Abella & Minerva the Moths: Part Two (special preview)

The last time I had been in Abella and Minerva’s house was just before I graduated. I was setting them up with someone else who could take care of their lawn since I would be away for college. Abella had made a rather big lunch, I suppose she was trying to get me to linger for a bit before I had to go.

“Are you sure you want to go into law of all things?” Minerva asked. She had seemed disappointed in my dream of becoming a detective one day since I expressed my love of crime procedural shows. At the time though, I was interested in going to law school.

“I’m pretty sure,” I told her.

“You’re seventeen, what the hell do you know?” Minerva rapt her nails against the tabletop as she watched me. “You’re too sweet a boy for that!”

“Don’t get emotional over this, Minerva,” Abella came from the stove, setting down the potato and ham stew she had made. It had always been my favorite when I was younger, so she made it for me often. Or at least back then she claimed to love it to excuse why she did make it so often.

Minerva sighed, taking her hands away from the table and tucking them into her lap. “I’m not,” she huffed. “I just want him to realize he doesn’t have to make a decision right now for what he wants. He’s young. Vulnerable.” Her voice held a tremor in it I had never heard before. I had always known Minerva as the tough one, the strong one. It didn’t make sense for her to be wavering.

“He’ll be fine, he’s bright.” Abella sat down at the table with a smile on her face. With one hand, she touched Minverva’s; with two others, she served soup into big, round mugs. “He has his whole life ahead of him, and we both know how long that can be. And time offers opportunities. Sometimes you have to be patient.”

“I’ll really be okay, Ms. Minerva.” I passed the note to her with the information of the guy who was taking over my lawn work. “I think I’ll be good at it.”

“Then get tough,” Minerva snapped at me. “Get mean.” She clenched a fist in the air then brought it down upon the table. “Don’t be a dick, but don’t let others be a dick to you. This world is more cruel than you’ve seen, and your mother has done a damn fine job of keeping it from you. But this is a world that seems to be swinging closer and closer towards hate these days.” She stopped herself as Abella’s hand squeezed down upon her own. Minerva took a long, slow breath in and sighed.

“You’re going to learn some hard truths out there. One thing I can recommend is finding someone who loves you to suffer through it with you.” Minerva’s eyes turned to Abella who smiled so brightly. “Nothing has made this world seem like a better place than that. Remember boy, you’re complete as is. That whole soulmates and missing pieces shit is made up to sell cards. Find someone who makes you better, who adds to you. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.”

“I’m in no rush for such things,” I laughed. I was still really nervous about myself. I’d fooled around a few times at a gay bar out of town, but I was yet to truly feel comfortable with myself. I wouldn’t discover that until college, and I wouldn’t find Rian until much later.

I hated that now, coming back to see them, it wasn’t on the best of terms. Coming up to their house, I noticed that things had gotten overgrown. The oleander bushes looked more like trees now and there were vines covering most of the house. I knocked on their front door, noticing some decay on their steps.

The door opened just a crack. “Yes?” A small, soft voice asked. “Who goes there?”

“Ms. Abella?” I smiled brightly upon hearing her voice. “I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Talia’s boy. I used to work for you a long time ago.”

The door closed and I heard chains rattle and locks come undone. The door opened wide again and Abella stood there, looking so much smaller than I remember her. She reached out to me, patting my arms with two hands while holding mine with the other two. “Of course I remember you, sweetheart! My! Look how tall you’ve gotten. Thank goodness you still look like your mother. What brings you here after all this time?”