Ch 6
1042 Words
Allie was trying to find the words but was drawing a blank. She knew that she was going to have this conversation with Dominic but was prepared for it right now, especially after such a long drive.
A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. "Yeah?"
"I guess I am a bellhop now." Allie's dad walked into the room carrying her and Dominic's bag. "Here are your bags."
"Thank you. Dom, get in your bag and get your pajamas. The bathroom is right there. Go get changed and brush your teeth."
"Okay, Mom."
Once Dom was in the bathroom and the door was closed, Allie turned to face her dad." Dad! What the hell? What did you tell Dom?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Dominic just asked me is Amy was his other grandma and if Jake was his other dad! Who told him?"
"Don't look at me. Or Lisa. We have respected your decision with this. But you have to realize, Dominic is not a normal seven year old. He is very smart and I am sure that he kind of figured it out on this own."
"I doubt that. Dad, what do I do? What do I tell him?"
"The truth. It is all going to come out anyway. I know you have had a long drive, though. Do you think that you can stall him until tomorrow? Until after, well, after everything goes down?"
"Yeah, maybe. I don't know. You know I don't like to lie to him."
" It is not lying to him. You are just delaying telling him until all the ducks are in the same pond. Wait until after breakfast. Just tell him it is late and that you will talk to him in the morning about it all."
"I guess you are right. I don't know how he figured anything out. There is no way how he put all of this together in a matter of minutes."
"That boy surprises me every day so I wouldn't be shocked if that was the case."
"Thanks, Dad. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay. Try and get some sleep. I know it is going to be hard."
"Understatement of the year."
Dan left the room, closing the door behind him. Allied sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. She felt the walls closing in on her. She knew that she would have to face each and every person but wasn't expecting it to be all at once. The things that she tried to shield Dominic from, were creeping up, refusing to be pushed to the side any longer.
"All done, Mom." Dominic emerged from the adjoining bathroom, eyes heavy from the day.
"Okay. I'm going to change real quick and then we will settle in and get some sleep. It has been a long day and I'm pretty tired from the drive."
"In about nine years I will be old enough to help you with the driving when we go on vacation."
"Yes, you will. But in the meantime, I will be doing the driving. I just need to get a little bit of sleep. Go on and hop into bed. If you want, there is a little radio on the dresser you can turn on to listen to some music."
"Okay." Dominic went and fiddled with the radio as Allie went and changed into her night clothes. "How old is this? I can only get like two stations."
"We are in the middle of the woods, it is going to be hard to get any radio stations. Just put something on for back ground noise. It is not like we are actually going to listen to it."
Dominic settled on the first station that he could find which played classic country. "This will have to do. It will definitely put me to sleep."
"Such a comedian."
"So, are you going to answer my question?"
"Dom, honey, things are not that simple."
"It is a yes or no question, Mom."
"Can you ever act like every other seven year old boy? Sometimes I think that you are too mature for your age. You worry about things that you should not be worrying about."
"Mom-"
"Dom, can we talk about it in the morning? It was a really long drive and I am kind of tired. I promise you that I will answer any questions that you may have in the morning."
"Do you really promise?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"Okay, time to settle in. It's late, and this momma is tired." They got situated on the queen sized bed and Allie turned off the light. Dominic cuddled up against her and she stroked his hair, hoping that he would doze off soon.
"Momma?"
"What?"
"Have you been here before?"
"Yeah. A long time ago. It has been a while since I have been here."
"Will I have fun while I am here? You said we were in the middle of nowhere. Are there things to do around here?"
"I am sure that Papa will have plenty of things planned for you to do. I am not sure if they still have 4-wheelers but if they do, I am sure that he will take you out for a ride. There are things that you will be able to do here that you can't do at home or would be hard to do at home. I know that you will have a fun time."
"Okay. Can I ask one more question?"
"One more and then it is time to go to sleep."
"Why were they all mad at you?"
"They were not mad at me."
"Were they mad at me?"
"No, Baby, no. I mean, they are a little mad at me but that is because we have not talked in such a long time. And in no way are they mad at you. You did absolutely nothing wrong and have not given them any reason to be mad at you."
"Did you ride the four wheeler the last time you were here?"
"Yes, I did. That was more than one question. Now, close your eyes and go to sleep."
"I love you, Mom."
"Love you too, Dominic Stephen."
- Writer
