Seeded: Day 15

Word Total: 90,075

Year to Date: 510,290

Summary of Events:

Brandt was making lunch when he was texted by Brandon, who had stopped by his grandparents' place to pick something up and been invited for lunch. Brandon's grandparents had a book on the church they attended which had photos of Brandt's family in it, so he sent them, as well as telling Brandt what little his grandfather would tell him about why Brandt's family no longer attended the church, which Brandt concluded was related to his parents' divorce. Lark asked her grandma about what history there was between the Remingtons and the Staneks, but was told that she would have to wait for her father to be ready to tell it to her, as it was his to tell. Having recalled all he could remember of his parents' divorce, Brandt had some questions, which he decided to take to his oldest sister…

Excerpt of the Day:

“Oh, okay,” Justine said. “So, what were you wanting to talk to me about?”

“Um, just… I was thinking about Mom and Dad’s divorce the other day,” Brandt replied. “And I know you said Dad kicked Mom out, and I kind of remember another woman before Dad started drinking, but… was there?”

“Yes,” Justine replied. “The next morning, after Mom and Dad’s big fight, Dad came and got us all for breakfast. There was a woman there.”

“Oh,” Brandt said. “Like, he’d had this other lady all lined up before he kicked Mom out?”

“Yes,” Justine replied.

“Was she blonde?” Brandt asked.

“She was,” Justine replied.

“What was her name?” Brandt asked.

“Dad introduced her as Drina,” Justine replied. “I never heard any other name for her.”
“Dad had a thing for Ds,” Brandt said. “I wonder if Veronica’s middle name starts with a D.”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Justine said. “She was okay, like, I mean, coming downstairs for breakfast to find Mom gone and some other lady stepping into her role was a little bit scary, but she was nice afterwards. Summer didn’t like her.”

“Are we surprised?” Brandt asked.

“No,” Justine replied. “Summer had one of her tantrums and Dad sent us to Grandma’s for a few days, which is when Mom picked us up and took us to Olds before CPS came and took us home.”
“Oh,” Brandt said.

“Dad and Drina remodelled the house,” Justine added.

“You mean this place isn’t original?” Brandt asked.

“Nope,” Justine replied. “The basement wasn’t finished initially, so we weren’t allowed to play down there, but after Drina moved in the bedrooms and bathroom and everything else were put in, plus changing a lot of carpets and paint and stuff.”

“Oh,” Brandt said. “Okay. What happened to her?”

“She died,” Justine replied. “I think it was a car accident or something. It wasn’t on the farm. She and Dad were going to get married, but it was, like, really close to the wedding when she died. That’s why Dad started drinking.”

“He must’ve really loved her then,” Brandt said.

“Yeah,” Justine said. “It makes me wonder why he ever married Mom in the first place.”
Brandt nodded.

“But that’s why he hasn’t ever renovated the house too,” Justine said. “He wants to keep it the way Drina did it up.”

“But now he wants to tear it down and build a new place,” Brandt said.

“Yeah,” Justine said. “That’s why I was so shocked when I found out.”

Nodding Brandt recalled vividly the incredible look of astonishment that had exploded across Justine’s face when the news had been broken to her. Since she’d been pregnant with Sirena at the time, several people present thought she’d been going into preterm labour.

“My only guess is that Veronica is the new Drina,” Justine said. “I do feel like he is the same with Veronica as he was with Drina. Diana was enough to get him out of the gutter, but she wasn’t quite the same as Drina. I kind of never expected that Dad and Diana would stay together forever from the first moment we were introduced to her, although they did stick together longer than I expected.”

In order to pursue some non-manuscript projects this summer I will be taking a two-month hiatus, so there won't be another post until 30 July. Until then, R.A.