#edith stanton

[zosa95]

Edith: I guess we need to work out your cover story. What if he's into genealogy and wants to know about your military service or marriage?

B'zad: I'd love to tell him the truth, but I'm afraid it would hurt everyone in the long run. My papers are in order. I didn't have any other biological children. He has parents, so I don't think much will be expected of us.

Edith: Fair point. He'll probably want to satisfy his curiosity and get on with his life. And if he asks questions about your military life, I'll just start talking about being in a commune.

Edith slapped her thigh and cackled.

Edith: Gemma is our granddaughter. She's a bit uptight, but she's one helluva survivor. And she gets her good looks from me.

Jude knew who it was when his phone chimed three times in a row. He chuckled to himself as he pulled it from his pocket.

[text messages] Chessie: Oh! My! God! Chessie: you will never believe what happened! Chessie: never ever ever

Jude grinned; it was time to have some fun.

[text messages] Jude: Wait! Looking in my crystal ball! Jude: wooooooooooo Jude: You have a new sister?

[text messages] Chessie: You know? Chessie: you knew b4 me? Chessie: And didnt tell me? Chessie: I'm going to kill u

Jude laughed as his phone rang.

Jude: New phone, who dis?

Chessie: Juuuuuude! How long have you known? How long have you kept this a secret from me? You didn't even fucking tell me you knew Gemma Wilde, the actress. You let me go on and on about the celebrity that bought paintings from me in August and didn't say a damn word! Traitor!

Jude: I didn't know she was your sister for very long. Just days. And I've mentioned my neighbor Gem plenty of times.

Chessie: J-I-M, you said Jim!

Jude: You made assumptions. You know what happens when you assume you make an ass--

Jude cackled when Chessie let loose a stream of Tartosan curses. He wasn't sure, but she might have said his balls would shrivel up and fall off on the next full moon.

Jude: You kiss your nonna with that mouth?

Chessie: I will throttle you the next time I see you. Do you have her phone number?

Jude: Yeah. But give her some time before you jump in with both feet, Ches. She is pretty overwhelmed. And she was hosting fourteen for lunch today. She's prolly knackered. Your parents are coming to tell Lydia and see Gemma. Let your dad connect with her first.

Chessie: (thoughtfully) You sound protective of her. I like that. It means she's a good person.

Jude: She is. And you two will be the very best of friends. The world should be terrified about that.

Chessie: I can't wait.

[zosa95]

Edith: Aloha, missy, Happy Eat-Til-You-Burst Day.

Gemma laughed.

Gemma: I can barely move, and Jakob is kicking me for all the jalapeno poppers I ate.

Edith: It'll put hair on his chest!

Gemma: Wouldn't that be hilarious! Um, is there any way I can talk to you and Brad at the same time? It's about your baby.

Edith: Sure thing, honey. Hey, how do I get this thing on speaker?

Gemma listened as Brad came to help, and Edith complained about new-fangled phones because back in her day...

B'zad: Hello, Gemma.

Gemma: Hello, Brad! I might have big news for the two of you. First, I have questions. What day was your son born? How old would he be now? Were there any other Ediths giving birth? What do you remember of his adoptive parents?

Edith: He was born on April twelfth and is fifty-six years old. There weren't any other Ediths that I can remember. The man had dark hair and a mustache. The woman had dark blonde hair.

Gemma: I'm positive that I've found him. However, we should do a DNA test to confirm it.

B'zad: How did you locate him?

Gemma: My neighbor adopted him fifty-six years ago in Cavalier Cove. She said she knew his mother was seventeen years old, and her name was Edith.

Edith: (weakly) Oh, my lands.

Gemma: And there's more.

B'zad: More?

Gemma: I've just discovered that he's my father.

No one said anything for a long moment.

Gemma: Brad? Edith? Are you okay?

B'zad: I'm in shock. And I think Edith is broken. I've never seen her speechless before.

Edith: Oh, you, hush. I love you to bits, Gemma, but don't start calling me "Granny."

Gemma: (laughing) Understood. His name is Edward. He's coming to town to meet me. If it's okay, I'd like to tell him about the two of you. I'll call Mari to help with DNA tests. Hopefully, we can push for rapid results.

