Chpt. 4 "family matters"
1338 Words
It felt like months had gone by but in reality it had only been another day. Robbie and Cora had practically become inseparable. They'd gone taken another adventure to a local museum after School. It was a short bus ride to the next town over. The museum was nothing extravagant but it had amazed Cora. She had never been to one and the fact that Robbie had done something so small but made the experience incredible, it made an enormous impact on Cora's life.
It was now Friday afternoon and Robbie stood outside Cora's front door, about to go their separate ways.
"Where did you wanna go tomorrow?" Robbie questioned, wondering what else he and Cora could possibly do that they hadn't already in just a matter of weeks.
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe, we could.." but Cora was interrupted by her front door being loudly yanked open.
Thankfully, but also unfortunately, it was Julia.
"Cora!" Julia exclaimed, her eyes scanning Robbie as she announced her daughters name. "Who is this?"
Cora was truly at a loss for words. What would her mother say? Would she tell Carl?
"Is this.. is this.. your boyfriend?" Her mother immediately inquired.
"Yes." Cora responded quickly but soon realized that that wasn't the correct answer. Yes, Robbie was a boy that just so happened to be her friend.
However, Robbie was not her boyfriend.
Two words. Boy friend.
Not boyfriend.
"That came out wrong. Mom. Robbie is just a friend. Not my boyfriend." Cora mumbled out.
Julia crossed her arms over her chest, squinting her eyes at the tall, red headed boy who stood confidently next to her daughter.
A few moments went by before Julia sighed heavily, sort of "giving in" to the situation. She was not one to overreact and she definitely trusted Cora.
"Well, I just finished cooking dinner..." Julia trailed off.
She looked at Cora before speaking again.
"Sweetheart, if you'd like, you can invite your friend inside for dinner." Julia told Cora, sweetly, before heading back inside the house.
Surprised, Cora looked up at Robbie and smiled. Cora also felt a mix of emotions.
Cora wouldn't mind having Robbie stay for a while but she was sort of embarrassed with the inside of their home. It was a small, two floor shack. They had minimal, cheap furniture. Most of which was damaged and now discolored.
"Maybe... you shouldn't." Cora mumbled out, thinking aloud, having second thoughts.
Robbie frowned. "Is something wrong?" He asked her nervously.
Cora shook her head. "I just don't think my house looks... the best." She told Robbie, ashamed.
Cora expected him to just understand and go away but he didn't. Instead, he lightly pushed Cora aside and made his way inside the Abney's home.
"It's Friday. So, you know your father won't be coming straight home tonight." Julia reminded Cora as she placed a bowl of mashed potatoes and another one with salisbury onto the table.
Cora nodded. On Friday's, her father made his way to the town bar with his fellow coworkers. Usually, he didn't make his way back into the house until the crack of dawn.
"So, Robbie. How did you and Cora meet?" Julia asked.
"I transferred to the school a month ago. Cora was nice enough to show me around. We've been friends ever since." Robbie shortly explained.
As the group ate, small talk between Julia and Robert quickly grew to a big conversation. Any worries or doubts Cora had about Robbie really seeing a softer side of her, went completely out the window.
When their plates were clean, Cora couldn't help but smile at the turnout of the two meeting.
Just as Julia began picking up the empty plates, the house phone rang.
Usually, it never did. And if it did, it was Carl or Julia who answered. Never Cora.
"Sweetheart, grab the phone. Robert, if you don't mind, could you help me get these dishes to the sink?" Julia asked Robbie. He nodded eagerly and helped Cora's mother pick up the plates and now dirty utensils.
On the third bell sequence, Cora had managed to rush to the phone before the caller gave up.
"Hello?" She greeted the mystery person.
"Julia?" The softness of the voice told Cora that it was a woman.
"I'm sorry. My mother has her hands tied at the moment." Cora told the woman.
The woman gasped at Cora's response. "Who am I speaking with?"
"Cora..." She trailed off.
"Wow. She couldn't even tell me I had a granddaughter," the woman cursed at herself. "Would you please get your mother to the phone?" The woman asked, irritation deep within her voice.
"Uh, sure. May I ask who's speaking?" Cora wondered.
"Victoria. You're grandmother." The no-longer-mysterious woman told her.
Cora sat the phone on the table and fetched her mother, who was washing dishes and laughing along with Robbie.
"Victoria's on the phone for you." Cora stated, simply.
Cora was disappointed. Her mother had hidden a somewhat big part of her life from her. She has a grandmother?
Julia dropped the pan she was washing quickly, dried her hands on her skirt, and dashed past Cora to get to the phone.
Robbie finished drying the dishes and made his way over to a very confused Cora.
"Everything okay?" He inquired, watching Cora's emotions flash from hurt to confused to angry across her face.
"Julia lied." Cora quietly told him.
"Your mother lied to you? About what?"
"I have a grandmother. Who's alive and from what I can tell, very well." She sighed.
"Really?" Robbie asked.
Cora nodded. But before she could say another word, her mother was back in the kitchen with the two teenagers.
"Why don't you show Robbie out?" Julia instructed Cora, smiling sweetly.
After Cora walked Robbie to the door and hugged him goodbye, her mind did backflips thinking about the woman she had spoken to and how she wasn't supposed to know about her.
Cora met her mother back in the kitchen, fixing a plate for her father to eat for when he got home.
At this point, Cora had realized that she was living a lie. And she wanted answers to the questions she needed to ask.
Who is Victoria?
Why did Julia not tell her about Victoria?
What other family members had Julia lied about?
Would Cora ever get a chance to meet Victoria?
Why hasn't Cora ever seen her mother and Victoria together?
What's the big secret? Cora wondered.
"Who's Victoria?" Cora immediately asked. Technically, she did have a right to know.
Julia sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table, burying her head deep into the palms of her hands.
Julia took a few moments to herself before bringing her head back up, her eyes meeting Cora's.
"You're grandmother wants to meet you. Carl wanted you to be believe she was dead so obviously I had to go along with it." Cora's mother confessed.
Before Cora could ask another question, her mother handed her a folded piece of paper.
"Her address is inside. Tomorrow morning, you can take the city bus there." Julia stated.
Cora gripped the small piece of paper tightly, hoping that this small part of her life would have a huge positive impact.
For once, she'd have someone else other than Carl.
"My mother may not want me in her life, but she definitely wants you in it." Julia smiled, lifted herself up from the kitchen chair, and left Cora alone to be with her thoughts.
Cora was anxious. Her heartbeat increased.
She immediately began daydreaming.
What does my grandmother look like?
Did she look like her?
Does Julia look like her?
Victoria?
What's her last name?
Would Cora be meeting her grandfather as well?
Was Julia Victoria's only daughter?
Is Julia the only child?
What does Victoria do for a living?
Did she live alone or in a senior citizen home?
Everything Cora could possibly think of went through her mind, quickly. She hoped her grandmother would welcome her with open arms.
- Writer
