Chapter 8 #2
“When my father figured out I was an addict like the rest of his kids, he told me I was dead to him and forbade me from ever coming home again or contacting my mom.”
“Why?” I asked again.
“Because I was the last child to break her heart, and he didn’t think she could take it if she had to watch me throw my life away like they had.”
“Oh, honey.”
“I got arrested about a month later. Mom came to the hospital and couldn’t even talk to me because she was crying so hard. I followed my dad’s orders and didn’t put her on my visitor list. I haven't spoken to either of them since.”
“But you’re out now, and you’re sober! Why don’t you call them? I’m sure they’d want to hear from you, and they probably want to see you.”
My voice trailed off as Serana shook her head. “My siblings did that repeatedly. They’d get out, be sober for a little while, fill Mom’s head with hopes and dreams about how things would be different this time, and then fuck up and break her heart all over again.”
“But you won’t do that.”
“I’m sure they thought they wouldn’t either.”
“I can’t imagine not talking to Papa or Dad again,” I muttered.
“Tell me your happy stories, Roscoe. I need something good to think about.”
“Okay, let me come up with where to start,” I mused as I looked out the window at the passing traffic. “When we were in the greenhouse, I told you that the saddest moments can lead to the happiest situations.”
“Right.”
“When I was a kid, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Since my dad was already gone, she wanted to make sure we’d be taken care of when she was gone, so she called her brother. Hold on. This goes back further than that.”
“Okay,” Serana said with a bark of laughter. “Are we going back to the beginning of creation or . . .”
I rolled my eyes before I began. “A long time ago, Papa worked his way through college as a convenience store clerk. A young guy who was down on his luck came in one day. He was hungry and alone, so Papa offered to feed him in return for doing odd jobs around the store. Next thing you know, they had fallen in love and have been together ever since.” I thought about it for a second before I said, “Okay, but before that, Dad’s family had great expectations for his future that didn’t include him being gay, so when they found out that’s exactly what he was, they cut him off.
No contact, no money, nothing. They even got his scholarship cancelled, which meant he was truly homeless once he couldn’t live in the dorm anymore.
That was a horrible time in his life when he couldn’t see a way out of his problems, but then he met Papa, and his life turned around. Both of their lives turned around.”
“That’s a sweet story, but where do you come in?”
“Dad was my mom’s brother. She didn’t get to talk to him after their parents cut him off, but when she got sick, she tracked him down because she knew he’d do everything in his power to take care of her children.”
“That’s so sad,” Serana whispered with tears in her eyes.
“We came to live with Dad and Papa during the last weeks of Mom’s life. After she died, we stayed with them and became a family again.”
“That is a horrible start to a wonderfully happy story.”
“Exactly!”
“That’s only five people, though. Who are the other two?”
I laughed before I said, “My count is off. Now there are eight of us, not seven.”
“Okay, who are the other three?”
“Noble and Tati’s mom loved them so much that she sacrificed the rest of her life to make sure they were safe and loved.”
“How?”
“She killed their abusive father, but not before she made it clear that she wanted her attorney, Papa, to take in her children.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yep. A tragic story that ended with my brother and sister healing from the trauma they’d endured and growing up in a happy home filled with love and laughter.”
“And the eighth is Cruz, right?”
“Right, but I didn’t tell you about Papa.”
“What happened to him?”
“His father was a horrible man, so he and Uncle Lout raised their three sisters together and then worked their way through college. Now Papa and all of his siblings have spouses they cherish, children who love them, and grandchildren who think they hung the moon. Their situation was horrible but turned into a life that anyone would be happy to have.”
“All of you have been through so much.”
“We have, although Holly, Ranger, and I got the easy road compared to the others. Tati and Noble found Cruz last year. He’s still adjusting to being part of a supportive and loving group of people who consider him their family even though he doesn’t share any of their DNA.”
“A horrible start with a happy ending.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Here you go!” Rebel said as she approached the table. She slid a large plate in front of Serana, and I watched her eyes go wide. “One Hank and Nichole family special.”
“It’s . . . whoa. Just whoa.”
“That’s a chocolate waffle with peanut butter and bananas drizzled in chocolate syrup and topped with fresh whipped cream.”
“I would have never thought to put those together for a breakfast plate, but it looks delicious.”
“You say that now, but once you taste it, you’ll discover that it’s magic. Legend has it that’s the meal that made Aunt Nichole fall in love with Uncle Hank.”
“I can see why!”
“Reb, have you ever heard the story about how Papa Smokey and Gamma got together?” I asked.
Rebel sat down next to Serana and smiled when she put a bite in her mouth and moaned loudly.
“Oh my God, that’s good,” she said before she cut off another large bite. Serana glanced at my plate and asked, “Your breakfast looks delicious, but not nearly as good as mine.”
