56 Royal Family

"So, my boy, tell me more about yourself. Do you mind me asking what your father does for a living?" Uncle crossed his legs while sipping his after dinner coffee. I still couldn't understand his purpose for taking in caffeine at this time of night.

"My father?" Craige repeated his question looking uncomfortable.

'Uncle can be really insufferable sometimes. Why would he ask him something like that?' I narrowed my eyes at Uncle Argus but he just winked at me.

"Don't get me wrong, son. I just want to make small talks."

'Small talks?! Doing background check is considered small talk?!'

"No, it's okay. It's just that… my family is quite complicated." Craige massaged his neck and the side of his lips lifted to an awkward smile.

'Now that I think about it, he never really talked much about his family.'

I also never bothered asking before because knowing your friends' family background was something that I never deemed necessary. Not that I was not curious. I just thought that I would be overstepping the line if I asked him something that he didn't bring up first.

Just like what my brilliant uncle was doing now.

Uncle Argus was grinning from ear to ear as he set down his empty gigantic coffee cup. "I love complicated things."

"Me too." Arthur bobbed his head as well.

"Like father, like son." I shook my head in disbelief. At that point, I was starting to wonder why Arthur was not yet cooped up in his room playing games.

Mom rolled her eyes while collecting the empty cups from the table. "Stop pestering the child, Argus."

"No Auntie, I don't mind. Really." Craige hastily shook his hand. "It's nothing special. My father has been doing public service for almost 10 years now."

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at me. "You didn't know?"

"Did YOU know? Of course I didn't know, duh!" I rolled my eyes at him. "For what would I be asking a friend's family background for?"

"For future network purposes, duh!" He answered shamelessly. "Besides, he's not just a friend anymore, is he?"

I looked at him with disgust. "You really are something."

He shrugged and turned back to Craige. "What about your Mom? What does she do?"

I caught Craige stealing a glance at my mom before he answered. "She takes pictures for magazines."

'What's with that awkward pause?'

Mom seemed to have also caught the hesitation in his voice because, unlike when we were talking about how his father was a government official, her interest has been piqued by his mother's occupation. "Is she a photographer? Kimmy never really mentioned anything about her family to me as well."

Uncle Argus looked at me then at my Mom. "You never asked her? Like mother, like daughter?"

Mom just chuckled. "Why should I be probing on my friend's personal life if she prefers to not talk about it? That would just be me being nosy. It's enough that I let her know that I'll be a call away when she needs me."

'That's right. Absolutely right.'

"Isn't that just being irresponsible, honey?" Uncle Argus put his arm on my mom's shoulder.

Mom put a finger on his chin and although they looked so sweet with each other, Uncle's words brought the tension up and invisible sparks erupted between their gazes. "My friends have always known how I roll, honey. And being too involved with their lives might have an opposite effect and make them keep things from me when they actually need someone beside them."

"Is that so?" Uncle softly touched the tip of her nose, his signature move whenever he wanted to tell my mom that he concedes defeat. My mom smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

She then turned back to Craige. "Where were we again?"

I was so preoccupied with my parents' disgusting cheesiness that, when I turned back to Craige, his face that had been void of color surprised me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He forced out a smile that just made me more worried. I was about to tell him that he didn't really need to answer all their questions but my words got caught in my throat by his sudden revelation. "My mother right now is not Aunt Kimmy's sister. Her sister, my biological mother, died in an accident when I was five and my biological father followed her in the same year. I was put up for adoption because Aunt Kimmy was not old enough at that time to be my guardian and I don't have other relatives."

'Adoption…?'

Uncle and Arthur exchanged glances in silence while my mom took in a large breath with her hands covering her gaping mouth and tears welling up in her eyes.

When I saw Craige force a smile on his face, trying to look like he's fine, my hand unconsciously grabbed his hand as I felt a crushing sensation in my chest. He turned to me looking grateful as he took in a large shaky breath. And my lips trembled at that sight.

"Then the mother that you said who's taking photos…?" Mom managed to find her words.

"She's my adoptive mother, Hilary Clinton."

