"So did anyone get to talk to Charm today?" Mrs. Hanson asked softly at the dinner table.
"Tay did." Zac replied warily.
Mrs. Hanson looked at Taylor. "What did she say?"
Taylor looked down at his food and lost his appetite. "Mom, do we have to talk about this now?" He half asked, half-whined.
"No, Taylor. We don't." She said sympathetically.
"May I be excused then?" He asked still looking at his plate of food.
Mrs. Hanson and Mr. Hanson carefully looked him over. "Yes, go ahead." Mr. Hanson excused him.
"Us too, Dad?" Isaac asked gesturing to Zac and himself.
"Yes, go on." He said nodding.
Isaac, Taylor, and Zac threw the remains of their dinner in the trashcan and put their dishes in the dishwasher. Then they headed up to their room. Silently.
Zac shut the door behind them. They all changed and got in their beds regardless that it was only seven o'clock. "Tay, what did Charm say to you today?" Zac asked rolling on his side to look at him.
Taylor sighed, he knew he was going to have to tell at least his brothers about his confrontation with Dahven. "She said that she didn't have anyone."
"But she has us!" Zac interrupted immediately.
"I tried to tell her that, Zac, but she wouldn't listen to me." Taylor replied shrugging.
"If I was there, I would have convinced her that she still had us." Zac pointed out, causing Taylor to press his head further into his pillow.
"Let's just go to bed!!" Isaac said frustrated. He got up and angrily turned the lights off.
They stayed awake for a long while after, but kept silent for the rest of the night. Each lost in their own thoughts about Dahven.
Dahven was exhausted when she got out of her hot shower. She put on her long flannel pj bottoms and a white tank top, and sat on her bed with her back up against the wall. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest.
Then she heard a small knock on her door.
"Come in." She croaked out weakly.
Arie stepped in and sat at the edge of her bed. "This is weird, huh?" He asked quietly.
Dahven shook her head. "No, I like it like this."
Arie was about to say something when he stood up. "Goodnight, Charm." He said walking out and closing the door behind him.
"Sweet dreams." She said as tears streaked down her cheeks.
She looked over at her nightstand and saw a picture of her and the Hanson's. It was a very old picture of them.
They were at an amusement park that day. She was 10, Isaac was 11, Taylor was 9, Zac was just 7, Jessica was 5, Avery was 3, and Mackie had just turned 1 a few months before.
They all had a blast that day.
Her tears began to fall faster. "Maybe I do have them." She said softly. "And maybe I do need them."
She laid her head down on her pillow and kept the picture in her hand and continued to stare at it. Trying to remember all of the sounds of their laughter and voices that day. And then she fell asleep.
The next morning, Dahven watched as Mr. Hanson and all his kids piled into their minivan. She knew that Mrs. Hanson was home alone. And she needed to be somewhere. Anywhere, really. And she needed to talk. To anyone.
She walked up the driveway after the minivan turned the corner. Slowly she was at the door. Trembling as she raised her hand she softly knocked.
Mrs. Hanson opened the door. "Charm!!" She said surprised.
Then her face fell. "You just missed Isaac and the rest of them."
Dahven shook her head tiredly. "No, I didn't. I waited until they all left, Miz Hanson." She choked out.
Suddenly she felt she was wasting her time. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Miz Hanson. I'll go." She said as she turned away to leave.
"No, Charm! Stay. Come in." Mrs. Hanson said motioning for her to come inside the house.
"I don't know." She said uneasily.
Mrs. Hanson looked at her. Being a mother she didn't like to see children in pain. Any child. "Please?" She asked.
Dahven slowly nodded her head and walked in.
Mrs. Hanson ushered her into the kitchen. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"
"No, thank you anyway." Dahven said shaking her head as she sat down cautiously.
"Okay, now tell me what's up?" Mrs. Hanson said sitting down across from her.
Dahven was silent for a moment. She tried to force the words out. But every time she tried to, she would hurt worse. The pain was almost numbing her whole body because it was so sharp.
Mrs. Hanson noticed that Dahven was struggling with what she was trying to say. "I can wait until Isaac gets home, and he can tell me if it would make it easier for you."
Taking a shaky breath Dahven shook her head. "He doesn't know it. No one does, Miz Hanson."
"Well, you don't have to talk about it." She offered kindly.
