Chapter 5: Birthday
Emma rose a little later than she usually did, due to the late night. She was surprised to find Ororo was already up. "Good morning," she said. "You are definitely up early. Well, for you, anyway."
"Remy came early to put Andi's new bike together," Ororo said. "I had to wake early to let him in." She tipped her head in the direction of the family room. Emma went in to investigate.
Remy was there, sitting on the floor doing something complicated to the metal framework of a silver and blue multi-speed bike. He flashed a grin at Emma as she walked in. "'Lo dere, Emma."
"Hello yourself," she said, watching as he connected the brakes to the rear gears. "What is this for?"
"Today be Andi's birt'day," he said, flashing that charming Cajun grin at her. "I brought over de gifts dat some of de ot'ers buy for Andi and 'Ro ask me to put her new bike toget'er."
"Today's Andi's birthday?" Emma turned and went back into the kitchen, where Ororo was putting the candles on a huge chocolate cake. Emma looked at it in amusement. "Chocolate inside as well as out?" she asked, picking up the rest of the candles and starting to slip them into the candleholders Ororo had dotted all over the top of the cake.
"Of course," Ororo smiled. "Andi told me she loves chocolate, only her mother never allowed her to have it. I decided to indulge her."
"I didn't know it was her birthday. I didn't get her anything."
"I asked Jean to pick out something for her and I put your name on it. Andi should like it."
Emma looked at the cake. "Eighteen years old? Today's her eighteenth birthday?" Ororo nodded. "So why are you getting her a bike? Why not a car?"
Ororo said dryly, "Emma, she does not know how to drive, and also, a car would be an extravagance. One I cannot afford." She reached into a plastic bag sitting on the server, and took out a card. "Here. Jean purchased this for you to sign and give her."
Emma looked at the card, and wrinkled her nose. Ororo noticed the face, and smiled. "It is not the card you would have purchased if it had been your choice, I know," she said, chuckling. "Jean and you have very different tastes…in most things." She busied herself placing plastic film on top of the cake and making room for the big chocolate confection in the refrigerator.
Emma picked up the card and retreated to her room. After a quick mental check to see if Andi was still asleep (and an extra touch to be sure that she stayed that way) Emma dug under her bed for her personal briefcase.
She had two that she always traveled with; her business briefcase, with her corporate paperwork in it; and a private one, in which she kept her personal things. And one of the things she always kept in there was the checkbooks for all her personal accounts in various banks all over the world.
She had just opened her fourth account with Manhattan Savings and Loan. As of now, it had a fairly small balance; only a few thousand or so. It should be sufficient for Andi, who probably never had this much money in her life. Emma took out her cell phone and called the bank. The bank manager was called to the phone to confer with her; he always handled her accounts personally, since she had well over a million tucked away in their vault. She assured him that yes, she did want to do this, that she did want Andi's name added to hers on this account, and that in the future he was to treat Andi, if she called, exactly as he would treat Emma. She hung up finally, satisfied that he got the message, and checked the balance. She had opened it with five thousand a month ago and hadn't touched it, so Andi would get a brand new account and checkbook. She wouldn't be able to use the checks until the ones with her name on them printed on them came in, but that would be a minor inconvenience at best.
Next, Emma opened her purse and took out her wallet. Checking the bills in it, she finally decided on three hundred dollars in crisp new hundreds, twenties, tens, and ones. She signed the card with a flourish, grimacing a bit at the flowery pictures in the card, then tucked the money into it, put the card in the envelope, and licked the flap, grimacing as she did. One of the things she liked about being rich was the fact that she could afford to pay others to lick envelopes for her; she almost never had to do this herself. She smiled a bit, a secret, amused smile, at the thought of what Ororo would say if she went out there and asked her to lick the envelope, and pressed the flap closed. Going shopping would serve a number of purposes; one, Andi could pick out whatever she really wanted for her birthday; if Jean had picked most of the gifts out (and she probably had) then there wouldn't be a lot there to interest a girl like Andi. Jean would have picked out things that would appeal to a eighteen-year-old; forgetting that Andi might be eighteen chronologically, but she was much more mature. Silly things like makeup and clothes might not be the kind of thing Andi would like.
