3: 3
3
On the other end of the line, Belinda went quiet for a beat, then said, "Melinda, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Mrs. Gilbert, enjoy your trip."
I said it and hung up.
I'd given up on them a long time ago.
A moment later the boarding announcement came over the terminal, and I picked up my one small suitcase and hurried upstairs.
Once I'd checked in and boarded, I looked out the window and lost myself for a second.
It was my first time on a plane.
I was an orphan. I'd never had the money.
And from the day the Gilberts found me, they'd promised me over and over that they'd take me flying somewhere, on a trip.
I'd thought this would be that trip, all of us together as a family.
It never occurred to me that from start to finish, there was no place for me in their trip at all.
Even when I'd carefully asked to move my household registration under theirs, they'd turned me down without hesitation.
"Mel, from now on it's enough that we know you're our child!"
"Abby is so sensitive. If your registration moved in, it would scare her!"
And now my records were hidden. I had nothing to do with them anymore.
I closed my eyes and slept.
When I woke, the plane had already landed.
My mentor had come to meet me himself.
"Melinda, I'll go handle your onboarding paperwork first."
"Once you're officially on, your information will be sealed."
"Don't worry, the terms are all settled. This project runs three years, and after three years you'll be free to leave the team."
I nodded to show I understood.
He led me into the project team, and just seeing how many people stood outside its doors, I understood that from now on I was truly cut off from them.
I took out my phone and glanced at it, and a message from Abigail had just come in.
It was a photo of the three of them at the beach.
In it, the Gilberts were smiling sweetly, each holding one of Abigail's hands, close as could be.
I still remembered the day I was taken back into the family. I'd wanted to hold Belinda's hand, since I had never once known what it felt like to hold my mother's hand.
But the moment I took hers, she yanked it away.
Then she quickly pulled out a wet wipe and scrubbed her palm.
She explained that she had a thing about germs.
I believed her.
Now, though, I could see it for what it was. That was never a germ phobia.
Belinda simply couldn't stand me.
She could hold Abigail's hand and dote on her.
The two of them could kneel in the sand together, letting it run through their fingers.
Before, I was too naive to see what this family really thought.
Now I would never turn back again.
I switched off the phone and tossed it straight into a locker.
I knew that now that I'd started here, I hadn't needed any of it for a long time.
And my work was classified. I would never cross paths with them again.
The team had arranged a dorm for me, a private room, and sitting in that bright, spacious room, I smiled.
It was so much better than the place I used to rent.
Now I had a place of my own to land.
That night I slept unusually well.
Because I knew I didn't need to lean on the Gilberts, and I would never hold them in my heart again.
And now I had a life that was mine.
I just wondered how the Gilberts would feel once they heard the news about me.
