Chapter 6
Sitting on the top step, Callie remained silent and moved over so her daughter could sit beside her.
Mallory saw this for the kind gesture it was and accepted it.
The two said nothing for a bit, their knees knocking each other’s once or twice.
If it had been any other night, if Callie and David hadn’t dropped such a huge truth bomb on their family, Mallory knew her mom would be asking all sorts of questions about James.
She’d be wanting to know everything that happened between the two of them and why Mallory hadn’t invited the man inside.
But that night—there were more important matters to discuss, and neither Callie nor Mallory knew where to start.
Finally, Mallory broke the tense silence. “So, what happened after I left?” she asked, not ready yet to dive into any of her own emotions.
“Nothing too dramatic, all things considered,” Callie said.
“I decided to let your father and Sasha have some time alone, so Taylor and Ariel and I went into the kitchen to start on dinner and talk more. They had a lot of questions, as I’m sure you do, but I think we’re in a good place.
For the most part. I don’t know, I’m trying to keep in mind that this is probably going to be a long process and that things aren’t going to resolve themselves with just a single conversation.
We never intended to tell you guys like this, coming on the heels of learning the truth about Sasha.
It was way too much for anyone to deal with at once. ”
Mallory nodded. “I won’t argue with that.” Then something occurred to her. “Hey, wait—if dad didn’t know that he had another kid, that means you didn’t either, right?”
Callie shook her head. “I had no clue. Granted, there were a few times over the past two months that I thought the connection between your dad and Sasha was unusually strong, but that’s as close as I ever came to suspecting that they were related.
Having children with other people had never been part of the plan; we both agreed that we were very happy with the family we had.
It never even occurred to me to think that David might’ve gotten someone else pregnant.
Apparently, it never occurred to him either. ”
“Are you mad at him?”
Callie considered this for a moment, her brow deeply furrowed.
“No. I’m not mad. Honestly, I don’t have the energy to be mad.
Besides, it doesn’t sound like it was his fault.
Or anyone’s fault. Birth control isn’t a strict science, and Maggie chose not to tell him about the pregnancy…
I think we should just be glad that Sasha found her way back to her dad and that we are able to help her now that she doesn’t have anyone. ”
Mallory drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly through her mouth before responding. “Yeah, I’m not mad at him either. At least, not about Sasha. Although, he better not have any other secret kids out there...”
Callie chuckled. “I said the same thing. He assured me he didn’t, but I might make him do a little more due diligence. Maybe make a few calls, just to be safe.”
“I think that’s perfectly valid. This family can’t take any more surprises.”
“Ah, I don’t think that’s true,” Callie said. “I’d rather we didn’t have to deal with anything like this again, but even if we did, I think we’d be strong enough to get through it.”
Mallory shot her a look. “Really? Even after how horribly things went today?”
“See, I wouldn’t say that it went horribly.”
“What are you talking about? Were you in the same room I was in?”
“Yes, I was,” she said. “And obviously things were tense. But that was to be expected. I knew no matter what that it was going to be an emotional and awkward conversation. Why do you think I’ve been putting it off for so long?
Because I knew it was going to be a huge mess once you kids found out.
But all things considered, I think everyone handled themselves well, and it seems like we’re on the path towards working things out.
” She leaned against her daughter’s shoulder.
“Even you taking off was probably for the best, don’t you think? ”
“I—I don’t know.” Mallory shrugged. “I wasn’t really thinking things through, I just needed to get out for a bit.”
“Yes, which you did instead of staying here and potentially saying something you might regret or starting fights with your siblings.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t thought about it that way.” She laughed softly. “I wish I could say that I stormed off on purpose, for everyone’s sake, but I was just thinking about myself.”
“That’s okay.”
Mallory shook her head. “No, it’s not. Because thinking about myself is all I’ve been doing since I returned home.”
Callie gave her a look. “I don’t know that that’s true.”
“But it is,” Mallory countered. “The more I think about how I’ve been acting, the clearer it is to me that I haven’t been a very good daughter lately.
” Callie looked like she was about to say something, but Mallory put a hand up to stop her.
