Chapter Two- Espa's Choice

That night, Jonathan and Victoria enjoyed vegetable burgers, while the rest of the Roba clan ate ground beef burgers. Espa got home earlier than they expected, but that was okay. They were ready for him. He smiled fondly at his siblings, then nodded to Victoria. "How did your day go?"

"It went well, considering we had to stay here." She explained about the collapsed floor. "Luckily, my dear sister wasn't working. They said it will probably take a good three weeks in order to get it fixed."

"Oh wow..." Espa shook his head. "Well, you know you're more than welcome to take them to the square and to the zoo. I just need to know in advance."

"I know." She handed him a cheeseburger. "Here you go. Right off the grill."

"Oh this is going to taste so good. I didn't get to have a break today. We were too busy." Espa sat between Andrew and EJ. He looked over at Christien and Jonathan now. "How were your days, guys?"

"Eventful. Mokuba and I went to Kaibaland, then Nikki and I got into a bad argument. She claims I haven't bought her anything in two months, but it's not true."

"Why should you have to buy her anything? A relationship isn't formed from gifts. It's formed from each person's like for the other." Christien told him wisely. "Right,Tori?"

"Yeah........" Victoria didn't really like discussing their relationship in front of Espa. They both knew that their siblings weren't entirely too thrilled about how serious the relationship had become so fast.

Christien smiled at her now, and leaned over to her ear. "He's not going to bite, you know..."

Tori giggled. "I know." She took a sip of her flavored water. Jon had brought it home for her, saying it was from Duke. Despite the pitfalls of last year, when Duke had tricked her into leaving Marik and his siblings, and inadvertently gotten her thrown out of their family, Tori had remained good friends with him.

"Any calls today, Victoria?" Espa asked her now.

"Just one." She glanced at Christien. "But Christien answered it, not me."

"Chris?" Espa looked over at his quiet brother now, expecting an explanation.

"Mom called." He said softly.

"WHAT?!" Espa's eyebrows narrowed. "What did she say? How did she get this number?!" Espa was worried. They had changed numbers and districts since their parents left. In fact, because of where they lived now, their area code was completely different. There was no way his mother could've gotten their number. Espa glanced at Christien, and noticed he was breathing heavy and staring at his plate unfocused. "Chris?" Espa looked at Victoria, wondering if the girl knew anything. "Do you know anything about the call?"

"No....I'm sorry, I don't..." She put a hand on Christien's shoulder. "Maybe you should talk to Espa alone...I'll go clean up."

"I got it." Jonathan jumped up before Victoria could protest. He gave a look, then mouthed. "Christien wants you here, with him." He began to clear the table off then. After a bit, he took the littles to be cleaned up.

Meanwhile, Espa had moved to Christien's other side. "What did she say to you? How did she sound?" He spoke softly, trying to be sensitive to how Christien could be feeling. He was berating his psychic gift for not foreseeing this major event in their lives.

"S-she didn't even wanna talk to me. She asked for you." Christien bit his bottom lip, not wanting to show his weaker side to Victoria. He felt his best friend put a hand on his shoulder.

"Did she leave a number?" Espa wanted to know. He was furious. It was one thing to call, but to act like he was the only child important to her was where the psychic drew the line.

"Yeah....it's on the caller ID. May I be excused, Espa? I need to walk Victoria home."

"She rode her moped....go ahead." Espa changed his mind about holding him there any longer. He figured he needed to get away and unwind. "Call me if you're going to be out past dark, okay?"

"I will." Christien helped Victoria up, clenching his teeth. "Let's go, Tori." The two left, and he looked up at her. "I don't want you worrying about any of this."

"It's too late. Curiosity's already got me. " Victoria told him. She said no more that night though. Christien was grateful. He didn't think it would've been right for her to snoop at that time.

At home, Espa took the number down, and put it on the table. He glanced at it as he did some touch up cleaning. Jonathan had taken their younger brothers out to get ice cream with Mokuba. At least none of them would be home if he did decide to call. He put Andy's play shoes in his room, and then went back downstairs. He hated to admit, but there really wasn't a lot of cleaning for him to do. Christien, Tori and his youngest siblings had done a very good job. The house was immaculate. He walked back into the dining room, and looked at the number again. I know I'm going to regret this, but....I have to know. Espa sighed, and picked up the phone. He began to dial the number. He got an answering machine. He scowled, but left their number as well as his pager number, in case he was at work. Inside, he hoped she didn't call back, but he knew with his luck, she probably would. He just hoped Victoria wasn't the one who answered. As much like family she was, he didn't think it would be right for her to get involved in this.

Before long, his brothers came hom e. Each seemed to be lost in their own worlds, and the little ones just wanted their pre-bedtime story. So, he told it to them, and was comforted a little by their careless way of life. He desperately wished he could remember a time when he'd been so carefree. He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. He'd always been taking care of them, even when his mother was still around. I won't let her back into their lives! I can't. She's got no right to them. The state gave me custody, not her. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let this child neglector in to hurt Andy and EJ. They barely reme mber her as it is.

"You 'kay , Brover?" It was EJ, who'd been patting his elder brother's arm to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh yeah....of course." He smiled at EJ, hugging him close. "I'm just thinking about what to do for Jonathan's birthday next month. What do you think we should do?"

"A party!" EJ exclaimed, with a giggle. "Jonfin likes parties, right?"

"Shh! Yes, but if you talk too loud, he'll hear you." Espa picked him up. "I think we'll talk about this tomorrow, after Jon goes to Mokuba's. How does that sound?"

"Is Toria coming tomorrows?" Andy interrupted. "I wanna show her my splinter."

"Eww, Andy. I'm sure Victoria won't want to look at that. I'll take it out in the morning before I go to work." Espa told him, scrunching up his nose. He hated blood, even his siblings'. "Okay, you two. Let's go say goodnight to Jon and Christien. Big Brother's really tired tonight." So, the three said goodnight to Jon and Christien, before Espa put the two little ones in their room. Even though there was more than enough rooms in the house Kaiba had built for them, Andy hadn't wanted EJ to leave him. So, the two smallest Robas still shared a roo m, and Chris and Jon each had two rooms. Jon's second room was a laboratory of inventions and contraptions yet to be made. Christien's was a guest room for Victoria whenever she felt inclined to stay with them overnight. Otherwise, he used it for his dueling matches and other things. Espa retired to his own room next, sighing in frustration. Nothing ever stayed good enough for his brothers long. That's all h e wanted. Just for one year to go by when things would go right.