Chapter 3: Daddy Issues

Every time Jessi opened the front door to her home, her life was always about to change in some manner. Usually, this change was the creation of new children, but if she had known who would be standing on the opposite end of the door frame that very day, she probably would have never gotten out of her bed to begin with.

The frequent ringing doorbell forced Jessi out of bed at the premature hour of nine AM, her children off at a summer school program she had signed them up for and an unfinished painting of hers still hanging in the easel’s arms. She hoped that it wasn’t another nosy suitor – occasionally, a few particularly bold (or simply drunk) men would announce themselves at her doorstep without being called and demand that she bring them into the folds of her bedroom, ignoring the fact that she was either a) pregnant or b) simply not in the mood for procreation. It was these types of men that Jessi detested sleeping with, and as she made her way down the stairs, she contemplated the easiest way to let the lover down.

Opening the door, her first thoughts were of how unorthodoxly dark the morning had turned, until she realized the sun was being blocked by the figure of an imposing man, whose hefty weight filled the door frame.

“Hubert?” she gasped, stepping outside for a better look. “What are you doing here?” 

“I've come to visit my children, that’s what I’m doing here.” He answered swiftly, as if afraid for Jessi to finish her sentence. His face was all smiles, but Jessi couldn't help feeling as if something was dodgy.

“Right, well, it’s nine o clock on a Tuesday morning. Even if the kids weren't currently all away, don’t you think they’d be a little too tired to speak with you?”

“Yeah, just suppose I’ll wait here until they come back.” He attempted to push his way through the door, but his fat rolls wouldn't give way.

“And who gave you the authority to…?”

“Listen, are you really going to give me crap for this? I’ll stay out of the way, just let me stay to see my damn kids.”

She bit her lip, contemplating. There was a lot of work to do today, what with fixing the faulty toilet, regular cleaning, maybe the completion of a small painting or two along the way, and then again, it was pretty rude to demand to see her children without prior notice, especially the way that he was doing it – but did she really have the right to deny her children a visit with their father? Not wanting to be mixed up in an unnecessary family drama, Jessi merely nodded her head, admitting him entry to the house through the larger side door.

“And you promise to not be in the way?”

“On my mother’s grave. Now, where’s your fridge, again?”

She supposed that sacrificing a few cheap morsels was a fair price if it meant assuaging the man, though Jessi hated to lose the money. Funds were tight enough as they were, what with her love of online shopping – alas, why couldn't she have been born with a Frugal trait?

The hours seemed to drag by as she waited for the kids to arrive home. She was subjected to vicious questioning about Mars’ real father by the volatile Hubert, who she was planning to call to the house for breeding next (“Undecided, and don’t call it breeding”), how she could be a successful author if she couldn’t even leave her house (“Welcome to the wonder of the internet”), and if she still missed him (“Weren’t you supposed to be leaving me alone?”). Jessi supposed that she couldn't complain – after all, she did complete her day’s work, even if Mars, who was staying home on account of a fever, was attached to her leg the entire day (sometimes literally), afraid of being left alone in the same room as the hunkering Goliath. She supposed that she couldn't blame the child, though she wished Mars was capable of just sitting in his bed for an hour at a time so his sickness would be cured.

Eventually, however, the triplets shuffled their way into the house, rumors of parties and pop quizzes fresh on their lips. It was Axel who first stopped short, noticing the new house guest.

“Oh, uh, God, mom. Sorry. If we knew that you were, uh, entertaining a guest…” The children were now old enough to understand their origins, and Jessi shot her embarrassed son a sharp look.

“Axel, Petal, Lotus. I have some important news for the three of you, so let's just get straight to the point. This man is your father, and he’d like to talk with you.”

Hubert stood up and spread his arms wide, basking in the glow of the moment. “Hello, children. I'm Hubert Galatica, your father. I know that we've only known one another for a minute or so, but I’ve come here with an offer.”

