The next two weeks Graham was busy with school and spending time with Aubrey. Since it was midterms a lot of the time they spent together was while studying and completing assignments. Graham usually took her to dinner the evenings they spent together, he'd learned she loved to try new foods so he took her to a new place every time. Wednesdays were still spent eating with his housemates, that was practically set in stone.
Graham loved spending time with Aubrey and was not loving the fact that he'd already committed to visiting his Aunt during spring break. Aubrey was going on a trip with her family or he'd have been very tempted to cancel. All too soon he was in a rental car at the start of his four hour drive to visit his hometown. He didn't own a car because they lived close enough to walk to campus and he didn't use one very often so it was much more economical to rent one the few times a year he actually traveled.
Graham loved the drive, it was long but not too long. He loved the scenery as it passed by. He'd brought some empty boxes with him. Part of this trip was to sort through his stuff and not leave it when he moved on from college. Graham had decided if he didn't want to move it with him he didn't need to keep it. He'd let his Aunt keep anything that she wanted for keepsakes before he threw it out.
Graham had called to let his Aunt know that he was on his way so she was waiting for him when he finally arrived. She came out to meet him and gave him a hug. Graham noticed how much she's aged since he'd left for college and felt a bit guilty since he knew she had to work harder to run things after he'd gone.
He brought his things into the house and they settled in to talk. His Aunt told him the latest gossip from their small town and he laughed at some stories and inwardly groaned at others. After a while his Aunt got up to make dinner and he went to get things settled.
His room looked exactly as he'd left it almost six years before. He knew he still had some clothes in his dresser. He made a mental note to see if Chase's little brothers could use them, his style had changed in the past six years and he had what he liked now back at The Ark. Graham unpacked the things he'd need and left his clothes in the suitcase. Then he headed back down to dinner.
After dinner his Aunt talked him into movie night. She still had the same collection and Graham fell asleep listening to the sound of Miss Elisabeth Bennett talking. When he woke up the show was almost over and he apologized to his Aunt that the drive had made him exhausted and went to bed.
The next day while his Aunt was working, Graham set to cleaning and packing his room. He divided things into piles, give away, discard and boxed the to keep items. He was almost finished by the time his Aunt came back in the house. Six years away from all the stuff gave him perspective to see what was important to him and what was not. He texted Chase to let him know he'd be by the next day to catch up and to drop clothes for his brothers.
At dinner he told his Aunt that he was cleaning out his room so she didn't have to keep his junk around and that he'd have a pile for her to keep anything she wanted and anything she didn't she could just get rid of. She seemed surprised and Graham explained that he just didn't want her to have to keep his junk in case she wanted to use his room for something else. She assured him that it would be available anytime he wanted to visit, which she felt he didn't do enough.
"I know, I'm just busy with school. Maybe when I get a full time job and don't need to study all weekend I will have more time to come visit." Graham said.
"I am glad you came now, and I'd love it anytime you can get away." She replied.
That night after dinner they worked on a jigsaw puzzle. Graham reminded himself that this was his normal routine for most of his childhood. They'd have movie night once a week, other nights it would be puzzles or books. Until he got a job in high school, then he'd be gone while he was working or at school events.
The next day after Graham was finished sorting through everything, he went to visit Chase and gave him the clothes for his younger brothers. They spent some time catching up. Afterward Graham spent some time driving through town, visiting places where he had good memories, just to kill time until his Aunt got home. Graham was also trying to find the courage to talk with her about the DNA test he did. It was still a few weeks until the results got back, but he was thought his Aunt should know.
"Dinner is great, thank you!" Graham told his Aunt that evening.
"It's always been one of your favorites." She replied.
"So I know we never talked about other family often, and I'm okay if we don't but I was helping a friend with an assignment so we did these mail in DNA tests that are suppose to link to people you're related to." Graham gushed out. He wasn't prepared for how white his Aunts face became.
"And what did it say?" She whispered.
"I won't know for a couple of weeks. It takes 6 weeks to get the results back and it's only been like two and a half." Graham said. "Why, anything I should know?" He laughed to hopefully lighten the mood. His Aunt relaxed a little.
"I'm sure it will tell you something you don't expect, but I just want you to know I have loved you like a son."
"I know that, I appreciate you raising me after my parents died. Especially since there weren't many other relatives who could have." Graham said.
"There were others who could have. It was a complicated situation Graham." She said without giving any details.
"I'm sorry for any issues you went through to get me. I know you love me so I'm grateful for that." Graham reassured her.
"Thanks Graham, that means a lot to me."
"Thank you for being a great Aunt!" Graham said. He was relieved to have gotten that over with. He was confused why she was so worried when he told her, but since she didn't warn him about any crazy family members he tried to put it at the back of his mind. "I hope you can make it for my graduation." Graham decided to change the subject.