Did You Get What You Deserve?

~*Alec’s Point of view*~

“What the hell is that?”

I looked up. Lachlan was pointing at my laptop.

“This? It’s a laptop.”

“A laptop? It’s huge!”

“When I got it, it was the latest and greatest.”

His expression was something close to incredulous.

“How old is it?”

“Older than you.”

His eyes widened.

“Woah.”

He sat down on the couch beside me.

“What’s the operating system?”

“Windows XP.”

He laughed.

“XP? Didn’t they stop making that ten years ago?”

“Something like that.”

“Then why are you still using it?”

“Still? This is the first chance I’ve ever had to use it. I set it up on my twelfth birthday, and since then it has sat in a cardboard box.”

I clicked on an icon by way of experimentation. A blinking alert flashed up on the screen. You have one new message. I frowned. Who could possibly have my email address? Even I didn’t know it. Mikey set up most of the programs for me before I even got it. I opened the message.

Hey Alec.

It’s Mikey. And Gerard! and ray. And Bob says don’t forget Bob.

Happy Birthday! You’re twelve years old. You’re barely halfway through your youth. because you’re not old until you’re as old as gerard! shut up mikey.
Anyway, hope you have a great day. We’ll see you tonight.

Bye!
From Mikey, Gerard, Ray and Bob.

I blinked, barely able to keep the tears from my eyes. Lachlan peered over my shoulder at the message.

“Mikey is James’ dad, isn’t he? Who are Gerard, Ray and Bob?”

“Gerard is Mikey’s brother. Ray and Bob are their friends. They sent this message... they sent it while Frank and I were in town. It must have been before Jamia went into hospital.”

Lachlan nodded, although I knew he had no idea what I was talking about. Just then the doorbell rang. I closed the laptop and jumped to my feet.

“They’re here. Mel! They’re here!”

She came running down the hallway, entering the room as I took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Uh... hi. Um, c’mon in.”

Marian smiled at me as I closed the door behind them.

“Alex, dear,” she said, “you haven’t changed a bit.”

“It’s Alec.”

“It’s what?”

“My name is not Alex. It’s Alec.”

She blinked at me for a moment, and I sighed.

“Um, sit down. Please.”

I picked up the laptop so they could sit on the couch. Stan looked at it curiously.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s the laptop Mikey, Gee, Ray and Bob gave me for my twelfth birthday.”

They stared at me.

“Who are they? I’ve never seen that laptop before, how could you not have shown that to us?”

“Well, er, I...”

Melanie grabbed my elbow.

“Darling,” she said, “could I talk to you in the hall for a moment?”

She led me out and closed the door.

“Do they know who you really are, or do they still think you’re their son?”

I sighed, leaning against the wall.

“I tried to explain to them,” I said, “I really tried, but they didn’t understand. They thought I was on drugs. But then, I think Marian always knew, she just pretended to think I was Alex. And now, well, she’s going senile, she genuinely believes I’m her son.”

She bit her lip, thinking.

“Well,” she said, “I suppose we’ll just have to gloss over the whole subject.”

I nodded, and we went back into the room. Lachlan was sitting next to Stan, telling him about God-knows-what.

“Sorry about that,” I said. “Um, would you like a drink? Tea, or coffee, or whatever?”

Marian shook her head.

“No, no, it’s fine. Your father shouldn’t be having caffeine.”

I felt a tug on my sleeve, and looked down. Georgina was standing by my side.

“Alec’s coming over,” she said. “And Frankie. That okay?”

I stared at her. This was the last thing I needed! But I nodded anyway, catching Mel’s eye. She sighed. We would deal with any problems as they arose.

“So, Alex, what have you been doing lately?”

“Well, I’m a teacher at the local school.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!”

The front door opened, and Alec and Frank walked in. Alec grinned and spread her arms to give me a hug.

“Alec!”

“Hey angel.”

She stopped, having noticed Marian and Stan.

“Oh, hello,” she said. “Who are you?”

“Marian and Stanley Morris,” said Marian.

“Hi. I’m Alec Iero.”

She pointed at me. Oh, no, I thought, please don’t say it.

But she did.

“I’m Alec’s sister.”

Stan frowned.

“But... we’re...”

I intervened with a hearty laugh that fooled no-one.

“Isn’t she cute?” I said, throwing my arm around her shoulders. “She’s my neighbour. We’ve been really close ever since I moved here. She’s like a little sister to me.”

Alec looked up at me, eyebrow raised. I smiled at her, trying to indicate Marian and Stan with my eyes. A look of comprehension appeared on her face, and the corner of her mouth twitched like it did when she wanted to smile at the thought of a joke she was about to play, but knew smiling would give the game away.

“Alec,” I said, “why don’t you go talk to Marian and Stan for a moment while I help Melanie prepare lunch?”

She nodded, tipping Lachlan off the couch so she could sit in his place. He glared at her and stalked out of the room, pausing at the kitchen counter to grab Georgina by the collar of her shirt and drag her behind him. I took my place beside Melanie and started helping her make lunch. Then we heard a loud wail from one of the bedrooms. Melanie sighed.

“I’ll go take a look.”

She handed me the spatula and wiped her hands on her apron before running off down the hallway.

“Dad,” I said, “can you help me?”

“Sure.”

I froze, and swore inwardly. I had spoken without thinking, and two voices had answered.

I looked up. Frank and Stan were staring at each other. After a moment, realisation dawned on Frank’s face. But Stan was still frowning. Then he looked at me.

“You did say ‘Dad,’ didn’t you?”

I nodded. Then, handing the spatula to Frank, I sighed and took Marian and Stan into the corner.

“Look, Mum, Dad,” I said, “it’s like this. Frank thinks I’m his son. I know, I’m not really, but he thinks I am, and he really believes it. Now, how would you feel if, after all these years, I told you I wasn’t really your son? You’d feel pretty bad, wouldn’t you? Well, I can’t bear to do that to Frank. So how about this: you know I’m your son, I know I’m your son, but we let Frank keep believing I’m his son. Okay? And we just keep it our little secret.”

Marian giggled excitedly.

“Oh, you’re such a sweet little boy, Alex,” she cooed, “alright, we’ll keep it a secret. We won’t tell anyone.”

She winked and put a finger to her lips. I grinned and patted her on the shoulder. As she and Stan sat down again, another thought struck me.

“By the way,” I said, “Melanie and I are getting married on Saturday, and, well... it would really mean a lot to me if you came.”

And as they smiled, I realised I really meant it.