April 9, 2014

The call came at 7:30 in the morning. I was in the kitchen with Seth teaching him how to make a perfect pancake when we heard my phone ring in my room. Dutifully, Seth ran into my room to grab my phone for me. “Here you go, Mommy!” He plopped it into my hand. “It’s Uncle Peter.”

“Thank you, sweetie. Go wake your sisters up, okay?”

He nodded and went into the other room. I hit Answer on my phone. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“I got a flat. Can you take me home?”

“We both know you can fix a flat, Petey.”

“I tore my rim up and everything. Please sis, I need you.”

“I’ve gotta go to my appointment at 8:30. You’re six miles in the other direction.”

“There’s no one else. Come on, please?”

I sighed and flipped the pancakes. They gave me a low hiss. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Stay put.”

“Thank you!” My brother’s gruff voice voice died.

I slid the pancakes into a neat stack and buttered them. I could hear my daughters groaning and the shower turning on. Seth came back into the kitchen. He noticed the stack on his plate and pouted. “Aw man! I missed it!”

“I’ll show you tomorrow, okay?”

I gave him the plate of pancakes, grabbed the syrup off of the counter and escorted him to the table. I helped him slide his plate onto the table. While he climbed into the chair, I cut his pancakes into strips and squirted syrup onto them. He grabbed a strip and put it into his mouth. “Mmmm. These are good, Mommy.”

I chuckled. “You wanna go with me to go get Uncle Pete?”

He nodded and shoveled more pancakes into his mouth.

“Okay. When you’re done, go get your shoes and your jacket on, and I’ll be out soon, alright?”

He nodded again and kept eating. I tousled his hair and went into my dark room to change. Midway through, I heard my husband mumble, “Where are you heading off to so early?”

“Peter called and said he got a flat and can’t go anywhere for a while so I’m going to take him to school?”

“Is Seth going too?”

I nodded. He grunted in response and rolled over. I slipped my feet into my tennis shoes and grabbed my Longhorns sweatshirt. My son was in the living room struggling to put his jacket on. Beside him, his shoes, which were still caked in dry mud from the rain, were sitting on my couch. He poked his arm in every angle he could to try and get it through the hole. I knew I could’ve helped him, but right when I was about to, he found the sleeve and slipped his arm through. He put his shoes on and tightened the velcro. He grabbed my purse and my phone and walked towards the hallway. I met him halfway.

“Are you ready?”

He nodded and presented me with my purse and phone.

“Thank you sweetheart.”

I helped my son out of the door and into the car. Together, we buckled him in and started the trek to my old high school. The warm breeze flew through the open windows, tousling my hair. I could feel the nostalgia of the first time I’d driven down this street. I was sixteen in my mom’s brand new 2005 Nissan Altima. Ana and I had missed the bus and my mother didn’t feel like taking us to school, so she tossed me the keys and told me if she saw a scratch I would be grounded until I had a head full of white hair. Ana and I had donned pairs of sunglasses and flew down the street easily going 80 mph in a 20. It was a wonder I didn’t get pulled over. I chuckled at the thought of Ana and me. We must have looked like fools.

“There’s Uncle!” my son shouted.

He was pointing out of his window at my brother, who was sitting in the middle of a closed Denny’s parking lot. He was on the curb with his head in his hands. I pulled in and pulled up to his car. He looked up and walked over to me.

“Did you call AAA?” I asked him.

“Hi Uncle!” my son yelled from behind me.

Peter waved. “Nah. I don’t know the number.”

I crossed my arms. “Why didn’t you call them first?”

He shrugged. I sighed and got out of the car to inspect the damage. His green 2002 Maxima literally had three wheels. The rim of the fourth wheel was bent in and the tire was a shredded puddle on the ground. There were scrapes along the car as if a banshee had dug her nails into it. His bumper was hanging on one side. I clicked my tongue a few times and shook my head. “What did you do to The Baby Gator?”

“There was a median and I didn’t see it when I was backing up and-”

“That doesn’t explain the shredded tire.”

“I was getting to that. I got to close so I turned to correct it, turned the wrong way, and my entire right side skid along the curb, and it shredded my tire.”

I rubbed my temple. “Why couldn’t you call Mom or someone?”

