Page 98 of Family Bonds- Kelsey & Van

“I fed him before you got there. He’s fine yet.”

They finished up quickly and cleaned up together, then went to his office and he didn’t hesitate to grab the fifth envelope and rip into it.

A thumb drive did come out and he went to his laptop and popped it in.

“There are some files and a video.”

“Play the video first,” she said. “They aren’t numbered and I know you’re curious.”

He hit the button and Barry popped up on the screen. “Is that my grandfather?”

“It is,” she said.

She looked at the man she missed and felt her eyes start to fill with tears.

“Hi, Donovan. If you’re watching this then I’m dead. Kind of sucks, but there it is. And you’ve opened up several envelopes already. I’d like to think your curiosity is getting the better of you. I know you want to blame me for everything, but I hope after reading my journal you’ll understand what happened.”

He paused it. “Guess I needed to finish reading that.”

“You can go back and do it. Let’s finish this. But first, is this the voice you’re hearing?”

“Yeah,” he said. He cleared his throat. She knew that the man on the screen in front of them was still a stranger to Van, but deep down he wasn’t. He was blood and blood was a hard bond to break.

Van hit play again and Barry’s voice came back on. “I always loved your mother. Maybe my biggest fault was loving her too much. When I lost your grandmother, Lauren was all I had left. I loved her so much that I pushed her away. I felt your father was an asshole and she could do better.”

Van let out a half laugh and she looked over to see a smirk.

She reached over to pause it. “Do you feel the same way?”

“Yep,” he said. “He’s an asshole and she could have done better. Not sure why she never left him.”

“Keep watching and let’s find out if your grandfather knows.”

He hit play again. “Your father never liked me. He turned your mother against me and we fought. I should have given her space like Lauren’s mother needed, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to lose her and did in the end. I tried hard to get your mother back and every time I thought there might be a chance, something happened. I believe it was your father in her head again. I’m not sure what hold he had over her. I wish I knew so I could have broken it. Everything I’ve done for the past few decades was to build for your mother so she could leave him. She left him but not the way it should have happened. You’re all I’ve got left of her. This is yours now to do what you want. I hope you keep it. I hope you learn to love it the way I did. I hope you feel for this island the way I did and that you’d think of your mom being here with you. She always loved the water and the beach. I brought her here as a kid every summer. She told me she was going to live here one day. She told me the house she always dreamed of. I got it for her. But now it’s for you. Hope you like it and can feel some of her there.”

“I guess that answers some of those questions,” Kelsey said. “He did make this house into a place for you.”

“Anyone would be nuts not to love this house,” he said.

“I know I do,” she said. “I’m jealous of it.”

He ignored her statement and played the video again. “One day I hope you understand and forgive me. And when you know the truth, that you don’t blame your mother or your father. Not even me. There is no blame anymore. Too much time has been wasted casting blame. It’s time to just live your life. Only one more envelope to go and then you’ll have what I hope is enough for you to believe that I never stopped loving your mother and that I wished I’d been in her life and yours. I’m not the monster that you might have been led to believe. Take care, Donovan. I do love you even though you don’t remember meeting me.”

Kelsey was sniffling at the end of the video and got up to get a tissue. “Man, that’s heart-wrenching. I felt for Barry before but even more so now. I’m sorry. You might not want to hear that.”

“It’s fine,” he said.

She blew her nose. “Is it really though?”

“No,” he said. “It’s not.” He grabbed the last envelope and ripped it open without hesitation. There was one piece of paper in there. “Jesus.”

“What?” she asked.

She took it out of his hand. “When you’re ready for it all, tell Kyle it’s time for the key.”

“Oh my God. My father knows all of this?” she asked. She’d suspected her father did but never said a word.

“He told me that I’d be going to him when I was ready. I’m not. I need to process this and read the rest of the journal first. Let me take you home.”

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