14. Alex
Alex springs onto the pearl-glazed floors of her parents’ kitchen. Victoria mopes over a steaming cup of something while Eric stands across from her, looking at a newspaper.
“Hello, beautiful parents of mine!”
“Hello, darling,” Victoria says. “At least someone is in a good mood.”
Alex’s joy deflates. “What’s wrong with you?” She first walks over to Eric, who kisses her forehead.
“Your mother’s a bit sour she didn’t get picked to host the New Year’s soirée for the Uppiddies club.”
“Eric! How many times do I have to ask you to refer to it properly? The Brilliant Women of Philadelphia is a prestigious organization—”
“That does performative charity work, Mama,” Alex interjects. “Let’s not act like we haven’t both been witnesses to it all. After they dress up in an outfit that costs more than some people make in weeks, they get dropped off by their chauffeur to take pictures of themselves reading a ten-page picture book to who they refer to as ‘inner-city kids’.” Alex rolls her eyes. “Then, over lunch in the middle of the week, eating an expensive meal they never finish, they gripe about the dire conditions of the public school system and how they ‘wish they could do more’. You don’t need that many words to say Uppity Biddies. Which is why we call them Uppiddies.”
Victoria frowns. “You say all that, but it’s exactly why being a member is so important to me—so that I can make a difference. I’ve worked very hard to finally become Vice President of my committee.”
“Why don’t you just start your own organization, then? Instead of having to hope and pray that an opportunity will get thrown your way?”
“As a witness, you understand that once word got out that I willingly left to create a movement of my own…well, I probably wouldn’t be able to help anyone, then.”
Alex’s demeanor softens, and she sits at the table. “Yeah, I understand. Who’d they pick?”
“One of the younger members that offered the president use of her house in the Hamptons whenever she’d like.”
“Huh. Her lips must be chapped. Do you…want me to do something about her?”
“What are you suggesting, Alexandra?” Victoria asks, a worried look in her eyes.
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Alex says, grabbing an orange from the fruit basket in the middle of the table before shrugging. “But if you told me her name, and I found some dirt, someone could happen to find out about that dirt. Everyone has dirt.”
“That’s as comforting as it is disturbing, darling. Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think those particular talents of yours are needed here.” Victoria pauses, pressing her lips together. “Should I cook for three, today? I could make that lemon-parmesan chicken you like.”
“I’d love that.”
“Well! I’ll crack open a bottle for us,” Eric says.
Alex smiles for a second, forgetting the real reason she stopped by today. One of her favorite childhood meals and a good bottle of Riesling would definitely make the impending conversation go down easier. Alex is finally ready to address the giant elephant in the room. Giant, but invisible to her parents, since they still have no idea what has transpired between her and Antonio.
At first, she thought it best to leave well enough alone; she doubts they can fill in any substantial blanks on what happened between Charlie and Donny. But if there’s a chance, she has to take it.
“Red or white, my girl?” Eric asks, now holding two bottles of wine.
Alex sets the orange back in the basket, then pulls at her ear.
“Alexandra? What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t just come here to eat. The last thing I want to do is ambush you guys, but I also know I won’t feel better until it’s all out there.” Alex watches her parents gawk silently. “First, did you know both my biological parents?”
Victoria grabs at the neck of her shirt. “Yes, and no. We knew Tracy. But Charles, we’d only seen once or twice.”
“And did you know that Donny Moretti killed my da—killed Charlie Fox?”
There’s a telling pause, and Eric lets out a long breath. “Did you start looking into them again?”
“Not exactly. I found out…from his son. Donny’s.”
Victoria gasps. “You what?”
“Alex—”
“I’ll start from the beginning.”
Alex’s recap picks up after the night she and Eric ran into Antonio. She shares how she became friends with Yuna, how Antonio told her the truth, and finally, how their ensuing three-month agreement came to be.
Eric maintains steady but gentle eye contact, while Victoria looks horrified.
“Have you gone mad?!” she shrieks.
Seriously, someone needs to put this woman on a regency romance time-out.“I understand that’s a lot to lay on you, but I’m here because I still have this huge question mark.”
