Chapter 17- Mommy Issues

"Hi Kevin," Felicia called him a week later. "I was just wondering if you know how Esme and Ace are doing? I've texted her a couple times, but I don't want to overdo it. She responded each time but was very vague."

"Laura has visited them a few times. She said Ace seems fine. She's very attentive to Ace, but Esme is slacking in a lot of other areas."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's never been the best at housework," Kevin said. "Laura had trouble getting her to help out around our place. But she would do the basics of her own room, at least. Laura said Esme's apartment is very messy, dishes and laundry piled up, etc. Laura's tried to help her a bit and also tried encouraging her to keep up with it. She's struggling and we've seen a huge change in her since Christmas. She had a huge drive just months ago to make a life for her and Ace, but she seems to be going down a steep hill. But part of the housework aspect could be because she grew up in a very wealthy family, so she's probably used to someone else waiting on her."

"Do you know anything about the Princes?" Felicia asked. "Or how they ended up with Esme?"

"Esme never talks about them, but I've crossed paths with Claude Prince in the past during my practice. He owned a big pharmaceutical company so he's well-known in the psychiatry field. I consulted him a few times for my patients. Very stern man. He and his wife and their older children died in a car crash years back."

"I found it really odd when Esme mentioned him to me. She called him Mr. Prince. When I asked if he was her father, she got very uncomfortable. If he raised her, shouldn't she have called him some form of father?"

"That is strange," Kevin agreed. "Other than that, they don't have a guard anymore."

"What?"

"Esme didn't like having him around."

"But Heather's still on the loose," Felicia said.

"I know."

Felicia sighed. "So, I wanted your advice again. Should I just keep texting her once in a while or take the plunge and ask her for dinner or something? And do you think she's ready for me to tell her who I am?"

"I think you could ask her for dinner," Kevin said. "She really doesn't have anyone other than Ace and she only lets Laura in so far. As for the truth, I think she should know. But you have to catch her at a good time. I wouldn't be hasty, but maybe don't wait too long either, otherwise she won't understand your interest in her and Ace."

Felicia took a deep breath. "Okay, I hope it'll be good news to her and not upset her."

She slipped her phone away and pulled out her laptop. She typed Claude Prince into Google.

GHGHGH

Esme sat in her tiny living room, trying to sort through the laundry while Ace played on the floor beside her with his stuffed horse.

Esme sighed and pushed the laundry basket aside. "I can't do this." She pulled him onto her lap. "Ace, do you think I'm a good Mommy? Do you think I'm like Daddy and Heather?" She glanced around the messy room. "I didn't have a mommy growing up, so I don't have anyone to learn from. Maybe I should learn from Heather. But… but she scares me. Laura doesn't care about me. She only comes around because you're Nikolas' son. Felicia seems nice, but she was just our health guide, so I don't know why she keeps texting me. But I like it. But… I don't know. Daddy said she was his biggest disappointment. He said Kevin and Laura are bad too. I'm so confused." She hugged him close. "But we have each other, so I guess that's all that matters."

Ring. Ring.

She pulled out her phone and saw Felicia's name on the screen. She bit her lip. "What do you think, Ace? Does she seem too good to be true?"

Ace pointed to the screen.

After a couple more rings, Esme answered. "Hello?"

"Hi Esme, it's Felicia. How are you?"

"I'm okay."

"And how's Ace doing?"

"Good."

"I'm glad," Felicia said. "You've both been through a lot."

"I didn't know health aides did follow-up calls…."

"We don't, not normally. But you and Ace are very special to me."

Esme paused in thought. "I'm not special."

"Yes, you are. I was wondering if I could treat you and Ace to dinner tonight. Maybe at the Metro Court?"

"Why?" Esme asked.

"Because I want to tell you something."

"I don't have a car," Esme said.

"I would be happy to pick you up. Would you be comfortable with that?"

Esme looked down at Ace. "Okay. Ace wants to go."

GHGHGH

Maxie was sitting at her desk at Deception when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Jones? This is Principal Barrie from Georgie's school."

"Is Georgie all right?" Maxie asked.

"We need you to come to the school right away. The school librarian caught her trying to steal an ALFA network adapter."

She tensed up. "What?"

GHGHGH

Felicia smiled when Esme answered the door. "Hi sweetie, it's good to see you."

Esme smiled back. "Ace is just finishing his nap. Uh, you can come in if you want. I don't have a maid, so it's a bit messy."

Felicia followed her in and noticed clothes, toys, and bags scattered around the living room.

"How long have you stayed here?" Felicia asked.

"About three months now, I think."

