Chapter 5
After their movie was over, Mallory and David made hot chocolate and spiked it with a few healthy pours of whisky and caramel liqueur.
When they brought Callie and Sasha their own mugs, the two women had already moved on from their previous discussion and were now talking about Dot and the ups and downs of raising a baby.
However, they paused their discussion when the sliding door opened.
“Sheesh, it’s freezing,” Mallory noted. “How can you just sit out here?”
“It’s not so bad,” Callie said, even though her arms were starting to feel cold. “And this hot chocolate is definitely going to help.” She grabbed the mug from her daughter and took a sip, her face scrunching at the sharp taste of alcohol. “Oh, wow! That’s strong.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Mallory said with a wince. “I wasn’t really paying attention when I poured the whisky... I might’ve overdone it a little.” She shrugged. “But it’s still good, in my opinion.”
“I’m a fan,” Sasha said, grinning after taking her first sip. The wine she’d had earlier was already strong, so Callie was worried that the spiked hot chocolate might push her over the edge. “Stronger is better on a cold night like this.”
“Hold on a second,” Callie said, taking Sasha’s cup from her and pouring some of the liquid into her mug.
“You should probably slow down a little. We can’t forget, you’re not even twenty-one yet.
” By we, she mostly meant her and her family members, who’d made a habit of offering Sasha a drink every time they got themselves one.
Callie didn’t really care about the young woman having a bit of alcohol every now and then, but she didn’t want to be a bad influence.
Sasha laughed. “That is where you’re wrong, actually.” She reached over and took Callie’s mug instead—the one with a lot more hot chocolate in it.
Callie frowned but didn’t try to hold onto her mug, afraid to make a scene or spill any onto her lap. “I’m wrong? About what?”
“About my age. My birthday was actually last week. I’m officially twenty-one now.”
“Wait, what?!” Callie shot David a look, but he appeared just as shocked. “It was your birthday? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Mallory was also quite taken aback, but she kept her eyes trained suspiciously on Sasha.
“I don’t like to make a big fuss about birthdays,” Sasha said with a shrug.
“And on that day, you guys had a lot going on with your jobs and stuff. Next thing I knew, the day was over, and it seemed kinda weird to bring it up after the fact.” She gave a nervous smile.
“And apparently, I was right. This is a little weird.”
“It’s not weird,” Callie said, still struggling to wrap her head around this revelation. “We just would’ve liked to have celebrated with you!”
“That’s okay.” She waved her hands. “I didn’t want anyone to feel like they had to do anything special.”
“But it would’ve been nice to do something,” David insisted. “At least let us get you a cake! What day was it?”
As she was taking a large sip from her mug, Sasha furrowed her brow and waved her hand again.
“It’s really not a big deal,” she said when she finished drinking.
“It’s already come and gone so let’s just forget about it.
” She held up the mug and smiled at Mallory.
“This is delicious, by the way. In fact, if it makes you feel better, we can consider this my birthday celebration. It’s better than any cake, and since it was my twenty-first birthday, an alcoholic drink is fitting, don’t you think? ”
Mallory smiled back, but there was a tense crease in her brow that Callie couldn’t help but notice.
“I’m glad you like it. If I’d known it was going to be your only birthday present though, I would’ve at least added some whipped cream.
Make it a little more festive.” Mallory looked at Callie. “Mom, do you know if we have any?”
Callie shook her head. “Uh, I’m not—”
“Why don’t you come in and help me look?” Mallory asked, her tone just strained enough to get her mother’s full attention. “You need to come inside anyway to get a sweater or something, don’t you think? The wind’s really picking up.”
Callie knew better than to think her daughter was actually on the hunt for whipped cream, but things would become even more awkward if she insisted to stay outside.
“Yeah, okay. I’m coming.” She stood up and followed Mallory inside.
David took Callie’s spot when she left, and she heard him ask Sasha what her favorite flavor of frosting was before shutting the door.
Mallory bit her tongue all the way into the kitchen, but once they were a safe distance away from the glass windows of the deck, she let loose.
“Okay, even you have to admit that’s odd,” Mallory snapped, arms folded as she stood in front of the fridge. “Why wouldn’t she tell you it was her birthday last week?”
“You heard her. She doesn’t like to make a fuss! I’m the same way. I hate it when everyone suddenly has their full attention on me just because it’s my birthday.”
“But you’d at least mention it. You wouldn’t let an entire day go by without telling the people you’re living with that it’s your birthday, would you?”
Callie shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I’ve never lived in a house full of people I barely know before, so I can’t exactly say what I’d do.
Sasha’s in a very unique situation here, so we can’t expect her to act normally all the time.
You don’t go around announcing to everyone when it’s your birthday, do you? ”
“That’s not an accurate comparison! You guys aren’t strangers. Sasha’s been living here for almost a month, and I feel like she’s gotten to know you guys pretty well. Wouldn’t you consider yourself to be Sasha’s good friend at this point?”
Callie thought about it for a second. “I guess so.”
“Then you need to look at the situation through that lens,” she said. “Imagine if it were Kate! You were hanging out with her one day and she didn’t say anything about it being her birthday. How would you feel when you found out a week later?”
“That’s a bad example,” Callie said. “I would never forget Kate’s birthday. She’s a Halloween baby.”
“You know what I mean.” Mallory huffed. “Pick a different friend then, one whose birthday isn’t so obvious.”
Callie tried to come up with an alternative friend, but Mallory went on before she could.