I looked down and smiled when I saw that I had the breakfast special - two eggs, bacon, link sausage, two slices of toast, and some country fried potatoes. “Mine is firmly in the breakfast category.”
“This isn’t breakfast; it’s heaven,” Serana said as she took another bite.
“Why were you asking about Gamma and Papa?”
“I want Serana to hear it.”
“Apparently, Gamma ran away from her mafia husband, and he chased her all the way to Texas before he and his goons got into a shootout on the street with Papa Smokey, Grunt, Hank, and Tink. Gamma was caught in the crossfire, but Papa Smokey dodged a hail of bullets to carry her to safety. As soon as he set her down behind a parked car, she smiled up at him and professed her undying love. They’ve been together ever since. ”
“Are you serious?” Serana asked through a mouth full of food.
“Yes, ma’am,” Rebel assured her. “When I was a kid, I stayed home sick from school and got dropped off to stay with Gamma when Mom and Dad went to work. I was sitting in Papa Smokey’s lap eating a popsicle when he told me their love story.”
“That is wild.”
“Why did you want me to tell her?” Rebel asked.
“Because I wanted Serana to see that sometimes when bad things happen, they open the door for wonderful things.”
“He’s right,” Rebel said as she stood up. “My mom and dad’s story is almost as wild, but they’re still in love to this day.”
“It’s a beautiful story,” Serana admitted as Rebel walked off.
“That’s not really how they met.”
“I thought the shootout in the street was a little farfetched, but who am I to judge?” Serana asked. “So, what’s the real story?”
“Gamma had just moved to town and was working here at the diner one evening when these really rough looking men came in. They were talking about the hostages they had tied up in the back of their van, and Gamma didn’t know what to do.
She knew if she picked up the phone, they’d probably tie her up and toss her in there, too, so she went to the back and opened a bunch of Benadryl capsules into a carafe of coffee that she served them.
Within minutes, they were drowsy and finally passed out right over there on the counter.
She got the keys to the van and went out to find Papa Smokey, Uncle Tink and Aunt Sandra tied up in the back.
When she pulled the blindfold off Papa Smokey, he said she looked like an angel.
He fell in love instantly, and she was so smitten that she married him two weeks later. ”
“So, which story is true?” Serana asked.
“Which one do you believe?”
“Benadryl capsules in their coffee? Do you know how much . . . You’re a doctor. Of course you know how much antihistamine she would have had to put in their coffee to make them pass out.”
“That’s the story Papa Smokey told me when he was sitting in my hospital room after I had my tonsils out.”
“But the happy ending is that they’re still in love and living happily ever after, right?”
“Exactly!”
“How do you think they really met?”
“She was a waitress here when he bought the diner. That’s it.”
“Nothing wild and crazy, huh?”
“They raised four sons who are each a little crazy in their own way, but when they’re together, they are downright terrifying. You’ve met at least a couple of them, I’m sure.”
“Possibly,” Serana said before she took another bite.
“Did I make my point?”
“I’m still trying to figure out if it was a shootout in the street or a kidnapping and how much Benadryl it would take to knock out .
. .” Serana thought about it for a minute before she asked, “How many men were sitting at the counter? Four? Let’s say four.
No, wait . . . if it was a van, that would mean that there could only have been two men - a driver and a passenger with three grown adults taking up the cargo space. ”
I wasn’t sure if Serana was trying to divert my attention or honestly curious, so I decided to roll with it and asked, “Couldn’t there have been two seats up front, a bench seat in the middle, and then a cargo area in the back?
If that were the case, then there were possibly five men at the counter. ”
“Unless she buys her Benadryl by the pallet rather than the bottle, there’s no way she could have knocked out five grown men. Honestly, I’m not sure one bottle would have taken care of two!”
“Then it must have been a shootout in the street,” I suggested.
“Where were the police? Who won? Was anyone hit?”
“I think you’re looking too hard at the stories. They were told as tall tales to children who are now adults and have probably embellished a few details.”
“You think?” Serana asked sarcastically.
“How did your parents meet?”
Serana’s smile was dreamy when she said, “My mom wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings and almost stepped in front of a bus. Dad yanked her back onto the sidewalk and chewed her ass for not being careful. She told him to shut up and mind his business. They got married less than a year later.”
“Did she really almost get hit by a bus?”
Serana laughed before she said, “The bus is more plausible than a shootout or kidnapping!”
“Good point.”
“I’m sorry I went radio silent and worried you, Roscoe,” Serana said as she pushed her plate toward the end of the table. “I was upset after my session with Dr. Hamilton and retreated into my bubble.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“Absolutely not. That’s why I’m not going to do it again.”
I decided that Serana was probably not willing to share anything more, so I changed the subject and asked, “Are we going to do our grocery shopping this afternoon?”
“I’d like to.”
“Okay. What’s on the menu for this week?”