Another advantage would be that Andi could get out and have a little fun. From what Ororo had said, Andi didn't get out much; and mall crawls were a necessity for a young girl. She'd have to teach Andi the finer points of mall crawling, shopping for bargains, and, since it was October, Andi would need to get something nice to wear for the Christmas party Emma wanted to take her to. When Emma had first heard about Andi, she had asked Charles if she could take a look at Andi's transcripts; and Andi looked like the protégé Emma had been secretly looking for. And a mall would be the perfect place to test Andi's shields.
She put the card in the bag with the presents in it back in the kitchen without a word to Ororo as to its contents, and Ororo, making Andi's favorite breakfast of eggs and bacon and sausage, didn't ask. Instead, she said, "Are you going to continue her lessons today? It is her birthday."
"Well, since she figured out shielding last night, I was planning on taking her out shopping today. Being around crowds of people will encourage her to firm and strengthen her shields. I expect she will want you to come along as well."
Ororo looked wistful. "As much as I would like to, I cannot," she said regretfully. "There is a new student back at the school who can control water. Charles sent me a note this morning via Remy asking if you two were settled in here sufficiently to allow me to give the boy a quick lesson."
"We'll be fine," Emma assured her, smiling gently. "I promise. Andi and I came to an…understanding…last night. We mended our misunderstandings while she mended her shields."
Ororo turned away from the stove. "You mean she learned to shield?"
"Yes," Emma leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of her coffee. "All I had to do was show her how to do it. She really is a very bright child. And Ororo; I was right. The skull fracture damaged her brain, shutting off her telepathy and heightening her empathy."
There was a sudden cry form down the hall. Emma sprang up and dashed for the hall. Andi was standing, frozen in place, in the act of entering the bathroom. A quick mental probe showed Emma the reason; Remy had been in there. She had walked in on him and it had startled her.
Remy pulled up his boxers and jeans with a blush. "Remy sorry, p'tite," he said, smiling comfortingly at the shocked girl. "Remy should have locked de door when he come in here. F'rgive me?"
Andi nodded stiffly and spun around. Emma shot Remy a killing glare and went after Andi. Ororo, having taken the time to turn off the stove, was about to follow them when Remy put a hand on her arm. "Non, chere," he told her. "Emma got dis taken care of. Remy t'ink maybe she better at giving love advice to girls dan you."
"What?" Ororo stared at Remy. "What are you talking about?"
"Dat wasn' fear Remy see in de p'tite's eyes, 'Ro. Dat was…desire."
* * *
Emma had sensed the mixed emotions in Andi's mind, and told Remy quickly to keep Ororo out as she followed the retreating girl. She walked into Andi's room, closed the door, and sat down on the end of the bed. Andi was lying on her back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and hugging Ali to her chest.
"That wasn't the first time you've seen a man's--" Emma started.
Andi interrupted. "No it wasn't." she sighed and sat up, still hugging her teddy bear. "It's just the first one I've ever seen that wasn't being used to hurt me. Besides my father's, of course." She rocked back and forth a little, completely oblivious to Emma's stunned silence. "Emma," she said finally, "There's something I don't understand. Back there, just now…" she hesitated, seeing Emma's abstract look. "What's wrong?"
"You saw your father's…" Emma paused, trying to find the right words, "…organs?"
"Yes," Andi said, dropping her eyes and picking at a thread on the bedspread. "Lots of times. He and Mother would 'conduct their business' in front of me sometimes." The furrow in Emma's brow got deeper. Andi hastened to explain. "No, see, Mother said that was an example of what happens when I get married someday. It was meant as a demonstration. What I don't understand is that when Mother and Father did it, it looked like it was…fun, like they enjoyed it somehow. But when mother did it to me, all I felt was pain. And then, just now, I saw Mr. LeBeau's--"
"Remy," Emma interjected.
"—Remy's, it didn't bring to mind the same pain I used to feel. I'm all confused." She looked at Emma.
Emma pushed her thoughts away. She would answer Andi's question now, then get the girl to answer her questions about her parents. "Sex is a normal biological function," she said. "It's supposed to feel good. And believe me, it does. Sex can happen between men and women, between two men, and between two women."
Andi wrinkled her nose. "How do two men do it?" she asked.
"In the same way Preston molested you," Emma said, and as Andi's eyes grew round, she said, "Yes, it hurts if you're not a willing participant. It hurts a lot. But if you like it that way, and you want it done that way, it can be a pleasurable experience, or so I've heard." She reflected. "Come to think of it, some men and women do it that way, also. They say it feels good to. What it basically comes down to, Andi, is the willingness factor. If you're a willing participant, then it shouldn't hurt. If you're an unwilling participant, then yes, it's going to hurt, quite a bit." She sighed. "Does that help?"
