The Swiss Escape

Meeting the family

Alex

I quickly throw on clothes. Whoever is at the door better have something important to say. They interrupt my make-up s*x. I open the door and freeze; there stands my parents, Fritz, Lana, and her son.

“What do you want? Why are you all here?”

“We are here to talk about you and Lana.” I hear the disdain in my brother’s voice.

“There is no me and Lana. Now please leave. My girlfriend and I are busy, we have a night free, so we want to take advantage.” I try to shut the door, but my brother uses his foot to stop the door.

“Don’t be so rude, Alexander. We have traveled a long way. You should at least let us into your house. We are your family, after all.” My mother says in her disapproving voice.

“We stopped being family when you took his side,” I look at Fritz, “over mine.”

“Alexander, show some respect to your mother.” My father gives me a disappointed look.

I get a smirk, “Well, you can’t come in, my girlfriend is indisposed. We plan to have a romantic evening. She just moved in today. So, we have a very busy night ahead of us.”

I try to shut the door again, but Fritz stops it. “We need to talk.”

“Fritz, we have nothing to talk about; according to your wife, it was you that came up with the idea to scam me. Tell them how you made me believe Denis was mine, how you constantly asked me for money to buy things for the baby. That she needed special tests, so I sent more money. Then you told everyone else that I knew the baby wasn’t mine. But that wasn’t true, was it. Fritz, take Lana and your kid and leave me alone. I have survived without you for four years. I will survive the rest of my life without you.”

Lana starts talking next. “I thought you and the American girl broke up since she walked in on us.”

I can see the anger on Fritz’s face. “So, you were trying to get back with Lana.”

“No, I don’t want Lana. I have asked over and over for Lana to leave me alone. She continues to insert herself into my life. Now please leave.”

I hear footsteps behind me. Kamryn is redress and I feel disappointed. These people have taken so much of my time that Kamryn is now up and no longer in my bed. “Is everything okay?” Kamryn’s voice is soft.

I turn towards Kamryn. “Everything is fine. Go back to bed. I will be right there.”

Fritz pushes the door. When he smiles at Kamryn, I feel rage. He walks into my house towards her. “Hello, I’m Alex’s brother, Fritz.” He smiles at her.

Kamryn looks at me, confused. I know she understood what Fritz said, but the issue is why he is talking to her. I shake my head. She walks over and stands next to me. I put my arm around her. I know she did this to show she’s with me.

The way Fritz is looking at Kamryn upsets me. “Kamryn, this is my family,” I tell her.

Kamryn politely smiles and says hello to everyone. Lana looks surprised to see Kamryn here; despite her best efforts, Kamryn and I are together.

My mother looks at Kamryn up and down, then around my house. My dad looks exhausted. “Why are you all here? I told Lana to go away, and now I am telling all of you to go.”

Mother is the first to speak. “Don’t you think this drama has gone on long enough? It is time to put everything in the past.”

“Fritz called me, and you yelled at me. Saying I was trying to get Lana back, and how dare I do this to him. You don’t get to decide when I get over my brother’s betrayal.” Kamryn takes my hand, and I feel better knowing she is close.

Kamryn, in a calming voice, tells my mother, “you yelled at your son about something he didn’t do. But you supported the son who did betray his brother. You failed to view evidence to prove Alex was innocent. He had proof that Fritz and Lana used him. He felt abandoned by you, how do you expect him to get over that?”

My mother doesn’t look pleased to hear Kamryn say those words. I wish Kamryn wouldn’t have pointed out how hurt I was. But I do appreciate what she tried to do.

“Where would you be if it wasn’t for us? I raised you. What Fritz and Lana did was wrong, but Alex retaliated. He refused to come to family functions. It was embarrassing that he abandons everyone.” I look at Kamryn’s reaction as she takes in my mother’s words. Her German has come a long way, I know she doesn’t know all the words, but she understood most of what my mother said.

“You chose to support Fritz and Lana after they used Alex. Did you know there were times he didn’t eat? He gave everything to them. And in return, Alex found out he wasn’t a father, then was told he had to attend the wedding of his brother and ex. A wedding that happened two months after Alex realized everything. Do you think that was right? You could have postponed things, wait until Alex had time to grieve. But no one considered Alex’s feelings. Now it’s been four years, and you expect him to be okay?” Kamryn never raises her voice. She doesn’t even seem angry. It surprises me that she can handle herself like this. I am ready to scream and throw things at them, but she uses the same technique she uses on the students if they fight.

My mother looks furious. I can tell Kamryn is getting to her. Kamryn is making my mother see the error of her mistakes, and she hates it. My mother looks at my father. I hear her whisper say something to him. “Alex, please tell your girlfriend to show respect for your mother.”

I smirk at him. “How was Kamryn showing disrespect? Did she raise her voice? Did she outright criticize her? Or did she simple point out my side, and that angered mother?”

