"All right, if one of you would like to help David load the dishwasher, while I start for the study? Spencer promised to play a song or two for me before we started to talk."

Bruce instantly got to his feet and began to gather up the dishes alongside David, following him into the kitchen while the others followed after Erin. She chose to sit in the loveseat closest to the piano, and smiled when Karen started a fire in the fireplace before she dragged her usual chair closer to the loveseat. Tabitha followed suit with her chair, and when Bruce and David entered, she wasn't surprised to find that her son chose to sit on the floor next to Karen's chair while David sank down next to her.

"What do you want me to play, Erin?"

"Something happy, light. Maybe a rag?"

"I think I can do that," he replied before starting to play the familiar Maple Leaf Rag. That song soon moved into another piece by Joplin, and before anyone knew it, he'd managed to play six pieces. "All right, music time is over. I think that we should move on to why I'm here tonight, don't you, Erin?"

She drew in a deep breath through her nose in an effort to calm her suddenly racing heart. "I think that you're right. Are you going to stay there, or what?"

"Well, there's not another free chair, so I think I'll stay here."

"Mom? What's going on? Why are you being so cryptic?" Tabitha asked, and she smiled at her youngest as she pressed her lips together.

"That is a good question, and a rather long story." She looked over at David, finding peace in his smile. "So, this is not our first time in a relationship. When I was a teenager, David came to live on our street with his first wife, who was pregnant at the time. I took the initiative and offered to help them out around the home during Carolyn's pregnancy, because it was rather difficult. In the end, their baby didn't make it, and their marriage broke down."

She closed her eyes slowly as David curled his hand around her shoulder. "And then, I did something incredibly stupid and we started a brief affair. I knew that your mom was young when we first had sex, but I was hurting, and not thinking clearly. I knew that I had to get out of town, before I ruined the sweetness that was your mother in the bloom of her youth. What I didn't know then is that she would have to face some hard battles moving forward."

She glanced over at Spencer before looking at each of her other children in turn. "What David's dancing around is the fact that I didn't use protection, and neither did he. And ten months after the last time we had sex, I delivered a very precious son that I knew I couldn't raise. I had a full ride scholarship to college, and wanted to get out of the small town where I lived. So, I did what I thought was best, and gave him over to my older sister and her husband, then promptly made myself forget that he existed. I changed my name, changed my phone number, and became who I am today. And if John Curtis hadn't tried to kill me, I would never have brought the truth to light. Because telling the truth has changed so many lives, and it has the potential to cause you to hate me."

Tabitha had her head cocked to one side, a frown on her lips. "Are you trying to imply that Spencer is your son? Since he's over here today and all?"

"I think she's more than implying it, kiddo. Spencer is our child, and we're all trying to wrap our minds around that truth. But your mom and Spencer both wanted you three to know sooner, rather than later, because the longer things went on with the truth still buried, the harder it would be to tell the truth."

"This is fucking bullshit, you know," Karen said, almost sounding bored as she stared at her fingernails. "You really didn't think about us, did you? And now we have to accept some interloper into our family just because you say he's your kid?"

"I would like it if you thought of him as a family friend until you can reach the point where you can acknowledge him as your brother, Karen. I'm not expecting this to be an instantaneous thing. After all, Spencer is still trying to grapple with the idea that we are his parents, not his work colleagues. I know that I will have to work hard to regain the trust of everyone in this room, but I also know that the truth had to be told. Because there's only so long that you can hide the truth before it starts to destroy your peace."

Bruce glared at her slightly before focusing on David. "Just how young was Mom when you slept with her for the first time? Because teenager can be nineteen, which is technically an adult, or thirteen, which means you should really be in prison for statutory rape."

Erin felt David stiffen next to her, and she covered his knee with her hand, trying to offer him silent support. "She was sixteen."

"Well, if that isn't three million kinds of messed up." Tabitha gave her a sad look before glancing over at Spencer. "But at least we're even now? Two boys, two girls. And Spencer seems really nice. We can't blame Mom for making a hard decision, since she was so young when he was born. Dave, though, that's a different story. I don't know if I can look at you the same way. Mom was younger than me when she gave birth to Spencer."

Tears flooded Tabitha's eyes, and Erin felt her heart crack. Tabitha gave her a small nod, and she stood up, making her way over to her youngest, who was on her feet in moments to wrap her in a tight hug. "I was the one who came on to him, Tabby."

"And you taught us that until we're adults, we can't make decisions like that. I mean, I'm glad that you found your way back to each other, but it's going to take time for me to trust him again. I'll always trust and love you, Mama. And I, for one, want to get to know Spencer better. Let's head into the kitchen and make tea or something. The others can fight it out in here."

Before Erin could say anything, Tabitha had hooked her arm around her waist and was guiding her into the kitchen. She tried to smile at each of her children in turn, but found that Bruce and Karen weren't looking at her, while Spencer looked at her sympathetically. Giving him a small nod, she hobbled alongside Tabitha into the kitchen, sitting heavily on the one lower stool that David had dug out of the garage when she'd broken her ankle. "What are you making us for dessert?" she asked, watching Tabitha scrounge around in the fridge.

"I think that this calls for some leftover cannoli. And after I find the container, we're heading upstairs to my room and we're going to crawl into bed, and you're going to answer every question I have before we fall asleep together. Because I'm really feeling like saying screw this, he took advantage of you, so he doesn't get the privilege of sleeping next to you tonight."

Erin nodded before resting her head on her arms as she watched Tabitha. "I understand the anger, darling, but I love him, I've loved him since I was too young to know what love truly is." Tabitha gave her a look, and she shrugged with her good arm as Tabitha held out the container of cannoli. "All right, we'll talk more upstairs. You know that it will take me forever to get there, yes?"

"Yes, but that will allow me to nosh on a cannoli or two before I have to share them," Tabitha teased, and Erin gave her a brief smile as they slowly made their way out of the kitchen and up the stairs. And while she knew the night could have gone better, it also could have gone a lot worse, so she was grateful that Tabitha was still speaking to her, at least.