"Yes," Andi said meditatively.
"Can you answer a question for me?"
Andi looked at her, startled. "Sure."
"How did you happen to see your parents engaging in activities like that?"
Andi sighed. "Father was away on business trips a lot," she said. "And when he came home the first thing they always did was call me into his study and talk to me about whatever I did wrong. Mother would tell Father everything the school said I did wrong, and they would decide on a punishment. Usually it was going without meals and snacks, but when I did stuff they said embarrassed them, I'd get a spanking with Father's belts, or a metal yardstick they had while I was bent over Father's desk and had my butt bare. Then they'd tell me to go up to their room and stand in the corner facing the wall, and they'd do stuff in the bed while I stood there. The corner had a mirror, and I could see what was going on behind me. It was embarrassing; but when I complained about it, my punishments would get more severe.
"Right after I got my first period Mother called me into her room. Father wasn't home. She said that I was old enough now to learn about the 'birds and the bees', as she called it, and she showed me a book that described everything. It all looked really uncomfortable, and when I said that to mother, she said, 'It's always uncomfortable dear, but if you're prepared for it, it won't hurt quite as much.' She had this thing she put on that made her look like Father, and she used it on me. It hurt horribly. I remember begging her to stop, but she didn't. I don't remember what happened later; I woke up in my room a lot later, and I thought I had my period again." Andi stopped talking. "Was that wrong?"
"Yes, it was. It was really wrong. Andi, anything that hurt you is wrong. We'll have a talk about that later." Emma was going to talk to some other people, too.
"Why is he here, anyway?"
"Who?" Emma said, startled out of her reverie. "Oh, Remy? He's putting your birthday present together." Andi gave her a blank look. "Your Mom bought you a new bike for your birthday."
"A birthday present? She got me my first birthday present?" Andi jumped off her bed and ran out of her bedroom. Emma followed more slowly, thinking hard. Remy, she said to him, Can you keep Andi busy while I talk to Ororo?
Sure, came the answer, and Emma went on into the kitchen. "Ororo," she said, "Why aren't Andi's parents being charged at the trial too?"
"Neglect, while horrible, wasn't something the DA wanted to bring up in court," Ororo said. "This was to be a trial for abuse only. She's thinking about filing charges against the parents for neglect and abuse."
"I don't see why she couldn't charge the parents with the same sexual abuse that they're charging Dr. Hebron with."
"Did Andi tell you something she hasn't told us?" Ororo froze in the act of spreading jam on Andi's toast.
"Her parents had intimate encounters in front of her. And Andi's mother took her virginity."
"WHAT!?" The knife clattered to the floor. Ororo ignored it. "What?"
"Andi's mother introduced her own daughter to adult activity, then forced her to watch as she and Andi's father coupled."
"Oh my God," Ororo paled. "No wonder she's so afraid of Remy."
Emma shook her head. 'She's not afraid; she's more curious than anything else. Yes, when she got out of the hospital, right after the incident, she was afraid. She's gotten over that. We didn't have to do anything; just give her a safe, loving environment and some time to heal. Now her natural desires are taking over, and she's curious, just like any other eighteen year old would be about her sexuality." Emma shook her head. "That's not what I wanted to discuss. I wanted to ask you what kind of plans are being made to take care of Andi's parents."
"I'll discuss it with Charles," Ororo said. "They can't be allowed to get away with that." She went to the kitchen door and called, "Breakfast!"
Andi came in. "Mom? Can Remy stay?"
Ororo smiled. "If you want him to," she said. "Now, while we are on the subject of birthday presents, there are some more for you over there."
Andi dug into the bag of gifts eagerly. She was happy with everything she had gotten; makeup from Jean; clothes from Rogue and several of the other female members of the staff, and books from Charles. Then she reached into the bottom of the bag and took out the fat pink envelope Emma had written her name on. She ripped open the envelope; and out fell the black leather bank book and the crisp, new bills.
She bent to gather them up, and set them on the table stunned when she realized how much was in there. "All this? For me? I'm supposed to put this in an account, my own account?"
Emma shook her head. "There is an account at Manhattan Savings Bank in your name already," she said. "You only need to wait until the checks with your name come in. In the meantime, since I wanted you to accompany me shopping today, the money is for you to spend however you wish." She smiled gently. "Are you happy?"
Andi's smile was answer enough.