THE REUNION 2

     Marilyn got out of her car and stood beside it while Faith and Ethan got out of theirs and walked up to her. Her house was a small yellow house that sat a few blocks away from the orphanage, it was surrounded by trees and was very cool. She led them up the stair to the porch. 

      "The church gave me the house," she told them as she slotted her keys and twisted the lock. She pushed back the door and Sekani came running out to greet her owner cheerfully, wiggling her tail and jumping on Marilyn. Marilyn ruffled her hair and looked at her guest. "Meet my companion, Sekani. Sekani say hello to your aunt and uncle."

      The dog came over to Faith and Ethan and smelt their legs, Faith ruffled her hair and lifted her. 

      "She is so adorable," she said. 

     "Please come in." 

      Ethan ruffled Sekani's hair too and they stepped into Marilyn's living room. She turned on the lights and they marvelled at how sparkling her living room was. It was small but neat. Sparse furniture, cream wallpapers, flowery curtains and well-polished tables and floors and cream couches. 

      She dropped her key on a tray on the ottoman at the centre of the room and started removing her coat. "You can all give me your coat." 

      Faith put the dog down and started to remove her coat, Ethan did the same too.  Marilyn took their coats. 

     "Please, sit...oh, my God, that's so formal. Forgive me I don't know how to act around you, you know, it...kind of awkward..." 

       "Yeah, I know It's going to get awkward but I just want you to be yourself around me. I feel awkward as hell too, but I am trying my best to be myself around you, " Faith said. 

     Marilyn smiled.  "Do you want to come to the kitchen with me then? I have stew." 

      "Sure," Faith said and glanced at Ethan who was playing with Sekani now. 

       "Ethan, do you mind joining us? I don't want you to feel left alone, " Marilyn said. 

       "Nah, I'm all good. Take your time and catch up with each other." 

       "But you would join us for dinner?" 

       "Sure. Don't worry about me, I got myself a friend now," Ethan said, ruffling Sekani's hair. 

       "Well, if you say so. I got a kitchen that's big enough for the three of us." 

     "I insist. I don't want to interrupt. Don't worry about me. You just met each other after twenty years of being apart. I'm good." 

       "Alright." Marilyn started for the kitchen. 

   Faith went and kissed Ethan before going to the kitchen.  "I will see you." 

       "Take your time." 

      Her mother was right. Her kitchen was big enough for three people and more. Faith looked around. Her mother was a hygienic freak too. She have got everything in place and her kitchen was bright with paintings and colours. Her mother's house was colourful and lively, unlike her father's house both in Illinois and San Francisco which had had drab colours that always made her want to cry each time she came home. 

      Her cabinets were white, her kitchen table was polished to deep mahogany, and the chairs were colourful. She looked around.

       "You have a beautiful home."

     Marilyn who was pouring coffee into the mugs, replied, "Thank you." She took the coffee to Faith and handed her one mug. 

      Faith took a sip, savoured it and nodded.  "This is really nice." 

       "I'm glad you like it. I will go give Ethan a mug." 

   Faith smiled as Marilyn left the kitchen. She took another sip from her coffee and looked around. A question has been tugging at her since she came and although she knew the truth about why her mother left, she really wanted to know why her mother did not come back, even when she left the asylum. Why didn't she search for them? Her mother reappeared and she took another sip. 

    Marilyn went over to the refrigerator and took out the bowl of stew. Faith looked around again. 

       "But, why is the kitchen very larger than every other room here?" 

        "The original owners were a man and his wife. They usually invite a lot of people for dinner, mostly family—extended family, since they didn't have large dining, they decided to make their kitchen larger. Their table ran this whole length." Marilyn pointed to the other end where the imaginary table she was talking about was. 

         "Really?" 

        "I tell you." 

    Faith laughed and sipped her coffee. This is a moment she had craved all her life. Sitting with her mother and talking about things—that mother and daughter moment she had seen many people have. Although she still felt a little awkward, like she was talking to a stranger, but deep down, she kept trying to convince herself to be free. 

       "Can I ask you a question?" Faith asked. 

      The microwave dinged.  "Sure," Marilyn said and went to take out the bowl of stew from the microwave. 

       "Er... I want to know—it's not going to change anything, I mean, I will still understand you, but I just want to know if you ever came back for us, just once, no...matter what?" 

      Marilyn dropped the bowl on the counter and turned to look at her.  "What do you think?" 