Jessi waved her arms. “Whoa, whoa, Hubert. You never told me you were offering some sort of deal. Don’t you think that this is the sort of thing you should run by me first?”

He ignored her and barreled on. “See, I’m leaving this town shortly. I’ve had it with being a gas station attendant. The hours are long and the gratification is nada.” He shot the children his best charming look, the fangs he called teeth glowing softly in the kitchen light.

“During my time I've collected a decent amount of money. I’m going to be gone for a long time. A long time. But then I thought, ‘Hey, before then, what a great time to bond with my kids’, right?”

“So you just want to say goodbye before you leave.” Lotus spoke up, out of character for her usually timid personality.

“Well, not quite. See, I was planning on taking you kids with me.”

“Wait, what?” Jessi interjected. “Wait a second, wait a second. These are my kids as much as they are your’s, Hubert. You can’t honestly expect to just bust in here and take them from me!”

He waved his hand nonchalantly. “Easy there. I’ll only take the ones that want to go with me. Nobody is forced to go.”

Jessi’s eyebrows arched. First he breaks into her home, then he eats her food, and now he tries to make off with their offspring! “And what about school?”

“Don’t try grabbing at straws, Jessi. It’s mid-July, and you know it.”

“But what about next year?”

“I’ll put them in the school of my new location.”

“And just where is that?” she asked, folding her arms impatiently. What a jerk.

“It’s the city.”

Upon the impact of the words, Lotus reeled, gripping on the edge of the table. The crowds, the people. All of it made her head spin. “I can already tell you that I’m not going then, Daddy Dearest.” The city was no place for a Loner like her.

“Fine. That’s one down, two to go. What about you two, uh…”

“I’m Axel, that’s Petal.” Axel offered, pointing at himself and his sister, who was lost in a quiet thought. A silence spread over the kitchen.

“Exactly how far away is this city?” Petal asked, breaking the spell.

“Well, we can reach it ten hours by plane, if that means anything.”

She lowered her voice to a haunting whisper. “Far enough away that people there won’t know who the Deliahs are?”

The kitchen restrained from noise, processing Petal’s words. Hubert struggled for an answer. This was obviously a question that he did not count on answering. “I can’t really guarantee anything to you, but…”

Petal cut him short. “I want to take a chance.” She turned to her siblings. “I mean, aren’t you tired?”

Axel tilted his head dumbly. “Of?”

Lotus shook her head, already aware of what was to come out of her sister’s mouth. “Not now. Not while Mom’s around.”

“Excuse me?” Jessi piped in. “What exactly is going on?”

But Petal continued, apparently either too invested in her tirade to take head to her sister’s words or simply ignoring them. “The adults of this town with their dumb traditions and their ideals and crap...I don’t care what the adults of this town say about us, the Deliah children, that we’re lucky to have such a large family, that they’re glad that the town’s still in touch with its roots, it’s all a bunch of bullshit. This entire ‘tradition’ is literally just a way for town hall to fund their luncheons and parties, and the high school knows it, goddamn it.” She stared at her mother, who at this point was on her feet. "They all know."

“Petal?” she asked softly, opening her arms as if expecting to receive a hug.

“They call you terrible things, mom, the students. They call you a showpony breeder, and a disgusting introvert, and the teachers do nothing about it. The kids graffiti my locker with all sorts of slurs, and a few weeks ago, they broke into the music room and destroyed Axel’s tuba.”

“You told me you dropped it.” Jessi said quietly. Axel looked at the floor, suddenly very interested in his shoelaces.

“And what about the time that Lotus came home with that black eye, huh? Did you really believe that she had walked into a door? Someone called you a slut and she just lost her mind. Got suspended for two weeks, and just pretended that she went to school during that time. Can’t you see that none of us can take this shit anymore?” Petal took a step closer to Hubert. “Come on, you two. Can’t you see that we can start new somewhere else?”

Axel began inching his way toward his father, but Lotus was steadfast. 

