Stepbrother Dearest

Chapter 14

It was a beautiful day despite the somber mood. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and I'd actually managed to sleep. But this wasn't your ordinary beautiful spring morning in Boston. Today, my mother would have to bury a husband for the second time in her life, and Elec would have to bury his father.

I hadn't realized until Chelsea told me she was leaving last night how much anxiety her presence had caused. Even though I'd have to face Elec again, today didn't feel half as horrible as yesterday.

When I walked into my mother's room, she was sitting on the bed holding a picture of Randy and her on their wedding day. She had been wearing a simple white suit for their ceremony at Boston City Hall. They seemed really happy together back then.

"He had a lot of demons, but he loved me," she said. "That was probably the only thing I was certain of when it came to him."

I wrapped my arm around her and took the picture frame from her grasp. "I remember that day like it was yesterday."

"This marriage...it was like a fresh start for him, but he was never able to resolve his past or his anger over it. He never opened up to me about it, and I never pushed it."

Sounds familiar.

She continued, "I didn't really want to know everything, I guess. After the pain of losing your father, I just wanted something easy. It was a bit selfish of me." She started to cry. "I'd been prying lately, and it caused a lot of tension. I felt ashamed for never getting involved in the situation with Elec. I was living in a bubble."

"Well, neither of them made it easy to figure out how to help," I said.

She wiped her eyes and looked at me. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Me? Go through what?"

"Seeing Elec with her...with Chelsea."

"What do you mean?"

"I know, Greta."

"What do you think you know?"

"I know what happened between you and him the night before he left for California."

I put the picture I'd been holding down on the bed to prevent it from accidentally smashing to the ground in the midst of my shock. "What?"

"I'd gotten up early that day. Elec didn't know I saw him leaving your room to go back to his. Then, later that afternoon, after I came home from running errands, I went to check on you, but you had gone to the store. I found a condom wrapper in your room, and there was a little blood on your sheets. The week after he left, you were so depressed. I wanted to tell you I knew. I wanted to be there for you but didn't want to embarrass you or get anyone in trouble with Randy. He would have blown a gasket. I kept telling myself that you were eighteen, and if you wanted me to know, you would have told me."

"Wow. I just can't believe you knew all this time."

"He was your first..."

"Yes."

She held my hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It's okay. Like you said, it was better that you kept it quiet."

"Was it...just sex...or was it more?"

"It was a lot more to me. I think he felt the same way at the time. But that doesn't matter now."

"He seems pretty settled with that girl."

"Yeah. They live together."

"He's not married, though."