27. Will
CHAPTER 27
Will
“ I don’t follow. Is it someone I’ve worked with? Or did your dad send you here for music lessons or something?”
I try to recall the adults I’ve met over the past year, but no one comes to mind. Most have been parents of students or coworkers. I don’t recall a family with a child as old as Kristie. I mostly teach younger kids, though it’s possible one had an older sibling. But she looks familiar.
“No, um…” Kristie trails off and sets her mug on the table and unzips her duffle in her lap. She digs for a moment and pulls out a yellow envelope. “Here,” she says, handing it over.
I’m so fucking confused.
Millie and I read the document together.
It’s an ancestry sheet; it only takes me a minute before I recognize what I’m looking at. Millie gasps, so I know she saw the same thing.
Dad: Thomas Carter
That’s my dad, the man that left me with my grandpa at the ripe age of three. The man who tried to come back into my life more than one time but didn’t want the responsibility. I knew he remarried more than once, but I never knew he had other children. If he wanted to change, be a better man for someone else, I don’t want to know. I had my life, and to be honest, I didn’t need him.
“You’re my sister?” I cast a brief look at Kristie to find her nodding. “And you came all this way to find me? How?”
She looks at Millie. I’m so grateful to have her here for this. I can’t imagine what it’s like to travel across a few states, from Michigan to Tennessee, to try and find family. She eyes me like she’s not sure she should have come, but I’m trying my best to make sure she feels comfortable. Especially knowing who she is. But regardless, Millie is a shining light, and her demeanor alone can help anyone feel like they belong.
“Carter Records.” Kristie shrugs like that should answer all my questions. “I, um, googled Rob Carter. And there were a lot of people by that name to sort through.” She shifts in her seat as she explains. “I mean, I called so many of them. Some of them answered but either didn’t have children old enough to be my dad or didn’t have kids named Thomas.”
She sighs and leans further into the chair. I see for the first time how exhausted she is. Kristie briefly mentioned her mom but didn’t go into any further detail. How could she have left home?
“How old are you, Kristie?” Millie asks.
“I turned eighteen three months ago. That’s when I was able to find out more about who my dad was and get the ancestry test done.”
“Got it.”
“Anyway, I, um, finally called a Rob Carter last week and he, um, confirmed that he had a son named Thomas. He said he wasn’t old enough to be my dad, but when I found out he owned this store, I found photos from some past event, and there was no way his son wasn’t old enough to be my dad. This Rob was old, like old enough to be my grandpa.”
Oh. I know what happened. Grandpa answered her call and wasn’t having a good memory day. It would explain why he never mentioned anything to me. If Grandpa knew I had a secret sister out there, he would have said something. Like he would have told me about the debt with the store.
Fuck.
“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time figuring out why you’re here.”
Millie slaps my leg. I mouth “ what ” to her.
“What Will is trying to say is he’s glad to meet you, but he’s confused. Where’s your mom? I’m assuming Thomas isn’t in the picture anymore.”
Kristie shakes her head. “No, he’s not.”
She fidgets with her bag again, and I’m thinking we won’t have a lot of time left to ask her any questions. If she’s been traveling via bus, she has to be exhausted. But I don’t know where she’s going to stay. I don’t have any extra room here in the store, and she may be related to me, but she’s still a stranger. I can’t have a stranger staying here.
“And Mom,” Kristie says with a sigh. “She’s…I don’t know where she is. Last time she called she was in Maine? Maybe? That was last month. She’s always traveling with this group of friends, but it’s okay. I’ve been able to get a job and everything, so it’s been okay. But I don’t know…”
“You wanted to be with your family,” Millie says.
Kristie smiles. “Yes. But I’d get if you want me to go. I get how weird this is. I mean, some random girl showing up and telling you that we’re related.” She laughs. “Wow, this must be wild. Huh? I’ve had time to process this. I mean, multiple buses worth of time. I arrived earlier today, but I was too nervous. I walked by a few times but didn’t have the courage to come inside. Somehow the day got away from me, and I didn’t know where else to go.”
