Strangers When We Meet

I waited until the house was quiet before I began operation: Sneak Out. I had done this dozens of times, but the only thing I was afraid of this time was that my step-siblings would somehow find out and make my life a living hell. It was risk I was willing to take. I knew if mom found out she would ground me 'til kingdom come, but I just had to get out of here. This day had been a long one. I had found out a few things about my mom, and I needed to see my two best friends, and let this off my chest.

I had on some flat boots, dark ripped jeans and a Led Zepplin tee. Normal attire for me, and comfortable enough to climb out of my window and not get caught… or break my neck falling. I had my lightweight jacket on as well, and I made sure my bed was made up the right way before slowly cracking open my window wider and finding my footing on the siding. I eased myself down slowly, and eventually my boots found the ground below. I blew out a relieved sigh before looking around me.

Only the lights at the either ends of the street and the porch lights of my neighbors illuminated the night around me. The moon was hidden behind clouds as I crept along towards the front of the house, keeping to the shadows, and avoiding my neighbors yard, fearing their yellow Lab, Betsy, would be out and give me away.

I reached the sidewalk and made my way one street over to a waiting car. I thought it would be too risky to try and drive off in my car, it made too much noise. June and Frankie were in June's fathers car, deep in conversation when I approached.

“About damn time.” Frankie said. “We were getting worried.”

“I had to wait until they were all asleep.” I said as I climbed into the backseat. “Thanks for getting me.”

June smiled as she pulled off, making a U-turn to avoid going anywhere near my street. “So what's up?”

I told them about my mom still being mad about the piercing, but I left out the rest. For now. “There's something I have to tell you guys. But not here. We need to find a place to sit down.”

“You're not dying are you, Fun-size?”

That was Frankie of course. I flipped her off.

“We can go to my place.” she said, “Gina's out for tonight. And I think Todd left some beers in the fridge.” Gina is Frankie's mom, and Todd was her mom's boyfriend. June frowned. “Oh, sorry, Junebug, none for you. A nice jug of apple juice for you. Well, I think there's juice there.” She shrugged.

We got to Frankie's twenty minutes later, after a quick detour to McDonald's drive-thru. Frankie's home was a single story, three bedroom house. She lived there with Gina, Todd and her older brother Derek. There were magazine's covering the coffee table in the messy living room and we walked past there, heading back to Frankie's room.

Her bedroom walls were covered in posters of her favourite bands and movies, everything from Blink 182 to The Sound of Music. Not so weird if you knew us, and especially if you knew Frankie. We all found a place to sit, Frankie had grabbed two beers and for her and I, we and began munching on our burgers.

“So,” June began after a huge bite of her Big Mac, “What's this big news, then?”

“Well...” I smiled, dug in my pocket and produced a photo. I silently handed it to June, who was the closest. She studied it for a moment before her jaw dropped, her eyes darted to me, back to the picture, then to the 30 Seconds to Mars poster on the wall to my right, then again to the picture. Frankie, having seen her reaction, took the photo and looked it over.

“No fucking way.” she said after looking back and forth between the poster and the picture.

“Yeah. My thoughts exactly.” I said, grinning.

“But that's Shan and Jared.” I nodded. They were in disbelief. “That's Jared and Shannon fucking Leto. Okay, okay. Who's that?”

I took a swig of my beer. “My mom.”

They both looked at me. “What?” June said, her eyes again on the picture.

“I can tell now.” Frankie said, her brow furrowed as she studied my moms features. “She was hot.”

“You never told us your mom knew them.”

“I only just found out today.”

I told them all about finding my mom's things at my grandparents. I gave them the whole story, including my moms reaction.

“Do you think she had a thing with one of them?” Frankie asked.

I made a face. “No. Grandpa said they were all good friends though.”

“But he doesn't know why they stopped being friends. I'm telling you, once sex gets involved it's over. It ruins friendships.”

“Remind me never to sleep with either of you, then.” I said.

“Do you think you think it's a coincidence that one of your middle names is Shannon?” June asked, her hand reaching over to grab a handful of my fries. I slid the rest towards her. She needed them more than I did.

“You think she named me after him?”

“It's possible. They were friends after all.”

“Do you think that mean...” I shook my head knowing just where her thoughts were heading.

Frankie asked. “Do you think he knows?”

I shrugged. “What do I know. Maybe, maybe not. Oh, and guess what?”

I told them about finding out my dad's name. But I also told them about my fear that my mom was lying. “Why tell me now?”

