I left a note for Tomas and Josh. 'Went to McDonald's, BRB- luv Carolina.' With any luck they would assume I was off to get breakfast, (as opposed to having a secret meeting with my pregnant lesbian daughter. The only catch was I didn't have a vehicle so Christi and I had to pick a place that was within walking distance.
"Let's head to the McDonald's near the gas station."
"Sure thing." Christina drove her rented Honda civic to the nearby gas station that also housed a souvenir shop and liquor store. She immediately pulled into a parking space, pausing to take a breath.
"Did you want to talk in the car?" She was bouncing her knee nervously.
"We can talk here for a bit, then grab some food at the drive through."
Christina nodded. "So, um. What do you want to talk about first?"
"We can start with how you got here," I suggested.
My daughter seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at my choice to topic. "After talking with Tomas, I flew in on the red eye."
"Alone?" I was a little shocked to hear that, especially given how far along her pregnancy was.
"I had to. I mean, I wanted to."
"After speaking to Tomas?"
"Yeah," Christina said with a sigh. My daughter's reply led me to believe that she and her wife were not on good terms when she left California.
"So, where's Chloe?"
"She had to work," Christina replied quickly.
"She had to work?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. There was no way Chloe chose to send her pregnant wife halfway across the country on her own.
"Yeah, the school district is very strict about time off."
"I suppose I can see that. I guess at most places, family leave only extends to issues with immediate family, which would not include one's in-laws."
"And, well," Christina bit her lip as she blinked tears from her eyes. "She didn't want me to come here. Mississippi is a dark place with bad memories. She's not wrong; her family's still here. And they still hate her guts. She can't really understand why I'd be willing to crawl back into Hell after we both worked so hard to escape." My daughter shook her head, gripping her temples as if fighting a headache. "My wife can't seem to understand and I can't make her understand."
I understood all too well; Christina's love for her father was truly a force of nature. "She just never had the same kind of relationship you had with your Dad."
"And you."
"What?" I figured I must have misheard.
"I missed you, too, Mom." Christina cracked a smile. "Anyway, I got your email just as my flight landed. You really don't know about Suzanne?" The way my daughter's lips pursed as anger replaced tears, it was clear she had a story to tell.
"I've never heard the name before in my life," I replied stoic and serious. "Is she someone from his childhood?"
Christina nodded. "From what Dad told me, Suzanne was his mother's drug dealer and later her lover. They were together right up until grandma's death."
"Together?" I knew Josh's mother died when he was fourteen, at least that's what he told me. Was his mother around all that time? Had she just been forced in to hiding?
"Dad, he was just a kid. And like all little kids, he loved his mother more than anything. How grandma repaid his unconditional love? She used him as collateral to pay off debts. At one point he got really sick. He had been beaten with in an inch of his life. His eyes were swollen shut but the next thing he remembered was waking up outside his father's house. He figured Suzanne had allowed him to come home to die. That's all I know."
"Wow," I muttered, unable to compose my next thought.
"Yeah," she said, pulling out of the parking space, into the drive through. "Are you ready to order?" Christina asked, in an emotional whisper.
There was more to the story. "Your father went into details with you?"
"I was having issues with a guy on base. I was a kid, he was...not... and long story short it was all a huge mistake. I thought Dad would kill me for dating an older guy behind his back, but instead he beat up my first boyfriend." Christina chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes. "He didn't want me to be afraid of telling a grown up. I guess he trusted me."
"Hello, welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?"
Christina turned away to give an order, but I wasn't even fully listening. Both my husband and my daughter had endured sexual abuse as children. How did I manage to live with my head in the sand? It was downright shameful.
My mind was racing, to the point where I was getting carsick on the five-minute drive. With my eyes focused on my shoes, I almost missed the sight of Tomas meeting us in the drive way. "Good morning ladies, how was McDonalds?" He was fully dressed, looking as professional as ever.
"Hello," Christina said cheerfully. "It's so great to finally meet you."
"Lovely to meet you as well, Christina," Tomas replied as he approached to shake her hand.
"How are things with Dad?"
"Your father is in a lot of pain right now, but we're making good progress."
"That's all I can really hope for," Christina said as she handed Tomas the bag of food and tray of hot beverages. "It's nice to finally meet you," she repeated again, her voice breaking with emotion.
Tomas handed me the coffee and patted Christina's arm. "We can discuss things further at your hotel. You're staying at the Best Western, right?"
"Yeah," Christina said with noticeable disappointment. "Just tell me, if it's true. Does he remember Suzanne?"