Sink: The Lost World (5 page)

Cassie was an artist
with makeup. She never put on too much, preferring to verge on having too little. She had a natural beauty that makeup only detracted from. She’d changed into a short navy blue dress and matching heels. As always, she looked fabulous. As she added eyeliner, she could see Bryan stepping into her doorway in her dressing table’s mirror.

“Are you ready to tell me whatever it is you wanted to tell me before?” Cassie said.

“Sit down,” Bryan said. “I have some news for you.”

“I’m already sitting,” Cassie said. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I’m going out to meet friends now.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes,” Bryan said.
With any luck.

“Go on, then,” Cassie said, folding her arms.

She looked just like her mother when she did that, especially with that expectant expression on her face.

Bryan shook his head.

“Come through to the front room a minute,” he said.

“You said this was only going to take a minute,” Cassie said.

“It is,” Bryan said. “Just take a seat.”

Cassie sighed. She followed Bryan through to the living room.

“All right, here goes,” Bryan said, shutting his eyes. “I’ve met someone.”

Cassie shrugged.

“So what?” she said. “You meet people all the time at work.”

“No, I mean I’ve met someone special,” Bryan said.

“You mean, like, with a mental handicap?” Cassie said.

“Are you deliberately being difficult?” Bryan said.

“Are you being deliberately mysterious?” Cassie said. “Why don’t you just tell me?”

“I’ve been working with someone, from another company, and we get on really well,” Bryan said. “We’ve been dating.”

He closed his eyes and tensed up, preparing himself for the inevitable explosion heading his way.

“I’m assuming it’s a woman?” Cassie said.

“Yes, of course it’s a woman!” Bryan said.

“How long has this been going on?” Cassie said.

“A few months,” Bryan said.

“A few months and you never told me?” Cassie said.

“I never told you when I went out on any dates,” Bryan said.

“You’ve had
other
dates?” Cassie said.

A shiver went through her body.

“Of course I have,” Bryan said. “But this is the first serious one. She’s kind, smart and beautiful. I’m ready to take our relationship to the next level. And that means meeting you.”

Cassie was silent a moment before letting out a deep lungful of air.

“Thank God for that!” she said.

“You’re relieved?” Bryan said.

Cassie put her hand to her chest.

“Of course I’m relieved!” she said. “My heart was beating a mile a minute! After all your talk about introducing someone and new relationships… I was starting to think you were getting into crossdressing or something, or about to introduce your boyfriend. Not that that would have been a problem. The boyfriend part, I mean.”

“No, no,” Bryan said. “Nothing like that.”

“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Cassie said. “All I can say is, it’s about time.”

“You’re not angry?” Bryan said.

“No,” Cassie said. “Why would I be angry? I think it’s good you’re meeting someone. It’s been a long time since Mom left and you deserve to be happy.”

“I must say, you’ve taken me by surprise,” Bryan said.

“Why?” Cassie said. “Don’t you think I’d want you to see someone else?”

“Actually, no,” Bryan said. “I didn’t.”

“Then I’m pleased to disappoint you,” Cassie said. “You only live once. You should be out there, living it up.”

“Thank you,” Bryan said with a chuckle. “So, we’re cool?”

“We’re super cool,” Cassie said.

Bryan got up and hugged Cassie.

“Careful of my dress,” Cassie said.

“You know, I’ve been stressing out about telling you this all day,” Bryan said.

“Well, you shouldn’t have,” Cassie said.

“I thought we could meet up some time soon,” Bryan said. “We’ll go to a restaurant, chat over a meal so you get to know each other a bit.”

“Sounds great,” Cassie said.

“How about tomorrow evening?” Bryan said.

“Fine,” Cassie said. “Can I go now?”

“You most certainly can,” Bryan said, scratching his head. “Uh, be back by ten.”

“Will do,” Cassie said, heading out the door.

Bryan smiled to himself and stretched his arms out wide in victory. He fell back onto the sofa.

“Yes!” he said.

He felt like an innocent man who had been vindicated with unexpected new evidence. He wondered how Zoe was getting on.

Aaron’s mouth
hung open, his eyes wide with shock one moment, and then slitted and downcast the next. He was processing the information, but none of it was making sense to him. Finally, he looked up at his mother.

“Are you serious?” he said. “But you’re still married.”

“Your father’s been gone for seven years,” Zoe said. “The authorities assured us he was swallowed by a sinkhole.”

“His camp was,” Aaron said, “but he might still be around. He might have escaped.”

“It was minus five outside and the sun was beginning to set,” Zoe said. “It could only have gotten colder. And there were no jet ski marks heading away from the camp.”

“It might have snowed, covering his tracks,” Aaron said.

“There were no weather reports about snow in the area that day,” Zoe said.

“That doesn’t mean there weren’t any,” Aaron said. “Forecasters have been wrong before. And it snowed the day before. Maybe Dad left the camp then, and it snowed and covered his tracks and then he never went back.”

“The investigators interviewed the surrounding villages and towns,” Zoe said. “No one had seen him, and there’s no chance of him not being recognized – your father had introduced himself to all the locals the moment he had arrived.”

Aaron jutted out his jaw.

“I know he’s still alive,” he said. “I just know it.”

“Believing something is true doesn’t make it true,” Zoe said. “Believe me, I wish your father was still alive too, but after all this time don’t you think he would have come and found us by now? He was a strong, brave man, full of life and adventure. There’s nothing in this world that could have stopped him from coming back to us. Nothing.”

