Secret Affinity

8

The more I thought about it, it had been a while since I last saw Evin or Julianna. It told me just how busy they both were, being the only two breadwinners in a household of six.

I worked at the bakery directly after school with Crimson, but I only worked for two hours while she stayed until nine. I would eventually work longer, but Michelle told me to get comfortable first.

When Elise found out I was going to work, she was surprised and also proud.

“It’s in the city-centre in one of those small neighbourhoods,” I told her as we sat in the living room. “It’s called Bakery Town.”

“Bakery Town…?” Elise said with her fingers on her chin. “The name’s very familiar.”

“Me, Crimson, and Michelle are the only workers there,” I told her. “Crimson goes to my school, so it wasn’t a bad start.”

“I’m very happy for you. It’s time you got outside the neighbourhood, too,” she said. She left to make dinner and I let Andy sit in my lap.

It was quiet in the living room. Liara went upstairs a minute ago, and it was just us two. Andy was possibly the calmest kid I’d ever met, the sweetest, cutest boy on the planet. Chunks of his brown hair fell over his forehead and ears; I could barely see his eyes. I had to take him out to get a haircut soon.

It was nearly seven in the evening, the last day before Thanksgiving. While Andy got dressed, we heard the bell ring. I went to get it and saw Julianna and Evin at the doorway.

“Hello, Ari,” Julianna said. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Let me get dressed and join you later.”

“What’s up?” Evin greeted me. I asked him why they were early today as he took off his coat. “Preparations for tomorrow. Mom is crazy about Thanksgiving.”

I wanted to help them out, but Liara badgered me to take her out with Andy for the hair-cut, so I gave in. The sky was dull today, cloudy. Typical for October weather. I didn’t see anyone outside but heard barking from somewhere else in the neighbourhood.

“That’s Butterscotch,” Liara told me. “He’s going to run away today. Again.” Oh. Was he coming back to the gate?

The hair shop was at a walking distance, and we went there in no time. There were hardly any customers, and I heard the manager talk about some city issues. She had the shop close after Andy got his haircut. It might be some sort of minor recession, but I didn't think about it too much.

When we went back to the McCoys’ house, there was a Godlike smell of food cooking. Dad and I were invited to come to their house tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and as the hours closed in and the sky darkened, my excitement grew. I had some cooking to do at home, too. I wanted to make Mom’s favourite apple pie.

With that in mind, I left the house through the sliding door with a smile on my face. In the silence, I jumped over the gate and proceeded to climb up the trellis.

Then, I heard the barking again. It was from a far distance, but I still heard it. It made me pause. The crunch of leaves distracted me, and I saw a figure approach the gate.

It was Arian. Why was he coming home this late at night? He stopped right in front of the gate and looked up. I was halfway to my bedroom window, but it was too late now.

“What?” I said, the word so quiet it disappeared into the air. He didn’t say anything. “Your mom’s home, by the way.”

His face was hard to see in the dark. “And?”

“And, well, I was just telling you,” I stammered. “They’re making stuff for Thanksgiving tomorrow.”

“Do I need to hear that from you?” he said, pulling himself over the gate with no effort. “Especially since you’re some creep.”

“Hey, you’re the creep here. Not me,” I said. He started to walk away. “I live right next door. I’m not a stranger, okay?”

When he disappeared, I sighed and continued climbing to my room. Was it just me or did he seem weirder every day?

--

The next morning, I woke up to the banging on my front door. Still half asleep, I pulled myself out of bed and trudged down the stairs.

I didn’t expect to wake up so late—it was nearly noon. And I was hungry. Rubbing my eyes, I opened the door to a girl a foot shorter than me. She had dark pigtails that glowed brown in the sunlight, the outfit of a Girl Scout, and dozens of beaded bracelets on each wrist.

“Hey, Ms. Crane!” she squeaked. Oh, did I mention she had the brightest pink lip gloss that blinded my eyes? She frowned when she saw me. “Wait, you’re not Ms. Crane.”

“Um, there’s no one here by that last name,” I told her. She put her pen to her chin in thought. “And you are…?” I didn't need to ask judging by her clothes.

“I’m Ruby Tater,” she said. “I’m here to sell cookies. Four dollars a box, no bargains.”

“Oh, thanks but no thanks,” I said smiling apologetically. She wrote something on her clipboard, murmuring to herself.

“You know,” she said, “Ms. Crane always bought from me. For six months straight.” Who was Ms. Crane? Was it someone who lived in the house before Dad and I came? “Anyway, have a good day and bye!” She plastered on a huge grin and left.

I closed the door and yawned. What an unexpected morning. I went upstairs to wake up Dad. It was one of his only days off from work, so he was sleeping in. We began to bake the apple pie as soon as possible. Dad knew the recipe better than I did. In fact, he made the pie for Mom years ago for their anniversary.

While I filled the first layer of crust in the plate, a small smile appeared on my face. Dad bent to look at me.

“Why’re you smiling?” he asked while he prepared the second filling.

