family pictures her mother had recently framed and hung on the stair wall.
Her school pictures were arranged in a multi-image picture frame, showing how Rhea had changed from a gangly little girl to a young woman. The arrangement also showed how the color of her hair had changed over the years. She'd forgotten that she didn't always have silver and gold highlights mixed in with her blond hair. They had started to appear a few years ago.
Surrounding her school pictures were photos she'd seen before; photos of her with her parents during the holidays and on various family vacations. The contrast between her and her parents was striking when you put all the photos together. They each had brown hair and dark eyes , compared to her blond hair and light green eyes. She'd known for a long time that she was adopted and hadn't thought much about it. But having this display in such a well-used space in the house would be a constant reminder.
It was nice walking down memory lane occasionally , but not every day. She assumed she would get used to seeing the pictures and eventually be able to tune them out. As she made her way to the bottom step, she was stopped by a photo she'd never seen before; a baby in a basket.
She whispered to herself. "Is that me?" She wondered why her parents would put her in a basket. Maybe they were too poor to buy a bed when they first got her. No. The adoption agency wouldn't have given her to them unless they had proven they could take care of her.
Maybe it was a joke, but then why put it on the wall? She hadn't asked a lot of questions about the adoption process. She'd always assumed it was your run-of-the-mill adoption. As she leaned in to examine the photo more closely, the front door opened and her father, Brian, stepped in , shaking his umbrella behind him before closing the door.
"Hi , Dad."
"Rhea! Hey , kiddo. How was your trip home? You do okay on your finals?" Brian dropped his coat off his shoulders and hung it on the coat rack along with his umbrella.
"The trip was uneventful and finals went well." She reached to give him a hug. Zip! Snap!
"Ow! Ground yourself. What were you doing before I came in, running around the house scuffing your socks on the carpet?" He laughed while rubbing his arm and inhaling the aroma from the kitchen. "Ah, spaghetti. I'm starved."
"Go change. I was just about to set the table. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Rhea watched her dad climb the stairs and wondered about the shock she had given him.
Static electricity, a common occurrence, was to be expected in the winter when one turned on the central heat , but that shock had been different. She watched with concern as her father rubbed his arm where she'd barely touched him. In the past, she'd felt the shock as well, and although it stung, the pain didn't last. This time she hadn't felt it. She glanced at her hands as she walked to the kitchen and noticed her fingers were pink.
She probably wouldn't have given the shock much thought , but this wasn't the first time it had happened. Over the last few weeks, she had shocked a lot of people, and for no apparent reason. The dorms and classrooms all had tiled floors, so scuffing her feet didn't explain it. She'd gotten to the point of being overly cautious, avoiding contact with anyone for fear of causing pain.
11
History
Rhea set the table for dinner. Christine handed her a bottle of red wine and pointed to the drawer under the phone. "The corkscrew is in there. I don't suppose you know how to use one?" She winked at Rhea before turning back to the oven for the toasted garlic bread.
"I think I can figure it out. I've seen you do it enough times." No way was Rhea going to confess to her occasional wine consumption at school now that she was old enough.
During dinner, Rhea heard about how Brian had defeated his colleague at racquetball and how they both had a lot of grading to do; basically, a typical after-finals dinner with two