Feathers (2 page)

             
“Kind of.  It isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend it.  But it never really is.  I don’t really like this time of year.” I admitted.

             
“Is that so?” the man said.

             
“Don’t get me wrong.  Christmas is great and all, but I haven’t really had the family to have it with before.  My parents separated when I was a baby, and my mom and grandmother aren’t exactly the nicest people.” I explained.

             
The man was quiet for a moment.  But when he spoke, it surprised me a little.  “I wouldn’t exactly say that about your grandmother.  I believe she’s just more fearful then anything about what happened before.” He said.

             
Could this guy have come from my town?  I didn’t remember ever seeing him before, and I definitely didn’t see him on the plane.  Maybe he knew my family before.  At least, that’s what I could reason.  But then again, he hadn’t asked me my name or anything either.  Suddenly, this felt a little weird.  “What do you mean?” I asked him.

             
“I’m sorry.  I guess I did confuse you.  I just happened to know your grandmother a long time ago.  She is Penny Murphy, correct?” the man said.

             
“Yeah.” I said.  That had to be it.  He’d probably known us living down in Florida somehow.  Maybe a neighbor I just hadn’t seen or noticed before.  It was all I could reason.

             
The man nodded, giving me a slight smile.  “Don’t worry too much about it.  The best place for you is up here now with your father.” He assured me.

             
I honestly didn’t remember much after those words.  Instead, I found myself somehow asleep. I ended up waking up though to someone gently shaking my shoulder.  “Mia.  Come on, wake up now darling.” I heard a familiar voice say.

             
I opened my eyes and blinked as I came to see my dad kneeling beside me.  Those same sky blue eyes that had always been so gentle towards me were now filled with concern.  I probably did look like I’d been thru the wringer with this though.  “Dad?” I whispered.

             
Michael smiled, helping me sit up.  “Hey sweetie.  Are you okay?” he said gently.

             
“I’m fine now.  Thanks for coming.” I said, hugging him.  I don’t think I’d ever been so glad to see my father in my entire life.  I felt safe now.  And in a funny way, it felt like I’d really come home.

             
“Now, now.  Everything’s okay.” Michael said.  He helped me up and took my suitcase, which I couldn’t even remember grabbing before.  “Let’s go home now.” he said, giving me a gentle smile.

             
I felt myself smile back.  “Sounds good.” I sighed happily.

             
I’ll admit that even though Michael is my father, I’d always found him to be a very striking man.  He was very attractive, with those sky blue eyes and that mane of white blond hair that fell into almost curls at his shoulders.  Standing at six two, he was lean and dare I say it, graceful.  Most people tended to do double takes when they first saw him.  And the thing was, he was typically as gentle by nature as he was handsome.  I can honestly say that he was an incredible person to me.  Practically the blueprint for the perfect human being.

             
I tried to shake all those thoughts to the back of my mind though as we talked out to his car.  After all, I was sure he’d made the over two hour trip up there worrying the entire way about me.  “I’m sorry about this Dad.  It’s Christmas Eve, and it’s really late, and I dragged you out here.” I apologized.  Really, I kind of did it for lack of a better thing to say as well.  Thanking him at that moment just didn’t sit well with me.  Apologizing felt much more appropriate.

             
“Mia, you know there’s nothing to be sorry over. Besides, I’m feeling a bit guilty myself for not knowing about this.” Michael admitted as he hit the key to unlock the car.

             
I had to stare as we came up to it.  The car he’d unlocked was a sleek Infiniti sedan.  I knew that I probably should have expected this, but it still got me every time when he bought a new car.  Money was the last of Michael’s worries.  It had always been that way.

             
Michael’s family, the Renaldis, had always been rather prominent.  They tended to be shrewd business people, with keen senses for the stocks and industries.  Michael himself was a self made millionaire.  He had learned the tricks of the trade for business well.  In fact, as I said before, he owned several very successful companies now.  But his real start with all of this had actually been from a bit of luck from what I understood.  You see, Michael and Raphael had started as investors.  They hit the right stocks at the right time, and the returns were more then most people could ever have imagined.  And ever since, it seemed like everything they touched turned to gold.  I was almost sure that my mother would be kicking herself for leaving if she understood the wealth he now possessed.  Perhaps even my grandmother might have been humbled as well.  I’d never been able to tell them though because of their reactions to anything about him, which was very unpleasant most of the time.

             
“You bought another new car?” I asked as we got in.

             
“Well, it’s somewhat new.  I got it about three months ago when I just couldn’t find the BMW practical.” Michael said as he started the engine. 

             
“Really?  Did you trade that one in?  I thought it was pretty new too.” I said.  I had to admit, I felt like this car was probably nicer then that BMW.  But then again, I had the feeling it was a bit more expensive too.

             
Michael smiled and shrugged.  “I gave it to Raphael.”

             
I couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment.  “Dad, don’t tell me you seriously just gave that car away.” I said.

             
“Not exactly.  He did take care of a few things for me.  And he paid for the little things like new tags and transferring the title.” Michael answered.

             
I sat back and looked ahead.  Of course he’d see it as no big deal.  I had been trying to mentally prepare myself for all of this once again, as I always did right before I came there for the summer every year.  Money as no object is a life that most dream of.  This was vastly different then the world I’d been living in down in Florida.  And, if I was completely honest, the Renaldi family was money, with Michael as their biggest breadwinner.

             
“So, how is Uncle Raphael?” I asked as we merged onto the highway.  I was trying to find a sense of normalcy here.  I was making my new permanent home with Michael, so I need to make myself completely comfortable with him and all the much nicer things in life.  Not that I wasn’t mostly, but in this situation, the comfort zone had definitely been punctured from the start.