My mother let out a gasp. I am not sure why she is surprised. I have always displayed my feelings towards them. Even as a child, I would tell them how I saw the world. They often didn’t like it, but nothing they did change me. “Never have I walked into someone’s home with such hostility.” Lana tries to make her voice sound as if she’s offended.

Kamryn looks at me, confused. I lean over and translate for her. Kamryn whisper back that maybe Lana doesn’t get invited to many places. It took everything in me not to laugh. She gets a glimmer in her eyes; she whispers back for me to tell everyone to have a seat, and she will serve drinks. I look at her curiously but nod.

“Please have a seat, Kamryn will bring out drinks for everyone.” I wonder what her plan is, I could tell she thought up something, but I don’t know what it is yet. She goes to the kitchen, and at first, I thought about helping her but decided against it. If she needed my help, she would tell me.

When Kamryn comes back, she is carrying a tray full of drinks. “I made tea for everyone. Since you all have to find a way to a hotel tonight, I figured alcohol was a bad choice. Oh, Lana, since Denis had such an issue with the juice cup earlier, I got one of Kayla’s cups. He won’t be able to open it. I also got him milk. Calcium is so important at this age. Juice so much sugar and stains, I can’t imagine how embarrassed you must be from earlier. Don’t worry. I got the stain out of Alex’s shirt.”

Kamryn turns to me and gives me a wink. She then goes into Kayla’s room. When she comes back, she has a mat that kids can drawl on with water. “Would Denis like to play with this? Don’t worry; it won’t make a mess; it just uses water. He can doodle or trace things. Does he know his letters yet? The mat only has the English alphabet on it. But I do have some car stencils.”

Lana looked disapprovingly at Kamryn. “He doesn’t need anything to play with; I have taught him to entertain himself.”

Kamryn smiles at her. Understanding what Kamryn is doing, I speak up, “That’s wonderful. Kayla is great at entertaining herself. That’s why Kamryn always bring something for her to entertain herself. You know how kids will entertain themselves when bored. Some may figure out how to take the lid off a juice cup and throw it.”

Lana gives me a smirk, “Where is Kayla? Did you send her away already?”

I smile back. “No, Kamryn moved in, so we had a friend take her for the night. That way, we can get her room set up, and she can stay on her schedule.”

“Who’s Kayla?” My mother asks.

Lana turns to her. “It’s his girlfriend’s daughter. He says it’s his new family.”

“It is, I enjoy being a part of Kayla’s life. She’s a brilliant child. Probably from all the hard work of her mother. Kayla can speak both English and German. It’s too bad none of you will get to meet her.” I stare at my mother as I speak.

“What are your plans, then Alex? Have you adopted the little girl?” My mother looks interested in hearing my answer. It worries me a little.

“If Kayla’s biological father signs over his rights, then yes. I would adopt her in a heartbeat.”

“Do you plan on having more children?” My mother looks at Kamryn.

I can see the hesitation in her eyes. “I am not opposed to having more children. It is something Alex and I have not discussed. I always wanted two, but I am good with one or having more. We still have plenty of time to consider our options.”

“Don’t take too long. Alex is already 33; you don’t want him to be an old father.” Kamryn looks offended by my mother’s words.

“Some people are not becoming first-time parents until their 40’s. If someone wants to wait until they feel it’s the right time, then let them. There is always adoption and other methods of having children. When Alex and I are ready to have a child, we will. Having children is a decision, Alex, and I will make after much consideration.” Kamryn looks at me and smiles.

Hearing Kamryn is open to having children with me makes me happy. I have always wanted children, and knowing she is open to having more gives me hope. I look over at my mother. “Children is something Kamryn and I will talk about in private. It isn’t up for discussion to anyone but us.”

“Well, I want more than just one grandchild. Clearly, one is too much for Lana, so I will settle for one from you.” My mother gives me a look that says I should already have a baby.

“There is Kayla. As long as Kamryn and I are together, you can treat her as a second grandchild.” I tell my mother.

“She isn’t my blood. I want a real grandchild, not one that came from your girlfriend before you.” I feel anger rise in me over my mother’s words.

“Then you will never see any of my children.” Kamryn looks at me curiously. “You will treat Kayla like any other grandchild, or I will make sure you will never see any of my children ever. I won't even tell you of their existence.”

“But she isn’t your child.” Lana’s voice is pleading.

“Neither is yours, but you still tried to convince me to get back together with you. Did you tell everyone how you called me multiple times, then showed up at the school and my car trying to get me to talk to you? Or how you begged for my help because Fritz wasn’t supporting you? Did you mention how you tried to drive Kamryn away multiple times so I would get back with you?” I watch Lana as I speak. I can tell my words made her nervous. She looks over at Fritz. I can tell he’s angry with her.

“Fritz, none of those things happened. I was confused; he called and reached out to me. I ignored him at first. When things between us got bad, I thought he could help me.” After hearing Lana speak, I can tell Fritz doesn’t know what to believe. He can believe her. I don’t care; I only care if Kamryn believes me.