Sorry to be crankin' these chapters out all willy-nilly like I am! It'll stop soon enough when I stop being far ahead enough to do what I do! There's no supernatural action in this chapter, but it's still an important piece of the entire puzzle that is my "Complete" series, so enjoy!
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"You what!?" Wesley's mother yelled over the phone.
"I'm not coming home for Christmas," Wesley said calmly. "Something came up and I thought it would be better if I stayed here."
"What are you talking about?" his mother asked loudly. "All of your family is here in Texas, not in Georgia. What's more important that your family during Christmas?"
"Just," Wesley said uneasily, "something. I was invited to spend Christmas with friends and I thought I'd go with them."
"Don't lie to me," his mother snapped. "I know you're lying. You're not good at it. I want you to tell me what is going on down there right now!"
"Alright," Wesley sighed, "but you made me tell you. Now, I don't know why you didn't tell me this earlier in life, but the secret's out that I'm adopted."
"You know!?" she asked. "Who told you?"
"I just sort of…found out," Wesley said. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't tell you because," she said, now in a very calm tone, "I wasn't supposed to. You were a special child, you know. From the first day I saw you, I knew that you were going to make something out of yourself. I knew that you would make it out there as a successful black man."
"That's nice and all, mama," Wesley said, "but what does that have to do with anything?"
"If you would let me finish," she continued, "the truth is that I didn't really actually adopt you. You were just…sent here to me. The lady who brought you to me told me that you were a 'twice-blessed child' who deserved a very normal upbringing and that I had been chosen as the one who could do that for you.
"She never told me who she was, or where you came from, but she said that you were going to be a very special person one day who would help fulfill a prophecy. I tried to ask her what the hell she was talking about, but she only told me that much. Well, that and that I couldn't tell you about this until you asked. You were supposed to find out for yourself, which you have, I guess."
"The hard way," Wesley added.
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"She delivered you to me," Matthew's mother said to him over the telephone. "You couldn't have been more than a few days old. She said that you were of a very unique and special lineage, born of both sides, but that you deserved a normal life. She said that you were destined for great things, and that you would help fulfill a prophecy. She wouldn't tell me anything else, except that I had been chosen to raise you and to never tell you this until after you found out for yourself."
"But what does that mean?" Matthew asked his mother. "What does it mean to be 'born of both sides?'"
"If I knew," she answered, "I'd tell you. But I don't know what any of it means, so apparently it's something that you have to figure out for yourself. So, you said you're not coming home for Christmas?"
"Yeah," Matthew said. "I met some friends here and we've decided to spend Christmas here and just kinda travel around. Maybe take a road trip or something like that."
"That sounds…" Matthew's mother said slowly, before changing her words, "like fun. I'm sure you'll have a great time."
"Then it's okay?" Matthew asked.
"You're an adult now," she said. "I think you're able to make your own choices from now on. We'd like to see you here, but as long as you're happy, I'll be okay."
"You sure?" Matthew asked.
"Sure, I'm sure," she replied.
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"What does it mean to be 'born of both sides?'" James asked his father over the telephone.
"Hell if I know," his father answered. "That was all the lady told me when she brought you here."
"Wait," James said. "You're saying that I was sent to you? How was I sent to you?"
"Pay attention, son," his father said. "I told you that I took you in, but because the lady told me that I was chosen to take care of you and to make sure that you got a good childhood. She said that you were going to fulfill some kind of prophecy in the future, but I just thought that she was old and eccentric."
"That's weird," James said. "So now that the secret's been let out, is there anything else that you know?"
"Just one more thing," he said to James. "I'm supposed to let you live your own life now. Apparently, there are things out there that you have to handle that I don't even know about. I don't know what's with the big secret, but I have something here for you that the lady gave me."
"What is it?" James asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "It's some old envelope. The lady told me to never open it and to just give it to you when you found out about…this. So after she left, of course I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. I don't know what's wrong with it. Maybe it's too old. But it's here for you."
"Strange," James said. "Now, what was that thing about letting me live my own life now?"
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"It seemed like she was just telling me to let you go or something," Matthew's mother said. "Like I would ever do that."
"Why is all of this happening now?" Matthew asked as something clicked inside his head. "It does make sense, though."
"What makes sense?" she asked. "Do you know something else?"
"Just that," Matthew began before realizing that he could never reveal who he really was to his mother, "I'm starting to see that it all had to wait until I was an actual adult, you know?"
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"I guess so," Wesley's mother sighed. "But you know we'll miss you this year, don't you?"
"I know," Wesley said, "but I'll be back other times. It's not like I'm leaving for good."
"You're right," she said, "I guess…"
"Stop tryin' to make me feel guilty about this," Wesley said.
"Okay," she replied in a monotone voice.
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"I'm way past the guilt trip thing," Matthew said.
"I thought it was worth a try," Matthew's mother said. "Will I ever see you again?"
"Of course," Matthew said. "This is just Christmas Break. I'm not gone for good, you know. It's not the end of the world."
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"It's like the end of an era," James father likened the situation.
"Maybe," James said, confused. "Well, I'll be by to pick up the envelope that you apparently can't open later on tonight. I might be bringing some friends with me. We're all gonna hang out over the holiday."
"Okay," James' father said. "I'll see you, son."
"Bye," James said, hanging up the phone.
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"Love you," Wesley's mother said.
"Love you, too," Wesley said, annoyed. He hated when his mother said that to him now that he considered himself an adult.
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"Take care," Matthew's mother said. "And stay warm. Do you have enough underwear to last you through…"
"I'm fine, Ma!" Matthew exclaimed. "Goodbye!"
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If things weren't bad enough! Now Jimmy and company have to leave behind the very people who raised them, all because of this witch thing! Isn't that horrible? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy! Well, maybe I…NO, definitely not! Coming up: just when they thought that their demon problems were over for the holidays…BLIZZAM!!!