AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let me. Here. Hello? Can you hear us?”
“There’s no need to shout Letty.”
“I’m not Letty!” She cries indignantly. “I’m Cora.”
“You sound just like Letty.” I shake my head in wonder at how much these girls have grown. I’m surprised they even remember me, some of them were so little when I left.
“How are you all? How’s Mama really? Do you need anything?”
“Mama won’t let me come to England!” Cora whines.
“Over my dead body!” My mother snaps in the background. “I’ve already lost one child to that godforsaken country. I refuse to lose another.”
“Mama, you haven’t lost me.” I sigh.
“Oh really? Are you calling to say when you’ll be home then...no. I didn’t think so.”
“Mama, I can’t come back. This is my home now,” I hesitate and then drop the bombshell that will send my family insane. “I have a girl. And...a daughter.”
Sure enough, chaos erupts on the end of the line and I don’t even need the speakerphone to hear their excited chatter. I place the phone on my lap and stretch, waiting for them to calm down. As I listen in, I start to be able to tell them apart more and more. Valentina is so quiet. I worry about the damage my uncle may have already inflicted on her. It’s never easy being anyone’s favourite in our family.
“You better be getting on the next flight back here and bringing them to meet your family or so help me god, Aljaž…”
“Mama, calm down. I’ve only just found out.”
“Jezus mi pomagaj! What does that mean?”
“It means that I didn’t know I had a daughter until about an hour ago.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It’s a long story, Mama.”
“You can tell me all about it when you bring them both for a nice long visit. You should come for summer.”
“Mama—”
“Don’t Mama me, Aljaž! You bring that family to see me or I’ll be on the first flight over, with your sisters, and won’t be leaving until we’ve seen in the new year!”
“Mama, that’s months away.”
“You’re a nice, rich boy. You work hard and send good money home. Don’t tell me you don’t live in a fancy house. We can all come live with you.”
“You mean stay, for a visit?”
“No, I mean live. I want to see my first and only grandchild grow up.”
“Mama! Okay. When I have things sorted here, we will come for a visit—“”
“Najlepša hvala!”
“A short visit, Mama.”
She harrumphs.
“And I’ll call you next week. You can video call and meet her, okay?”
“No. Tomorrow.”