“Er, oh. Of course you do, darling.” Victoria’s voice is much less shrill and she runs her hand along the back of Alex’s head. “I’m sorry. At sixteen, we didn’t think it was appropriate to tell you every detail. Then you looked on your own, but didn’t find anything, so we thought maybe it was a sign to move on. We surely didn’t think this is where you’d end up.” She looks at Eric.
“We’re not sure how much more we can offer, unfortunately.”
“The most important thing to hear is the same thing we told you from the beginning. Tracy loved you. Her fear didn’t change that.”
“Fear? Of Donny?”
Victoria looks as if she’s said too much. “Not at that point. I mean, I didn’t even know of her relationship with Donny Moretti until a few conversations later. No, she was terrified of having you. A daughter that could turn out…just like her.”
“Oh…”
“I didn’t know what she meant by that at first,” Victoria quickly says. “But all she’d meant was that she wanted to be the mother you deserved and show you how to make better choices. She didn’t want you to suffer because of her mistakes.”
Alex nods listlessly.
“We have no idea what actually happened, or how, or when. Just that one night, Tracy called us sounding very distressed. She revealed that Donny killed Charlie, and that she didn’t know where else to take you. Understandably, she didn’t stay on the line to answer many questions. She’d already made the arrangements on her end for us to adopt you, which means…”
“She’d had time to think about it,” Alex finishes.
“Oh, darling.”
“She had time to think about what was best for you,” Eric interjects. “There’s no doubt in my mind the only thing that would have made Tracy do what she did was her will to protect you.”
Alex thinks about all the different emotions she’s had over the years as a result of hearing about Tracy and Charlie.
Clearly, it never could have stayed a secret that she was adopted, but the very first story she received was sweet and sensitive to her younger self: children deserved to have the best life possible, and the parents babies are born to sometimes need help to give their children that life.
That was all that had mattered for a while, until Alex was about eight, then twelve, and that’s when Victoria and Eric promised that when she was a little older, they’d tell her more.
Then came sixteen. Hearing about the Foxes opened a door to an entirely different realm of possibilities. It was overwhelming.
Yet now, present-day Alex thinks of Antonio. If she believes everything her parents have said, then Donny was that frightening, and who knows what kind of lasting effects he’s had on his family. It’s still frustrating that Antonio’s being so caged off about it, but is he right that their families shouldn’t have anything to do with each other? Or could it be that with time, maybe…
“The first time we saw you after everything had happened, all we could think about was what you’d been through in your brief life,” Victoria says, interrupting Alex’s train of thought. “We couldn’t bear making it any more painful. We were under a watchful eye to make sure we fulfilled all we promised to the court. But darling, as time went on, our biggest fear was that Tracy would return.” She whimpers and twists her platinum wedding band. “I’m not sure I would have survived that. But if it meant getting the answers you deserve, then… I would’ve done whatever I had to. But I’m sorry, Alexandra. I’m so sorry we don’t know more. I’m sorry we didn’t try harder to help you figure out who you are. I can’t imagine how it feels to have this part of your life be such a—”
“Blank space? Yeah.” Alex gives them a smile that feels strained. “Still…I don’t want you guys to think there’s any part of me that feels differently about you because of this. I’m thankful for every decision you made to keep me safe. So thankful. I, uh…might be a mess for a bit, ‘cuz I don’t know how…” She taps her nails on the table. “Yeah. I just don’t know. But I love you both, okay?”
“My girl…” Eric immediately rushes to Alex’s side, and he and Victoria envelop her in what feels like as much love as they can physically muster.
But as they break apart, Victoria Agneau can’t help herself. “So…how is work with…Antonio?”
“It’s been good.”
“Good? Good. Excellent.”
Alex laughs softly. “Mama…”
“Honestly, darling, you can’t think us wrong for worrying about you. You’re dealing with a man who’s involved in illegal things, and if you’re not careful, you’ll be right back…” Victoria takes an exasperated pause. “You are our daughter. We just want you to be safe. And from what your father described that day–”
Alex sighs and rubs the back of her ear. “I’m not going to expect you to stop worrying about me. I’ll just ask you to trust me. I know better now. I am better now. Three months and I’m out of there. And I mean, I’ve worn contacts for longer than that.” She laughs again—alone. “I’m kidding. But I’m OK, seriously.”
“Alright, darling. We trust you.”