That summer ended up being his ‘blue period’, as his mother jokingly called it. Actually, it was a miracle he painted at all since the dark clouds of depression hanging over him extinguished his creative fire. But his mother wouldn’t let him give up his dream, pushing him until he finally picked up his brushes again.
He managed to shelve his disappointment until the beginning of August when his friends started leaving for college, one by one. Their excitement about their upcoming journeys that promised to fulfill their dreams constantly reminded him that his future was bleak—over before it had even begun. Once again, he sidelined his art, brooding about his bad luck—that was until he found out how strong his mother really was.
Without his knowledge, she’d accepted the scholarship and spent the summer acquiring everything needed for his first year. On a Saturday morning in mid-August, she woke him up and told him to hurry and get dressed. While he did that, his mother explained what she’d done, leaving him speechless.
Shooing him out of his bedroom and down the stairs, his mother gave him the keys to a new car. Looking at them in his hand, his mind froze, unable to understand how his mother had pulled off this miracle.
“Kahn!” Shaking his arm to get his attention, his mother pointed to a trunk sitting near the front door. “Baby, you have to go now…your father will be back soon.”
His mother’s urgency kicked his brain into gear. Holding up the keys, he asked, “Mama…how…did you do all this?”
“I used my inheritance from Aunt Trudi…listen we can talk later but you reallymustgo now.”
“But Mama, you always said you were saving that for a rainy day. I can’t…”
“Hush. That day has come.”
Kahn now saw in his mother’s face a strong and determined woman who’d made up her mind and realized it would be impossible to try to change it. “Father’s gonna be really pissed off. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Let me handle him,” his mother replied, “Now go and don’t forget to call me when you get there.”
So he set off in pursuit of his lifelong dream, but it wasn’t until years later he learned that his mother gave his father an ultimatum. He never found out what it was, but it must have been a doozy because Josiah never interfered with his artistic aspirations again.
Reaching his floor, Kahn quickly unlocked his front door, pushing it open with a bang. “Mama! Oh my gods, Mama, you’ll never believe what happened this morning!” Dropping his backpack in the corner and hurrying to the living room, he stopped short at the sight of several men surrounding his mother. Kahn’s gut roiled with anxiety; their unexpected appearance had to be related to his father’s disappearance.
Shifting his eyes, Kahn focused on his mother, examining her face for clues that would answer the questions hovering on his tongue, but found none. His mother’s face was expressionless, and that did nothing to quell his fears. Catching a movement off to his left, Kahn turned and found his sisters sitting on the couch, guarded by another man.
“Kahn Silver Point? I’m Reeve Nicolet from the Universal Paranormal High Council. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Turning back, Kahn’s eyes landed on the man who spoke and that’s when it hit him. His father didn’t leave on a trip—not at all. The son of a bitch—being the coward he was—had run away, leaving him and his mother to face the consequences. “I don’t use Silver Point anymore.” It was a dumb thing to say, but Kahn needed to buy time so he could come up with a plan.
“I apologize, but that’s the name we had on file at the High Council,” Reeve replied.
“Why are you here?” Kahn growled, then inwardly cringed. Obviously, his brain wasn’t working, at least not in the way he needed right then, which was the only explanation he could come up with for his lack of manners.
“If we may speak in private…” Reeve murmured, tilting his head towards Kahn’s sisters.
Hesitating, Kahn glanced at his mother, unwilling to leave her alone with the other men.
“No harm will come to your mother or sisters…you have my word,” Reeve said, quietly.
After a moment, Kahn nodded. “Follow me.” Pausing in front of his mother, Kahn gave her a reassuring hug before heading to the room he used as a part-time studio. Opening the door, he stood aside, waiting for Reeve to enter first.
Once inside, Reeve surveyed the room, his tension easing once he saw it contained nothing more dangerous than brushes and canvases. Walking over to a finished painting, Reeve asked, “You did this?”
Shaking his head, Kahn skirted around the man, plopping down in the only chair in the room. “Okay…we’re alone. Talk. No, wait. If this is about my father, let me make it simple for you. We parted ways a long time back and I want nothing to do with him and, as far as I can tell, the feeling is mutual.”
“Fair enough,” Reeve said. “Do you know where your father is?”
“Nope,” Kahn replied. “Nor do I care. According to my mother, he left her and my sisters maybe a week ago and hasn’t been seen since.”
“So your mother decided to visit?”
“Yeah…she wanted my help with a personal problem.”
“Mind telling me what it is?”
Kahn most certainly did mind, but he didn’t think Reeve would give a damn one way or the other. Nevertheless, he hadn’t much of a choice, so before he answered, he wanted some information from him. “Why are you here? And why are you looking for my father?”