Edith: Yeah, let's do that. This is pretty wild, and I'm thrilled. Although he's kinda dumb if he hooked up with your mom. But that's a young man for you, always thinking with their dick.

Gemma: Eh, my mom was a master manipulator. And I wouldn't be surprised to learn that too much alcohol was involved. He didn't know about me until I was almost three. My mom threatened unspeakable things to keep him away from me.

B'zad: (soberly) I'm sorry you endured that.

Gemma: Me too, but the past can't be changed.

[zosa95]

Gemma knocked on Lydia's door before opening it.

Gemma: Lydia?

Lydia: Come on in, luv. I'm in the lounge.

Gemma: I bought freshly made biscuits.

Lydia: Thank you, pet. I hate to be a bother, but could you brew a pot of tea to go with? The kitchen is just through that door.

Gemma found everything she needed in the kitchen. She made the pot of tea and placed the biscuits on the tray. After carefully setting the tray down, Gemma poured a cup and turned to face Lydia. A photo on the bookshelf caught Gemma's eye.

Gemma forgot how to breathe.

Lydia: Gemma? You've gone all white, pet. Are you okay?

Gemma: I-I'm okay. Who is that man in the graduation photo?

Lydia: That's my son Edward, luv. The other photo is Edward with my darling Delaine and me.

Gemma could not stop her hands from trembling.

Lydia: Sit down by me, Gemma. I should call a doctor. Something is wrong.

Gemma frantically tried to come up with an excuse for her odd behavior.

Gemma: I-I skipped breakfast. I'll be okay.

Lydia: You can't skip meals, luv, especially when expecting. You need a cup of tea with extra sugar and some biscuits.

Gemma: Yes, I will have some. Please tell me about your son. Does he live in Britechester? Your great-grandson lives there.

Lydia: Not now, pet. He went to uni in Britechester and met his wife, Viviana. They married right after graduation. Two years later, they had their first child. Vivi had a rough pregnancy and suffered from postpartum depression. So they moved in with her parents. But Edward struggled to find a job in her little village. He finally found the job of his dreams, but it was in Strangerville.

Strangerville. Gemma swallowed hard. This couldn't be real. Her father was Lydia's son? No.

Gemma: (faintly) How long ago was that? When they lived in Strangerville?

Lydia: (worried) You do not look well, pet.

Gemma: I'll eat another biscuit. I'm feeling better. Listening to you is helping.

Lydia: If it helps, I'll natter on. My granddaughters were only one and four then. That would be almost thirty years ago. Vivi - I dearly love her - balked at moving halfway around the world to a barren desert of all places. They are both stubborn and dug their heels in. Edward went to Strangerville alone. They were separated, and Vivi threatened divorce. But Vivi's Nonna is a force to be reckoned with. Edward returned to visit the children, and Nonna sat Edward and Vivi down for a talk. I don't know what she said, but it worked. They compromised and moved to San Sequoia. Together.

Gemma sat speechless. The timeline fits with her memories. But obviously, Lydia knew nothing about Gemma being Edward's daughter. Did he not tell anyone? Or was Gemma just reaching, seeing things that weren't there. This was surreal. Gemma felt untethered as if she might fly away.

Gemma: Edward has blonde hair. He gets that from you, I guess.

Lydia: Actually, neither of us contributed to his genetics. He is adopted, you see. Del was sterile from an extremely high fever in his teens. Del and I adopted Edward when we lived in Brindleton Bay. He was born in Cavalier Cove. The only thing we know about his biological mother was that she was seventeen years old, and her name was Edith.

Gemma's vision grew dark, and Lydia's voice faded away.

[zosa95]

🍁Harvest Day Evening🍂

[zosa95]

Gemma: Edith! How are you?

Edith: I'm hunky-dory now. I didn't get blamed for the fire. The warden did.

Gemma: (reproachfully) Edith…

Edith: She was mean, drank all day, and bone idle. She didn't face charges, but she got fired. Good riddance. But that's not why I called. Your mother-in-law, doctor lady, and photographer friend have everything sorted. We are all moving to Sulani.

Gemma: That's wonderful!