“Mom loves apple pie because you made her one, right?” I asked. Dad kept mute, and my smile deepened. “You remember how you wrote ‘I Love You’ on the pie with chocolate syrup?” I continued to embarrass him. “You know, I still have pictures of it.”

Dad shoulders hunched. “God, it wasn’t as good as I expected,” he said. “The syrup melted. It was ugly.” I laughed at the same moment the bell rang.

I went to go get it and was surprised to see Liara. She waved and asked me if she could come in. She was apparently bored at home, and the McCoys were too busy organizing the dinner.

“Only if you’re okay with it, because that’s what Grandma said,” she told me. We went into the kitchen, and I introduced her to Dad. “You’re the daddy of Little Mermaid? Wow!”

“Indeed,” Dad said, smiling warmly. “How do you like her babysitting? Is she being naughty?”

“Oh, yes,” Liara said, nodding. I pretended to be aghast, and Dad chuckled. “What’cha making?” Dad told her it was apple pie, and she asked us if she could help. At this point, there really was nothing else to do but put the pie in the oven.

She sat on the kitchen counter and looked around. She picked up the photo sitting at the corner.

“Is this yours?” Liara showed me the picture. I shook my head. “You know, I was looking at the family album one day with grandma, and I saw pictures of little Evin, little Arian, and little Ally.” She tilted the photo. “The little boy and girl in this picture look like little Arian and Ally. I don’t know how Ally looks like now though.”

“Oh,” I said. I didn’t know what else to think. Why was the picture in my house? I went back to what the girl this morning said. “Hey, Liara, do you know who Ms. Crane is?”

“Ms. Crane?” Liara looked up in thought. “Oh, yeah! She lived here before you and your daddy came.” I waited for her to say more, but that was all she seemed to know.

For a while after, I showed Liara the house and let her fiddle with the decorations on my bedroom walls. With her commentary, curiosity, and constant questions about everything, I grew fonder of her. Before she left, she admitted the main reason she came here. Dad and I were asked to come for the dinner at around 7:00 p.m. It was plenty of time to let the pies cool down and fix outfits.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had a proper Thanksgiving dinner. After Mom, it was the first time, and I couldn’t wait.

* * *

The moment I entered the McCoys’ house, I heard a blast of noises. It sounded chaotic, smelled heavenly, and was just…festive. Dad and I didn’t dress too flashy. I wore a plain maroon top hugging my body to my thighs and black stockings. Just for the occasion, I also put on Mom’s autumn leaf hairpin.

“Come in!” Julianna welcomed us. “Here dear, let me get that pie. It looks wonderful.” I heard shouts as Liara and Andy rushed to greet us. Dad squeezed my shoulder before Julianna took us towards the main dinner area.

I immediately recoiled a little when I saw the dining room. The huge table was now filled with more than a dozen people. The only seats left were at the very end of the table.

“Hey, everyone!” Julianna called, and they all looked over. “Remember I said two special guests will be joining us. This is Steve and his daughter, Arial.”

“Welcome to chaos,” Evin said aloud, and everyone laughed.

“It’s really a pleasure to have you here, Steve,” Julianna said to Dad. “You and Ari, both. We’ll all have a great Thanksgiving this year.”

“Are you done with the mushy stuff? I’m starving,” one of the younger kids, sitting between two older teenagers, said.

“Matthew, shut up,” the boy on his left said. “Sorry, auntie.” Julianna smiled and led Dad and I to our seats at the end of the table.

The first one on my side was a middle-aged man with dark brown hair. The first one on Dad’s side was Arian. I had a slight prediction that Arian wasn’t going to be at the table since he hardly interacted with any family. But even if he was here, he was quiet either staring ahead, staring at the table, or resting his chin on his hand.

I thought I was the only one who noticed, but I was proven wrong when the middle-aged man spoke.

“Arian, what’s with the dull face?” he said. Arian looked at him in reply. The man stared at Dad and me. “Can you believe my nephew?” Dad chuckled, and they both introduced each other.

The man’s name was Jack, and he was Julianna’s older brother. He came with his wife, Elina, and two kids, Curtis and Mathew.

“Has he always been like this?” Dad asked in a low voice. But since I was literally in between, it wasn’t so much of a whisper.

“As long as I can remember,” Jack said, equally as quiet. He shook his head. “The strangest kid ever.”

“I agree,” Dad said.

I started to feel bad for Arian, having two grown men talk about him right in front of him. I was only a spectator until I was brought into the conversation.

“You know, Ari even said that he had creepy blue eyes,” Dad told Jack. My heart pounded, and I wanted to scream at my dad for mentioning me at all.

I took the risk to peek at Arian, and to my horror, he was staring right back. And as bad as the situation was, the first thing I noticed were his damn blue eyes. I quickly broke the eye-contact, as finally, Jack and Dad began talking about something else. They started talking about politics, and they were two of the loudest at the table. The boy sitting next to Jack started complaining and Jack switched spots with me. Great. Now I was sitting directly in front of Arian.

The boy who complained shared pointed looks with Jack. He had the similar brown hair to Jack, and his face was long and sharp. “My dad’s annoying, isn’t he?” he said to me.

