Dianthe Rising (22 page)

For the first time in my life, I reluctantly called my mother’s number.

“Hello?” I heard her answer the phone distractedly.

“Hi, Mum.”

“Dia, love,” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad you called. I was going to call you later in the morning. Your brother called to let me know why you couldn't make the family tea on Sunday. I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. Daniel is such a lovely boy. I can remember when Mary had him. Why, he was the cutest baby you ever seen. Your sister will be over the moon. She has been trying to find you a decent man for over a year.”

“Mum,” I cut in.” It killed me to hear her so happy over the news of Daniel and I together.

“Oh, I’m sorry, baby. I understand it's early days and we shouldn’t be pushing you.”

“No, Mum, that’s okay. It’s not that. I was wondering if you were free today. If it was all right, I was going to swing by the house and see you. I wanted to talk to you if you’re free?”

Instantly her mother radar came online. “Is everything okay, Dia? You haven't found yourself in a situation have you? It’s not the end of the world but we would have to have the banns read.”

Oh Lord. This was not going well. Now she thought I was pregnant.

“No, Mum! It’s nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you about a few things and spend some “us” time together.”

“Oh, baby,” she murmured. “Of course you can. It has been ages since we’ve had some girl time. I’m free all afternoon if you want to drop by?”

“Yeah, Mom, that sounds great. I’ll see you later?”

“Excellent,” mum chirped in. “You can tell me all about your young man when you get here.” With a silent groan, I told my mother I loved her and would see her soon. After finishing the call, I hung up and leaned my head back against the wall.
God, that was harder than I thought.

Strong arms took me in their grasp and pulled me against a muscled chest.

“You don’t have to go through with it. You can still just be with Daniel publicly.”

I stared hopelessly into Kale’s eyes, I shook my head, “No,” I resolved. “I’m not ashamed of you. I would never want you to hide me from your family. So why would I expect you to hide from mine?” With that, another piece of my quickly melting heart fell into place.

Chapter Twenty

“Mum, are you home?” I asked as I opened the solid oak door to my parent’s home. I took a glance around me, soaking in all the memories from years spent growing up in this house. The entrance was the same as it has always been, just with less shoes and jackets.

The hall still painted that pale yellow with all the light from the stained glass window pouring in from the stairs. Mum had pictures of all of us at various awkward stages lining the walls. It was like some bizarre trophy of a childhood that we managed to survive without killing ourselves.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I slipped out of my trainers and placed them beside mum’s pumps. My fingers ran along her Dalton figurines on the display unit in the hallway. I smiled in remembrance of how she bemoaned the likelihood of having anything left to display by the time we grew up.

“Dia love, is that you? I’m in the kitchen.” I heard mum shout from the other end of the house.

Grimacing at the mess I had no doubt I would be walking into if mum were baking, I headed toward the back and heart of the house.

“Hiya, Mum. What are you up to today?” I cautiously peeked in through the hatch before I braved my mother’s domain. She popped her head up from her recipe book.

“I’m getting ready to make some scones for the Macmillan coffee morning the church is having tomorrow. Come on in, it's safe. I haven’t started yet.” My mother’s soft laughter rang out, as she put on the kettle. “I’ll make us a cup of tea and we can have a wee chat.”

I walked around the corner into the kitchen and gave mum a hug before sitting down at her pride and joy. The two hundred year old hardwood table had been in mum’s family for generations. My sister, Mara, has had fantasies about the day it will be in her kitchen since she was fourteen.

“Hey, Mum, I had the day free and supposed we might spend some time together. I’ve not been able to get by as much as I would like.”

“Indeed, dearie, don’t assume your father and I haven’t noticed that. I understand that you’re a grown woman but you are still my baby girl and your dad worries. Do you entertain any idea how many times I’ve had to stop him coming into London and trying to drag you home?”

I tried not to let the belligerent teenager hiding deep inside of me show herself. “I get it, Mum, I really do but dad needs to understand I’ve got my own life to live. I do work a lot of hours right now.”

