"Did she give you something, maybe her location or phone number?" Judith asked. She came out a bit too excited because she thought there was finally a sign of her second daughter.
She wanted to apologize. Maybe they could talk about this whole problem. Because Judith believed it was partly her fault because she was so angry and disappointed at Chloe she didn't even want to listen to her daughter's explanation back then.
'I want to make things right,' Judith thought.
Aaron stared at his Gran, who got so excited. He glanced down at his breast pocket, where he had a piece of paper containing Aunt Chloe's phone number.
'But Aunty told me not to tell anyone that I have her number, and I should only call her when I really need her help…' Aaron remembered the warning from his Aunt.
At first, he didn't know why he had to hide it. They were family, after all, and he always believed that his Aunt Chloe never meant any harm to him.
But then he saw how Mommy was so angry when she saw Aunty, even wanting to attack her many times.
Thus, he realized that he had to keep her number a secret, or else Mommy would confiscate it, and Aaron would have no way to escape his crazy mom.
He stared at his Gran momentarily and said, "Nothing, Gran. She just gave me snacks and drinks and brought me back to Mommy…."
"Really?" Judith couldn't believe that for some reason. Chloe was a very caring woman with a strong motherly instinct.
Chelsea always threw all the boys into Chloe whenever she visited. Chloe would take care of them without complaining even once.
In fact, it seemed that she really liked having many children and loved the child-rearing process. So Judith sometimes asked her if she really wanted another child. She should've asked Vincent about it since nothing held them back.
Chloe would just smile bitterly at her and reply, 'Vincent is too busy.'
"Mhm," Aaron nodded. He lowered his head again, not wanting to stare at Gran's eyes, afraid that he might slip and say something that would get her in trouble. "I wish I can meet with Aunty again. I'm always at my happiest when I'm with Aunt Chloe, with my brothers, and also with Boss Mackie. I miss my boss too."
"…" Judith said nothing in the end. She was also disappointed that Chloe didn't give anything to Aaron. It would be nice if Chloe gave him her phone number, so Judith could call her and maybe smoothen things between them. She didn't want to be estranged from any of her daughters.
The other boys came to Judith after washing their hands and feet in the bathroom. They sat on the long sofa and said to Judith, "Gran, it's time for dinner! Can we eat something?"
"I'll make a mac and cheese for you all," Judith said. But the boys pouted.
"Can we get something else? We've been eating Mac and Cheese every dinner. I want something more!"
"Yes!"
"Um! I want chicken!"
Judith sighed.
She had some money left in her under-the-bed savings to buy some meat and veggies for her grandsons. But she wanted to keep it in case one of the boys was sick again, and Chelsea refused to give them money to go to the doctor.
"Let me ask if your mother can give us money for it," Judith got up and walked towards Chelsea's room. She knocked at the door a few times until Chelsea opened the door annoyedly
"What?" Chelsea asked rudely.
"The boys. They want to eat meat," Judith said. "Please give me some money to buy groceries."
Chelsea rolled her eyes, "I don't have money."
"Don't lie, Chelsea," Judith confronted. "I know that Vincent gives you a lot of money every month. He always calls me to make sure the money has been transferred to your bank account, and he always gives me the amount."
"You're given ten thousand dollars each month, right? How come you only give us two thousand? Do you think that's enough for all of us?" Judith asked. "Don't be greedy, Chelsea. You will regret it."
Chelsea's eyes widened, but she said nothing. She just slammed the door shut and then opened it again with a one-hundred-dollar bill in her hand.
However, she didn't simply hand it to Judith. She crumpled it first and then threw it to the ground.
She stepped on it and said, "There, take it."
Judith stared at her first daughter with hatred and humiliation in her eyes. She clenched her fist, ready to fight Chelsea, who was being so cruel to her family.
But she had no time or strength to fight, so Judith crouched carefully and picked up the crumpled dollar bill on the floor.
Chelsea smirked and then spat on her mother's head while Judith was crouching, "I'm going to make you homeless once I married Vincent, you old bitch."
SLAM!
"…"
Judith slowly got up and pocketed the one-hundred-dollar bill. She sighed and went to the kitchen to pull out some tissue sheets and clean the saliva on her hair.
She had no energy to keep fighting against Chelsea, but at least she got one-hundred-dollar, enough for her to buy meat from the local butcher.
Thus, she returned to her grandsons with a smile on her face, "Aaron, let's go out and buy groceries, we're going to eat something delicious today."
"Whoo!"
"Thanks, Gran!"
"Gran is the best!"
Aaron got up and went to their room to bring out his Gran's warm sweater as it was very cold outside for her frail old body.
"Mike, you should take care of your little brothers while we're away, okay?"
"Okay!" Mike nodded, as he was the second oldest.
Aaron handed the sweater to Gran and asked, "We can eat meat tomorrow, Gran. It's very cold outside."
Judith smiled, "It's fine. The grocery is not far from our place. Besides, it'll be warm in the store."
"Um, okay then…."
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