Chapter 9: Aunt Nora

“Brandon, I’m dying of curiosity. Who called your phone last night?”

“That’s a big story. Maybe not in front of Ron?”

Ron made a show of studying his breakfast cereal, but the adults could tell he was very curious.

“I decided a long time ago that it was important to share everything with my son, Brandon. I told him that his dad wasn’t going to recover because he needed to have time to prepare and to always trust me. Hard as that was, always being honest helped us through the rough times.”

Brandon took a deep breath.

“I never knew my father. I don’t even have a name; my birth certificate is blank in that space.”

“That’s crazy!” burst out Ron.

“My mother would not explain it. When I was older, I asked my Aunt Nora. She told me that her sister was either protecting a married man or that she didn’t know the man’s identity. Dolores?”

“Go ahead, explain. He’s been told the basics.”

“Ron, not all mothers are as sweet as yours. They have more than one boyfriend at the same time, and if they, well, if they have sex with several of those guys, they can’t tell who caused their pregnancy. You understand? They don’t know which one of those sex partners made them pregnant.”

“That sounds terrible. She wasn’t being careful?”

“No, son, she was being the opposite of careful. If I had a daughter who behaved like that, I’d be very very angry with her.”

“My mother was also an alcoholic, and that must have been part of her terrible behavior. Drunk people make stupid choices. Choices like buying booze with the rent money. Choices like leaving me, her little boy, alone night after night, without food.

“Dolores, I don’t want Ron to hear these things about me. I’m so ashamed.”

“Ron, do you think what happened to young Brandon was his fault?”

“No. She was bad, not him.”

Then her boy did something that choked her up. He put his hand on Brandon’s shoulder and said, “Not your fault.”

Brandon paused to collect himself before continuing his story.

“I don’t remember all the details. I guess I walked to school wearing filthy clothes, and I was so hungry I must have fallen asleep or something. I woke up in the hospital; after that I lived with my Aunt Nora.

“I never saw my mother again. My aunt told me a few years later that she died, but I don’t know the cause of her death. Ron, you are lucky to have such a wonderful mom.”

Dolores asked in a soft voice, “What happened then with your aunt?”

“She did her best. I was a handful, bitter, and far behind in my schooling. I felt because I was bad my mother rejected me.

“Somehow I finished high school ranked at the bottom of the class, and since then I’ve been barely getting by with terrible part-time jobs.”

“I guess Nora realized I’d been out of touch for a while, and that’s why she called.”

“Brandon, please take your phone and return her call. Ron and I need to get going this morning. You and I will talk tonight. Ron, go get your stuff.”

A few minutes later, as they were bustling out the door, Ron suddenly reversed course and hugged Brandon, then dashed outside feeling embarrassed. Dee blew him a kiss and left.

“Aunt Nora? It’s me. Well, it’s difficult to explain. I was smashed up in an accident ten days ago...”

“Oh, hang on a minute; the woman who put me in the hospital is here. C’mon in, Mae, I’m on the phone with the other woman in my life. Not Dolores.”

Mae’s eyes got real big.

“I guess I need to come see you. I have a lot to tell you. It’s a long story. How about Saturday? I’m down near Winona. I’ll come to see you at 11 a.m., OK? Good. I’ll have two people with me: a woman and her 12-year-old son. Mae, would you like to come too? No? Oh, all right. So, just the three of us. See you then. I love you.”

Mae put her hands down after having shown him her palms in an “Oh, no!” gesture.

“Mae, that was my Aunt Nora; she, well, she raised me, mostly. I hope Dolores and Ron will come with me. Otherwise, I might need to borrow your truck.”

“No way, Brandon. I know your terrible driving record.”

“First you frighten me half to death with your gun, and then you insult me. Mae, you’re a terrible person.”

“You should remember I’m the one who brings you fresh food. Plus, you scared me first, sitting there with your giant penis hanging out like that.”

“MAE! I’m going to tell Dolores you said that.”

“She already knows you have a giant penis. It’s not a secret. I told her that I saw you naked. I also told her that she should let me know when she’s ready to share you.”

“Oh, God! Mae, stop leering at me. I’m in love with Dolores, and we’re just starting out together.”

“Pity. You already know I’m skilled with handling big guns.”

Brandon put his hand to his face and groaned.

It was close to two hours to drive from the cabin northwest to Nora’s apartment in Faribault, a town about 50 miles south of Minneapolis. At the building lobby, Brandon buzzed the intercom.