“But why lie?” June said. “Let's Google him.”

“Good idea, Junie.” Frankie said, jumping up and finding her laptop beneath a pile of clothes in a corner.

She powered it up and we searched, finding nothing much. There was a Leonard Harrison who was a lumberman and a businessman who lived a hundred years ago and had a state park named after him. I doubted very much that he was my dad. And the other ones we found held no significance since I had nothing to go on but a name, but I wrote down what information I did find on them for future reference.

“I need more information. What he looks like, his age, where he lived. Otherwise we'll never find him.”

“Ask your grandpa. He might know the name.” June said.

She was right. Grandpa might at least be able to give me something. But if it had been when she was away at college, he might have never heard of the man.

I never knew exactly for sure how far along my mom was when she gave birth but I was born premature, so who knows when she got pregnant, like I said my mom wasn't really keen on talking about her past, plus she hid her pregnancy from my grandparents for as long as she could. The more I learned the less I knew about my mom. Why was she so secretive?

Frankie was staring at the picture again. “It must have been cool knowing them.”

I smiled. Yeah, it must have been. Well, until their falling out. I really wanted to know more about that time. I wondered if I played it good for a while I could get mom to open up to me about it.

Probably not.

♫♪♫♪♫

Sneaking out of the house was one thing, sneaking back in was another.

After the girls dropped me off, with promises of talking more tomorrow about both my biological father, and my mom's teenage years, I made my way down the quiet street to my house.

Since it was nearly impossible for me to climb back into my window I had only a few options. The front door, which would get me back up stairs the quickest, ran the risk of me getting caught easier. The garage which would lead me through the kitchen, the backdoor which led me to the kitchen as well, and all I would have to do was make sure no one was in the room while I did it. Or the basement window, which I would have to squeeze through and make my way upstairs, more time consuming, but I could at least hear if anyone was walking around above me on the first level.

I didn't have much time to think it over. I walked to the basement window, prepared to pry it open and climb down, when I remembered that there might be things blocking my way, and if they came crashing down, my cover would be blown. So I went to the backdoor.

Making sure my keys didn't jiggle, I made my way inside, shutting the door softly behind me. I took off my shoes, held them in my hand, and crept slowly through the room to the hall.

“Not using the basement this time, I see.” a voice said, making my stop in my tracks.

Shit.

I was so busted.

A light flicked on behind me. I turned and there at the breakfast table sat Andrew. He had his arms folded over his chest, looking authoritative, a look unfamiliar on him. He was usually more easy going, but now his blonde eyebrows were knitted together, a scowl marring his features.

“Where have you been?”

“Hey, Andrew. Didn't see ya there.” I said, going for casual, but my voice was small. I had never been caught. But apparently he knew my patterns enough to know about my basement entry.

Shit.

Double shit.

“Where have you been, Brie?” he asked again.

“Out.”

“Clearly.” he gestured at the seat in front of him. “Sit.”

I obeyed, knowing there was no way out of this. Of all the times for Andrew to want to father me, he had to pick now.

“I figured that I would catch you as you made your way back in.”

“You caught me.” I said, my hand sup in surrender, “What now?”

“Was it that important to sneak out of the house tonight?”

“Yes.”

His frown deepened. “Really? I'm pretty sure June and Frankie could have seen you at a more reasonable hour.”

“You know us girls, we can't wait to talk to each other.” I said, dripping every word in sarcasm. He wasn't happy.

“Or maybe it was a boy.”

I made a face. “No.”Not that I wasn't into guys or anything, they just weren't a priority to me right now.

“So where's mom?” I asked, trying to get off the subject.

“In bed.”

Interesting. “So... you haven't told her. Otherwise all hell would be breaking loose right now.”

He gave me a look.

“Just be honest with me, Brie. What's going on with you?”

“If you really must know, mom told me about my real father.”

That shut him up.

“It was a lot to take in. I needed some fresh air.”

It had never occurred to me that Andrew might know something about my dad, I mean he and my mom were married, so I'm pretty sure the subject had come up before.

“What did she tell you about him?” I asked.

He leaned back and put his hands up, palms out. “It isn't my place. You know that.”

“I've been waiting so long to know about him, so if you know anything I promise I won't let mom know you told me.”

He exhaled a deep breath. I tried to look as innocent as possible. He was silent for a long moment. “She told me that it had been a mistake of a young heart.”

I scrunched up my face. “Meaning?”

