she told you? God, Mom, you’re so gullible. She’s always been able to pull a fast one on you. How do you think she was able to hide her alcoholism from you for so long? Or hide when she fell off the wagon again? Melanie won’t change. The moment she gets clean, she’ll find something else to replace her vice. Whether it’s a man or another baby, she’ll find something. Then, when they don’t cure her desire for another drink, we’ll be the ones left to deal with the mess. Again.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Melanie is clean. I know this for sure because she called me from a rehab facility. I talked to her sponsor. She’s been in there for four months, getting the help she needs.”
“She’s been in rehab before. It never changed anything.”
The first time Melanie went was when she was 18. She’d been drinking since she was 16, but their parents weren’t home enough to notice. She’d always been the responsible one and Spencer, the wild child. They trusted her to do right. It’s no wonder she wanted to blow off some steam by going to parties and drinking.
Spencer never snitched on her in those early years because he didn’t see anything wrong with it. She drank no more than other teenagers. Or so he thought. He didn’t know it would get so much worse. Or how much he would come to regret ever covering for her.
In her spring semester, a college party she was attending was busted. Melanie was one of the underage kids who got caught. Neal and Rayna didn’t realize how out of control their daughter had become until they saw her in handcuffs. They sent her to rehab, the first of her now four stints. Spencer wanted to believe Melanie could get better, but they’d been down this road before. Each time ending in the same results.
“This is the first time Melanie has ever checked herself in on her own. A part of her recovery is making amends. That means making things right with you and Nessa.”
“She had a chance to make things right. She blew it.”
After Melanie left Nessa in Spencer’s care and disappeared, he tried to get into contact with her. He left her dozens of messages. He only received a response after he contacted her friends. She called, telling him to stop harassing them. Their conversation was brief. Melanie claimed she was an unfit mother and Nessa would be better off with him, a man who never raised a living thing in his life.
Spencer thought there was one last thing he could do to get Melanie to come to her senses. He filed a Petition for Guardianship, thinking his sister would protest it. That was Melanie’s chance to fix things, to show up and fight for her daughter.
But when the court date came, she was nowhere to be found. Spencer stood in the courtroom, clutching Nessa’s hand, trying to keep her from crying. She was too young to understand what was happening. All she knew was her mother was absent again.
“As much anger as you have for your sister, she has just as much for herself. If not more,” his mom said.
“I’m glad she does, so she understands why I don’t want to speak to her or see her. And because I’m Nessa’s father, she won’t get access to her either.”
“You aren’t her father,” Rayna replied, reprimanding her son like he was a kid again. “Nessa’s father was Ronnie, one of your sister’s many enablers, who didn’t want her. You, my son, are that little girl’s uncle and temporary guardian. Don’t get that confused with being a parent. The only parent Nessa has is Melanie, and she wants to see her.”
“How is it I’m the bad guy here? I didn’t take Nessa away from Melanie.”
“But you are keeping Nessa from her.”
“Yeah, and I will continue to do so until I have some sort of guarantee she’s sober and planning on staying that way.”
Rayna yanked her bowl back from him and started stirring at a faster pace. “You know what I think? I think you’ve started to enjoy raising Nessa and you’re afraid Melanie will take her from you if given the chance.”
“So what if I am?” Spencer asked, not denying it.
“She’s not your child. She has a mother who loves her, flawed as she may be. You can’t just keep Nessa as your own if Melanie is healthy enough to take care of her.”
“And if I do hand Nessa back over to her and Melanie messes up again, what happens then? I can’t risk that. Not when it’s Nessa’s safety I’m risking.”
“You know your sister would never do anything to hurt Nessa.”
“Not on purpose, but accidents happen. Melanie can’t be trusted. She’s sick.”
“That’s not for you to decide.” Rayna turned her back to him to pour the batter into a pan. “If you want a child to stake your claim over, have one of your own. Until then, you will talk to your sister and work out the details of when she can see Nessa.”
“No.”
Rayna slammed the bowl down on the tabletop, the leftover batter spilling out of it. “Spencer, you can’t keep Nessa away from her mother forever. It’s not fair to Melanie. It’s not fair to Nessa. A real parent would see that.”
Spencer gripped the counter closest to him. His grip was so tight he wouldn’t have been surprised if it crumbled beneath his fingertips. “You don’t get to tell me what a real parent is. Melanie was more of a mom to me than you were. And in the last year of Nessa’s life, I have been the one who’s been there for her. I’ve done everything for her. Where has Melanie been? Drinking until she hit rock bottom. I may not be her parent, but I’m more of one than her biological ones. ”
“When did you become so cruel?” Rayna chastised as Spencer neared the backdoor.
“Probably around the time you decided you liked your career more than your own children. Have fun baking, Mom. Try not to poison Nessa too much against me.”