“Please, just let me get this off my chest. Then if you want to disagree with me, you can.”
Callie’s shoulders sank but she nodded. “Okay, fine.”
“When I first got here and was worried that you were being scammed, it was easy for me to think that all my frustrations came from a place of protecting you and dad. I was worried about you two, obviously... but ultimately, I think a lot of what I was going through was more about me. I didn’t like that this random woman was suddenly sleeping in my old bedroom.
She was taking up a lot of you and dad’s attention, and I couldn’t help but compare myself to her.
There I was, needing to rely on you guys again, and like always, you welcomed me with open arms.”
“Of course, we’re always here for you.”
“I know, I know, but I shouldn’t need you this much,” Mallory insisted.
“What excuse did I even have for having my life fall apart all those times? What excuse did I have to quit a decent job and show up on your doorstep with nothing, even though I barely have any responsibilities? Meanwhile, here’s Sasha, a poor single mom who grew up without a dad and in devastating poverty.
She’s the kind of person who deserves your help and support, not me.
And instead of just sucking up my jealousy and suspicions, I let them get the better of me. It was selfish.”
“Now, honey, hang on a second.” Callie put her arm around Mallory’s shoulders. “Some of your suspicions were founded. You know that now.”
“Even still”—Mallory cleared her throat; a lump forming in it— “I’ve been putting myself first this whole time.
If I had just been able to take a step back and look at the situation through a different lens, I would’ve seen that Sasha was obviously not some criminal mastermind.
Even if she was there to scam you and dad, that in and of itself is a sign of a desperate person.
And if I hadn’t been so absorbed with my own feelings earlier today, I might’ve been able to see that you and dad were making decisions based on what would make you both happy. I can’t fault you for that.”
Callie looked at her daughter but said nothing.
“What?” Mallory finally asked, sniffling a little as some tears spilled down her cheeks.
“I’m just… surprised. I really didn’t anticipate you saying any of this.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know.” Mallory wiped her face with the sleeves of her hoodie.
“James said something that really stuck with me. It helped having someone else’s perspective.
” She looked back at her mom and smiled through her tears.
“I understand that you did what was right for you. And I’m grateful that you and dad worked so hard to establish a good friendship, so that we could still feel like a family. ”
“That was what was most important to us.”
Mallory nodded. “I know. I know.”
“But I still want you to know how sorry we are for lying to you kids,” her mom said, pulling Mallory a little closer. “I don’t regret the decision to separate from your father, but I do regret letting the secret go on this long. It wasn’t fair to you guys.”
Mallory didn’t argue.
“But we’re going to make it up to you,” Callie went on.
“Your father and I have agreed to not only answer any questions you kids have, but to never, I mean never lie to you all again. I know these are just empty words right now, but we’re going to prove that you can trust us.
No matter how long it takes, we’ll do whatever we can to earn back your trust.”
Mallory was quiet for a moment, then hooked her arm around her mom’s waist. “I do trust you, Mom,” she said. “Mostly.”
Callie laughed. “Mostly?”
“Yeah, well, I’ll trust you fully once you finally tell me what Sasha was actually doing in your bedroom the other day.” Mallory pulled away enough to give her mom a determined stare. “Because you and I both know she wasn’t in there getting soap.”
Callie grinned and threw both her arms around Mallory so she could hug her as tight as possible. “You’re right. She wasn’t in there for soap. I’ll tell you the full story, but first, let’s go inside and get a glass of wine.”
“You just read my mind.”
*
Inside the house, Mallory was a little surprised to find such a normal, happy family scene playing out.
The kids, who seemed energized by sugar thanks to the ice cream sundae bar in the kitchen, were running around with big smiles on their faces.
Ariel and Erica were chatting in the living room with glasses of wine in hand.
Sasha, Taylor, and David were looking through photos of what appeared to be some of the tourist offerings of the Middle East on Taylor’s laptop, making a list of all the places David needed to visit while he was there.
Mallory and Callie were about to join them when Mallory heard a soft cry coming from down the hall.
“Oh, I think Dot’s awake,” Mallory said.