Aaron looked at his hands in his lap.

“How long have you been seeing this new guy?” he said.

“Nine months,” Zoe said.

“Nine months?” Aaron said. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I didn’t want to bring anyone into your life who might disappear soon afterwards,” Zoe said.

“There have been others?” Aaron said.

Zoe hesitated.

“No one serious,” she said. “Only a few dates.”

Aaron shook his head. He couldn’t believe this was happening. His face contorted with anger.

“I want you to know that your opinion is very important to me,” Zoe said, reaching across the table and squeezing Aaron’s hand.

Aaron pulled his hand away.

“If that were true, you would have told me sooner,” he said.

He calmly got to his feet, tucked in his chair, and headed upstairs.

“Hey,” Bryan said.
“I was just thinking of you.”

“Did you do it?” Zoe said.

“You know, it’s customary to have a pleasantry or two when speaking on the phone,” Bryan said with a smile in his voice.

“Did you?” Zoe said.

“I did,” Bryan said.

“How’d it go?” Zoe said.

“Well, the house is still standing, and I don’t have a knife in my ribs,” Bryan said.

“That well, huh?” Zoe said.

“It actually went better than I could have hoped,” Bryan said. “She said she’s glad I’m seeing someone new.”

“That’s very mature of her,” Zoe said.

“How did Aaron take it?” Bryan said.

“Not well,” Zoe said. “I think he’s hurt, like I’ve forgotten his father or something.”

“What are you going to do?” Bryan said.

“I’ll talk to him about it,” Zoe said. “He’ll come around.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Bryan said.

“He will,” Zoe said.

“I said we might have dinner together tomorrow night,” Bryan said. “What do you think?”

“Good idea,” Zoe said. “The sooner we can all meet, the better. But first I have to make sure he doesn’t disown me.”

“Keep me informed,” Bryan said.

How could
his mother betray his father like this? He had only been gone for seven years! And she was already shopping for someone else! As if his father had never existed!

Aaron paced up and down the narrow space between his bed and wardrobe in his bedroom. He kicked a pile of dirty clothes on the floor.

There was a knock on the door.

“Aaron?” his mother’s voice said.

Aaron said nothing.

“Aaron,” Zoe said. “Can I come in?”

“Go away!” Aaron said.

“We need to talk,” Zoe said.

“I don’t have anything to say!” Aaron said.

“Then just listen,” Zoe said.

“No!” Aaron said.

“Aaron…” Zoe said, her voice sad. “Please, let me come in.”

“There’s no lock on the door,” Aaron said. “It’s your house. You can do whatever you want.”

“I won’t come in without your permission,” Zoe said. “I’ll just sit out here. I’ll talk, and any time you want me to come in just let me know, okay? I understand how you must be feeling. Really, I do. But you have to understand how I feel too. This hasn’t been easy for me. I would never have mentioned this if it wasn’t serious. Your father’s been gone seven years. You didn’t think we were going to carry on living like this forever, did you?

“Seven years is a long time to be on your own. I was lonely. I still am. Bryan doesn’t want to replace your father – he knows he could never do that. But he would like to be your friend. I need you to do this for me. I need you to try.”

Tears spilled down Aaron’s cheeks. He wiped them away with his sleeve. He heard his mother get to her feet and begin to walk away. Before he knew what he was doing, he reached over and pushed the door open.

“Aaron?” Zoe said, peeking in through the gap. “Aaron, can I come in? Aaron?”

“Yes,” Aaron said, his voice small and scared.

Zoe pushed the door open. Aaron sat on the edge of his bed. He couldn’t bring himself to look at his mother.

“I never saw you cry,” Aaron said. “When Dad…”

“Have you ever seen the wind blow?” Zoe said.

“No,” Aaron said.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Zoe said. “I cried more times for your father than I can count. But I had to be strong – for you. I want to stop crying. I want both of us to move on.”

She wrapped her arms around Aaron.

“Oh, Aaron,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t think you would be this upset. Just meet him, that’s all I ask. If you don’t like him, we’ll talk about it and try to figure something else out. Okay? There’s no pressure on you at all. All right?”

Aaron wiped his nose and nodded.

“Good boy,” Zoe said. “I love you. You know that, right? Nothing means more to me than you. You’re everything to me.”

She hugged him again, and this time he responded, wrapping his own arms around his mother. They stayed like that for ten minutes before they broke apart, having dampened one another’s clothes.

“I think I’m going to need that homework note after all,” Aaron said.

Zoe smiled, her eyes shimmering pools.

“We’ll never forget your father,” she said. “He was my husband, the man who gave me you. He’s in you, and will be a part of you your whole life. There’s no way of getting away from that – even if you wanted to.”

Aaron smiled, and a snotty chuckle escaped his lips.

“How about we go downstairs and finish off our meal?” Zoe said. “I bought some ice cream especially for you. Come on.”

She stood up and held out her hand. Aaron took it and together, as mother and son, they descended the stairs.

“Who is he, anyway?” Aaron said.

“He’s a businessman,” Zoe said.

“The enemy, Dad used to say,” Aaron said.

“This one isn’t so bad,” Zoe said. “But you’ll get to see that for yourself. Oh, I almost forgot. You won’t be the only one going through this. There will be two of you.”

“What do you mean?” Aaron said.

“Bryan has a daughter,” Zoe said. “She’s your age. You used to say you wanted a sister. This could be your chance.”

“What’s her name?” Aaron said.

“Cassandra,” Zoe said. “Cassandra Angelo.”