Violetta held onto Heath's sleeve, pulling him along. He realized he was not going to get out of this no matter what, so he sucked in a breath and waited for her to start crying about her toys, as he was pulled through the door.
"Isn't she a beauty?" Violetta beamed proud of her work.
What was on a work bench in front of Heath was an almost complete, humanoid robot, laying on its back.
He looked at her in astonishment for a moment, until he realized she was probably taking credit for her dad's work. "How old are you?" He asked ready to catch her in a trap.
"8," she replied, "how old are you?"
"9," He said, "So that means, I'm older than you. So It's likely in that single year, I've learned a bit more than you have."
"It's possible," she nodded staring at the computer component she had left out.
"So do you think I wouldn't be able to tell that this robot, which is bigger than you, would be too heavy to lift onto this bench?"
"Ah," she said, understanding what he was getting at. "My father moves it when needed, But so far I'm working on this component here. She pulled out a drawer he hadn't noticed. The drawer when pulled out became a step stool. She and he could now both reach the work table easily. She grabbed the component, and handed it to him carelessly.
He caught it, but just barely. "What the heck are you thinking!? I could have dropped this, and then what. I could never afford to pay for it!"
She looked at him like he was stupid. "That one is faulty and doesn't work," she said like it was obvious. "Just look at it, I have to start all over again anyway. There's something wrong with the kanthal coil over here," she pointed out a spot near the robot's chest. "Because when I connect this component to the inductor, I'm getting an adverse reaction." She frowned, not watching his face at all. She began to get more technical in her speech and movements as she showed him what was wrong with it.
At first when he had heard her speak, he thought she was just copying words her father had said. But as she kept speaking about inductors, and vaporizers that will enable the robot to run on steam and sunlight, he became convinced. This little brat really did build this robot. And now she was asking him for advice? How was he supposed to know!? He wasn't a mechanic or an engineer. He looked at her a little lost, as she looked at him expectantly. He swallowed loudly. "I... I don't know about robots," he admitted honestly.
A chuckle came from behind them. It was obvious he had been trying to hide his laughter. Violetta turned back to her robot refusing to look at her father. She didn't mind Heath being here. He was her friend now. But her dad had let in the maid that made her mother mad, and now her mother had been ignoring her. So it was her dad's fault in the end.
Amistad could read his daughter like a book, she was still angry with him. He felt bad because he had only just convinced his wife that he and Meiri's son were not father and son. He did lie that he didn't know why the boy had his hair color. There was a secret that he and Meiri were hiding about the boy's parentage. But Amistad was definitely not the father. He had never cheated on her, and never would. Most especially not with Meiri. She was his sister. Nothing more.
Violetta was just like her mother in this way. When she was mad, she would stay mad until she received an explanation or apology. She would only accept if the apology suited her. She was a bit easier to appease than her mother though.
"Vio," he pleaded. He always called her Vio when he knew she was mad at him, Letta when he was spoiling her, and Violetta Dione when he was scolding her. If it was none of those times, he called her Violetta, and when she was little he called her Sprig. Hearing his tone, she closed her eyes and turned her head a bit farther. She was still too mad to look at him.
"Vio," Amistad said as he changed direction so she could face him. She closed her eyes. With her eyes closed she could feel the air move in front of her. Her father's deep and gentle voice resounded, "Look what I found for you." She opened one eye. Then both eyes opened widely in surprise. It was one of the more difficult parts she needed! Her father closed his hand and placed it behind his back, as he said, "but I guess you don't want a present from someone you are angry with." He turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Violetta demanded as she attached her arms around his waist. Amistad smiled, now he could explain things. Violetta was smarter than most adults, so he knew she would understand his explanation.
He held his daughter's hand and pulled her along. To sit on his lap. Then he called out to Heath who was awkwardly inspecting the robot.
He had Heath sit down on the stool across from him, as Heath's origin was about to be discussed, Heath should pay attention to what he was about to say.
"I have an older brother..." Amistad started his story. He spoke about how he grew up with Meiri and his older brother was never really in the picture. Meiri wasn't his sister by blood, and she was one year older than him. But he was closer to her than he was to his brother. His older brother grew up separate from Amistad and was 5 years older than him. Due to some circumstances Amistad had to leave. Home, and went to the orphanage. Meiri stayed behind. Heath is the son of Meiri, and his brother. "Heath has my brother's hair color, because he is my brother's child." He had Violetta look at his head closely, "look at my roots."
"It's like mine," she said, seeing the deep purple color.
"My hair is purple," like yours. Amistad explained, "My brother is still looking for me. So I changed the color of my hair, because I don't want him to find me."
…
…
Heath had already known about his origin, he heard his mother and Aurelius arguing. Amistad left a lot of the story out...
2 Years ago, 7 year old Heath sat at a crack in the doorway and listened to another argument his parents were having. He had woken up when his dad came home, and he heard them start arguing almost right away. His dad had taken that bad medicine again.
Aurelius spit as he said in an extra loud voice, not fully a shout, "I didn't do anything wrong!"
Meiri's tone went deep, and you could tell she was trying not to cry. "What about setting an example for your son!"
"My son? He's not even my son! He's going to grow up, and if he turns out bad then it's because it's in his genes!" Aurelius hissed
"He's a good kid!" Mieri rebutted.
"He might be a good kid now, but what about when he grows up!? You told me what his real father was like!" Aurelius waved his arms looking exasperated as he spoke
"Real father!? Meiri exclaimed. You are his father in every way that counts!! You were there when he was born, you saw his first steps, and when he said 'dada' for the first time, it was to you!" Meiri pointed hard at his chest.
Before this, Heath thought Aurelius was his father. Heath didn't even know anything about his "real" father. But the words that were spoken next made him never want to know about him. He would never acknowledge the man who raped his mother as his father. Aurelius lost all acknowledgement as his father too. His options were either a druggy or a rapist. He chose neither.