Bloody Backgrounds and Bloody Perception
Chapter 2
A cab picked me up from the airport and took me to my hotel. "So, where'd you fly in from?" the driver asked on the way over.
"Ireland," I said.
"Ireland? Then what business do you have in England?" he asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
"My son lives here." My son. That was the first time I'd ever acknowledged that. My tear ducts aroused but I didn't cry. Father wouldn't like that. Only the weak cry, I remember hearing him say.
After I put my bag inside my hotel room, the cab took me to Steve's.
When he opened the door, he looked a bit worried. "Oh, so you have come."
"I take it that you got my message." He let me past him and we sat down on the couch in the living room of his small apartment.
"Now," he said. "About your proposition…"
"Before I tell you, I would like to tell you why I have come to this proposal." I paused. "Many years ago, in Ireland, when I was about seven years old, my father took Anna and I to the snow. I don't remember why. We were surrounded by men. They wanted something from my father. They took Anna away. But I was allowed to stay. The men grew impatient with my father. One of them pointed a gun in our direction. My father tried to take it and shoot the man holding it. He shot a few others too. One man knocked him down and sat on his chest. The gun lay at my feet." I paused and took a drink of the water Steve had given me. "' Nina, take it, take it,' his voice was weak. But I was too scared. Someone took the gun and shot both my father and the man on him and then fell dead himself. I fell to my knees. Anna walked over to me and held both of my trembling hands." I'd never spoke any of this aloud. It hurt. "Anna and I blamed each other for our father's death. But I know whose fault it was." I took another sip from the glass and looked my son in the eye. "I know, you probably don't understand why I told you this. But Anna and I, we were close once before I pushed her away. I blamed her for something that was not her fault. Just like I blamed you for what they did to me. I came here, to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you; I shouldn't have tried to kill you. Even though you were their experiment, you are still my son." I tried to smile and nearly cried.
Steve looked at me, unsure of what to do or say. After a few minutes of silence, he hugged me. "Yes, Mum, I forgive you. All I ever wanted was to get to know you. Maybe now, I'll have my chance."
"Come with me then, back to Ireland."