"Hilary Clinton?" Mom's voice suddenly became stable as she repeated the name. "The SuperModel, Hilary Clinton, is your foster mom?"

Craige nodded and I turned back to my mom, curious about her reaction.

But it was Uncle who spoke with an equally surprised look on his face. "Isn't Hilary Clinton the wife of Russell Clinton?"

'Russell Clinton?'

I racked my brain to remember where I heard that name. Then my jaw dropped when I did.

'Impossible…'

Understanding finally dawned on me and I turned back to Craige with surprise. "You're a son of a governor?!"

Arthur also finally finished processing the information and unintentionally mimicked my reaction. "You're the son of OUR governor?!"

Craige scratched the side of his forehead. "Their adopted son, yes."

"Oh my God." My mom muttered and then she frowned. "You're the son that Hilary said she had in Canada while she was on hiatus?"

Craige nodded his head. "That's the story for the press, yes."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him. "For the press?"

"Yes. Mother didn't want people to find out that I'm adopted because she's afraid that the other kids in school might point their fingers at me and call me a discarded child." Craige's explanation made me frown.

'Kids who like to point fingers will always point fingers. They'll make up all kinds of excuses to do so. They'll find fault at the most trivial things and make it seem like it's a big deal.'

"I understand. Hilary and I used to be friends in middle school. Her parents also died when she was young so she grew up in an orphanage. And she suffered from severe depression because of bullying that it came to a point where she was forced to transfer schools before graduation." Mother's words explained why Craige's mother would choose to hide the fact that they adopted him.

'She didn't want him to experience the same thing that she's been through.'

"The kids back then find it easier to trample on those who didn't have parents to back them up because they tend to just keep quiet about the harassments." Mother added which triggered a certain memory that I didn't wish to remember. She must have sensed my discomfort because she reached across the table to pat my knee.

And that single touch made me feel better. I let out a deep breath before I managed to share my thoughts on the subject. "The kids these days don't even mind crossing those who have parents to back them up. I guess bullies are another species that never cease to evolve. They become more and more shameless as time goes by."

Craige patted my back. "You did well in fighting them off and staying strong."

Uncle looked at Craige with amusement and Mom's eyes sparkled as she studied Craige's face. "You know what happened to our Zeanne? You know what she's going through? And you still want to be with her?"

Arthur chuckled. "Mom, that might actually be the reason why he became head over heels with her. This brother's taste in women is simply… peculiar."

"Why? What's wrong with him liking your sister?" Uncle was again on my rescue before I could spit out a retort.

"Nothing." He grinned. "Except that she's going to be a handful."

I slammed my hand against his back to let him know what a 'handful' was.

He stretched out his back in pain. "And she's violent. I'm against this relationship! I need to keep Craige safe!"

"Nonsense! You deserve that beating. You can hit him one more time, Zee darling." Uncle gave me the permission to Arthur's complete disappointment.

Craige chuckled. He seemed to have finally loosened up after the heavy atmosphere earlier. And seeing him laugh again made me feel better as well, so I let Arthur's insolence pass.

This surprised Arthur and he stared at me with his mouth wide open. "Wah. If you're going to be like that, you might as well marry him and continue to become a better person. I approve of this relationship. Craige, brother, marry my sister tomorrow itself."

"Are you out of your mind?!" I almost hit him again.

And when I didn't he started laughing out loud. "See what I mean? She's trying to lessen her violent tendencies because of you! That's a good sign! Marry my sister!"

Uncle and Mom just laughed it off, knowing that Arthur's craziness knows no boundaries. And I gritted my teeth in irritation, thinking of all sorts of ways to get back at him later.

But to my consternation, Craige's words made my jaw drop.

"Sure, if she agrees to it."

***

Dear Dairy Milk,

IS HE CRAZY???

HE MUST BE OUT OF HIS MIND!

He's as insane as anyone can get!

Why the hell would he take my stupid brother's words seriously?!

Or does he just enjoy messing with my head?!

And what did he mean 'if I agreed to it'?!

Arthur's right...

He really must not be sane…

Considering that he wants to date someone like me...

P.S.

Also… adopted son of the governor?!

Am I in some kind of drama?!