The Long Goodbye

Posted on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 2:22am by Rebecca McMillen & Emilio Delgado

1,670 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: 1. Year One
Location: Ridgehaven Manor
Timeline: TBD

The station wagon that carried the Delgado family made a lazy right turn onto the drive leading up to the mansion. In the front seat, a man with a thick mustache, his brown fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly, and a caramel-tone brunette with a splotchy face and red eyes. As the car pulled around the circle and stopped before the stairway that lead up to the main entrance, she started to sob again.

“¡Dios mío! ¡No puedo creer que mi bebé se esté mudando!" she exclaimed, placing her palm on her wet cheek.

In the back seat, five boys were packed in tight and each one of them rolled their eyes, especially Emilio, the one about whom she was crying.

“Yeah, Mama, I know. I’ll miss you too.” he said. As his mother’s cries intensified, he opened the door and stepped out into the sunny morning air. He was followed quickly by his parents and brothers, many of which just wanted to stretch their legs. It had been a long drive from San Antonio, Texas, and the muggy air was getting to some of them.

For the next few minutes, they said their goodbyes to Emilio with hugs, kisses, jokes, and sobs. Even his brothers started to break down. He knew this was more than a normal kid got upon going to school away from home. It felt like he was going off to war. And worse: they wouldn’t leave. If he was honest, he knew he was going to miss his family, but that didn’t stop the emotional need he had secretly within himself to get very far away from them.

Siblings. Rebecca knew them all too well. Though at least these siblings honestly loved each other. She checked the piece of paper in her folder again, the barest minimum about who she was expecting. Just in case the wind caught it.

“Hello!” she offered as she walked out the front door and made her way across the landing to the curb. “My name’s Rebecca, Rebecca McMillen, it’s an absolute pleasure to meet you all.” she offered her hand towards Emilio’s mother and father. “I hope the drive was alright?” She offered a water bottle to the duo.

They both accepted them eagerly.

“Thank you.” Mrs. Delgado said with a stressed expression. “The drive was long. We were going all night long, but we made it, finally.”

Emilio stepped forward, past his parents, and gave Rebecca a smile. It was charming in a handsome but goofy sort of way.

“Emilio Delgado, ma’am. Nice to meet you.”

She offered a smile up to Emilio, “It’s good to meet you too Emilio. You’ve got such a big loving family here, I’m almost jealous.” she said with a smile before turning back to his parents. “Well, I don’t want to keep you too much longer. Let’s just get his things and then we can get you all back on the road.”

She turned back to Emilio, “So, how was the trip? Says here all the way from Texas? I’ve never been to Texas.” a pause, “Unless you count Texas themed restaurants.”

“I would definitely count Texas themed restaurants.” he said with a light chuckle. Behind him, his father and brothers grabbed his bags and started taking the to the door of the mansion. Ignoring them, he looked back to Rebecca and offered a gentle sigh. “It’s good to have a loving family, but my particular…gift…makes everyone loving. It’s actually pretty annoying and…very boring. But I learned that alot of other mutants aren’t affected by it, so I’m hoping I can be…normal here.”

“Well, the goal is to be normal everywhere. Control, focus, and education are the core of what we’re looking to achieve here. In the end, all any of us want is to just be able to live.” she offered with a smile. “Not having to cope with awkward gifts or even worse, putting our talents on display.” she shook her head. “Everything here is voluntary. If someone wants to know what anyone can do, they gotta ask, and even then.” she gave a nod, “It’s all voluntary.”

She turned her attention back to his brothers and parents, “We’ll do our best by him. I can promise you that.”

“Well, if not, we’ve got a good lawyer friend.” Mr. Delgado said with a defensive frown. Within moments, they were all loaded back into the station waggon and driving away with waves and loud sobs from Mrs. Delgado. Emilio breathed a sigh of relief as he watched them drive away.

“Thank God.” he said quietly. Nothing was said for a while, but when he looked back at her, he was frowning. “I have no idea if my family likes me for me or..because they have to.”

“The choice between fake affection and actual malice…” she shook her head. “I’m so sorry. What we can do, what we’re burdened with… it’s times like this that I’m hesitant to call them gifts.” she offered in support.

“At the very least, I can return a gift.” she joked, dry. “Talent is another one that always stuck wrong with me, since it’s a short walk from Talent to Trick. That’s kinda what I was saying before. No one is making you do anything here. We might ask to see what you can do. We might ask for demonstrations but if YOU say no, it’s no.” she was firm on that.

“We want you to succeed here, but we don’t want you to compromise yourself.” a pause, “Was he serious about a lawyer?”

“Well I’m not sure…” he paused, considering his next words. “See, that’s the thing. I can’t show anyone what I can do. It doesn’t turn on or off and it’s passive. And if you tell people, it’s having an effect on them, they will swear it isn’t. My parents are the perfect example. Clingy and emotional with me, normal and reserved with other people. I've seen him do worse than lawyers, but it won’t come to that.”

“I’m not worried. If he comes at me I’ll…. I’ll rezone his property or something.” she giggled, like she had mental powers or anything. “Anyway, welcome to the Manor. We can get you settled and then get you the tour.” it was nice to know that someone else had sibling issues. His were the exact reverse BUT in a way… siblings affected by his powers. While her siblings were actually affected by her powers, they sure did enjoy them.

“I guess ‘Welcome Home’ would be too cheesy a line about now, eh?”

It was at that point, as he was giving a polit laugh, that he noticed the tale flowing behind her and jumped back quickly. Instead of reacting further, he simply smiled and forced himself to return to his previous position. He had no desire to hurt the woman’s feelings or to seem rude.

“Well, cheese is..yeah.” He said, not knowing what to say next.

She looked a little hurt, then she followed his glance, then turned to look back at him, “What? You didn’t think you were alone, did you?”

She took a few more steps towards the door. “I can’t hide what I am, not comfortably. Shoes hurt, pants hurt, but to walk about in public in a world that doesn’t want to understand me, I do what I have to.” she covered. “It’s alright to be shocked. Just be polite about it. Man that sounded weird to say. Okay, so. No worries.” she covered.

“I can talk to rats. That’s something else that I really can’t show. So I guess you’re not alone in that either. Now c’mon. Relax. I don’t actually bite.”

“Oh, that’s what they all say.” He joked with a smile, stepping up the stairs with her and into the foyer of the mansion. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I didn’t notice your tail at first and it took me by surprise.”

He turned his head around, looking at the entrance hall and admiring the grandeur of the place. His families house was a normal suburban home, and he never really seen anything like this big except for on TV.

“ How many students are there?”

“Our current roster is about fifty.” she offered. “And hey, nothing to worry about. I take it this is your first time seeing someone with a tail?” she asked with a giggle.

“I think so. I’m not the most observant guy in the world though.” He said with a chuckle. “Do you teach around here or are you the resident greeter?”

“I’m the friendliest, least threatening face.” she offered, “I also teach art, and I’m working on the shift to a counselor.” she offered further.

“I love art. I like drawing a lot in my spare time.” He said with a grin. “I’m actually really excited for your class now. Miss McMillan, wasn’t it?”

Despite his quiet and thoughtful nature, he was very friendly and his good looks led to a natural charm outside of his power set. The fact that she wasn’t fawning over him, like most, also encouraged him to come out of his shell a bit.

She gave a nod and a smile, “I’m so glad to hear that you’ve got a heart for art. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done so far.” honest encouragement must have been something new to him. She wanted him to feel welcome. “We’ll give you the tour, then you can meet the headmaster.”

“I’m excited to show you.” He said, and then gestured forward. “Please, show the way.”

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