“When I was eight, I met Gabriel. He wanted my parents to come work for his charity. They were in awe of him. My mother was gung-ho, but Dad kept refusing to sign on even after several offers. Dad wanted to work with populations most in need, and if he signed on to Allerton’s organization they would be the ones dictating who would benefit from his skills. He had earned respect from many countries for his work; there’d even been a documentary on one of the projects he’d done.
“But Dad refused to be swayed, despite Mom and Gabriel trying to change his mind. Gabriel wasn’t about to take no for an answer; he’d wined and dined my parents—until the fighting started.
“Mom didn’t stop pressuring Dad. She’d invited other members of the charity over for dinner. They were good. They sucked my mom into the Goody-Two-shoes spiel that even had me begging my dad to go. They were good … so good.” Self-loathing filled her voice, betraying the blame she held for the past. “I have to give them credit. When they visited, they would bring me toys and they showered me with attention. What little kid wouldn’t want to be around them?
“‘Daddy, don’t you want to help the children? I can help Mom read to them …’ That’s what I said to him.” T.A. looked sick as she stared down at her stomach, replaying the memories for them. Then she took a sip of her drink before beginning again. “Finally Dad gave in to both Mom and me. And when we arrived on Clindale, we all fell in love with the island and the people. Clindale was just as beautiful as we were told. Every day was a new adventure. I thought the fighting between my parents would stop, but it didn’t. Then, one day, my parents told me that mom was pregnant, that I was going to have the brother or sister I had been begging for.
“I was excited, and even though I loved Clindale, I thought we’d go back to the States and Mom and Dad would change back into how they were before we got to the island. But, we were still there when Mom went into early labor. There wasn’t even time to get her to the hospital on Sherguevil Island. Two women came running from the village to help her when they heard she was in labor. Mom kept shouting at us to take her to the hospital, that she had been labor with me for two days.” T.A. laughed, shaking her head at the memory. “Evangeline arrived less than five minutes later. She never did what she was supposed to do … even then.” T.A.’s voice hitched at the beauty of her recollecting Evangeline’s birth.
“From the moment I saw her, I knew she was special. She barely cried. Evangeline was too busy looking around at us. She gurgled and smiled when anyone came near her. Not only did she wrap me around her finger, but she had everyone else on the island wrapped around her fingers as well.” A tear slid down T.A.’s cheek as talked.
“She started walking when she was eight months old, driving our parents nuts. Evangeline was fascinated with the ocean and constantly tried to get into the water, despite our parents taking her out to the ocean several times a day. Dad joked that she was like a little mermaid, trying to go home. Mom and Dad thought it was cute, until a couple of times when she got away from them. Luckily there was always someone around, so Evangeline wasn’t able to get too far.”
“Dad was busy directing the workers to build the water system, while Mom taught the children and adults who wanted to learn to read and write in English. Then one day Mom put Evangeline down for a nap, and all four of us fell asleep. I was sound asleep when a young man came to our cabin carrying a wet Evangeline in his arms. His name was Manny, he was one of young men whom Mom had been teaching. After nearly losing her that day, I was sure my parents were going to take us back to the States, but we stayed. It would have been an idyllic life if only my parents hadn’t continued to fight.” T.A.’s expression became tortured.
“Evangeline began escaping more often when Mom was busy working with her students and Dad was gone building the water systems, so they trusted Manny to babysit her; he’d become like a big brother to Evangeline. Our father had taught her the basics of swimming, but Manny had taught her to swim like a little seal and he took her exploring the island. What time they didn’t spend in the water or running through the jungle, they spent with his family in the village. “It was the best and worst mistake our parents could have made. Mom and Dad spent less time with us, and I was always hanging out with another family who had children more my age. Mom said it would help me learn the language faster. I grew close with that family, while the whole island fell in love with Evangeline.