She nodded her head sagely. “Yes, I see, sweetie, and if it wasn’t for Dave Davies telling your dad that he’s had you running from pillar to post your dad would’ve been a lot more vocal.” She smiled at me and handed me my tea.

“Thanks, Mum. You know just how I love my cuppa.”

I took a deep breath and smelled the fragrant cup of tea as the steam rose off the top. Ummm, I might have killed for a cup at that moment. I sat with mum and we each sipped our tea quietly for a few minutes.

My mother’s eyes patiently watched me, waiting for me to get to the point of my visit. I looked at my mother as I put down the fine bone china.

“Mum, I was wondering if I can ask you a few questions.”

She smiled as she sat her tea down. “Of course you can, dear. I understood there was a reason you were so insistent on dropping by this morning. You wouldn’t have gone so far out of your way just to say hi to your dear old mum.”

I took a deep breath to build up my courage and tried to contemplate where to begin.
Gahh, you would assume I would have my big girl pants on by now,
I reflected sourly.

Finally, I just prattled on. “Mum, do you remember when you got me?”

Her eyes widened and she took my hand. “Oh, of course I do, love. That was one of the happiest days of my life. You were only about three months old when we brought you home, but it was the first time I saw you that I fell in love with you.”

I saw that same love shining in my mum’s eyes and I thanked God that I was so very lucky to end up with parents like them.

“Can you tell me about it, mum? How you adopted me? Is there any information about my birth family? Where I came from? You might consider it strange that I’m asking you after twenty years. There was never a need until now though. I had all the love and support I ever had wished for. You are the best family in this world and I could not have chosen better if I had handpicked you myself. I never even questioned why my birth parents gave me up. I was always thankful for the parents I had," I finished out of breath. My mum’s blue eyes filled with tears, so like those of my brother’s and sister's, I waited for her answer.

“Oh my,” she said. “I knew this day would come. Somehow, I assumed it would be when you went through your teenage angst years. However, you never did. Oh, the angst most definitely but never the questioning. Okay, let me get my thoughts in order here. I wish your dad were available so he could add to it. He used to joke about your infamy in infancy. Before we start, does this have anything to do with a certain Lovelace in your life?”

I tried not to roll my eyes at my mother’s obvious meddling. I also tried to answer her as truthfully as I could. “In a roundabout way it does. Not in the way you are thinking though, Mum. I’m not having any issues with my history or lack of. The situation is more complicated than I can easily explain. I will tell you about it but I need some background information first. Is that okay?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She patted my cheek.

Sitting back, she lifted her cup of tea and proceeded to tell me the story of how I'd been left on the steps of the Carmelite monastery in St. Charles Square. She laughed about how I was famous for several weeks in the papers. I knew all this and asked her if there was anything strange about any of it, other than the obvious.

“Well, your birth mother did specify that you be adopted into a Catholic family. We assumed she was a young Catholic girl herself who had found she was in the family way unwed. She obviously loved you and didn't know what to do, so she tried to do the best for you she could. I hope you’ve never resented her, Dianthe.” My mother looked at me sternly.

“No,” I shook my head. “I really never thought that much about it to tell you the truth. I was happy with my family and never felt as if I were any different from Sean and Mara.”

“You never were, my love. I could not love you any more if I had birthed you myself. You need to know that your other mother loved you very much. I saw the letter that came with you. It broke my heart reading it. The authorities spent weeks looking for her. They wanted to give her another chance to take you back. I realize it’s selfish but I am glad they never found her. God blessed us with a special gift the day they laid you in my arms.

“Now tell me what all of this is about? It is obviously more than a bit of nostalgia. Do you want to try to find your birth parents? There are agencies that can help you search. But it will be extremely hard with the way you were left.”

I just couldn’t keep the secret from her any more. Shaking my head, I broke down and started crying.

“No, Mum, I don’t need to search for her. She found me.”

I felt my mother stiffen slightly before she pulled me tighter against her. “Oh my darling girl, are you sure it’s her?”

