Skip continued to talk with me until he left, looking grateful there was now someone to take over the night shift so he didn't have to. But he didn't get out of it completely, because I only worked four days a week. The other three were up to him to cover. He also worked days, but I was sure he was getting paid a lot more than I was. I really liked talking to him and I found him to be a very down to earth guy. I admit, if I was actually looking to like someone I might consider him. He certainly already had my flirting sensor on, but I had to be careful because I didn't want to break the poor guy's heart. I knew that would happen if I got too involved. At this point in his life he seemed kind of desperate, and I didn't want him to think I was the answer he was looking for. I knew I wasn't. Like my mother always said: I was just like my father.

I was surprised to see a basket of muffins sitting on my porch when I woke up one morning. It had a letter inside it. I got nervous, wondering if it was from Skip asking me on a date. How would I turn him down nicely?

I opened it and was surprised to see it was from the neighbors.

We would be honored to have you for dinner tonight! We haven't had any new faces on this street for a while. My husband's off work and has agreed to it. We would love to get to know you. Let us know, and if tonight doesn't work for you we could reschedule.

Signed,

Samantha Goth

I sighed. Well, talk about neighborly welcomes. I didn't really want to go, but I didn't have work tonight and I had nothing better to do. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to get to know my new neighbors. I never really had neighbors that liked me before, so this would be a good thing.

I arrived right on time, being nervous and wearing a dress because I didn't know what to expect. These people were rich. I was sure they were completely well mannered.

"Hello, Taylor," a lady, I assumed the one who wrote me the letter, said as she greeted me. She had long, brown hair and a cheery smile. She was certainly pretty.

"Hi," I said with a smile as she invited me in.

Their house made my grandmother's house looked like nothing. I guess they were about the same size, but their house was full of so many different objects, most of them very expensive looking. I couldn't stop looking around, and then I got embarrassed when I saw she was giving me a weird look.

"Your house is very lovely," I said in an effort to cover myself.

"I certainly hope so," she said with a smile. "I work very hard to make it that way while my husband isn't home."

I could hear some bitterness to her voice, but I didn't care. Like I told Skip; even families that seemed perfect had their problems.

Once dinner came around I was completely intimidated by their style of eating. They all seemed so perfect, and their children seemed so well behaved. Alexander kept staring at me as if this had been his wife's idea and he didn't want me here. It was kind of nerve wracking.

"So, Taylor," Sam said with a smile, "what brings you to Pleasantview?"

"I got an inheritance from my grandmother so I moved down here to claim her house."

"Well, that's nice. Alexander here got an inheritance as well. It was nice because then we could focus on what went inside the house with his money rather than the house itself. And it's been a wonderful place to raise our children."

I nodded. I desperately wanted to ask about his mother, but coming right out and asking about the rumors would be rude and I wasn't sure how to ask it casually so he wouldn't notice I was trying to be rude.

"So your parents lived here for a while?" I asked him.

He nodded. "I was born and raised here, although they weren't. They moved here when my sister was a toddler."

Alright, here was my chance. "So are either one of them still alive?"

"No, my father was very old when he had me and didn't live long after I left the house."

He didn't mention anything about his mother, but I wasn't going to push. I felt bad enough already.

His wife was eyeing him and they seemed to be having a silent conversation. "Alright, I get you're curious about the rumors," he stated.

I was rather embarrassed. "What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"It's not a secret my mother disappeared. My parents were local legends and everyone in town knew their name. Then my mother just disappeared one day and my father was never the same."

"I've heard them, but that wasn't what I was getting at," I lied.

"Sure," he said as he eyed me. "Look, I don't know what to tell you. I want to believe some crazy rumor that she was abducted by aliens over the rumor she was cheating on my dad and then decided to take off. I don't have many memories of her, because I was very young when she disappeared, but the memories I do have of her are great. She was a great mother. I've also heard stories from my older sister and she's drilled through my head she didn't leave us and someday they would find her. It obviously never happened, but she was a good woman."

"So do you think she was murdered?" I asked nervously. If she had been murdered, I could only think of one culprit. I didn't want to believe that, though. He might have been a horrible man, but that didn't make him a murderer.

"It's possible," he said as he took a sip of his water. "The only person I could think of to do it was Don Lothario, but no evidence has come up against him. It's been twenty years and there's been nothing, so if she was the person sure did a good job."

