The result of their prayers weren't hard to decipher as the moment they braked the car in the driveway, Dana was already out of her car, Speaking with Helena Simons, her grandmother. That was enough to know their prayers didn't get to heaven in time. Dana made it first to the senior Simon's residence, thanks to her bolting ahead of them on the road. Her addiction to speed was something they had tried and failed to contain, let alone deal with it so they just let her be.
Dana had been lost in her own fantasy which couldn't interfere with her driving skills as she was exceptionally a good driver, no matter the weather. She got to her grandmother's single story house and screeched the tires to a halt with deadly precision infront of the doorway and opened the door to step out. The music still blaringly loud which attracted her grandmother who was getting herself and her husband a glass of wine from the cellar. She knew only one being to have such crude behaviour which was none other than her adopted grandchild. Nomatter how many times she tried to come up with a reason why the child wasn't left for social services to deal with her, she couldn't fathom it!
She snapped the first thing when she opened the front door, agains't her husband's pleas for peace. They all fell to deaf ears
"where in God's name do you think you are? A street bash?! she exclaimed in barely contained distate
"I'm sorry for the loud music grandma" Dana said in a flat voice trying to be void of emotions as a brace towards the sharp words she knew her grandmother never ran out of, especially when she made an appearance. She thought she was being subtle about it but Dana knew that the reason behind the sudden disinterest to visit them was because her parents refused to give her up when she was still 5 years.
"You stupid brat, you don't have an ounce of respect for the elders do you? Have you even a clue what respect mean"? Dana tried not to let it show on her face but her words always seemed to duel with her mental barriers which, still haven't been built strong enough for her grandmother's snide comments
'Its gonna be a long one' Dana thought in despair before trying again "it won't happen again grandma, where is grandpa? How have you all been"? she planted a bright smile on her face.
"Smart, is that what you're trying to prove?" she snickered before continuing to say " we are still alive if that's what you wanted to know and my husband is inside" she smiled as if she just spotted a clown in her favourite circus. It took Dana two seconds to understand that she just saw her dad's car approaching the driveway . . . wow!
She couldn't believe the nerve of this women! Being mecurial couldn't even cover half of it. She was a complete p.s.y.c.h.o. She beamed as if she isn't the same women who was attacking Dana a second before. Nick being aware of Dana's transparency where her emotions were as clear to him as a colorful blanket, he saw the hurt before she could school her features. He looked at his wife who gave him a nervous smile before he gave his mom a questioning look.
"After all the time I spent without seeing you, that's the way you going to look at your mother? What has the world come to" she muttered the last part to herself making Nick chuckle lightly
"How have you been mother" he said, holding her by the shoulders which made her purr like an obedient pet.
"Now that im seeing my boy, everything is going to be alright" she said in spent melancholy which hinted at the loneliness she adamantly refuses to aknowledge. Her husband had stopped trying to make her warm up to the last neighbors they had. She always pushed people away with her cold attitude and crude words. He still thought she was lucky that Nick was still bearing with it which he couldn't be shocked at seeing that he was also sticking out with and for his wife.
"Oh dear mother, I am happy to see you too" Nick said knowing his mother was too proud to say the words. She thought they make her soft. Ridiculous, right? That is just how she was made. They made their was into the house to find a Dana who was already comfortably sharing a joke with her grandfather which ceased the moment they walked in and they both huffed to suppress it.
Time went fast as the night approached with a promise of a mild rain that can be equalled to a lullaby when you've been driving for hours. They settled into their respective rooms and and made way to the dinner table where they ate in silence until it gradually became defeaning. Sally decided to excuse herself from the table and walked straight to their given bedroom and exhaled the air she wasn't aware that she was holding.
She had thought that old age will make the women warm up to poeple . . . that it would soften her heart but she was still the same Ice queen that she met when Nick first introduced her more than two decades ago. She knew that what she was about to do will have consequences but right now the only person whose happiness mattered was Dana, her only Princesss. Her divine gift. She took her cell from beneath the pillow and dialled. She waited until it connected on the other side. She was sure of what she wanted to say but as soon as the line was answered, she just broke into sad tears. She wanted things to be alright again . . .
"oh sweety, tell me where you are and I'll come for you" the voice said
" Mom . . . I can't deal with this a-and Nick is just too blind where her mom is concerned" she said while trying to reign in the sudden burst of sobs.
"You're at the Meadow . . . " and the line went dead.
What has she done!
Sally went to the bathroom to wash the evident tears and made her way to the bathroom not knowing how things will turn out from here. Maybe she was stupid for calling her mom but she was the only person who could maintain the feeling of being home wherever she went, she had it in her soul and she needed that more than anything right now.
She went back to the dimly lit dining table and took the seat she had previously occupied next to Nick. He saw the red rims around her eyes and squeezed her hand reassuringly. She feigned a smile and nodded to him which everyone at the table noticed but went back to their food, all except Dana who passed a fleeting look at her mom and just knew . . . she just knew that everything might be fine after all.