Facing the Past - Part two

Good Morning all.  I'm posting this ahead of time and hope it comes up as planned.  This is the second part of the story from last week - some new - some old.  Hope you enjoy.

The beginning

She was still his Callie – she may be taller and some of her angles had turned into womanly curves, but she still had that long strawberry blond hair.  It was pulled back in a pony tail and swung from side to side with the gentle sway of her hips as she walked away. 

“I’ll get you a menu.”

When she returned with the menu he could see she still had that smattering of freckles across her nose and those cornflower blue eyes that were always able to see right through him. He knew from the investigator she had never married and that Lila had bought the diner in which he now sat a couple of years after he left town. 

Once things quieted in the dinner, she came over and sat down in the booth.  He could tell she was nervous – hell, so was he. 

“Why?’ was all he said.

“Why what?” she responded.

“Why did you send back all my letters? You know I didn’t have any control over my leaving. You knew my father.”

 “I never received any letters.” He could tell by her stunned expression, she was telling the truth. 

“Well, someone returned them to me unopened.”  Her face flushed as she realized it must have been her mother’s doing. “I’ve kept them if you want proof.”

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“Daniel, that’s all water under the bridge and I see no reason to dig up old dirt.”

“I have good reason to believe there is.”  Her face flushed again.  The bell over the door jingled and a nine-year old boy walked in.  Daniel lost his breath, it was the image of him at that age. So, the investigator was right.  He yelled, “Hi Mom” as he walked through the swinging doors to the kitchen.  Callie spun on her heels and ran to the kitchen as if there were demons on her tail.

While he sat in the booth awaiting her return he thought about all the time lost with his son and how difficult her life must have been.  Dealing with pregnancy at sixteen in a small town could not have been easy.  Even with today’s relaxed standards, there were always small minded righteous people in a town the size of Newton that could make life difficult for her and his son.

Why hadn’t she contacted him?  Surely, once he became famous, she could have found him.  Then he thought back to those returned letters.  She didn’t realize he cared and his father’s actions didn’t stop his feelings for her. Damn him, he knew she was pregnant and that’s why he sent me away and left Newton for good? That bastard.  Damn him and his righteousness and thinking he could make everything and everyone bend to his will.

The next thing he knew, Lila Morgan was standing next to him.  “Did you come here to cause trouble?”

“Hello, Mrs. Morgan.  No, I came because I learned I probably had a son.  After seeing that boy walk in here a while ago, I don’t think you could possibly deny that he is my flesh and blood.”

“And if he is, do you plan on upsetting him by announcing you’re his father and then taking off the way you and your father did when he found out Callie was pregnant.”

“I knew it, that sonofabitch.  I never knew Callie was pregnant.  I wrote to her for a year after I left and every letter was returned to me unopened.”

“I know, I was the one that returned them. There was no need for her to have any hopes of getting together with you. Your father arranged for Callie to have an abortion.  He paid for the abortion and for my silence about the whole thing. Callie refused to have an abortion so I used that money to buy this place so we had a place of our own. I saw no reason to let anyone know and I was just doing what I thought was best for everybody.”

“You mean what was best for you and my father.”  He was getting angry and it wasn’t all Lila’s fault, but she was the one standing in front of him at the moment.

He calmed himself down as faces started to turn their way.  This wasn’t how he planned this meeting to go.

“Lila, I’m not going to let this go. I’ll give you time to adjust, but I intend to be a father to my son and I will take the steps necessary to make that happen.”  He handed Lila a card and told him to have Callie call him. 

                                                ********************

Callie did call him and arranged to meet him that evening.  They agreed to meet in his hotel room where they were assured a degree of privacy.  In a small town, there was always someone around to eavesdrop and Daniel was trying to keep his identity under wraps, at least for the short term.

She was nervous, not sure how she felt about Daniel; it had been too many years of hoping to hear from him and being disappointed. Once he became famous, she was afraid he would fight her on having custody of their son; he had the wherewithal to take her to court. He could provide a much better life for him. The Daniel she used to know would not have done that, but was he the same Daniel?  All those thoughts went through her mind as she knocked at the door. He beckoned her in, placing his index finger to his lips and rolled his eyes upward, silently telling her to listen. It became very apparent some intense lovemaking was happening in the room above.  They could hear what sounded like a headboard banging against the wall and the cries of a woman in the throes of orgasm. Callie smiled at Daniel and the ice was broken, their connection was back.

They talked for hours, sharing what their lives were like in the intervening years between then and now.  It was well past midnight.  She yawned and said she had to get up early the next morning and was going to call it a night.

“How do you see this going forward?” He asked her.

“That is a topic for another time, right now I’m going home and going to bed.”  He reached over to kiss her goodnight.  His lips lingered with her sweetness and he was wont to pull away, but he did. They agreed to meet again the following day and the conversation took up where they left off.

“I think that depends on you.  Do you plan to continue your musical career?  Is that even a possibility?” Callie wanted to know.

“I’ve talked with my fellow bandmates, Jeff and Brett, and they’re not sure they want to restart?  Hell, I’m not sure if I want to restart again, pursue a solo career, or just live an entirely different life.  Right about now, a whole different life is very appealing to me, especially if it includes you and my son.  Is there a chance for us?  I know what we had when we were younger and I would like to build on that.  I haven’t had anything even close to that since, notwithstanding what you may have read.”

“If you plan to be a father in more than name only, then you can definitely count on being in Danny’s life, I won’t stop you.  If you just want to be a cardboard cutout of a father, I will fight you tooth and nail.  He’s better off just the way it is now than be continually disappointed because you’re never around.  As for us, I guess it depends on how you answer the first question.”

“Let me ask you this, does life with you and Danny have to be here in Newton?”

“Until I know we’re permanent, the answer is yes.  I’m not about to uproot Danny until then.”

“I understand that, and I want to be present when he learns about me.  I want to try and explain why I haven’t been around until now.”

“I’ll have to think about that.”

                                                

                                            ****************************

In the end, Callie granted Daniel’s request.  Their first meeting took place in a nearby park.  He spied Danny and Callie walking toward him.  They were holding hands and when Danny saw him, he looked at Callie and Daniel realized he knew, he didn’t need to be told.  It was a sweet moment, Daniel allowed Danny to make the first move.  Daniel stood as Danny came forward and extended his hand.  Daniel shook his hand and then enveloped him in a hug.  “Sorry, young man, I need more than a handshake.” Daniel was trembling, he didn’t think he’d ever been so nervous in his entire life.

“You’re my dad, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am and I’m so sorry this is the first time I’m meeting you. I assure you, from this day forward I will be available to you every single day, in one way or another.” Tears rolled down his face and Callie realized she too had tears in her eyes.

See you later for more Aimless Ramblings.