Pandora's Box

"You sure must have a lot of homework there Henry," Snow said as he was about to run upstairs when him and David returned to the apartment. Henry paused and faced his grandmother as she spoke again, "What exactly are you working on?"

"Stuff," Henry responded as he started once more upstairs.

David smirked, "What kind of stuff?"

Henry paused again as he looked at his grandparents who were eyeing him suspiciously, "School stuff that I really need to get done before mom gets home. Thanks for the study break gramps!" He called as he went up to the room and closed the door.

David laughed lightly as he made his way to the kitchen to where Snow was starting to make dinner, "He sure is working hard."

"I doubt it is school stuff." Snow responded also smiling, "He was never this studious before."

"What do you think he is really doing up there?" David asked looking up at the ceiling as if willing it to show him.

Snow smiled seeing her husband's eyes light up with curiosity, "I do not know, but let Emma deal with it when she comes home." She lightly pressed her lips to his and he smiled in response.

"Is this dessert I taste?" He asked as she pulled away from him.

"Could be," Snow winked as she turned back to her work. David laughed in response as he began to help with dinner.

In the meantime Henry flipped through his mother's journal until he came on the page where he had stopped at. He smiled again as he thought things were looking up, but then he decided that maybe, just maybe, that his mother wrote about how she met his father. With this excited thought in mind he skipped through the pages until he came across an entry. There was no date, however there was a year scrawled on the top of the page: 2001.

Oh my god! You would not believe what just happened!

So a few weeks ago I arrive in Portland, Oregon and well of course I have no job and therefore no money so I had no other option but to become a thief. I mean I know it is wrong and I am sure Mary-Alice would have never approved, but what choice do I have…and it is not like I am doing it out of spite…it is merely survival. As they say: Survival of the Fittest after all right?

Henry read that with sheer interest. His mother was actually trying to justify stealing. It was not like he was ashamed with his mother; on the contrary this made him more interested to see where this was headed:

So anyway after awhile I decided that I was going to leave and I saw this cute little yellow bug sitting in this alley. Well I manage to break into it and as I am driving away a man pops up from the backseat. I am literally now freaking out at this point and well long story short we begin talking and eventually he tells me his name: Neal Cassidy. But that is not the best part of this whole experience! He is also a thief and it turns out the irony is that he stole the car that I was currently stealing! Can you believe that?! I stole a stolen car!

Henry was fighting to control his laughter that he thought his ribs were about to crack. This was the funniest thing he has ever read in his whole life! It also made him happy to know more about his parents. Whipping a few laughing tears away; he regains control and continues reading:

So after that whole experience we remained together ever since. We even have code names: He is Clyde and I am Bonnie! Get it: Bonnie and Clyde? They were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. They always stuck together through thick and thin. Hell, they are the only ones who I would deem worthy as true star crossed lovers. Maybe that is why we click together so well. He is the only one who understands me…he made me realize that I do not need anything else. Yes, as long as I have him that is all that counts.

He smiled at that passage, but then he began to frown. If they were so close what exactly happened to them to make his mother so mad at his father that she could not bear the thought of telling him the truth about him?

Well anyway we are currently hiding out in this hotel room and he has just proclaimed to me that he wants to start a life somewhere. Can you believe that? He wants to start a new life…with me! I had asked him were and you know what he does? He shows me a map of the States and you know what he says? He says, "Close your eyes and point. Whatever spot you pick, that's our home."

Home…do you know how long I wanted to hear those words? How much I wanted to believe in that simple word? So I had closed my eyes and did what he said and I picked a spot on the map, "Tallahassee."

Neal had this big grin on his face. It was like his face was going to crack it was that big. I knew that this was it…Tallahassee is going to be our new home. Oh I cannot wait for that to happen.

Henry was smiling. He could not wait to read more of his parents' adventure. His mother's story was a nice break from the book. He turned the page and frowned…the next entry was dated with the year 2002…This is odd, he thought to himself…however it did not take him long to realize why:

I bet you are wondering what happened. Why I did not write or have not written…well I will tell you: Not long after we have decided on Tallahassee it turns out that Neal shows me a wanted poster with his face on it.

Henry gasps at this new piece of information. He never realized his father was a wanted man, after this entire reading he thought that his parents were petty thefts…at least that is how his mother described it. What did his father do?

So after asking what he did, Neal tells me his story about how he was a janitor in Phoenix at a high-end jewelry place. He describes how the manager was a drunk and how he would always forget to lock the case to the expensive watches.

After reading this, Henry could see where this was headed, however he did not want to believe it. But just like all good stories, there would have to have been a snitch in a plan at some point.

So anyway he goes on to say that he tried resisting, but one day he couldn't resist anymore and stole a couple cases of watches, and that is how he ended up in Portland. Well his brilliant plan was to escape to Canada alone. And of course me being oh so in love wanted to go with the bastard! Well neither here nor there I came up with a plan after he denied me of going with him, he says that he hid the watches in a locker at the train station so I said I would go retrieve them and we could fence them for money.