“Yeah, Mum, I am. Physically, I’m just like her. We have different color eyes but everything else is the same.”

“Even the hair?” mum asked.

“Kinda,” I sniffled. “Hers is all black. I believe it might be some kind of genetic anomaly from my bio-dad with the weird hair.”

“How do you feel about this, sweetheart?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “There’s so much going on in my life right now that this has just thrown me for a loop. I wanted to talk to you about some other stuff. It’s more important, and I mean it’s really more important than this.”

She raised her eyebrow questioningly before sitting back. “Okay, let’s hear it then. It must be serious if finding your birth parents takes a back seat.”

It took me more than a couple of minutes to get to where I could even look at my mother. I opened my mouth several times to tell her about the boys but nothing would come out.

I began to wring my hands and shake with anxiety. Finally, mum reached out, put her hand over my twisting fingers, and stopped me.

“Dia, no matter what it is, I love you. You are my daughter and there is nothing you can do that will ever change that. So no matter how bad you imagine it is, it’s not.”

“Oh, Mummy,” I whispered. “You may not feel that way once I tell you.”

“Does this have to do with Daniel?” she questioned softly.

“In a way,” I sniffed out.
Okay, I can do this
, taking a deep breath and looking my mother in the eye, I tried to explain it as simply as I could, without adding any of the supernatural parts.

“Right, well, you know that I’m in a relationship with Daniel, right?”

With a smile, she replied. “Honey, everyone in both families grasp you’re in a relationship with Daniel.”

“Okay, well,” I cringed. “I’m also in a relationship with two other men.”

Silence stretched across the room before anger flushed in my mother’s cheeks.

“Dianthe Mclearey, I raised you better than that. You cannot string these men along and expect a serious relationship. What will Daniel think when he finds out?”

“No, Mum, it’s not like that!” I cried out.

“Then how is it, missy.”

“Daniel knows.” That floored her and she looked at me blankly.

“What do you mean Daniel knows? Has he forgiven you? Broken it off? Never mind, we will get through it.”

“No...Mum. You’re still not getting it. Just listen to me for a few minutes. Daniel knows because he is part of the relationship. We are in a ménage relationship with two other wonderful men. They, all three of them, love me very much and we are happy.”

Mum sat back heavily in her chair and stared at me blankly. “How, I don’t understand, Dia, how did this happen?”

Shaking my head, I muttered, “I’m not even sure myself how it all fell into place. It just did. I just want you to understand that we all care deeply for each other and are happy. I don’t expect you to understand or accept it but I didn't want to lie to you. Please don’t hate me and kick me out of the family.”

An expression of horror passed over her face and she jumped up and pulled me into her arms. “Oh, baby girl, never. I told you I would always love you. Nothing will stop that. I cannot say I approve of this relationship…at all. However, I love you and respect your privacy. The church won’t understand and, dear Lord, the church,” her voice faded away.

“One step at a time, Mum,” I whispered.

“Your dad and Sean will be devastated, baby. Sean may try to hurt your young men. I really don’t feel you should tell him about this just yet. Let me talk to your father first and calm him down. Once I have him on our side, we will tackle Sean. Mara may not forgive you anytime soon, but that is what it is. You will need to give her time and pray for acceptance.”

“Mom, I love you so much. You really are the best parent any kid could ask for.”

“Oh hush,” she shooed me back to the table. “Tell me more about meeting your other mother and I'll find some kind of way to talk to your dad.”

Chapter Twenty-One

I made it back to the flat later than I had planned. Emotionally I was utterly drained. All I could contemplate was a long hot shower and bed. Everything else could wait until the morning. I walked in, my mind screaming “early night” only to find myself confronted with all three of my guys and Eloise.
How many shocks can a girl have in one day before she snapped?

“Hi,” I waved at everyone. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company tonight or I would have been home sooner.” I glared at Robin. “Ummm, Eloise, it’s nice to see you again. If you can give me a couple minutes, I’ll be right back. I need to get something from downstairs before I come in. Robin, can you help me?" I asked nicely through gritted teeth.