Chapter 21 Daddy, Who is My Mother?
Last Saturday, Avery was playing in the flower garden alone. She fell in love with Blue Iris flowers. They were rare and delicate. Since she was sitting down on the ground, the helpers didn’t see her.
She overhead the helpers talking, “I don’t understand Mrs Martins; she is so cruel to her daughter. If Mr Martins wasn’t with her when she was giving birth to their daughter, I would swear that Avery wasn’t her daughter.”
Then the other helper replied, “I heard that she conceived Avery by mistake. She had asked the hospital to block her fallopian tubes, but she fell pregnant again. I am so sad for little Avery. She doesn’t deserve a mother like that.”
The first helper indicated that even though Avery was conceived by mistake, her mother was supposed to love her because she was already in her womb. She was so disappointed in her Madam.
Then they walked to the house. Avery had tears in her eyes when she heard the helpers’ words. Half an hour later, she walked to her bedroom, and she didn’t utter a word about what she heard.
On Saturday morning, a young nurse came to her ward to check on her. Aunt Bridgette was taking a shower. Avery smiled brightly at the nurse and said, “Auntie, what does it mean to block your fallopian tubes?” The young nurse looked at the adorable child and replied, “Why are you asking?”
Avery smiled sweetly at her and replied, “I heard Auntie Blue saying that she wanted to block her fallopian tubes, but I was scared to ask her. Hence, I am asking you.”
The young nurse replied, “When a woman doesn’t want to have a child, she asks her doctor to block her fallopian tube to avoid pregnancy.” Avery thanked the young nurse, then the nurse checked her temperature and left.
For the past two days, Bridgette was staying in the hospital with Avery. Not even once has Avery asked her about her mother. On Sunday morning, Dr Lambert indicated that Avery was ready to go home. Since her arm was in a cast, Dr Lambert put an arm sling on her and advised her not to take it off.
Bridgette called Mr Martins to let him know that Avery had been discharged. Mr Martins asked Butler Bruce to take him to the hospital. He asked Butler Bruce to stay in the car, and then he walked to Dr Lambert’s office. Fortunately, he was not in surgery.
Mr Martins shook Dr Lambert’s hand and said, “Thank you Dr Lambert for everything. Dr Lambert gave him a prescription for pain syrup. He didn’t want to give the little child painkillers. “Mr Martins, please bring back your daughter after eight weeks to remove the cast.”
Mr Martins left Dr Lambert’s office and went to the pharmacy to buy the medication. After he completed the discharge procedure, he walked to his daughter’s ward.
Before he entered his daughter’s ward, Avery and Bridgette’s laughter was heard outside the ward. It put a smile on her father’s handsome face. Bridgette was drawing Avery winning the Mathematics Olympiad in the cast.
Mr Martins took out his phone and took a photo of them. When Avery saw her father, she smiled beautifully. Her father greeted them with a smile, then he took her in his arms and left the hospital with Bridgette.
Butler Bruce was in the car waiting for them. He opened the door on the backseat for Mr Martins and his daughter. Bridgette sat in the passenger seat. Mr Martins looked at his daughter and asked, smiling, “Sweetheart, what do you want to eat? Daddy will buy you anything you want to celebrate for getting a perfect score in the Mathematics exam.”
Avery looked at her father with tears in her eyes and said, “Daddy, who is my mother?” Her father ruffled her hair and replied, “What do you mean, Sweetheart?” Avery replied, “Aunt Elizabeth hurt me because I called her ‘Mom’. What happened to my mom, Daddy?”
Mr Martins understood that a parent should shield the child from the truth, but he didn’t want to lie to his daughter. He wanted to create an atmosphere of trust between him and his children. Also, he was scared that his wife would tell their daughter the truth on purpose to hurt her feelings.
He was in a dilemma: should he tell his daughter the whole truth or the half-truth? Even though his daughter was five years old, she was highly intelligent. He took his daughter’s hand and replied, “I am sorry Sweetheart, and it is my fault. Elizabeth didn’t want to have children, but I forced her to have you. I promised your mother, Elizabeth, that I would be responsible for you.”
Avery had a confused expression on her beautiful face and replied, “Daddy, it doesn’t make sense, because Mom loves my brother a lot, but not me. It is clear to me that she loves children. Please tell me the truth Daddy, I heard about fallopian tubes.”
Her father was surprised when he heard his daughter’s words. He sighed and said, “Sweetheart, after your mother gave birth to Aiden, she blocked her fallopian tubes. It was a miracle that you were conceived. Hence, I forced her to keep you. You are not a mistake, but you are my gift from the Lord.”
Avery nodded her little head and said, “I understand now, Daddy, why she hates me, although it doesn’t give her the right to hurt me. From now on, I don’t have a mother. I don’t know what to do when we are in the same room. How to address her? Should I call her Aunt Elizabeth, or must I just ignore her?”Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
Her father smiled and replied, “It’s up to you Sweetheart. My advice to you is, please try not to be in the same room alone with her if I am not around. After she hurt you, I chased her out of our house. She is with her brother in Richards Bay.” She nodded her head. It was clear to her that her mother might kill her if they were alone.
When they arrived home, Aiden was standing in the driveway waiting for them. He had a bright smile on his face. He hugged his sister and said, “Baby sister, I am sorry that you were hurt. Is it true that you were hurt by our mother? Are you still in pain?”
Avery smiled sweetly at her brother and replied, “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Maybe it’s because Dr Lambert gave me an injection before I left the hospital. Big brother, please note that from today onwards Aunt Elizabeth is no longer my mother. I will never forgive her for hurting me.”
Aiden looked at his father puzzled and asked, “Did our mother hurt my sister on purpose, Daddy?” His father nodded his head. Aiden felt sorry for his sister, their mother was cruel. From that day, Avery told herself that she didn’t have a mother. Would she ever forgive her mother for hurting her?