“She was young, and... misguided. From my understanding he wasn't ready to be a father. She thought you'd be better off without him.”

“So she made a mistake, slept with some loser and he ditched her. Got it. I've heard that before. What can you tell me about him specifically? How he looked, his name, how did they meet.”

“It's a touchy subject for your mother, Brie. She likes leaving the past where it is, in the past. When she's ready, she'll tell you more.”

“In other words you've got nothing.”

He actually gave me a brief smile. “She told me they were the same age, and that he moved away not long after she got pregnant.”

“Did she love him?”

He paused for a moment. “I'm not sure.”

I thought that over. “No name?”

“No. But it started with the letter L. That's all she would tell me. She called him L.”

Leonard. “Thanks, Andrew.” I stood as if to go.

“Brie, don't think for one moment that this changes the fact that I caught you sneaking back in the house at three am.”

Dammit.

I sank back down.

“You're causing your mom some real heartache. She wants the best for you, she loves you so much. And I know it feels like she's being a extra angry, or more tough, but she believes it's for your own good.”

I hated the feeling that was sinking into my gut. I knew some of the things I did hadn't sat well with my mom, but when he said I caused her heartache I knew he was being genuine. I loved my mom, despite our differences. My tattoo suddenly felt itchy.

“Promise me you'll try harder not to get under her skin.”

“I promise.”

“And starting tomorrow you're going start following the rules of this house. You need to ask permission to leave this house, come home at curfew, actually sit down for dinner like a family. Things have to change around here. Starting with you.”

He said nothing else. It took me a minute to realized what was happening.

“Wait. You're not going to tell my mom?”

“It'll be between us. You're not a bad kid, you're just acting your age. But if I catch you doing anything like this again you'll regret it.”

I nodded, realizing the chance I was getting. Me and Andy Senior never really saw eye to eye, but he was a good guy. I wouldn't have let mom marry him if I thought otherwise.

He stood and so did I.

“And I'll ignore the alcohol I smell on your breath.”

I gulped. He didn't miss a beat.

“How did you know I was out?” I asked, curious.

“I used to be a teenager you know. I know all the tricks. And in I have two of my own.” He chuckled, “Plus, I happen to be walking by your door when I heard you climbing out of your window. Now, off to bed. Quietly.”

I nodded again and walked into the hall. “Thanks.” I whispered, knowing he could hear me, then I made my way quietly to my room.

♫♪♫♪♫

I drove to my grandparents place after school one day in the middle of the week. The sun was out, and the air was warm, my windows were rolled down and my radio was sky high. I knew it wasn't good for my ears, but you have to play it loud, it's like an unwritten rule.

I parked and hopped out of the car and went around to the back yard where my grandpa was lounging on a patio chair. “Hey, lazy-pants.” I said as I approached.

“Hey, Georgie.” he rose and gave me a huge hug.

He and I had always been close. I was his first grandchild, and as I grew up he was the person I wanted to be like most. He was strong, yet kind, smart and still very sharp. And funny, understanding and was a rock. He was a soldier turned firefighter who retired when I was younger. Besides June and Frankie, he was my best friend.

He helped me through my years living in NYC, when I was very homesick, and they were so far away. It wasn't like living in Georgia, when we could get in the car and drive a few hours and visit. It was a hard time. I was just so happy that they were living so close now, I could see him all the time. I don't know what I would do now if they were still in Louisiana.

We went into the kitchen. Grandma was out grocery shopping so we had the place to ourselves.
Me and grandpa had been talking about my moms past. He had already told me that he didn't know anything about that Leonard guy but we had been searching her high school yearbook in case he was there. No such luck.

He told me that he didn't know why she wouldn't give up the man's name all those years ago. But he didn't press the matter. He said that he was just so happy that I was born, my fathers identity didn't matter much.

But it mattered to me. I knew what Andrew said about mom saying that my dad was no good, but it wasn't her decision to make. To cut him out of my life completely had scarred me. And she knew it.

I let out a frustrate sigh as we sat at the kitchen table. I had a glass of lemonade in my hand. I took a sip and said, “What if I can't find him?”

“Do you want me to talk to your mother about it?”

I shook my head. “No. I don;t think it will help.”

“Damn that girl.” he cursed. “The torture she puts you through.”

“Have you told grandma?”

He shook his head. “She might tell me to stay out of it. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.”

I felt tears fill my eyes, but I blinked them away but not fast enough for him to not see. He took my free hand in his.

“Don't worry, Georgie. We'll find him.” I really hoped so.