A-Minor

Paddy couldn't think rationally, which had never been a feat of hers. She literally couldn't remember her name, for every thought she'd had vanished. The moment her eyes rested on the wrinkled photo, a nuclear bomb dropped in her head and blew up every last bit of common sense she held.

Or so it felt.

Paddy's breath hitched as she stared at the obviously in love couple. A man and a woman. It was early morning, and it was obvious either person wasn't a photographer, because the camera just about cut off their mouths. But Paddy didn't need to see anyones mouth to recognize the people. Or rather, person.

Henry Paddalin's head was rested comfortably on the woman's shoulder, a large smile gracing his face. Paddy had never seen her father that happy; ever. Seeing him like that made Paddy bristle, and at the same time smile. He looked so handsome, and carefree, but why could he never show that happiness around Paddy? Was she that much of a disappointment, he didn't bother being home to stand the sight of her?

"Miss Eleanore?" said Rose from behind the large wooden doors. Not thinking, Paddy snatched up the photo and hastily shoved it in the pocket of her jeans. She took her hair down from it's clip, breathed, and opened the door.

Rose smiled softly at Paddy, and murmured to her that her lunch would be ready in a few minutes. With an impassive expression, Paddy nodded, and turned on her heel to go upstairs. Once behind her locked bedroom doors, she sunk into her small couch with a long sigh. She pulled out the crumpled picture, smoothed it out, and stared at it.

Yes, definitely her father. The woman, whom still remained a mystery, was also wearing a matching smile to her fathers as she beamed at the camera. Even in black and white, Paddy could see the sparkle in her fathers eyes. She had never really looked at her father before, but she was sure he'd never had that sparkle in his eyes when he looked at her mother.

Paddy ran her fingers over the tips of her hair, and captured her lower lip between her teeth. Just looking at the woman made Paddy squirm. Was this Helena S? She must have meant something to Paddy's father to have been set in the family library. It was obvious Henry was much younger in the photo, which would have to mean this was before Paddy's mother came along. Or after. Or maybe between.

Unbelievable.

A look at one picture, and suddenly she's become the one of the idiotic girls texting about their broken nail. Paddy shook her head mutely, and crumpled up the picture, before tossing it across the room. Who even cared who Helena S was anyways? So maybe her art book had been in the Paddalin library, and she'd obviously been in a relationship with her father. That was his doing, not hers. She didn't care about this woman at all. She didn't even know her.

But yet, Paddy retrieved the picture, and stared at it once again. She narrowed her eyes, and studied the woman. Paddy could not tell the color of the lady's eyes, but knew it was a light color. Maybe a blue, or a hazel? She was not very beautiful, but rather average looking. Her blonde hair was wild, as if she'd just woken up. It reminded Paddy of how her own hair looked in the mornings.

However, Paddy felt compelled to look at her.

It was as if the woman had a hold on her with that very stare. It was so familiar, so warm. Paddy shivered slightly and tore her eyes from the photo. What was she doing? So she finds a picture of her fathers past girlfriends? What now? This didn't change her oh-so-fabulous life a bit.

Paddy was still bored with life. Bored with herself. And just plain tired.

Slowly, Paddy turned over the picture and there it was. The familiar, feminine cursive. 08/92, was what had been written. Though it could've been anyones writing, Paddy knew it was Helena S's. It just had to be. It was the only explanation. Besides, why ever would her father have a picture with another woman in Helena S's art book?

Suddenly, Paddy's stomach filled with butterflies and she breathed out deeply. Something was missing. Something was very, very wrong. For the hundredth time that hour, Paddy felt herself thinking this was not a coincidence. Mistakes such as this were not made by anyone of the Paddalin family, or anyone affiliated with the name. This was just not supposed to happen.

A thought struck Paddy so hard, she sprang up from the couch with a gasp. With the photo in hand, Paddy ran into her bathroom and stared into the large mirror above her sink. She pulled the photo up beside her face. Her green eyes darted from her own reflection to the picture, looking desperately for answers. Paddy sighed and was just about to leave, when her reflection made her halt.

It was there. She had always wrinkled her nose as a child when she'd become frustrated. Now was no different, except for the bump that Paddy was able to detect. Paddy turned back to face the mirror and turned to the right–then the left. Her nose was perk, dainty, and slightly crooked. Right there, near the bridge.

Paddy looked at the picture of Helena S and narrowed her gaze to her nose. From the angle at where she stood, it was obvious her nose had a defect. It would appear to be a tiny bump, but Paddy knew it was the same crooked nose she had. Paddy's eyes widened at the revelation and her thoughts immediately jumbled. Maybe this was a relative? Or maybe it was a family friend?

Had her father had a sister and never mentioned her? Was this Henry's long lost cousin twice removed? Every insane question popped into Paddy's head, except for one. One she desperately pushed back to avoid heart failure. One that had haunted her thoughts every time she and her mother spoke.

Maybe that woman, Helena S, was her mother.

Paddy stared down at the photo for who knows how long, before a knock at the door sounded. Paddy wanted to ignore it, and bid the person away rudely, but knew that it would be no excuse. What would she do then, stare even more at the picture? Paddy smoothed out the wrinkled photo, and quickly slipped it into the novel beside her bed.