Dahven lifted her gaze to Mrs. Hanson's for the first time since she got there.
Mrs. Hanson gasped softly. Dahven's once beautiful sparkling gray eyes had dulled and she had dark circles under them. Red lines ran crazily in them now.
Dahven just broke down and cried. "I tried so hard to be strong." She said crying softly. "But I'm weak. I can't handle it!" The confession made her cry harder.
Mrs. Hanson's heart went out to her. She quickly went and sat beside her and hugged her. Feeling her shoulder's shake with her sobs. "Sshhh. Sshhh." She said rocking her back and forth as she would for the younger kids when they were crying.
She pulled back and was staring at Mrs. Hanson as she continued to cry. "Do you think that it was a mistake for my parent's to have Arie and I?"
Mrs. Hanson gasped. "Of course not, Charm! Why on earth would I think that?"
Dahven shrugged, "Because that's what Syrus and Kasha thought." She began to cry again.
"I'm sure they didn't mean that Charm." Mrs. Hanson comforted.
Dahven laughed harshly. "You don't understand, Miz Hanson." She said as she wiped her tears away.
"Well, help me to understand." Mrs. Hanson replied softly.
"Syrus and Kasha were practically forced to marry each other because she got pregnant with Arie." Dahven said bitterly.
"Oh, my." Mrs. Hanson breathed out. Sorrow filled her eyes.
Dahven shook her head. "That's not so bad. Syrus came home late one night. He was drunk, because he drank at a party at his firm. And when he saw Kasha, he raped her. And that's how I was conceived." She said coldly.
Mrs. Hanson hugged Dahven again. "I'm so sorry, Charm. I'm so sorry." She said barely audible.
"Do you think that Arie and I were mistakes now?" Dahven asked.
Mrs. Hanson shook her head roughly. "I think that you and Arie are priceless. Especially you. You aren't a mistake, Charm. You're a miracle. A spectacular miracle." She said brushing a tear off her own cheek.
"Think of how much we would have missed out on if you weren't here. Or all the things you would have missed out on. If your parent's can't see what precious gifts they have, then they are fools."
Dahven laughed. "I always thought that about them anyway."
Mrs. Hanson laughed also. "But, Charm, you truly are a precious gift and a wonderful miracle."
"Thanks, Miz Hanson. I knew that I could have talked to you about this." Dahven said giving her a hug.
Mrs. Hanson hugged her back. "You can always talk to me, Charm."
Dahven smiled. Then she lightly patted Mrs. Hanson's large stomach. "That there is one lucky child, Mrs. Hanson." She said smiling. Then she stood up. "Every child deserves to have you and Mister Hanson for parent's."
"Thanks, Charm." Mrs. Hanson said as she smiled at her stomach. She rubbed it gently. "I'm happy to be having another miracle in my life." She stood and led Dahven to the door.
They hugged each other again. "Please, don't tell the guys?" Dahven asked, scared that she might.
Mrs. Hanson smiled reassuringly. "I promise that I won't. But you should at least tell Isaac."
Dahven shrugged. "Maybe." She said walking away. "Maybe." She whispered to herself as she walked down the driveway.
Halfway down the street she saw the Hanson's minivan approaching.
She looked at her feet and continued to walk. Mr. Hanson honked at her and waved as he drove by. All that she could manage was a very weak smile and a short wave. "Maybe." She repeated.
As soon as the car stopped, Isaac was running for the house. "Mom?" He called out, "Why did D stop by here?" He asked when she first walked into the living room.
"It's good to see you too, Isaac." Mrs. Hanson said smiling.
Isaac rolled her eyes. "Mom." He whined. "Did D stop by here?" He asked again.
Mrs. Hanson nodded. "Yes, she did as a matter of fact. Why do you ask?"
"What did she want? Did she want me to call her?" He asked hopefully.
"I'm sorry, Ike, but she just needed to talk with me." Mrs. Hanson explained.
"Why?" He asked disappointedly.
She laughed. "Is there something wrong with someone wanting to talk to me?"
Isaac shook his head. "Sorry, Mom. And no, there's nothing wrong with someone wanting to talk to you. It's actually quite fun." He said smiling slightly.
Mrs. Hanson smiled back. "She just needed a mother to talk to a mother, Isaac. That's all." She said softly.
Isaac nodded his head and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome." She said as he ran up the stairs.