"Well, if she was murdered at least you know she didn't leave you. I mean, that would make me feel better if I were in your shoes."

He smiled at me. "Well, thank you, Taylor. Where are you from exactly?"

"Riverblossom Hills," I replied. "It's kind of a small, farming town. My mother and I lived there for most of my life."

"So why did your grandmother live here?"

"Well, my mother was born and raised here, and I was born here but we moved when I was very young. I don't have many memories of being here."

"You were born here, really? Who's your mother? I swear my father knew and talked about every person in town."

I got nervous. Did my mother have any deep secrets when she lived here? I mean I knew her past wasn't exactly clean. "Her name is Dina Caliente."

He suddenly put his glass down and got wide eyes. I got nervous. What did he know about her?

"No way," he said, suddenly putting a smile on. "We're practically related."

I gave him a weird look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, didn't your mother ever tell you? She used to be married to my uncle. On my mother's side I mean. I never met him before he died, but I knew about your mother. They didn't have any children or anything, and my mother didn't really like her because she thought she was a bit too young for him and was only in it for his money, but they were married for many years and only broke up because he died."

"Really?" I asked in shock. "No, my mother never told me." She had never mentioned she was once married. She only told me she had a fling with my father and a few other men I didn't recognize, but being married? And then I got a bad feeling in my stomach, wondering if she was just in it for the money. I mean it was no secret my mother liked money, and she didn't date guys with nothing. She would never even think about liking someone like Skip.

"So then who's your father?" he asked, sounding kind of nervous. I wondered why he sounded nervous. I was the one that should have been nervous. Maybe he thought they had actually had a child together when they were married?

"It doesn't matter," I said quickly. "I don't really even consider him my father."

Him and his wife exchanged glances. "Is it Don Lothario?" he asked rather low.

How did he know that? Did everyone around town know they had a fling and I was the result of it?

"Yes, alright," I said bitterly. "Like I said, he's not my father. I don't know how you know him and my mother had a thing together, but it doesn't matter."

"I'm not judging you," he said as he sat back in his chair, probably trying to release some of the awkwardness from the room. "I just know a lot about this town. Like I said, my parents were local legends. They knew everyone. I'm not fond of him, and I'm sure you can guess my reasons, but that doesn't mean I would judge you."

I shook my head, finding it hard to believe him. He either killed his mother or was the person she cheated with before she left. I wouldn't blame him if he automatically hated me.

"Your mother was kind of interesting," he said casually.

"Did you know her?" I asked.

"Well, no, but I know some things. Your mother liked money, and after the death of my uncle she got a large inheritance. I'm not sure what happened, but when she moved back to Pleasantview she had nothing. Her and my father had a thing for a while, which I find kind of weird since she used to be related to him, even if only through marriage, and then he decided she was only in it for the money and cut off ties with her, telling me and my sister he wanted to die in piece, thinking about our mother rather than another woman. I was a child at the time, and I remember her a bit. I think she was pregnant with you at the time, because I remember her having a large belly more toward the end of their relationship. I asked my father if I was going to have a younger sibling and he told me no, because they weren't getting married and the child wasn't his."

I stared at him in complete shock. So my mother not only was married to some rich guy, but then had a fling with some handsome womanizer, and then did a full circle with another rich guy who was related to the first rich guy she married? What's wrong with her? She hadn't mentioned any of this to me! Didn't I have the right to know?

"I didn't know any of that," I mumbled, still in shock.

"Well, that's surprising. It was the talk of the town at the time. I think my father got tired of hearing all the rude comments about having a trophy wife and how they didn't really love each other. I don't know what's true and what's not, but it doesn't matter. I mean it's in the past now."

I nodded, still not believing all this. Was he being truthful? I don't see why he would lie about something like this. I suddenly wondered how different my life would have been had they actually got married and he was my replacement father. I would have lived it up, and would have at least had some good memories of a father before he died. I also would have had siblings, and a nice house. Man, of the three men she was with she only had a child with the one that sucked the most? This wasn't fair.

"It's really none of my business," he mumbled. "I guess I should keep my mouth shut."

"No, it's alright," I said with a straight face. "I'm glad I was able to hear this. I mean I'm in my late twenties. I have the right to know."