             
“He’s fine.  In fact, I think he’ll be more then pleased to know that you’ll be staying with me now.  Though probably not as pleased as Raziel.  He’ll probably be on cloud nine when we get there.” Michael said.

             
“I’m guessing you already called them.” I said.

             
“I didn’t have much of a choice but to tell them.  They were there when you called.  They wanted to come up here as well, but I thought it would be better if it was just me.  I know this whole thing must be weighing on you right now, and the last thing you’d probably want is a bunch of people around you. Although I don’t think we’ll get past them when you get home.” Michael explained.

             
I admit, I was surprised that Raziel wasn’t burning up my cell phone with this one, especially knowing that I was now there.  But just as I thought that, Michael’s phone rang.  “I figured he’d be calling by now.  So much for putting him off for a bit.” Michael commented.

             
I had even bet that it was my uncle.  Michael had a way of conveniently forgetting to call him when something was going on.  To my surprise, he simply pushed a button on the stirring wheel to answer it.  “I’ll take it I’ve been gone too long.” he said.

             
“I knew you’d forget, so I waited until I figured you’d be on the road.” I heard Raphael say.  Wonders never cease.  Welcome to the world of luxury cars, I thought.  I could’ve been wrong about that though, considering I’d never been in a new car except with my father and his family.  Did the newer cars all have this technology now?

             
“I didn’t forget.  I was just busy.” Michael retorted.  It was an excuse, and I think we all knew it.  I couldn’t help but smile to myself on that one.  Even for grown ups, those two had what they referred to as “disagreements” like teenage kids.  They were always civil, but listening to it was funny at times.  Like I said, just like teenagers.

             
“Nice try Michael.  But getting to the point, I’m going to take it you’re heading back now.” Raphael said.  He was just as calm as always.  I swear, I don’t think I’d ever even heard him raise his voice.  Raziel and I had a habit of referring to him as the Ice King because of it.

             
I have to admit as I sat there, I always felt a little bit intimidated by Raphael though.  In looks, he was a lot like Michael.  He had the same white blond hair, which was a little longer, and a lean build, though he seemed a bit taller.  But his eyes were very dark, almost black looking.  And when he looked at you, you almost felt like he was looking into your soul.  As a little girl, I was actually somewhat afraid of him because of that.  It’s not that he ever did anything mean to me though.  In fact, he was as nice as Michael.  But, as I said, he just seemed intimidating.  Hence the nick name Ice King.

             
“Yes.  We are.” Michael told him.

             
“Are you doing all right Mia?” Raphael asked.

             
I was a bit surprised he’d talk to me so easily, but I think part of me still wasn’t completely registering that this call could hear the whole car and its occupants.  “I’m fine.” I said absently.

             
“By the way Raphael, I wanted to ask you a favor while I’m thinking about it.  I know tomorrow’s Christmas, but afterwards, I’d like to get the ball rolling on getting Mia into school once the winter break is over.  Do you think it’s possible for us to get the paperwork through in time?” Michael asked.

             
“It can be done, but I won’t make any promises, especially with how quickly this has occurred.  However, having my repore with the principal might be able to help.  I’ll see what I can do after the holiday.” Raphael answered.

             
“That’s fine.  Just let me know.  We should be home in about an hour.  I’ll give you a call then.” Michael promised.

             
I had to sigh as Raphael hung up.  So now it was final.  I would definitely be staying with my dad from now on.  In a way, it was rather exciting now.  But a part of me was still a little shook up from the day’s events as well.  I didn’t always handle things too well anyways, so this was going to take me a bit more time then I was used to.  I just hoped I’d be able to adjust quickly, considering I’d probably be starting school very soon with the way Michael was trying to work things.  But as I thought of that, I thought of that strange man I’d seen as well in the airport.  He’d been gone when Michael woke me up, but his words stayed with me.  And somehow, I knew he was right.  It would be much better for me to be here with Michael now.  Everything was going to be okay.

             
We ended up getting home around eleven that night.  Surprisingly, I didn’t see Raphael and Raziel there.  I guess because it was so late.  But Raziel made it his point to call and talk to me after I got settled in.  I was kind of glad that Michael had stopped on the way home for me to have some dinner.  I had been starving.  Now, I was able to just get changed and get some sleep.  I was a bit surprised that it came so easily, but I guess part of that was my mind being at ease with my father being there.  I can’t explain why, but I always felt so safe with Michael around.  It had always been a good thing though.

             
Christmas morning was interesting for me as well.  This would be my first Christmas with my father that I could remember.  He did have some gifts for me.  Michael bought me a few gifts every year, though I typically got them when I came there in the summer, considering I’d probably never see them if my mother or grandmother got a hold of them.  This time, I would open them there on the actual day.  It was funny, but I was pretty sure that Michael was pleased over this slight turn of events as well.  He even remarked to me that he was very happy for us to have Christmas together now.

             
My gifts from Michael were typically smaller, but not inexpensive.  He was quite practical really, though he’d buy me things I wanted too.  I was happy to get an MP3 player, and he’d gotten me a very pretty gold cross too.  They were my two favorite gifts from that morning.

             
Later that afternoon, Raphael and Raziel came to visit.  I had been sitting in the den at the time, playing around with my new IPod.  I’d downloaded a few songs from my new laptop on it, and was shuffling through them.  I stopped when I felt someone hug me from behind.  “Hey, welcome home.” Raziel said happily as I took out the earphones and looked over at him.