Henry at this point was starting to put the pieces together as he was reading. Looking at the date again he realized something big: His mother had met his father when she was eighteen…the year he was reading about now happened when his mother was nineteen…this means that his mother just got out of prison…and based on the tone his father had-no! He stopped in mid-thought, it must have been a misunderstanding…right?

I managed to retrieve the watches with no problem and Neal was ecstatic. He even gave me one to keep and then we agreed to meet up at a place after he found someone to buy them. It was starting to become late and I tried calling him, but no response. However before I could try again I got arrested for being in possession of stolen goods. THAT BASTARD SET ME UP!

Henry stopped reading and put the book down. He was breathing heavily trying not to believe what he just read. His father could not have done that to her. It was a simple misunderstanding, it just has to be. Shaking his head he knew that he had to finish reading, because his mother was going to be home any minute…he just knew it.

Anyway I got sent to a minimum security prison in Phoenix for eleven months. Then one day a security guard came and told me that I had gotten a letter sent from Phuket, Thailand. It held one thing: a swan keychain that he had stolen for me with the key to that damn bug.

In all honesty I could have handled that. Being betrayed is nothing new to me. Hell it is sad to say, but somewhere deep down I knew it was going to happen eventually, despite the fact that I tried so hard to fight it…but there was something else…I was pregnant for nine of those eleven months.

Henry re-read that part and as he was reading he could see the tear stains on the page as he read this. Now he was ultimately sure that he did not want to read anymore, but before he could decide what to do, his curiosity took over and his eyes remained glued to the page:

I had a baby boy. That is right. I had a son, and he is the only good part that came out of all of this, however I did not keep him. I gave him up in a closed adoption. I hated to do it. God with every fiber of my being I wish I never had to do it. I held him for a few minutes before the doctor took him away from me. I knew he deserved better than what I had to offer him. He deserved his best chance…and that is not with me.

Anyway I am going to Tallahassee, half of me hopes to see Neal and the other half doesn't. I guess I just want to understand. But I guess the big question is: am I going to tell him about this beautiful baby boy? No. I should not even ask that. He does not deserve to know. I do not want him to feel obligated in anyway…besides that kid is better off without me…without us.

Henry stops reading and snaps the book shut and places it back in the box before jumping back on the bed and placing his face in his hands. His heart feels like it is going to beat right out of his chest as he thinks about what he just read. He knows that of course he only heard his mother's side of the story and as he well knew there are multiple sides to the same story, but how was he going to get his father's side of the story without drawing attention to the fact that he invaded his mother's privacy?

Just as he was thinking about a plan he hears the door slam open and yelling from downstairs, "And I am saying 'screw you'! Get the hell away from me!" He heard his mother's voice.

"Emma please I am so-" Perking up he immediately realized that his father was here too.

"No! I do not want to hear it Neal! I am so sick of hearing it! Get the hell away from me! In fact get the hell out of my life, since you do that oh so well!" He heard her yell and now he slowly made his way to the door and opened it quietly as he slowly snuck into the hallway. From there he got a good view as to what was happening.

"Emma. Neal. Henry is-" His grandmother tried pleading with them as she stood in between them her facing his mother and his grandfather facing his father.

His father had a pleading look on his face as he tried to bypass both of them, "Please let me explain-"

This infuriated his mother even more, "Explain?! Explain what?! What is there to explain?! The fact that you had the audacity to kiss me when you are engaged; then tell me it changes nothing?! Hello you started it!"

"Emma I didn't mean-"

"Forget it ok! I do not believe you! Get that?! I do not ever believe the shit that comes out of your mouth! Ever!" There was a hushed silence and Henry felt his mouth open in shock as his mother said, "I get it ok? I was just a scapegoat to you so you could take the watches for yourself and start your life over."

"Emma please-"

"Neal you better leave." David said before another shouting match could occur.

"But-"

"Leave." Snow finally said facing him as well as Emma had her back turned to him.

Henry watched as Neal sighed in defeat and made his way to the door. He looked back one more time and whispered, "I am sorry." And with that he walked out and closed the door softly behind him.

Henry watched as Snow placed a soft hand on Emma's shoulder, but she shrugged it off and as she was turning toward the stairs he bolted back into the room, just as he heard her footsteps bounding up the stairs. As he closed the door he was relieved to hear the bathroom door slam shut. Taking a deep breath he heard a knock and before he could say anything the door opened to reveal his grandmother, "Dinner is ready."

Playing stupid he asked, "What was with the yelling? Is everything ok?"

Snow sighed, "It is nothing you need to worry about, now go eat."

Thinking it best not to argue, Henry sighed and followed his grandmother downstairs as his mother came out of the bathroom. Without looking at him or even acknowledging him, she went into the bedroom and shut the door.