should've seen what she brought home. It was like a complete chemistry set, and she had these little bio-tubes or something like that. It was really cool. She is just such a smart girl, you know?”
He looked away, the smile still on his face.
“Why didn't you tell me about her?”
He let out a sigh.
“I’ve told a lot of women about my daughter, and that's usually the last conversation we have. You have to understand Sarah, my daughter is the most important thing in my life. And when I say most important, I mean most important. I've learned to keep her protected, like I said, I've made some mistakes in the past, and sometimes she has had to bear the brunt of those mistakes. I can’t make those same decisions anymore. I won’t make those same decisions anymore.”
I didn't know what to say, if it was true, then I would have to be a pretty terrible person to judge him for wanting to keep her safe, but it just wasn't good enough for me to know that he had a daughter.
“What about her mother?”
His face darkened.
“She is a mistake that I regret,” he said, “her and I together were the biggest losers you've ever seen. We literally just ruined each other's lives with alcohol. After my Lizzy was born, I wanted to change, I wanted to be a better man, you know?”
He looked at me pleading for some understanding.
He continued, “Lizzy's mother wouldn't give up alcohol. I tried to get her to come with me to treatment, I tried to find ways that would convince her that it was the best thing for whole family, I even wanted to marry her, but she just threw it all away. Gave it all up because she wouldn’t stop drinking. To be honest, I have no idea where she is now, and I'm just grateful that the courts let me take care of my own daughter.”
I soaked it all in.
I tried to find holes.
I couldn’t see any.
I didn’t want to rush to any conclusions so I changed the subject to let my mind process what he had just said.
We spent the rest of the evening catching up, talking about life, and our past lives. At one point we started laughing uncontrollably about something I can’t remember, but it felt nice. It was like a terribly awkward and memorable first date.
I knew that he was trying hard to make up for whatever emotional gap had been created by the misunderstanding, but I couldn't help but feel a slight distance in everything I said. I still wasn't convinced.
Call me hardhearted, call me an idiot, but I had just been through too much to be so easy.
One night of sitting on my couch wasn’t going to convince me to forget.
I told him that I had to go to work the next day, he told me he had to be back in his restaurant in just a few hours to start his work, so I led him to the door.
Before I opened it he turned to me, put his hand on my elbow and asked,
“Will I ever get to see you again?”
“I'm not sure. I'm just not sure.”
With that, I opened the door and watched Aiden walk out into the darkness.
Chapter 15
The next day at work seemed almost pointless.
I just had too much on my mind to even think about getting anything productive done. I spent a lot of time wandering around the office, getting a drink every 15 minutes, draining my bladder every 30 minutes, and checking Facebook all those times in between. Aiden had dropped a bombshell on me the night before and I still hadn't had time to process it.
I had to hand it to him, he had displayed an impressive persistence in trying to get in contact with me. If his story was true, it was something to be admired and to feel flattered over. If it wasn't true, I should probably start telling people, including the police, to keep on the lookout for the handsome stalker creeping around my house all the time.
I didn't know what to think about Aiden, about Peyton, about Lizzy, and even about Angela.
Had she been the one who had invited Aiden to the party?
I just couldn't be sure.
I felt a little paranoid about everything that was going on.
I kept
He looked away, the smile still on his face.
“Why didn't you tell me about her?”
He let out a sigh.
“I’ve told a lot of women about my daughter, and that's usually the last conversation we have. You have to understand Sarah, my daughter is the most important thing in my life. And when I say most important, I mean most important. I've learned to keep her protected, like I said, I've made some mistakes in the past, and sometimes she has had to bear the brunt of those mistakes. I can’t make those same decisions anymore. I won’t make those same decisions anymore.”
I didn't know what to say, if it was true, then I would have to be a pretty terrible person to judge him for wanting to keep her safe, but it just wasn't good enough for me to know that he had a daughter.
“What about her mother?”
His face darkened.
“She is a mistake that I regret,” he said, “her and I together were the biggest losers you've ever seen. We literally just ruined each other's lives with alcohol. After my Lizzy was born, I wanted to change, I wanted to be a better man, you know?”
He looked at me pleading for some understanding.
He continued, “Lizzy's mother wouldn't give up alcohol. I tried to get her to come with me to treatment, I tried to find ways that would convince her that it was the best thing for whole family, I even wanted to marry her, but she just threw it all away. Gave it all up because she wouldn’t stop drinking. To be honest, I have no idea where she is now, and I'm just grateful that the courts let me take care of my own daughter.”
I soaked it all in.
I tried to find holes.
I couldn’t see any.
I didn’t want to rush to any conclusions so I changed the subject to let my mind process what he had just said.
We spent the rest of the evening catching up, talking about life, and our past lives. At one point we started laughing uncontrollably about something I can’t remember, but it felt nice. It was like a terribly awkward and memorable first date.
I knew that he was trying hard to make up for whatever emotional gap had been created by the misunderstanding, but I couldn't help but feel a slight distance in everything I said. I still wasn't convinced.
Call me hardhearted, call me an idiot, but I had just been through too much to be so easy.
One night of sitting on my couch wasn’t going to convince me to forget.
I told him that I had to go to work the next day, he told me he had to be back in his restaurant in just a few hours to start his work, so I led him to the door.
Before I opened it he turned to me, put his hand on my elbow and asked,
“Will I ever get to see you again?”
“I'm not sure. I'm just not sure.”
With that, I opened the door and watched Aiden walk out into the darkness.
Chapter 15
The next day at work seemed almost pointless.
I just had too much on my mind to even think about getting anything productive done. I spent a lot of time wandering around the office, getting a drink every 15 minutes, draining my bladder every 30 minutes, and checking Facebook all those times in between. Aiden had dropped a bombshell on me the night before and I still hadn't had time to process it.
I had to hand it to him, he had displayed an impressive persistence in trying to get in contact with me. If his story was true, it was something to be admired and to feel flattered over. If it wasn't true, I should probably start telling people, including the police, to keep on the lookout for the handsome stalker creeping around my house all the time.
I didn't know what to think about Aiden, about Peyton, about Lizzy, and even about Angela.
Had she been the one who had invited Aiden to the party?
I just couldn't be sure.
I felt a little paranoid about everything that was going on.
I kept
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