“They’re in Hawaii, remember? They went on that came show and won the trip.”

“What about Nico?”

“He has that court date. John went to the airport today, Tina’s in class, and no one has heard from Ana.”

My heart kicked me. “No has heard from Ana?”

“The last I talked to her was Saturday when she went on that skiing trip. I asked if she’d gotten back okay and she said she was about to go back out and she’d text me later.”

I started to tell him about Ana’s boss calling me to tell me that she hadn’t been in for work in a few days but the worry in his eyes stopped me. Not knowing where Ana was all those years ago made me paranoid. For about three years, i was always on her case. I begged her to tell me where she was going and what she was doing every day, and even though she readily agreed every time, I knew it bothered her that I worried so much. If something was wrong, Peter didn’t need to focus on it. So, instead of telling him about her, I told him the number for AAA so they could get his car to a mechanic.

AAA arrived twenty minutes later with a tow truck. Someone took my brother’s information and assured me they would call when they were done with the car, so I could get it back to his school before it was out. Peter got in my car and sighed. “The Baby Gator’s going to survive,” he said with a smile.

“Well, you were going to let it die,” I reminded him. “If it wasn’t for me, The Baby Gator would be dead.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

I started the car. “So, Dad tells you want to go into the Navy.”

“I don’t want to talk about him,” Peter grunted.

“Why not?”

Peter just bit his bottom lip, a habit he had since he was little. I could tell he was tapping his foot furiously.

“What happened?” I pressed.

“He and Mom told me that Fred isn’t my dad. He is.”

I heard Seth ooh from the backseat, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So? He’s been in our lives since you were born.”

“It didn’t seem weird to you?”

Laughing, I replied, “Honey, I was eight. Nothing was weird to me. Just like I didn’t notice Fred cheating or how he spent so much time at work. It just wasn’t my place to worry about it. Plus, you act like you loved Fred as your dad. Fred sucks.”

“I know but think about it. If they had just told me since I was born, I wouldn’t even need to know him or Martha or any of them.”

I shrugged and glanced at the clock. 7:51. I might make it to my appointment. I heard Peter shift uncomfortably before saying, “I tried calling Ana and it went straight to voicemail. Have you talked to her lately?”

“Bu but her boss called-”

My brother looked at me in horror. I couldn’t tell him.

“She was going to go to Sweden with Michelle. Maybe she forgot her charger again. You know how much she does that. Especially when she gets excited. Don’t worry about her, okay?”

He made a face before nodding. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right! Just focus on school and I’ll focus on getting through to her.”

He nodded solemnly. We were at his school. He grabbed his stuff and opened the door. “Have fun at the OB/GYN,” he said with a chuckle.

I smiled and waved at him before driving off. My stomach was turning. I called my stepsister, Raegan, on the Blutooth. She picked up after one ring. “Hey Trix. What’s up?”

“Hey, um, is it alright if Seth stays with you today?”

“Yeah, of course. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be there in a few.”

Raegan’s voice cut off. My eyes were clouding with tears. “Mommy,” my son said. “Are you okay?”

I wiped the tears away with one hand as I straightened the car on the road. “Yes, I’m okay sweetie.”

“Is Auntie?”

A sob broke from my lips, but I tried to keep my composure. “I’m sure she is,” I stammered. “Are you excited to see Auntie Raegan?”

He nodded and stuck his sippy cup in his mouth. The rest of the ride was silent. Raegan was on her porch waiting for me. Her blue shawl draped from her like a fabric waterfall. I could see peaks of the green scrubs under her clothes, and shame welled in my cheeks. I’d forgotten she had a job now, and I couldn’t just call like this. Yet, when Seth and I got out of the car, she smiled at me.

“Look at my little stepsister!” she shouted.

I smirked. Seth ran to her. “Auntie!” he screamed.

He pressed himself in her arms. She picked him up and chuckled. “About time you came back. Remember what you promised me last time?”

His eyes lit up. “We can do it?”

She smiled and nodded. He practically leapt out of her arms and ran inside. I chuckled and hugged Raegan. She stood back, looked at me, and her face paled. “Oh no, what happened?”

“Huh?”

“The last time I saw that face, you told me Mittens got ran over. What happened?”

“Uh… when’s the last time you talked to Ana?”