“Sasha put her playpen in the office after you left, that way we wouldn’t wake Dot,” Callie explained. “I’ll go get her.”
“No, it’s okay,” Mallory said, putting a hand up to stop her mom. “I’ll grab her.”
Callie frowned. “You really want to?”
Mallory laughed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, look, I know I’m not a huge baby person, but Dot’s my niece, so it’s about time I start forming a relationship with her, right?
” She shrugged. “Besides, if there’s one person who we can say for sure is completely and utterly innocent in all of this, it’s her. ”
“That’s true.” Callie smiled. “Alright, go get her. I’ll grab us some wine.”
Mallory headed down the hall and stepped into the office. She found Dot sitting up on her own, her back leaning against one side of her playpen. She cooed when she spotted Mallory and lifted her arms up in the air. Mallory nearly cried, she was so shocked by this.
“Really?” She laughed as she bent down to scoop the child into her arms. “You want me to hold you? You know I’m not your mom, right?”
But Dot didn’t seem to mind, her little hand reaching out to touch Mallory’s face.
One of her fingers was wet, probably from recently being in the baby’s mouth, but Mallory didn’t care.
She just laughed and nuzzled her nose into Dot’s cheek.
“You are pretty darn cute, you know that? Everyone’s always saying it, but I think this is the first time I’ve really seen it firsthand.
Sorry I haven’t been paying you much attention the past couple of weeks.
” She rocked a little, balancing Dot on her hip. “A lot’s been going on.”
“Now that’s the understatement of the century.”
Mallory spun around to see Sasha standing in the doorway. “Oh, hey. I heard her crying so I just—”
“It’s fine,” Sasha said with a grateful smile. “I appreciate the help. Especially after… everything.”
“Yeah, well… I was just telling my mom that Dot’s the only one of us who is completely blameless in all of this. I don’t hold anything against her.”
Sasha nodded, but she looked a little saddened by the comment. “I take it that means you do hold something against me?”
Mallory shook her head. “Oh—no. That’s not what I meant.
After hearing your side of things earlier today, I don’t see how I could be mad at you either.
It’s not like you really did anything wrong, and if you had thoughts of scamming my parents at one point—I can’t say I wouldn’t have felt the same way had I been in your shoes. ”
Sasha sighed heavily and stepped further into the room.
Mallory thought for sure the baby would reach for her mom, but Dot rested her head on Mallory’s chest, seeming perfectly content where she was.
“You know, your family is something else. The fact that any of you can find a way to forgive your parents and to forgive me, it’s just—it shows that you all have your priorities in order. ”
“Ha!” Mallory scoffed. “I’m not sure anyone has ever suggested that I was someone with my priorities in order, but hey, I’ll take it.
And while we’re on the subject of forgiveness, I wanted to say that I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you.
Yes, you were lying about some details, but you really did show up here in need of help for yourself and your baby, and I shouldn’t have been so cold. ”
“It’s alright—”
“It’s not,” Mallory corrected her. “But I hope I can make it up to you. I want to show you that I’m not the kind of person you might think I am.
The way I’ve been behaving lately—well, not to make excuses, but this isn’t me.
I’ve just been so frustrated and confused about where my own life is headed.
And with my fortieth birthday around the corner, I just sort of lost track of myself.
I took out my own frustrations on you, which was completely unfair. I’m sorry, truly.”
Sasha smiled, this time with no sadness in her eyes. “I accept your apology. And I’m sorry too, for not just coming forward from the beginning. Maybe the two of us could’ve become friends if I hadn’t been keeping so many secrets from you.”
“There’s still time.”
“For secrets?”
“No.” Mallory laughed. “For us to be friends.” She approached Sasha and stuck her hand out. “How about we start over?”
“Yeah, okay.” Sasha took Mallory’s hand and gave it a good, firm shake. “I’m Sasha Sommers and that baby you’re holding is my daughter, Dorothy.” She winked.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sasha,” Mallory said, winking back. “I’m Mallory, but you can call me Mal if you want.”
Sasha’s face lit up. “Really?”
“Yeah, why not?” She grinned. “All my other siblings do.”