       Faith shrugged.  "I don't know. As I said, I am not holding it against you. I'm just...I'm just curious. After all you pas…"

       "Do you know the reason your dad left Oak Park with you?" 

     Faith paused and just stared at her mother. Marilyn covered the bowl of stew and went and sat beside Faith. 

     "I am looking into your eyes so that you could see the truth in my eyes. Did you really think I would give up without putting up a fight? When I got out of the asylum, I came to the house, he had to change your high school, didn't he?" 

       "He did," Faith replied. 

      "He had a restraining order and I had to be very cautious. I couldn't...you know, snatch you up. I couldn't come out plain. If they ever catch me, I would never get to see you and Joshua again." 

        "Hmm," Faith sighed. 

       "I came on your nineteenth birthday and he said you have gone off to college. I pleaded with him to tell me which college you were in. I don't mind, I would go there, but he refused to, instead, he threatened me with the police. The next time I came he was no longer in Oak Park and he didn't leave an address for anyone."

      "That was so cruel," Faith mumbled. 

    Marilyn stood up and went to dish the food.  "Call Ethan to come join us, will you?" 

        "Alright."

        Douglas came back from work and went straight to his room. Charlie had left him a note, saying he had gone for his night shift. He removed his suit and started down the stairs towards the kitchen to check if he could get anything in the refrigerator. When Charlie wasn't around, he usually eats in his room and he likes the feeling. When he got to the refrigerator, he searched and he couldn't find anything in there, except fruits, drinks and bread. He decided to toast some bread and take it with coffee. 

     After toasting his bread and making his coffee, he started upstairs again and stopped when he felt strange. He looked at the front door and set his tray on a step and went to the front door, opened it and looked outside, making sure no one was lurking around. He locked the door and went upstairs again. When he was in his room, he picked up his home phone and listened to his voice mail. Faith's was the first. 

       "Hey, Josh, it's me. Please, call me when you get this, it's about mother. I love you, brother. Make sure you call me when you get this." 

    He listened to the recorded message over and over again. Faith was sending him a message. If she had said she loved him, it's probably because she was seated with their mother and her last command. He quickly picked up his phone and dialled Charlie. 

       "Yeah, Charlie," he said once Charlie answered the phone. 

        "Well, are you missing me already? I have just been gone for a while." 

       "Yeah, that and many more. Quick one, do you know if Faith is in town? I have been trying to reach her, but I can't." 

       "Thought she told you she was going to find the truth about your mom?" 

     "Oh, that's right." 

       "It's there any problem?" 

      "Not at all. Thank you, take care." 

      "Take care of yourself, daddy." 

    Douglas brought down the phone and stood up from the chair he was seated on. Was his mom still alive? He paced about for a while and picked up his home phone and listened to the recorded message again. Then he summoned up the courage to dial the number. 

     Marilyn and her guest were done having dinner, she took them to a spare room. She had always cleaned out the room just in case and here she was. She couldn't let Ethan and Faith sleep in the same room. 

      "So, Ethan I would give you comforters and pillows to sleep on the couch. The couch is quite comfy." 

     Faith glared at her.  "Mom! Ethan and I have lived together for almost two months now and..."

      "I won't let you two sleep together, not on my watch," Marilyn said with a smile and patted Faith's back. 

     Ethan smiled and went over to Faith and held her shoulders.  "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." 

       "No, Ethan, I'm not fine." 

      "Hey, babe, it's okay, alright? I'm not complaining." 

      "But when your mom came to LA, she was okay with us staying in the same room, why not this one?" 

      "Did you meet my mom in a convent? My mom's case is different. She wants me to get married, by all means, so you can't compare her to your mom. Now, let's go freshen up and go join her on the porch." He bent to her ear.  "Unless she is going to lock the doors and throw the keys in the ocean, we can still sleep in one place if you want." 

      Faith looked at him, smiled and spanked his shoulder.  "You naughty boy." 

      Ethan grabbed her and pressed her against him, he wrapped his hands around her waist.   "Why don't we do some naughty things?" He bent and kissed her. 

   Faith kissed him back and drew back.  "The door is open and my mom might walk past." 

      Ethan closed the door.  "Are we even now?" 

   Faith's phone started to ring.  "Phone, phone," she said and reached inside her pocket, took it out and looked at the screen.  "Oh, my God, it's Josh!" 

      "Douglas?" Ethan asked. 