“All I’m saying is that it seems really weird for Sasha to purposefully keep this information from you. And did you notice that when dad asked what day her birthday was last week, she completely evaded his question?”
“I guess, now that you mention it…” Callie had noticed that Sasha avoided responding to that inquiry, but she didn’t want to admit that this point had stood out to her as well. “I’m sure she just didn’t hear him or something.”
Mallory arched her brow.
“What?” Callie said, waving her arms. “What do you want me to say? So, it’s a little strange that she didn’t tell us about her birthday, but I don’t think that’s a reason for us to freak out. It’s not like she lied. She just kept a bit of information to herself. We can’t fault her for that.”
“I sure can!”
“Are you sure you want to though?” Callie raised a brow. “Aren’t we all doing a little bit of secret keeping?”
“No! I’m not.” Mallory glared. “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not hiding anything.”
Callie crossed her arms and glanced away. “If you say so.”
“It’s not ‘if I say so.’ It’s the truth.”
“Okay, fine. I don’t think any of us should be throwing stones right now.
As you already pointed out, I kept Sasha and Dot a secret from you kids for a bit, and”—Callie paused, giving Mallory a chance to admit to any of her own secrets, but her daughter only stared blankly—“you haven’t been entirely forthcoming about what happened to the computer either. ”
“What are you talking about? I told you I spilled coffee on it. There’s nothing more to the story than that.”
“What were you doing on your dad’s computer in the first place? Don’t you have a laptop?”
“Actually, I don’t,” she said with a matter-of-fact tone.
“Since when?”
“Since a while ago. I’ve been using a work computer the past year or so, after mine finally died on me.
So there, are you happy now? You know my big secret!
I don’t have a laptop because I couldn’t afford to get a new one when my old one kicked the bucket.
If I go out and admit my shame to Sasha, would I then be allowed to demand that she tell me the truth in return? ”
Callie sighed and leaned against the kitchen island. “Alright, I’m sorry I accused you of hiding something, but there’s no need to bite my head off. I was just trying to make a point that none of us are perfect.”
Mallory took a deep breath, calming her frazzled nerves.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I snapped a little.
I just didn’t like being compared to Sasha when it comes to keeping secrets.
She’s been incredibly shady and vague, and I don’t think it’s a fair comparison at all.
She even tried to say something similar the last time I questioned her, and—”
“Wait, what? What do you mean she said something similar?”
“Oh.” Mallory’s eyes darted away, and she rubbed her arm.
“Well, I was trying to learn more about her. And then out of nowhere she suggested that we were the ones keeping secrets, not her. I really have no idea where that came from, but now that I’ve heard you make the same argument, I’m thinking it was just an attempt to get the attention off her. ”
Callie’s heart sank. Sasha had made it clear that she didn’t say anything to David about what she saw at the farmer’s market, but she hadn’t promised to keep the information from Mallory. “When—when did she say this to you?”
“Yesterday,” Mallory said, frowning. “Why?”
“Oh—no reason.” Callie relaxed a little but still felt like she could use some water. Walking over the cupboard, she took out a glass. “I was just trying to figure out when the two of you would’ve had time to talk privately. Didn’t I ask you not to interrogate her?”
“Interrogate is a very strong word. I was just asking a few simple questions and then she went and turned it around on me. Or on you guys. The whole family, really. But like I said, I don’t think she was alluding to anything specific. I think she just wanted me to stop asking her questions.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Callie filled the glass at the sink, ignoring the pit in her stomach.
What else had Sasha noticed? Did she already know more than she was letting on?
“She probably just wanted to be out of the hot seat, so she said the first thing that came to mind. As for the birthday stuff, I just really can’t see a reason why she’d lie about that. ”
“I can!” Mallory announced like it was obvious.
“Do tell.”
“If we had her full name and birthday, it’d be much easier for us to find information about her. This is the kind of stuff you’d normally find on official documents from the government or women’s shelters, but you don’t have anything like that, right?”
“No, I don’t.” Callie gripped the glass tightly as she brought it to her lips. It was becoming harder to argue against Mallory’s suspicions.
“By keeping her birthday from us,” Mallory went on. “She’s ensuring that we can’t really do a lot of research on her.”
“Or she just doesn’t share her birthday with people.”
Mallory laughed and shook her head. “You’re so determined to believe this girl. I don’t understand it. What does she have on you?”
Callie let out a loud, shocked laugh. “Nothing! She doesn’t have anything on me. What a wild thing to suggest. Why would you even say something like that?”
“I was kidding...” Mallory narrowed her eyes. “But why are you acting so nervous?”
“I’m not nervous,” Callie insisted, turning her back on Mallory as she refilled her glass. “You’re the one who’s acting paranoid. Now I understand what Sasha felt—being put on trial for no good reason.”
“I’m not–”
“But listen, if you’ve got more questions for her, then go ask them,” she continued.
“I’m not going to stop you. Your dad might not appreciate it, but that’s between you and him.
I’m done trying to tell you what to do in regard to Sasha.
Just leave me out of it. I trust her, I’m happy she’s here, and that’s all I have to say, okay?
” She glanced back just to make sure Mallory heard her loud and clear.
Her daughter stared at her for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. Fine. I’ll keep you out of it.”
“Thank you.” Callie headed for the doorway.
“Oh, and just so you know, I told Ariel about her,” Mallory added. “She doesn’t seem to have a problem with the arrangement, so you don’t have to worry about her being weird at Thanksgiving.”
“Good to know,” she said without looking back.
Callie headed out of the kitchen and towards the staircase. She was ready for bed.
Two kids down—one to go.