"I know my boo, and that is her. But what is up with that chair? What is
fast enough to
get her."
"I don't know, Cindy, but that looks an awful lot like the spare chair Logan used to carry
around in the car. But why would she pretend? If she had stayed, she would have known
the truth."
"Who cares about the truth! That was a long time ago. Now we have to figure out this
kid. He says his mama's name is Kori, but this is Max, an' he says his daddy's Logan.
Possible for his brotha, but not him! He's thirteen, says he was born in October of 2019.
That does not compute, if ya ask me."
"I was adopted." I stepped into the kitchen. Original Cindy and a man sat at the table, my
picture between them. She jumped up when she saw me.
"Nick! I'd like you to meet Bling. Bling, this here's Nick."
I shook Bling's hand. "Nice to meet you, but it is Nicolas."
"Nice to meet you, to, Nicolas. Want to sit down?" I sat in the third chair.
"So, you want to elaborate on what you just said, Nicolas?" Bling asked me, as Original
Cindy went to the stove to stir something.
"Well, I was adopted when I was about three. Patrick was just a baby."
"Do you remember anything about then?"
"Not really. Mom never said we were both born in Seattle, we just assumed, she never
spoke much about our past. I know she left here when I was three, settled in Bay-West,
and that's it."
"Do you remember anything from the journey?"
"No, sir."
"You said you think your father is Logan Cale. Why?"
"Well, we have a picture of him on our mantle, it's always been there. I do remember a
time when I didn't call him Dad; I think it was Patrick that started calling him that first.
Mom never denied it, so I figured it must be true."
"So, why are you here?"
"Mom and I had a fight. She wrote two letters, they must have been to you two, because
one was addressed to Bling, and one to Cindy. I found them and kind of flipped over
some of the stuff in them. She said I didn't understand, and I wanted to understand, so I
came here. Back to where it all started."
"So what was in the letters that was so important?"
"Well, there was something about how she got to Bay-West, a little about me and Patrick,
our life now, and some about her baby." Original Cindy turned from the stove.
"Her baby? She pregnant? She find herself anotha man?"
"No! The baby she left behind. She said she really missed Seattle, and especially her
baby, and she hoped you were taking good care of her."
"What!"
"That's why she said I didn't understand, because I asked her why she didn't bring her
baby with us, but she must have been older than Patrick, because he was a baby."
"Her baby." Bling whispered. "Hey Cindy, isn't that what she called her Ninja?"
"Her Ninja?"
"Her bike! She took Logan's ride when she split, she left hers here."
"Her bike? As in motorcycle? My mom used to ride a motorcycle?"
"Not just ride, baby. Your mama took better care of that bike than herself. The only thing
she may have loved more was Logan."
"What about me and Patrick?" A look passed between Original Cindy and Bling, and she
turned back to the stove. "What?"
"Well, Nicolas. Max must have adopted you two after she left Seattle."
"But she never said we weren't born in Seattle, she said."
"It's possible that you were, she may have stayed in Seattle for a while after she left
here."
"No! She said we went straight from here to Bay-West. I do remember some of it, we
stayed in the car a lot, and a few hotels. I remember one night that Patrick wouldn't stop
crying. Mom walked around the hotel room with him. I remember the day we moved into
our house, mom made beds for us, and then she fixed up the car, painted it blue, and got a
job at the garage. She's always worked there. I remember her quizzing me about how
we.changed.our.names."
"Can you remember what your name was before?"
"No, but I know it was similar to my name now."
"Hey peeps, dinner's ready." Original Cindy set three plates of spaghetti on the table, and
then doused them in sauce. "Hope ya like it."
"It's been so long since I had a good meal, I'll like anything, ma'am."
"Original Cindy ain't no ma'am, that makes her sound old. Tell us about your mama,
what's my boo been up to?"
"Your boo?"
"It's an expression, kid. Don't you be givin' no sass to Original Cindy. Talk."
"Cindy, he's probably tired, let him eat."
"Fine, fine, but tell us, where exactly is this Bay-West you keep talkin' bout?"
