Page 30 of Twisted Fate

“Fine, really. Zoe’s doing well and the other two are as well.” Keily had all three babies on a quilt on the floor, playing with them all as they wobbled back and forth looking at each other. They couldn’t roll over very much yet, and still spent most of their time asleep, but they could move enough to see each other.

“Are they happy to have their sister home?” Violet asked and joined Keily and Rosa on the floor.

“They seem excited about it, yes,” Keily replied with a glance at her sister. “I wasn’t sure they’d notice, but since I’ve had them on the floor here all they seem to want to do is look at each other and hold hands.”

Zinnia had Zoe’s right hand in her left, while Zara’s left hand was in her right. They were all wobbling and cooing at each other, sticking their tongues out and generally happy to be together, from the looks of it.

“It’s like they knew something was missing,” Keily observed out loud. “But now that missing puzzle piece is back and they’re complete.”

“I guess that is what happened, isn’t it?” Rosa asked and wiped a little dribble of spit from Zoe’s mouth. “She’s still so little.”

“I know, but they’ll catch up eventually, I guess.” Keily frowned. “I don’t know, maybe they won’t. But I think they will.”

“Probably, as they get older.” Violet picked up Zara when she started to frown and kick. “Somebody’s about to need a new diaper.”

“I think there’s two that need changing.” Rosa picked up Zoe, as gentle as everybody else that picked the baby up and stood with her. “But Aunty Rosa is here to help, right, my darling?”

Keily smiled and took Zinnia’s hand when she continued to reach out for her sisters. “They’ll be back in a minute, my love.”

Zinnia cooed up at her mommy and Keily laughed. This had been a brutal experience, but one she wouldn’t have given up for anything. Especially at times like now, when she got the most delighted cackle of sound from Zinnia. They really were precious moments, little videos burned into her memory that would never fade away.

The doorbell rang and Keily looked up from her daughter’s face with confusion. They didn’t get many visitors at Logan’s, other than Rosa and Violet, so she was a little confused when the doorbell rang. “Logan will get it.”

But Logan was soon at the nursery door, a frown on his face. “Um, Keily, Violet, it seems your parents are here?”

It was a question because he knew Keily hadn’t invited them and never would. He looked at Violet, to see if she was responsible, but she was just as upset as Keily by the news.

“What the fuck are those two doing here?” Violet’s face, dark and cloudy with anger, told Logan and Keily that she had nothing to do with their parents’ sudden appearance. “Let me just go and tell them to fuck off back where they came from and I’ll be back in a minute.”

Violet stood up, handed Zara to Logan, but Keily stopped her.

“Let me come with you, Violet. We need to do this together, I think.” Keily put Zinnia in her crib and took her sister’s hand.

Violet looked over at Keily and saw just as much fierce determination on her sister’s face as she felt. “We can do this.”

“We can, together, Keily.” Violet agreed and they walked down the steps.

“Girls, you both look so good!” Heather, their mother cried from the living room couch.

Keily and Violet had walked towards the door but obviously Logan had shown their parents in or, most likely, their mother had let herself in and made herself comfortable. While Heather pretended to not look around, ticking up prices with everything her eyes fell on, Keily glared at her father, Steve. He sat meekly on the couch, not looking at anything, not even moving. If it wasn’t for the fact that she could see his chest move, Keily would have wondered if her father was dead.

Keily turned her eyes back to her mother, who was blathering on about their drive up from Florida, as if her hair wasn’t thin and dirty, as if her teeth hadn’t given up the fight long ago against the meth Heather loved so dearly, as if her skin and health weren’t in the gutter from the same culprit.

Heather had lost so much weight her eyes appeared to be two huge marbles in the head of a skeleton, her lips and skin dry and flaky. Keily’s upper lip pulled in a little as she looked her mother over, distaste, disgust, and pity mingling into one ball of whirling anger. How had her father allowed her mother to get this bad? Keily wondered as her mother all but bounced maniacally in place, like a clown on crack. Or maybe she was on crack, Keily wondered as her mother twirled in place, screeching about how proud she was of Keily.

“I always knew you’d make the big time, baby, and you have. Momma’s so proud.” Heather tried to hug Keily but Keily backed up, holding her mother off, and the smell of decay her mother gave off, with hands out to stop her.

“No. Just no. You left Violet on her own when she had Alice, you didn’t even come to see her. Not to mention all the money you’ve stolen from me over the years. Nope, you don’t get to do this. Dad.” Keily paused but her dad didn’t move a muscle. “Dad!”

Shouting the word at him seemed to break the stupor he was in. “Yes?”

“Get Mom and get the fuck out of here. Neither of you are wanted. Mom, you can destroy your own life if you want to, and Dad you can let her if you’re that damn lazy, but you will not destroy mine or my children’s.” Keily spoke calmly, but inside she was shaking with anger.

“I’m with Keily, just go. I don’t need your kind of pride, Mom, and a good thing, because you haven’t ever given me an ounce of love. As Keily said, get the fuck out and don’t come back. Don’t come near me or my child, and don’t ever, ever show up at my house. Ever.” Violet, unlike Keily, walked closer, one finger held out in their mother’s direction until the woman backed up against the front door. “Go and don’t ever come back.”

“But…” Heather looked around, her eyes full of greed and dollar signs. “But you have so much, Keily.”

“I don’t. This isn’t my home. I live in a trailer on the other side of town.” Keily paused as her mother’s eyes fell to the ground in disappointment. “Oh, does that bother you, Mommy dearest? To know your beauty pageant queen daughter is now the proud renter of a trailer on the wrong side of town? Too fucking bad. Out!”