She held her hand up to her mouth, and realized then it was trembling. Goosebumps prickled her skin, and she wanted nothing more than to get swallowed into the Earth. This was not happening to her. To girls who had drunken geezers as fathers, but not her. Not Eleanore Paddalin, the heiress.

The knock came once again. Paddy rubbed her arms, still shaking, and walked over to the door. She calmed down her breathing as best as she could, and prayed she looked as impassive as always. Then she opened the door, brushed past Rose, and went downstairs for lunch.

♫♫♫

Thursday had never been a favorable day for Paddy. There was the lesson with her tutor, therapy, yoga, and the ever famous dinner with her parents. However on that Thursday, Paddy felt rather anxious, and anticipated for the day to begin. If this Helena S was truly her mother, she would need to investigate.

Paddy so desperately wanted to ignore the thought of Murium not being her mother but couldn't bring herself to. She wanted to be able to trust that she knew whom her biological mother was, but couldn't. Murium had been in Paddy's life for 15 years, and not once did she give off a motherly vibe, or any sort of maternal comfort. The thought had never strayed in Paddy's mind, but recently she'd found herself reviewing memories of her life, and picking out the tiny details.

Murium was barely present for the first few years of Paddy's life. Her father held a role in that as well, but she knew for a fact she was of Paddalin blood. The eyes said everything. However, Paddy began to ponder on such thoughts of her 'mother'. In pictures Paddy had taken to the time to look at, she never showed any sign of baby fat. Plastic Surgery was good, but not that good. There was a picture Paddy had seen of her mother in Hawaii, dated 3 weeks after Paddy's birth. She looked flawless, or as flawless as Botox could make someone.

The caption of the photo wrote; Murium Paddalin's hot bod after baby birth.

That made Paddy wonder, and so she did small searches. First was the date and pictures of her parents wedding. The one time Murium had taken Paddy out, they'd gone to the most expensive spa in just about all of California. During their seaweed and honey facial, Murium badgered Paddy about her obvious disregard to the opposite sex. She went on to speak about how she would soon find her true love as she once did back in France, where she'd met Paddy's father.

At the time Paddy wanted to shove the hot stones down her throat to shut her up, but now, she thought about what she'd said, and frowned. Murium and Henry got married on April 27th, however in the wedding pictures Murium didn't look to be pregnant. Her wedding dress was absolutely gorgeous, and flowed out past her bust line, but you would still be able to tell if she was with child. Which she was not.

Paddy spent the day thinking, and doing research between appointments and before she knew it, dinner was falling near. Paddy quickly dressed in her usual formal dress attire, and headed downstairs. Once her parents arrived, dinner followed suit quite the same, but Paddy needed to know.

"Um, mom, where did you and dad meet?" Paddy asked hesitantly. Murium's fork clattered onto the plate, and Henry stopped chewing to stare at his daughter. Paddy hoped her voice sounded innocent and neutral, and not the venomous tone she wanted to release.

Murium cleared her throat, and shot Henry a look while dabbing the sides of her mouth. Paddy noticed the exchange and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "Why do you ask, darling? Are you seeing a boy?" To anyone else, Murium would have appeared to be shocked and excited, as her eyes and expression showed. However, Paddy was not anyone else, and therefore noticed the slight twitch in her mother's left hand.

Paddy shook her head, and casually sipped her wine. "I just happen to be curious, is all," she murmured. Murium twisted her wedding ring, and smiled after a few seconds.

"Oh in Paris. Right under the Eiffel Tower," she smiled, almost hesitantly but continued. "I swear it was love at first sight, right dear?" Henry nodded stiffly, and chewed on a roasted potato chunk. "Did you know Eleanore, you were conceived that night?" Murium winked at Paddy, and Henry almost choked. Paddy held back the bile rising in her throat, and forced a smile.

Ew.

Besides the obvious disgust of her newly acquired information, Paddy realized something. Murium mentioned that day in the spa how she and Paddy's father married on the same date they'd met. Paddy was born on August 14, which would have to mean she would have to have been conceived around December or January. If Murium and Paddy's father had been married in April, Paddy should have been born around December. None of this added up.

"Mom, is that your natural hair color?" Paddy questioned. Murium's hand immediately went to finger comb through her dark curls. Paddy had always wondered why her mother had curly hair but she did not. Paddy's hair was stick straight, even at waist length. The Paddalin blood only mimicked eyes and ears. It was a known fact.

"I- uh- well no. I was born with red hair, but isn't this color fabulous?" said Murium enthusiastically. Paddy nodded, and chewed a bite of steak to hide her scowl. Murium purposefully spoke eagerly as to not raise suspicion. Paddy knew it. Suddenly, she didn't have much of an appetite.

Paddy took a sip of wine, to wash down the food stuck in her throat. A lump the size of her eyeball formed in her chest, and she took a short breath hoping her parents wouldn't notice. Dinner went on as normal after that, and Henry left, followed shortly by Murium. Paddy trudged upstairs slowly, hoping to calm her racing heart. She ran her fingers over the tips of her hair as she entered her room.

As if someone had controlled her body, Paddy changed into jeans and a sweater and began to pack clothes into a backpack. Then, she walked downstairs and into the garage.

No one noticed.