"He has cancer."
"What?!" I I gasped as I jumped out of my chair in shock.
"That's the reason why he drinks."
"Oh my god! Does Riley know?" I whispered in horror.
"No. He will tell them after the party. So you have to keep it to yourself."
What?! How do I do that? How could she ask me to keep such a serious issue as a secret from Riley? What am I going to do?
"How long have you been keeping his secret, Mum ?"
"7 years. He fought it for 7 years."
"So you came home because he was rushed to the hospital the other day. What did the doctor say, Mum ? Is he dying now or does he have a good chance?"
"He is retiring so he can focus on fighting. There are still some chances." She said as she walked back to me and actually hugged me to her chest. I broke down and started crying, ruining her dress and not giving a damn.
She let me.
I didn't even know why I was crying at that moment. I guess I was worried for Riley. He loved his father and this news would break his heart.
As I watched mum leave the dinning room after warning me again to not tell anyone until Uncle Ron gets the chance to tell his family himself, I felt a sort of annoyance brewing in my guts. Why did she tell me if it was supposed to be a secret? Can't but wonder if it was one of those her stupid maturity checks again.
Over the course of one year since I clocked 18 and insisted that I am adult enough to be independent, she and Dad have been testing me. They will put me in a random situation and trigger a reaction. Whatever decision I made would now be judged by them. It started as a joke and it was very lighthearted but after Joseph's death, the mood of the house changed and nobody has bothered to test me again. Until now…
I exhaled and continued eating. I wasn't upset enough to ditch the meal. The previous night was hectic and I didn't get to eat a proper dinner due to how tired I was when I got back from the orchard.
I returned to my room and stayed there until I heard the sound of Mum's car, leaving. Then I called Sylvester and we fixed a time to meet at the canyon's ledge.
"If you find out that grandma is cheating on grandpa, what would you do?" I asked him, breaking a long silence.
We were seated side by side inside the tent, facing the opening, left unzipped. There was a bottle of some red wine he brought along and a small tray of nuts between us. The wine was finished and I stopped eating the nuts a few minutes ago. There was so much going on in my head and I wanted to talk to someone. He was the only one that came to mind.
" What? Your dad is cheating?"
"No. It's mum. She has been cheating on Dad for so long and I am just finding out."
"With whom?"
I paused and stared at the illustrations on my camping mat. There was no way I was telling Sylvester about Uncle Ron. No way.
"Just answer the question." I replied after some silence.
" Hmm!" He heaved before staring into the distance. without turning to le, he removed the empty bottle and tray of nuts and closed up the space between us. He then took one of my hands that I had tucked in-between my clamped legs all this while.
"Nothing. I would do nothing."
"why?" I tried to face him.
"Grandpa has always been cheating on her and she knows. She chose to do nothing about it. So even if I wanted to do something about it, she wouldn't let me." He shrugged then turned my palm outward. He surprised me with a kiss in the middle of my palm. He didn't stop with that. After that kiss, he gently brought out his tongue and started licking my palm, flicking his tongue over it like a cat licking milk from his feeding bowl." It's better to let them handle things by themselves. " He continued between licks. He then made his way from the middle of my palm to my wrist. He stood at the tiny hollow spot where the veins are visible and started licking it. I had no idea my wrist could be sensitive. Each flicking touch of his tongue sent a sizzle up my arm. My breathing picked up and I felt strength left my body. A desire to be held by him engulfed me and I slowly laid my head on his shoulder as I let him devour my hand in a slow sensual caress.
"But dad doesn't know." I replied in a low, soft voice. Despite what was going on, I really wanted to have this conversation. So I pushed my desires down and continued.
"How did you know that he doesn't know?" He asked, looking up at me.
"Well…i…" looking back at him was a mistake. His eyes were darkened with want and they swallowed me up the moment we met. I reached for his face without thinking and brought our mouths together. The kiss started slowly with me taking the lead but he soon took over when he sensed that I was hesitating. I was actually thinking of pushing back because Riley's name flashed through my head, making guilt grab at my chest.
After some time we came up for air and I gently pushed him away and reverted to my previous sitting position beside him. Despite the inch between my legs and my banging thudding heart, I needed to finish that conversation.
In silence, I turned over what he had said before the kiss in my mind. I never really thought of the possibility that Dad could know. And If he knew, why then would they be fighting over Joseph?
'...I don't think he does." I concluded aloud.
"Have they resolved their previous issues?" Sylvester who had replaced his tongue with his fingertips in tracing my arm up and down, asked. He then left my arm for my thigh and continued tracing until he got to the elm of my short dress. He sneaked his hand into my dress, slowly found his way to my upper body, groping for my breasts. I turned to look at him and found myself grabbed and held down by his eyes again.
Those eyes, when did they become so powerful? So demanding?