He nodded in agreement, and I was just thinking of all the things I wanted to say to my mother when I got home.

Dinner was a bit awkward after that, but it went fine. I thanked them for the great night as Samantha told me not to be a stranger and then I headed back home.

I called my mother, but it was kind of late and she didn't answer. "I need to talk to you ASAP," I told her answering machine. "I would prefer to talk to you in person, so please come down when you can. I'm being serious about this," I added, hoping she didn't just blow me off.

I collapsed on my bed, wondering why my life had to be nothing but drama.

She came the next day in the afternoon. From the panicked look on her face she probably thought I was dying or something. "Honey, I just got your message," she said as she answered the door. "What's wrong? You know I can help. You just need to talk to me."

"I'll tell you what's wrong," I said with a look. "Is life all about money to you?"

She gave me a strange look. "What do you mean? Money's nice, but it's certainly not everything. You know that. I mean we lived in a small apartment for the longest time. I've given you everything I could, with or without the help of your father."

"I know about you and the Goth's," I stated plainly.

She seemed to study me for a moment, as if deep in thought. "Well, I suppose all a small town has is its secrets. But it doesn't matter. It happened in the past and I've moved on to a brighter future."

"You dated a guy you used to be related to! It's like Hamlet all over again."

She laughed. "I wasn't related to Mortimer. We were merely related through marriage, and we were no longer related when I dated him. It wasn't the same thing."

"I bet you know something about Bella Goth's disappearance," I accused.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that line of hogwash. Don told me they had been talking for months before that night, and she wasn't happy with her relationship. She came to him with the intention of cheating, Taylor. Then she left. It's as simple as that. She left them all and then they made up a story about her disappearing so they wouldn't have to admit to themselves she had left them. I knew her vaguely when I was married to Michael, and she wasn't all that pleasant to be around. She didn't like me one bit and told Michael he could do so much better. After he died she wasn't the same person and she and Mortimer never had the perfect relationship. During my time of dating him she was all he could think about, hence the reason we didn't end up together. He loved her but she didn't love him. It was nothing but a tragic love story involving a rich family so the entire town had to make up rumors."

"But it's been twenty years. Don't you think she would have at least tried to contact her children by now?"

"Doubt it. If you knew her you would understand."

"Her son spoke very highly of her."

"Oh, so Alexander is who told you all this? He was a toddler when she left. Of course he spoke highly of the mother he barely knew. Of course he's going to hold on to the possibility she didn't leave, rather was murdered or even abducted. Don was a lot of things, but he wasn't a murderer. It's just a small town rumor."

I nodded, wondering if it was really true. How could a mother just take off and leave her children like that? I wasn't a mother and would probably never be one, but even I couldn't do that. Even my mother couldn't do that, and I knew she was far from perfect. She had it all. She had a rich husband that she could have got plenty of money from if they got divorced, two children, and a loving husband that loved her even though he was rich. Why would she leave that just to become an outcast and start a new life somewhere else? If she was really unhappy with the marriage she could have at least divorced him to keep his money and the children. It made no sense. But I wasn't going to argue with my mother anymore.

"Did you honestly love Michael?" I asked her in complete seriousness. "I know you got some money from him in which you lost somehow, but was it always about the money?"

"I did love Michael," she said in complete seriousness. "He was an honest man that I liked since I was a teenager. I was always the outcast of my age group so I never had my first kiss as a teenager. I had my eye on him but thought he was too old for me. Then after I did some growing up he started to show interest and we hit it off immediately. He was my first kiss, and boy was he a good kisser. I married him because I loved him, although the money was nice. I wasn't very smart with the money, though, and ended up losing it. That's when I came back to Pleasantview and met your father. After finding out he was sleeping with my sister I wanted nothing to do with him, and that's when I met Mortimer. I knew his clock was ticking and in all honesty I wanted some money, but he was a good guy. It didn't matter because nothing came of the little bit we had, but I would have been very happy marrying him."

I gave her a look. "I'm not sure I believe you."

"Then don't. I'm just telling you what I know."

I shook my head, wondering why I came to Pleasantview. It just seemed to be complicating my life. Not only did I have to deal with all these rumors and love triangles but I also had people asking if I was related to the guy I tried to pretend didn't exist. Skip was right; a small town loved their rumors.