“So is my dad,” I said.

He smiled. “Dads.” I nodded. “I’m Curtis.” I told him my name, too, but said he could call me Ari. “Ari, like ‘airy’? The air?”

“Oh, um, yeah,” I mumbled, vividly remembering something similar said by the person in front of me. “I moved recently. Next to the McCoys.”

“Yeah, my aunt told us,” he said. And then he smirked, his eyes drifting to Arian. “I wonder how Arian reacted to that.” I followed his gaze and saw Arian with a slightly clenched jaw. His expression said ‘don’t-mess-with-me-or-else’.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” I said, zipping open my shoulder bag. I took out the photo of the two boys and a girl. “I was going to give this to Julianna or Elise.”

“Let me see,” he said, taking the photo. “Whoa, this looks exactly like Arian when he was like, eight.”

“That’s what…” I said, glancing at Arian. He was paying attention though he was staring at the table. I knew he was. “I mean, Liara did say that. And this girl, looked like…I can’t remember the name but it started with ‘A’. Annie, Ally, something like that.”

“Ally?” Curtis said, furrowing his brows. He handed the photo back to me and lowered his voice. “Don’t get involved in this s**t. Give them the photo as soon as possible.”

“Do you know the other boy in the photo?” I asked curiously.

Curtis shrugged. “He looks familiar. Probably Rowen, or Archie or some other person.” Who were Archie and Rowan? And why was everything a jumbled mess? Why did I even find this picture in my house?

Dinner was served shortly after, and it smelled so good my mouth was starting to water. Evin dropped by to talk with Dad and me for a bit, and Curtis took me to introduce his mom and the others in the family.

It was close to ten, and the sky was dark through the windows. Most of us were done eating, some catching up on dessert. I didn’t want the soft drinks, so I went to the kitchen to grab some fresh orange juice.

The kitchen was empty, and I could hear faint chattering and laughing from the dining room. I opened the refrigerator and took out the juice carton. As I was pouring it into a glass, someone entered the kitchen and leaned against the counter. I casually looked up and almost spilled the juice when I saw Arian. He had his arms and legs crossed, in some kind of waiting gesture. I put the cap back onto the carton.

“Give me the photo,” Arian said. I furrowed my eyebrows. “The photo you showed that moron. Let me see it.”

I pulled the picture out and gave it to him. “I was going to give it to one of you guys.” Arian looked at it closely for about two minutes.

“Where’d you find this?” he demanded. I fiddled with the straps of my bag, a small curiosity building inside of me.

“In my house. I found it in a drawer in the kitchen the day we moved in,” I explained. “I didn’t know what to do with it until Liara told me about it.”

“When did she tell you?” he said.

“Today. When she came over,” I said. Arian frowned. “Is that really you in there? With like, that girl, and um…Archie?”

“You have no right to ask me that,” he said, his voice was the coldest I’d ever heard it.

“I know, I’m sorry.” I sighed, putting the carton back in the fridge. “I didn’t want to throw it away for some reason. But is it important to you?”

“Not the photo.”

After a couple seconds of silence, I said, “The people in it?” Arian looked away, clutching the photo in his fist. “Nosy again. Sorry. Anyway, good dinner.”

“Don’t tell me,” he said. “Tell the people who actually made it. And here,” he tossed the crumpled photo on the counter next to my glass of juice. “Get rid of that for me.” Why though?

Blankly, I picked up the balled photo. “A ‘please’ wouldn’t hurt,” I murmured to myself.

Arian looked at me. “Please.”

“Why do you say it in such an emotionless way?” Ah, what was wrong with me? I should be grateful he even said it. Before he responded, I quickly added, “Forget it. I’m going.”

I took my juice and left the kitchen with quick steps. I felt like it got much easier to breath from all that awkwardness. Unfortunately, coming to Dad and Jack ranting about the city’s problems didn't help.

“What took you so long?” Curtis asked. “I saw Arian go into the kitchen right after you.”

I shrugged and said, “He was asking me about the photo. Don’t worry about it.” Curtis smirked again, and I didn’t understand why.

“You came at a bad time, though,” he said, a frown replacing his smirk. “Dad and Steve were talking about the NR evacuations. Worst topic to talk about in the history of Brilliant Cove.”

Now that sparked my attention. I wanted to listen more closely but by the time I heard anything interesting, it was time for everybody to leave.

Dad and I stayed after everyone else left. Julianna told us again it was a pleasure to have us come.

“Come again more often, okay?” Julianna said.

“If my boss is okay with it,” Dad joked. We all laughed, and too soon, it was time to go.

Dad and I walked back to our house in the dark night. Before we went inside, I looked up at the stars.

“Dad?” I said, and he looked at me. “Want to sit on the roof with me and stare at the stars?”

“But, pumpkin, what if I fall asleep?” he said. My face fell. “I’m just kidding, Ari. Of course I will.”

It was quiet, calm.

“Today was amazing,” I said.

“It was.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, resting his cheek against my head. “I miss Mom.”

I looked up at him. “Me too.”