       "Yes, yes, yes!" Faith said cheerfully.  "I will be right back!" She shot off. 

      Ethan watched as she left the room cheerfully. He smiled at how happy she was that her brother returned her call even though she knew it was because she had dropped a hint about their mother.

      Marilyn sat on her porch when Faith came out. Seeing her mother seated there on that porch gave her a certain déjà vu feeling. 

      "Mom, it's Josh!" Faith yelled and handed her the phone. 

   Her mother took the phone and slid to the green icon and placed it on her ear. 

       "Hello, Angel?" Joshua's voice came from the other end. 

      "Oh, my, it's truly you Joshua, my son," Marilyn said and clutched her mouth. There was silence at Joshua's end.  "Oh, Joshua my son, it's really you, it's really you. It's mom... It's really you." Marilyn was sobbing now. 

       Douglas stood there in his room dumbfounded and stunned. Too stunned to move. The investigator he paid said his mother was dead. Why was she talking to him now? 

      "Joshua, speak to me, please. I'm so sorry. Speak to mom please." 

      "Mom?" Douglas managed to call. 

       "Yes, my son, it's me, it's me. It's mom." 

       "Mom?" 

        "Yes?" 

         "Can you give Angel the phone, please?" Joshua's voice was cracked. 

          "Alright." Marilyn handed Faith the phone.  "He wants to speak with you." 

         "Hey, Josh." 

         "Angel, is that really mom?" 

      Faith clutched her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.  "Yes, that's our mom right here." 

         "Where are you? Give me everything I need to know." 

          "We are in Urbandale, Iowa." 

           "Give me her address, I will be there tomorrow." 

          "I will text that to you." 

          "I am beyond shocked." 

           "I was too."

           "Tell her I will be there tomorrow." Joshua hung up. 

         Faith wiped her tears and turned to her mother and smiled. 

          "He hates me," Marilyn said and wiped her tears. 

        Faith squatted in front of her.  "No, he doesn't mom. He is just shocked, he said he would be here tomorrow." 

       Marilyn wiped her eyes and looked at Faith.  "Is he?" Faith nodded with a smile. 

         Faith felt it was good to be there, it was quiet in her room, unlike in Los Angeles and San Francisco where there was shrill noise from vehicles on the streets. The weather was warm. She went to sleep with her windows open and slept soundly all through the night. 

     The next morning, when Marilyn woke up and went to the living room, she saw Faith and Ethan curled up on the floor with the comforters, sleeping soundly. She smiled and shook her head. 

        Nora looked at the cop as he came and sat in front of them. Luckily, Danny's wounds were not deep, they had treated them for infections and dressed the wounds, Danny was safe now, but Nora was worried, she didn't know if Danny was saying the truth about a man that had been stalking them. If it was true, why would anyone stalk them and even stab Danny? She was scared of what would happen next. Maybe, someone was against her getting married to Danny. If so, who was it? Has she offended? Her last ex was in her freshman year in college. 

      "Mr Daniel Kings did you say a man attacked you at the parking lot of the mall's parking lot." Danny nodded.   "Can you identify this man?" 

      "I didn't see his face, that's what I wanted to do but he stabbed me." 

       "I mean, you can identify his clothes." 

       "Yes." 

   The cop handed Danny the tablet.  "Those pictures were from the CCTV cameras at the mall. This man was captured the same day you went to the mall. Was that the man who stabbed you?" 

      "Yes, that's the man," Danny replied and handed the tab to Nora. 

     The cop looked at Nora.  "Ma'am, can you identify this man? Do you remember seeing him anywhere at the mall?" 

      "No, I...I wasn't paying attention." 

     "Mr Kings, have you had any bad business lately?" 

     "I don't understand." 

     "I mean is there someone you have maybe had an issue with at work?" 

       "None, that I can remember." 

        "What of you Miss Hills?" 

        "I deal with patients. I can't probably have issues with them. I have never killed a patient before." 

        "We are trying our best to identify who this man is and the motive behind his attack. While we are on that, Mr Kings and Mrs Hills, I would advise that you stay cautious and report any unusual thing you notice around you and try to stay as calm as possible. "

       "Thank you, officer." 

    When they were on their way out, Nora took out her phone and dialled Faith. Faith answered at the third ring. 

      "Hey, babe," Faith's voice came cheerfully from the other end. 

       "Danny has been stabbed." 

       "What?!"