Edith: I've seen pictures, and it's a real swank place. Brad and I will have our own room with a double bed.

Gemma: (sternly) No candles, Edith.

Edith: I know, I know. You sure do have that mom-nag thing down.

Gemma: I'm practicing.

Edith: And they have a clothing-optional beach on a nearby island! I think that Brad and I might get married there.

Edith's announcement left Gemma speechless. Not for the first time. And most likely, it wouldn't be the last.

[zosa95]

Edith: Hey there! You’re starting to waddle like a duck.

Gemma: (dryly) Thanks for noticing.

Edith: You’re welcome. This here is Brad, Brad Taggart.

B’zad: I’m pleased to meet you, Gemma.

Gemma: The pleasure is all mine.

Edith: He’s the guy I lost my V-card to in the barn.

Gemma’s mouth opened, and her eyes grew big.

Edith: Shut your mouth before you suck down a fly. I was wrong about the alien stuff. We were both tripping, and I might have hallucinated a bit.

Gemma: (slowly) Okay.

Edith: He came back to town to find me. I guess I’m unforgettable.

Edith cackled while B’zad smiled at her like she hung the moon.

Gemma looked from one to another. Did Brad know how crazy Edith was? Was he crazy, too? Was he who he said he was? Was Edith being conned?

Edith: (loudly) Listen here, everyone! I have an announcement to make! Brad and I are getting hitched!

The room broke out in a discordant mixture of congratulations and annoyed seniors who had counted on winning the betting pool.

Gemma: (stunned) You-- You are-- You’re getting married? When?

Edith: Just as soon as we can sort out the living arrangements.

Gemma: That soon?

Edith: I’m seventy-three for chrissakes. You expect me to have a long engagement? And look who’s talking, Miss Married-Markus-months-after-meeting-him.

Gemma: Touché.

Edith: (to B’zad) Hold on. I need to have a girl talk with Gremma.

Edith grabbed Gemma’s arm with surprising strength and led Gemma down the hall.

Gemma: That is one helluva grip, Edith.

Edith: It comes from giving hand jobs. I can’t give head anymore because my false teeth would fall out. And I like my teeth in when I’m getting laid.

Gemma: Oh my gods! I did not need to know that.

Edith sniffed disdainfully and shook her head.

Edith: You’re such a puritan. How you landed a hot-blooded man like Markus, I’ll never know.

Gemma: I am not a puritan! We have a very adventurous sex life.

Edith: (dismissively) If you say so, honey. Listen, Brad wants to find the kid to check on him.

Gemma: The baby you gave up for adoption?

Edith: Yeah. Not right away. We gotta figure out our living arrangements first. But soon.

Gemma didn’t need one more thing on her plate, but she didn’t want to let her friend down. Plus, as Edith said, she was seventy-three. Alfred lost his son at too young of an age and missed the opportunity to meet his granddaughter.

Gemma: Of course. Just say the word, and I’ll do everything that I can.

Edith: You’re a good friend, Gemma.

Gemma: Does the engagement mean you’ll stop sending me AI nudes? And you’ll stop writing reverse harem romances featuring you, Oscar, Ivan, and Wyatt.

Edith scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Edith As if! I’m trying out a new genre called Omegaverse and just wrote my first knotting scene.

[zosa95]

[zosa95]

Edith: They have this thing called DNA tests. I never took one because if I found him, I was worried about explaining the alien DNA.

B’zad: There's nothing special about my DNA that I could pass on. My eye and hair color is different, but that's all. And that's primarily due to the Symboo environment. Some of us have extra-sensory dreams and things like that. But I've never had alteravita dreams. Although, that's possibly due to my war injury.

Edith: My friend, Alfred, found his great-granddaughter with these tests. But I don't know if I want to do that. I don't want to pop into his life and tell him about the night I dropped acid, aliens kidnapped me, and I conceived him with a different spaceman.

B’zad: (chuckling) This is true. We best keep the alien thing between us. Have you told anyone?

Edith: Just my young friend Gemma. She's tough as old boots and won't say a word. If she asks about you, I'll tell her I misremembered things. No one expects old farts to remember shit anyway.