Chapter 46: HAPPY EASTER

" Troy get out of the way" Sammie shooed her son out of the way for a spot in front of the laptop. They both tried nudging each other out of the way but ended up tumbling on the floor together.

"But I want to speak with Aunty Natasha" The little boy cried in despair. Maybe it was my fault? It was Easter morning and I snuck away from the bustle to FaceTime with my sister. I hadn't spoken to her since before they left. Now she's fighting for a spot with her eight-year-old son.

"You can speak with her when I'm done. For now, get out of the way." Samantha stood her ground which I found oddly unusual. She loves him to bits and can't bear to see a single tear but didn't mind at all this time.

"No, I called dibs." He shrieked in annoyance. He and Lucy are most definitely related.

"You can't call dibs on my own laptop honey." Sammie curved her lips into a wicked grin.

"Sammie, let the boy talk."

"Fine, only because I'm matured."

"Obviously." Yeah, matured enough to huff at the end of her sentence. Despite scrunching her nose, she moved aside for Troy to have a spot.

"Aunty Natasha! Happy Easter." He flashed his bright smile, revealing his cute white teeth with a missing tooth. The last time I spoke with him he told me a tooth fairy visited him. I guess she didn't come with an extra tooth.

"Happy Easter baby, gotten chocolate eggs yet?"

"Lots of em"

"How's the holiday?" I said in the sweetest voice ever, sounding like I was cooing instead.

"Super fun, my grandparents are very fun."

"Awwwnnn, have lots of fun okay?"

There was no choice but to have fun. I have met Samantha's in-laws a couple of times and they are retro with a little bit of contemporization.

"Okay. Where's Lucy?" He furrowed his brows, realizing his cousin wasn't in sight.

"She's downstairs running around the house in her Easter bunny suit."

"Ouuu, the one mum got for the both of us last year. I wanted to wear mine too but forgot it back at the house." His cute little lips formed into a pout. Right there I wanted to go through the screen and give him a bear hug.

"Yes, showing off how cute she can be since Jeremy doubts her ability. It's no problem dear, I bet you can wear it when you get back. Better still, there's always next year. If you have grown out of it by that time then I'll simply get you a new one."

"You're the best Auntie Nattie. Send my regards."

"I will, bye Troy."

"See ya." Waving ecstatically, he paved way for his mum finally satisfied and less grumpy.

"There you go, that didn't take long now did it?"

"Yes, from my point of view it seemed like hours." She rolled her eyes at the screen, taking her spot back.

"Sorry to break it to you but your point of view is pretty blurry."

"Haha, very funny."

"I know, I pat myself on the back too. So, what did you want to talk about?" Arching my brows, I remembered why she wanted to speak to me earlier. Having my complete attention, I wanted to know what was so important.

"It's a surprise." My sister hummed at me, much to my disbelief.

"And you can't tell me?"

"Yes."

I furrowed my head, at her response. To think she was giving Troy a tough time over a surprise she couldn't tell me about. "So you were eager all along because you wanted to tell me you had a surprise to tell me."

"Yup."

"Doesn't that sound weird to you?"

"Not in the slightest bit."

"That's simply crazy."

"No, it's not."

"Now you made me excited about what I believe is good news only that I have to await your return."

"I love creating suspense."

"Pfft."

"Don't be all grumpy and whinny. How's your holiday going? I didn't think you would be celebrating with anyone. I figured it would be the mother and daughter duo this year." Changing the subject, she wiggled her brows at me. I think Jeremy might have bought her over the last time she came for the girls' night. Now he's all charming and perfect to her. I think she subscribed to the weekly magazine, even though she never reads them.

"Me too, but that would have been pretty boring wouldn't it?" Pulling a thoughtful expression on my face, I tried imagining how the holidays might have turned out to be. I couldn't think of anything but a boring day. I would be using up a lot of energy to entertain Lucy because there wouldn't be anything else to do. It can only be so long before an eight-year-old gets tired of watching cartoons.

"Kinda, maybe. It was nice of Jeremy's mother to invite you both over. I see where he got his niceness from, good genes."

"If it wasn't for that truce thingy we made I would have told you he isn't as nice as you're dreamily putting it."

"Truce?"

"Yeah, to bury all hatchet."

"Isn't that sweet?"

"No, you've probably had your head buried in one of his magazines for way too long."I shuddered at the thought of my sister becoming one of Jeremy's superfans. Perhaps our truce was the sweetest thing ever after all. No, it's second after that crazy excuse of a tour.

"I think so. Anyway, I've got to go now. Talk to you later sissy."

"Don't call me that, and bye Sammie. My regards to my precious brother-in-law."

"See ya." David hijacked the laptop and got to say goodbye himself. Samantha's protests could be heard underneath, turning into subtle moans. That was my call to hang up.

"Your sister?" Katie made me shriek, startled by her sudden presence.

"Oh my...Where did you come from?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I walk around ever so stealthily." Shrugging, she flopped onto the bed with me.

"I guess I was too focused on the screen and yes, that's my elder sister Samantha."

"Oh, Samantha is your sister. I see"

"Yes, heard about her before?"

"Yeah, Jeremy is asking why Samantha got the bunny suit for Lucy because now she's bugging him with it."

"Oh"

"It must be nice to have a sister."

The tension in the room rose to a thousand. Was I supposed to show empathy?

"Yes, I'm very lucky to have Samantha by my side. She's the only family member who still stands by me."

"What about your parents?"

"The last time I spoke to them was right before Lucy's birth. Saying they were pissed would be an understatement. Their anger towards me was uncontrollable. It was very obvious they didn't want anything to do with me anymore. Just like they demanded, I stayed away. Sammie was being a supportive elder sister so she cut all ties with them too. I thought it was sweet but that doesn't change how sad everything seems to be." It was a bittersweet smile that crept onto my lips. This was the first time I had spoken about them to anyone else asides from my sister. They were simply not worth remembering. The tight knot I felt within reminded me how upsetting my life could be.

"Why would your parents be so upset with you?"

"I asked my husband for a divorce."

"Hold up, you were married?"

"Yes, how do you think I had Lucy?"

"There are different ways."

"Well, I had a husband and asked for a divorce. We were married for 3 years before I decided to call it quits. It was the time I decided to end our marriage that I discovered that I was pregnant." My poker face showed how unaffected I was. I didn't plan to have Lucy for him or any other child. In fact, I could have sworn I was on birth control. Turns out, he switched my pills. It was ever so easy to conceive without my knowledge. Jeremy was right, sometimes I can be detached from Lucy but I can't help it when I stare into her face and see the same man that caused me so much hurt. She didn't ask to be born. Nothing has changed, I still have a firm resolve to raise her rightly. Way better than her daddy was raised by his snobs of a parent.

"And that still wouldn't make you stay?"

"No, my mind was made up. Not even a child could stop me then. I told myself I would raise my daughter on my own if need be. Rather than remain in a loveless marriage."

"Does Jeremy know?"

"That I was married? No, nobody knows around here. It has been years ago no big deal." I don't see how it's anyone's business.

"And your ex-husband? Where is he now?"

"He is dead."

"I'm so sorry."

"For what, you didn't know anything."

"Yeah, I didn't."

The awkwardness in the room had just increased a thousand times more.