"It's cozy."

"Uh, thanks."

They turned when there was another knock on the door.

Esme opened the door to find an elderly lady standing there.

"Miss Prince, you've given me no choice but to deliver this." She handed her an envelope. "Your eviction notice."

Esme gaped at her. "What? Why?"

"Why?" she asked. "Because you don't pay rent, that's why!"

"But-but…."

Felicia stepped closer. "Esme's son was in the hospital. I think she was a little preoccupied. Can't you give an extension?"

"But Miss Prince has never paid rent," the landlady said. "She's lived here over three months now. When she first moved in Mayor Collins paid her first and last month's and I was here when she spoke to you, Esme, about helping you with it, but you'd actually be in charge of paying us."

"I-I had a rough Christmas…" Esme said. "Please, you can't kick us out. I'll pay it, I promise."

"I warned you last month and you never paid up. So, you're out. You have 14 days."

"Can't you show a little compassion?" Felicia asked. "Esme has gone through a lot. Why can't you give her another chance?"

"14 days," she repeated. "Good day to you." She turned and left.

Esme stared blankly at the door.

"Oh, Esme, I'm sorry," Felicia said. "Can you go back to Laura's?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to."

Felicia bit her lip. "I'm sure they'd be happy to have you and Ace back."

Esme started crying. "They don't care about me. No one does."

"That's not true. I know Kevin and Laura care about you. And I care about you. In fact, why don't you come home with me? I would love for you and Ace to live with us."

"Patients don't live with their health aides."

"But I'm more than just your health aide," Felicia said.

Esme scrunched her face.

Felicia reached for her hands and took a deep breath. "Twenty years ago, I had another baby. A beautiful baby girl. But she was taken from me."

Esme's eyes widened, but she avoided looking at her.

"I spent all these years trying to find her, and a few weeks ago I finally did. It's you, Esme." Felicia choked up. "You're my daughter."

GHGHGH

Maxie walked into the principal's office to find Georgie sitting there. She shook the principal's hand, then turned to Georgie and crossed her arms.

Georgie scowled. "I told you to call my dad. Why did you call HER?"

"Your mother is first on your emergency contacts," Principal Barrie said.

"Please tell me this isn't true," Maxie said. "You didn't steal the adapter thing, did you?"

"It's an ALFA network adapter," Georgie said.

"Well?"

"I didn't steal it, I was borrowing it," Georgie said. "I was gonna give it back."

"Georgie, you don't just take things without asking!"

"But I needed it," Georgie said. "Dad gave me the rest of the equipment, but he forgot to give me the adapter."

"That's what you two were discussing the other day?" Maxie asked. "What do you even need it for?"

"Something important."

Principal Barrie cleared his throat and handed Maxie a piece of paper. "Georgie had this. It's a very detailed floor plan of our library. As you can see, she has a bright red circle where we kept the adapter. This was very thought out."

"Georgie, why are you so obsessed with floor plans?" Maxie asked.

"Because Dad says you never know when you'll need a good floor plan. And he was right, I did."

Maxie groaned. "I'll be talking to your dad about this. Mr. Barrie, I am very sorry about this. Georgie, apologize please."

"But I'm not sorry."

"Georgie is suspended for the rest of the week," Principal Barrie said. "If she does this again, the punishment will be more severe."

GHGHGH

Esme pulled away from Felicia. "My mother is a lot of things, but-but she loves me! I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, but I want no part of it!"

Felicia frowned. "Sweetie, I'm not playing a game. I would never do that."

"Then who put you up to this? Spencer? He hired you, didn't he?" She started crying harder. "He knows how much—how much… I always wanted a—a mother."

Felicia placed a hand over her mouth and cried too. "I'm so sorry, honey, I wanted you so much too. I really did. No one hired me."

"Or maybe this is all just to get back at Daddy. You just want to see me suffer."

"No, it's nothing like that. That day at the hospital when you told the nurse your birthday…. My baby was born June 15, 2003."

"So, you're j-just basing it off a birthdate? H-how do you know I didn't make it up?"

"I know you didn't make it up, because I had a DNA test done."

Esme gulped. "Then where is it?"

Felicia searched through her purse and frowned. "I left it at home. I can show you and give you a copy."

"You're lying," Esme cried. "Spencer hired you."

"No, he didn't."

"My mother loves me," Esme said again. "She loves me and would do anything for me!"

"Sweetie, Heather isn't your mother. She's not a good person."

"Don't talk that way about her."

"The Aztec Lullaby," Felicia said softly. "You recognized it. It was familiar to you. That's because I sang it to you when you were a baby."