“Are you two really going to do this to me? To mom?” Lotus asked, but her words fell on deaf ears as her siblings smiled at their new guardian. She spun to her mom. “Can’t you do something?”

Still dumbfound from the new information, Jessi slowly shook her head. “If this is their decision, then I’m afraid that there’s very little that I can do. I just wish that everyone here had told me earlier.”

“Goddamnit, you two always do this to me!” Lotus suddenly yelled, forcing her retreating siblings back into the fray.

“What do you mean by ‘this’?” Petal asked coolly, stepping up to her sister. Axel remained in the shadow of his sister, feet pinned to the floor. He had always hated confrontation.

“You and Axel have always been so close, ever since you were kids. You guys always forgot about me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? You and Axel with your buddy-buddy painting skills, and your playing tag…you were the two who always left me in the cold!”

“We only did that stuff because you’d never stop using that damn telescope for hours at a time! And when you weren’t, you’d be teaching Axel to read better. There was never any room for me to do anything!”

Petal balled her fists, and Lotus, hardened by many a playground brawl, drew her arms up to her face. "Are you forgetting about how happy you were exercising on your own, isolated from the rest of us?"

“Petal, Lotus.” Axel's deep rumbling voice scared the two sisters, who stopped their scuffle to look at him. “I honestly have no idea what either of you two are talking about. I always thought that we spent some great times together. I remember painting with Lotus as fondly as I do remembering Petal teaching me how to read. And I’m truly sorry if something I said or the way I acted made you two think otherwise.”

“Do you really mean that?” Lotus asked with caution.

“I…I never thought of it that way.” Petal concluded.

“Look, this entire thing is heartwarming and all, but we really need to get this show on the road. It’s getting 

late, and I have a plan to catch,” yawned Hubert. “Which one of you is staying, and which one of you is going?”

Petal walked back to her sister. “Call it sudden, but it appears that I was wrong all these years. I can’t leave my relationship with my sister in this state, not after this. I’ll stay. C’mon, Axel.” But Axel remained by his father’s side, unwavering.

“Axel?” she asked. “Let’s go.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Wait, what?” the sisters said collectively.

“Axel, this isn’t funny anymore. Please, come back.” Lotus laughed nervously.

“No, I’m serious. I’m going. Look, I’m not interested in college, and I couldn't get the test scores necessary to get into one in the first place. I already know music theory like the back of my hand, and I’ve drawn more nude models that I feel comfortable admitting to. The city could be a great place to get my start, you know? Please, don’t give me that look. We’ll see each other again, definitely. I promise.” He twisted, meeting his father's pleased gaze.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"Immediately. The plane leaves in two hours."

“Axel–“ Lotus was about to start up again when Petal intervened.

“Lotus, I know it’s painful, but he’s right. I'm thinking that a big city is a perfect place for a guy of his talent. He’s old enough that he doesn’t need his sisters telling him what to do. Let’s let him leave with a good start, okay? Mom,” she wheeled, facing her mother, “you’ve been awfully quiet. This is okay with you, right?”

“Like I said before,” she sighed, “If he wants to go, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”

“Well, goodbye, Axel. And godspeed.”

The goodbyes were long and tearful. First to say goodbye was Jessi, who did not stop hugging her son until it was absolutely necessary to say goodbye. Mars was awoken from bed, and when he had stopped howling in the face of the news for long enough, he embraced his older brother in a teary fit. Pointing to the closest easel, he sniffed. "I want you to take my painting. To remember me by."

"That's gonna add a lot to my carry on fee-" Hubert began, only to be cut off by Jessi's nasty glare.

And as Axel left the front door, his sisters waving him off with forced smiles, Petal felt a great, heavy weight lifting off of her chest.

---

Note) Don't worry, no rules of the challenge were broken with this event. Axel was on the honor role, and I aged him up to a young adult before he left. Here's how he looks:

Shirt seems kind of fitting, due to his Virtuoso trait and all.