What Has Fallen

21. Charlette: All My Secrets

November 2nd

4:30 PM

Hermann and I decided to join Val and her new boyfriend for dinner at my mother's condo in the city. My mother's maid brought out our plates and we began eating. My mother spoke, " Charlette, your father tells me the FBI seems to be wrapping up their investigation."

I nodded finishing my bite. Hermann chuckled, "Alice handled it well."

My mother and I shot him a look. I pushed the thought of him complimenting my little sister from my mind and said, "I will admit, for once, Alice must be doing something right."

Val jumped in, "Alice always fixes everything, did you really doubt her?" I couldn't believe the blindness of the family I married into.

My mother scuffed, "That girl is nothing but a leech on your father's life. She will be the reason for his death."

"Alice has always been a difficult wonder of our family," I explained to Val.

Val sighed and continued eating. Hermann mumbled, "Should we be talking about this in front of him?"

Val rolled her eyes, "He wouldn't tell a soul about what we talk about, right babe?"

The man hunched over shoveling food into his mouth looked up. "Oh," he chewed some and muttered, "Right yeah." He swallowed hard making a gulping sound and sat straighter, "Whatever you say babe."

My mother's nose raised high looking disgusted. I shook my head at the behavior of the young man. My husband said trying to turn the conversation, "The food's very good, Amelia."

She ignored his comment and returned to speaking about my sister, "She brought them here in the first place. When the agents came by here I had company over. Do you know how that made me look?"

"Yes, mother of course," I tried to calm her.

She continued waving her hand about, "That Alice has always been hard to handle." She wagged a finger, "I always said so, didn't I Charlette?" She grabbed her wine and sipped it. "The girl never thinks about this family or how her actions frame us." My breathing began to get heavy. I agree with the fact Alice is a nuisance, but I wouldn't go so far to say she doesn't care about our family. Alice tried extremely hard to keep everyone's family secrets covered up. Especially those of little Olive and I. Those secrets of which I can't even begin to explain to my mother. Not to mention, Alice is currently cleaning up messes she doesn't even know about. So, all-in-all, I do have to give her some credit, no matter how much of an outcast she is to the family's standards. I nodded and continued eating as I allowed my hot-headed intoxicated mother to go on her rant.

6:40 PM

Classical music played low in the living room as my mother and I sat chatting. Val and her etiquette lacking boyfriend sat in the other room laughing and mumbling sweet nothings to one another. Hermann hung around in the kitchen with the help. My mother started another tangent about some woman she works with and her bad breath. I tapped my fingers on the arm of the seat trying to seem engaged in the routine complaining session.

Unexpectedly, a knock came from the door. Hermann walked into the living room and asked, "Amelia are you expecting anyone else?"

"Oh, no. Will you be a dear..." before my mother could finish, Hermann had his gun upholstered and made his way to the front door. "Oh my," my mother giggled. My jaw tensed as I glared at my mother who has always been interested in my husband more than she should be. I heard the door open and a female voice spoke. Whoever my husband spoke to talked quiet. I couldn't place the voice.

My husband walked in and said, "Charlette, Alice is here."

My mother shot me a look. She stood quickly almost tripping over her own feet, "Well what in the hell is she doing here?"