"Daddy warned me about you."

Felicia frowned. "I don't know what your father told you, but you can't trust a word he said."

"He said you were licentious and duplicitous. He said you meant everything to him and then you disappeared and left him! That he looked everywhere for you!"

Felicia squeezed her eyes shut and let out a breath. "Did he tell you why?"

"He was right. Now stop lying to me. Stop lying to me!" She threw her hands over her ears and sobbed. "Get out! Get out!"

Felicia nodded through her tears. "Okay, I will go. I'm so sorry I upset you, Esme. But I want you to know I'll always be here for you, if you need anything at all." She headed to the door and looked back at her one more time before leaving."

GHGHGH

Maxie dropped her car keys on the counter when she and Georgie arrived home. "Georgie, why didn't you apologize?"

"I told you, I'm not sorry," Georgie said. "I'm going to my room now!"

"What has gotten in to you lately? This isn't like you. Now, why did you take the adapter?"

"Because I needed it. Now, don't you need to go pick up James? You know… your good kid?"

"Good kid? What are you talking about? And I texted Grandpa Mac. He's picking up James and Bailey Lou so we can talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about. Now, I have work to do."

"The only work you're going to be doing is clean out our linen closet. You are grounded for three weeks. That means no computer, no tablet, no TV, no phone."

Georgie scoffed. "I need my computer!"

"You are to come straight home after school and do chores and homework. Only time you go out is if it's with me, your dad, or your grandparents."

"I need my computer," Georgie repeated. "It's life or death!"

Maxie sighed. "Isn't that a little dramatic?"

"What if I clean my closet, then I can go on the computer?"

"Georgie, you are in no positioning for bargaining after what you just pulled today. You're staying unplugged. Now, get to work."

GHGHGH

Felicia knocked on Kevin and Laura's door, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Laura opened the door and frowned. "Felicia, what's wrong?"

Felicia walked in to find Kevin on the couch. "It's Esme. I told her the truth. She didn't take it well at all."

"The truth?" Laura asked.

Kevin nodded and got up to hug Felicia. "Esme is Felicia's daughter."

Laura's mouth dropped slightly.

Felicia turned to Laura. "Can you go check on her? I'm worried about her. She can't be alone right now. She was so upset. And on top of this, she was evicted."

"What? Okay, I can," Laura said. "But Spencer just headed over there to visit Ace. So, she won't be alone."

Felicia sighed. "Spencer probably isn't the best person. She thinks he hired me."

Kevin scrunched his face. "Hired you to pretend to be Esme's mother?"

Felicia nodded. "She doesn't believe me. Oh, Kevin, Ryan has hurt her so much. He apparently warned her not to trust me."

He shook his head. "Of course, he did. Hopefully once she's processed this, she'll open up to you, Felicia."

GHGHGH

Spencer knocked on the door once he arrived at Esme's apartment. He scrunched his face when he heard sobbing. He knocked again, but when there was no answer, he turned the knob. Not locked. He walked inside.

Esme was balled up on the couch, crying.

"Esme?" Spencer stepped closer to her. "What's wrong?"

She slowly sat up and looked at him. "How can you be so cruel?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you really hate me that much, Spence?" Esme asked. She got up and turned away from him.

Spencer gritted his teeth at hearing 'Spence'. He pulled out his phone and pulled up the audio recorder, then hid it behind his back. "What happened, Esme?"

"You knew…." Esme hiccoughed. "That all I ever wanted was a… was a mother."

Spencer didn't say anything.

"You did this... before. Wanted me to... to think... you f-found... my mother. All just... to get back..." she hiccoughed again "...at me... for that stupid... sex tape. All to protect precious... Trina. You know how... disappointed I was with Heather... as... as... my mother."

"Yes, I did know how much you wanted a mother," Spencer said. "But did something happen?"

"She said… that I'm… that I'm her daughter."

Spencer scrunched his face. "What? Is that why she was at the hospital so much?"

"What kind of person would do that to someone?" Esme turned to him. "You must've hired her. There's no other explanation. I told you many times when we dated who I dreamed my mother to be... someone just like Felicia. But there's no way I would be lucky enough to have a mother like her. She would never want me. It's cruel." She hit Spencer's chest. "Just cruel, Spence…! But Heather. Well... she did horrible things, but she's my mother and she loves me."

"Esme, I didn't hire her," Spencer said. "Felicia's not the type of person who would make this up."

Esme shook her head. "Heather is my mother and she loves me."

Spencer turned the recorder off on his phone, confident he got enough out of her for evidence.