I know how that feels. To not have anywhere to go, to feel like everyone around you is slowly slipping away. But I at least had a present parent figure for my life. Grandpa was as much a dad as I could have wanted. If she is alone, it’s a shame it’s been this long. I wish she would have been able to find us earlier.
Another part of me is wondering if she’s my only sibling, but there’s no way to tell. The last time I talked to my dad, I was young. I don’t remember a thing.
“When was the last time you heard from Thomas?”
Kristie’s gaze meets mine. “He’s, um, dead?”
“What?” With no connection to him, I’m not shocked, but that means he stuck around with her a lot longer than with me.
“Yeah, but I did talk to him three months before he died. Him and my mom were in the same…group…and he overdosed. Mom never went into it, and I never asked. He wasn’t much of a dad to me anyway.”
“I’m…do you know if there are others?” I stumble over my words. Kristie raises her brows in confusion. Right. “I mean, do you know if he’s had any other children?”
She shrugs. “I don’t think so. Not from what the ancestry test told me, at least. I don’t know if things can be hidden from that.”
I want to ask her more, but I also don’t want to deal with this at all. How am I going to talk to my grandpa about this? Will he remember if I tell him, or will I constantly have to remind him that he has another grandchild? Like surprise?
Kristie yawns, and I remember how late it is.
“I’m going to talk to Millie for a moment,” I say.
I grab Millie’s hand and guide her to the back room.
“Well, what a turn of events.” Millie chuckles.
“Yeah, you could say that. Um, where is she going to stay, Mills? I don’t have space here.”
“Oh, um…”
“What about the inn?”
Millie shakes her head. “Likely booked. Weddings, you know. Um, I’d offer my space, but I don’t have a lot of extra room either.”
“Shit, um, well I can let her stay upstairs and I’ll sleep somewhere down here? I don’t want to leave her here alone when I don’t know her.”
“What about my parents’ house?” Millie asks, already pulling out her phone. “She can stay in my old bedroom, or Jeremy’s. I can have them inflate a mattress.”
“Do you think they’d be willing to help?”
Millie lowers her phone and looks at me. “Will, they’d do anything for you. You know that.”
Before I have the chance to suggest an alternative, she’s on the phone, calling her mom. Luckily she keeps her ringer on for emergencies and is over the moon to help. She would have helped regardless, but once Millie told her that she was my apparent sister, she was screaming over the phone.
We walk out to the main room to find Kristie browsing the records.
“See anything you like?” I ask.
She looks over her shoulder at us. “We don’t have a record store near us, but I’ve been to one before and always had a fun time looking at all of them. I didn’t know that so many people still made records.”
I chuckle. There is a reason why our sales are low, I suppose. “Oh, yes, they do. And some even have bonus materials. Grandpa would love to talk to you all about this stuff.”
“Oh, right, Rob? He owns this store?”
“Will owns it now.” Millie bumps my hip with hers. Damn, this girl and our bad timing.
“Really?”
“It’s recent,” I say.
“That’s so cool,” Kristie says as she returns to flipping through the various new releases.
“Well, Kristie, we figured you didn’t have anywhere to stay tonight, right?” Millie asks as she walks past me to get closer to Kristie .
“Oh, shit, I mean shoot, yeah, um, is there a budget hotel or something?” Kristie asks.
“Unfortunately, no. Small towns don’t have your typical offerings, but my parents have the extra space and would love to give you space to stay.”
“Are you two married?” Kristie looks between Millie and me, and I try my best to hold back a grin, but it’s no use.
I’d love to be asked that question on a daily basis. Except Millie and I did decide to hold off on defining the relationship until I figure things out.
And now that I have a sister? Fuck. That adds complications for sure.
Millie chuckles, and when she meets my gaze, her face is flush at the question. She shakes her head and twirls a strand of hair, reverting back to facing Kristie.
“No, we are dating though,” Millie says.
“Oh, okay, you are awfully close,” Kristie says.
She throws her bag over her shoulder and walks toward the front door. I suppose this means she’s okay with staying at Millie’s parents’ house. And honestly, it’s a good place for her. Millie’s mom will spoil the shit out of her.
“We have known each other for close to thirty years. So, I would hope so,” I say.
“It’s been a long time, for sure,” Millie says. “Okay, let’s drive you to my parents.”