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Chapter Nine
After Samson walked out of the door Margaret's mom called her into the kitchen. Music remained playing this time it was “Jolene” by Dolly Parton who was one of her mom’s favorite singers.
The chicken and bowties simmers on the stovetop as her mother stirs freshly made tomato sauce and spices. A faint whiff of oregano can be detected, mixed with a powerful smoky aroma. The faintest hint of parmesan cheese comes from the freshly grated parmesan on top of the pasta.
Elija dances in his chair, nodding his head so hard he almost falls out. Meanwhile, there's more crayon covering the table than what is actually found inside the Spiderman coloring book that's open in front of him.
“Who was that?” Margaret’s mom questioned. The sauce bubbles letting off steam and heat.
“That was Samson,” Margaret answered, fidgeting with her cousin’s letter magnets on the cold fridge.
“Why was he here?”
“Uh, a school project.”
“What class,” Constantine asked in a demanding tone.
“Art but he is also in my English class,” Margaret answers, confused about why her mom is interrogating her.
Her mom raised an eyebrow, “interesting.”
“Um, How mom?” Margaret blinked at her mom incredulously.
“No reason,” her mom had said in reply but Margaret knew there had to be more to it than that.
“I don't buy it," she said finally, an accusation in her voice.
“What don't you believe?" Her mom asked, giving Maragret a hard look.
“That you would ask me all that just for nothing!” Margret spat back.
“Margaret," her mother said sternly, "I know well enough that you are smart enough to figure out the truth. That boy is going to chew you up and spit you out, he is gonna leave you in the dirt,” Constantine shook her head. “He is going to make you do most if not all the work for the project - he'll use you and leave you behind. So please, stay away from him hes not good for you!".
“Mom, what in the world are you talking about?” Margaret's voice rose in disbelief.
“You are not blind you saw what he looked like.”
“Mother!” Margarets her temper altered she spoke loudly cutting her mother off. “Just because he is from a small town, and doesn’t dress in suits all the time like dad did doesn't mean he is an idiot. He may not have a lot, but that doesn't mean he is uneducated. I think we could be really good friends. And no one said anything about me being with him, where did you even get that from? So no, I won't stay away from him. It's not like we are gonna be friends who make out! It's a school project, it doesn't matter if he’s good for me or not.”
“My darling, that boy is all country and not meant for you, he probably lives on a farm and has pet ducks with a family that acts like pigs.”
“Mom, what do you expect? We live in a small country town now, dad did this to us, of course, the people I go to school with are gonna be country. Why are you judging his family now you dont know them you don't even know HIM mom!”
“I don’t want you around a boy like that, baby girl you're gonna get hurt.”
“Oh my god, Mom can you please stop talking like I am dating Samson. We are just working on a school art project together. It's not that big of a deal I promise.”
The space became very unpleasant as Margaret's mother continued to look at her for what seemed like an eternity. Margaret felt uneasy. Her mother let out a collective sigh and told her child to go grab the cheese and take it to the table. As Margaret began to grab the cheese, she could feel her mother's eyes on her. The family soon took their seats and began to eat their dinner in silence. As they dined, Miley Cyrus' song "Angels Like You" played in the background.
Five minutes into their dinner, Constantine states, “you belong with a successful man Margaret, someone like your father.”
All eyes go to Constantine, even her nephew who has no idea what is going on or what has just been said.
Daisy’s mouth falls open. The only thing heard over Harry Styles’s “As it Was” is Skyler’s fork hitting the table. Nobody could believe what they were hearing.
“Mom.” Margaret deflates.
"Margaret, wait..."—Constantine pauses short of saying something.
“Do you know what you just said to your daughter Constantine?” Aunt Skyler interrupts.
“I don’t want anything to do with that douchebag,” Margaret states to no one specifically.
“Constantine, your past lover earned his money through stealing, yet he never was a successful person; he is also imprisoned for the next 50 years. Is it true that you want your child to be with someone like Nathan? On top of that, he also had the personality of a lemon that was sucked dry. He betrayed you more than once. He got another woman pregnant." Daisy pauses focusing solely on her sister. She wasn't aware that she was revealing very significant information to her niece. “You want a man like that for her?”
“Wait," She sighs, her hands balling into fists."First of all, I don't want to hear it. He's done enough to hurt me, his only daughter. I just want to forget that he ever existed. Second could you all stop acting like Samson and I are getting married it’s a stupid fucking art project, man.”
“Little ears,” Skyler said, pointing at Elija. “No cussing, Mar. You know better.”
"I'm not done yet, Dad got some other woman pregnant, what are you even talking about?" Margaret continues. “Are you trying to be humorous? I realize he had hookups with several other women, but I know he definitely never had other kids with them. He's a jacka- uh.. bad person, but he wouldn't do that to us he wouldn't do that to momma.”
As Daisy looks between her sister and niece, her dusty brown eyes widen. "You weren't aware?" She nearly yells.
Margaret looks just as stunned when she says, “Uh, Definitely Not! But there is no way its true” She felt a feeling of dread consume her. Her stomach churned at the possibilities of what she might hear. But there is no way it's true.
“Constantine!” Daisy shouts, “Really you didn’t tell your daughter, Of course, Nathan didn’t tell her either.”
“I can’t believe either of you,” Margaret mumbles.
The room went silent other than Elijas who is sitting in his high chair as he points at his cousin.His eyes are innocent and bright. He holds a noodle in his small hand. Elija mouth moves to mimic the sounds of the new words he heard. His eyes wander, and then they lock on Constantine. A smile forms and he giggles.
“Your dad and some woman named Tanneke had twins Mar.” Daisy said, looking towards her adorable giggling son who is admiring his aunt.
"What the actual fuck, Twins?" Margaret yells. “Stop lying, stop making my life like this, just stop!” Her voice is icy and jagged like shattered glass, and it makes the small one cry. The sound of the toddlers whines fill the house, along with Margaret's continuous shouting - she's angered, and she's not concealing it.
“Clayton and Penelope” Constintine looks at looks at her daughter and her breath catches in her throat. “They are both 6 years old.”
“Mom, I have siblings you didn't feel the need to tell me about?” Margarets voice shakes quieter now, “Why mom, Why?”
“I'm sorry Mar your dad and I thought it would be best. For our relationship.” Constantine says, taking a deep breath. “He also might have a one-month-old, her name is Jenny.”
Margaret's pulse quickened as she approached the hallway when her mother spoke those words. Margaret was disappointed with her father's, but learning that there were children in the family she was unaware of changed everything. She could hear her mother calling after her, but she kept going. The outraged adolescent slammed the bedroom door closed, rocking the tiny shoebox home, and threw herself onto the ruffled sage green blanket. Tears streamed down her face. They left smudged black streaks behind them. She had cried for fifteen minutes and her mascara had dried on her cheekbones and white pillow.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7IvwZmsgQ
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