"In New Brunswick, in Canada. It's close to the Eastern Coast."
"You walked across th' country?"
"Pretty much, I took a bus part of the way. Mmm, this spaghetti sauce is the best I've had
in a long time."
"If I remember correctly, Max couldn't cook very well. She was always getting Logan to
cook for her."
"She still can't cook. We used to get take out for dinner a lot, but Patrick loves to cook
and since he's old enough to now, he usually does a lot of it."
"Logan loved to cook for Max."
"Did he? Mom never really talked about him a lot. She usually changed the subject."
"Hey, speaking a cooking, I did it, you men clean. I'll just take another plate and go
relax. Have fun." Original Cindy did just that, but I found it unusual that she took a clean
plate for her second helping. I helped Bling clean off the table and we did the dishes,
talking some more.
"Don't worry about Cindy, her bark is worse than her bite."
"I beg your pardon, sir?"
"Please, don't call me sir, call me Bling, and her Cindy or else she will bite your head off.
I've learned that much in the last ten years."
"You've been married for ten years?"
"Married? No. You can't tie Cindy down, we're just two of your parents friends, we
moved in here together after your mom left."
"It's a beautiful apartment. It must have been hard to find in this city."
"No, not really. The apartment."
"Hey, I got some more dishes for ya." Cindy came through the kitchen door carrying the
plate and a plastic glass; she set them in the sink that Bling had just emptied. "Hey, guess
I'm to late, they'll sit til mornin'." As she talked, I started yawning. I had walked all
around the city that afternoon, and hadn't realized I was so tired.
"Guess we betta find a place fir you to bunk down, you'll have to use the couch, if you
don' mind."
"No, I don't mind, it's better than another night in my tent, especially since it's raining
again."
"Now what is so new about that?"
"Mom mentioned something about it raining a lot here."
"A lot? Now there's an understatement!"
"Come on Cindy, give him a break. He's tired, let's just find him some blankets and let
him sleep."
"Fine, fine, but tomorrow, you talk!"
The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was wondering whose apartment Bling
was going to say this was, then I fell into a deep sleep.
~~
get her."
"I don't know, Cindy, but that looks an awful lot like the spare chair Logan used to carry
around in the car. But why would she pretend? If she had stayed, she would have known
the truth."
"Who cares about the truth! That was a long time ago. Now we have to figure out this
kid. He says his mama's name is Kori, but this is Max, an' he says his daddy's Logan.
Possible for his brotha, but not him! He's thirteen, says he was born in October of 2019.
That does not compute, if ya ask me."
"I was adopted." I stepped into the kitchen. Original Cindy and a man sat at the table, my
picture between them. She jumped up when she saw me.
"Nick! I'd like you to meet Bling. Bling, this here's Nick."
I shook Bling's hand. "Nice to meet you, but it is Nicolas."
"Nice to meet you, to, Nicolas. Want to sit down?" I sat in the third chair.
"So, you want to elaborate on what you just said, Nicolas?" Bling asked me, as Original
Cindy went to the stove to stir something.
"Well, I was adopted when I was about three. Patrick was just a baby."
"Do you remember anything about then?"
"Not really. Mom never said we were both born in Seattle, we just assumed, she never
spoke much about our past. I know she left here when I was three, settled in Bay-West,
and that's it."
"Do you remember anything from the journey?"
"No, sir."
"You said you think your father is Logan Cale. Why?"
"Well, we have a picture of him on our mantle, it's always been there. I do remember a
time when I didn't call him Dad; I think it was Patrick that started calling him that first.
Mom never denied it, so I figured it must be true."
"So, why are you here?"
"Mom and I had a fight. She wrote two letters, they must have been to you two, because
one was addressed to Bling, and one to Cindy. I found them and kind of flipped over
some of the stuff in them. She said I didn't understand, and I wanted to understand, so I
came here. Back to where it all started."
"So what was in the letters that was so important?"
"Well, there was something about how she got to Bay-West, a little about me and Patrick,
our life now, and some about her baby." Original Cindy turned from the stove.
"Her baby? She pregnant? She find herself anotha man?"
"No! The baby she left behind. She said she really missed Seattle, and especially her
baby, and she hoped you were taking good care of her."
"What!"
"That's why she said I didn't understand, because I asked her why she didn't bring her
baby with us, but she must have been older than Patrick, because he was a baby."
"Her baby." Bling whispered. "Hey Cindy, isn't that what she called her Ninja?"
"Her Ninja?"
"Her bike! She took Logan's ride when she split, she left hers here."
"Her bike? As in motorcycle? My mom used to ride a motorcycle?"
"Not just ride, baby. Your mama took better care of that bike than herself. The only thing
she may have loved more was Logan."
"What about me and Patrick?" A look passed between Original Cindy and Bling, and she
turned back to the stove. "What?"
"Well, Nicolas. Max must have adopted you two after she left Seattle."
"But she never said we weren't born in Seattle, she said."
"It's possible that you were, she may have stayed in Seattle for a while after she left
here."
"No! She said we went straight from here to Bay-West. I do remember some of it, we
stayed in the car a lot, and a few hotels. I remember one night that Patrick wouldn't stop
crying. Mom walked around the hotel room with him. I remember the day we moved into
our house, mom made beds for us, and then she fixed up the car, painted it blue, and got a
job at the garage. She's always worked there. I remember her quizzing me about how
we.changed.our.names."
"Can you remember what your name was before?"
"No, but I know it was similar to my name now."
"Hey peeps, dinner's ready." Original Cindy set three plates of spaghetti on the table, and
then doused them in sauce. "Hope ya like it."
"It's been so long since I had a good meal, I'll like anything, ma'am."
"Original Cindy ain't no ma'am, that makes her sound old. Tell us about your mama,
what's my boo been up to?"
"Your boo?"
"It's an expression, kid. Don't you be givin' no sass to Original Cindy. Talk."
"Cindy, he's probably tired, let him eat."
"Fine, fine, but tell us, where exactly is this Bay-West you keep talkin' bout?"
"In New Brunswick, in Canada. It's close to the Eastern Coast."
"You walked across th' country?"
"Pretty much, I took a bus part of the way. Mmm, this spaghetti sauce is the best I've had
in a long time."
"If I remember correctly, Max couldn't cook very well. She was always getting Logan to
cook for her."
"She still can't cook. We used to get take out for dinner a lot, but Patrick loves to cook
and since he's old enough to now, he usually does a lot of it."
"Logan loved to cook for Max."
"Did he? Mom never really talked about him a lot. She usually changed the subject."
"Hey, speaking a cooking, I did it, you men clean. I'll just take another plate and go
relax. Have fun." Original Cindy did just that, but I found it unusual that she took a clean
plate for her second helping. I helped Bling clean off the table and we did the dishes,
talking some more.
"Don't worry about Cindy, her bark is worse than her bite."
"I beg your pardon, sir?"
"Please, don't call me sir, call me Bling, and her Cindy or else she will bite your head off.
I've learned that much in the last ten years."
"You've been married for ten years?"
"Married? No. You can't tie Cindy down, we're just two of your parents friends, we
moved in here together after your mom left."
"It's a beautiful apartment. It must have been hard to find in this city."
"No, not really. The apartment."
"Hey, I got some more dishes for ya." Cindy came through the kitchen door carrying the
plate and a plastic glass; she set them in the sink that Bling had just emptied. "Hey, guess
I'm to late, they'll sit til mornin'." As she talked, I started yawning. I had walked all
around the city that afternoon, and hadn't realized I was so tired.
"Guess we betta find a place fir you to bunk down, you'll have to use the couch, if you
don' mind."
"No, I don't mind, it's better than another night in my tent, especially since it's raining
again."
"Now what is so new about that?"
"Mom mentioned something about it raining a lot here."
"A lot? Now there's an understatement!"
"Come on Cindy, give him a break. He's tired, let's just find him some blankets and let
him sleep."
"Fine, fine, but tomorrow, you talk!"
The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was wondering whose apartment Bling
was going to say this was, then I fell into a deep sleep.
~~