with Josephina.
“Yeah, she’s mine. There’s no doubt about it,” I admit to her, the guilt feeling like a weight on my chest.
Although it’s dark outside, with the help of the streetlights illuminating inside of the car, I can see her satisfied expression on her face. “Good, then when can we meet her? Because if you think for one second that you’re keeping that little girl from us, I’ll strangle you, Joseph Mitchell,” She is using her best stern voice, making Mark laugh.
“You know she’ll do it too,” Mark replies as he grabs Ashley’s hand to bring it up for a kiss.
“Why would I keep her from you guys? You’re my family,” I tell them, knowing it’s the truth, since I have no actual family left.
“Good, then you can invite them over for dinner tomorrow night. I really want to meet her. That way I can also get a feel for this girl that has been keeping your daughter from you,” Ashley says.
“She didn’t keep her from me,” I firmly argue, looking back out of the window, her resentment getting to me.
I can’t blame Ashley for thinking that way though. They don’t know Kasey like I do. Or at least the way I used to know her. Her actions today showed dramatic changes in her. The old Kasey never once stood up to me; this one did it without hesitation, which made me smile. She was confident and much more beautiful because of it.
Arriving at Mark’s house, we all head inside. I go straight to their couch to take a seat, leaning my head back as I close my eyes, trying to absorb the events of the day. Today has mentally exhausted me.
Hearing Mark near me, I open my eyes, seeing him already handing me a beer. Grabbing it from him, I open it and take one giant gulp. As he takes a seat on the couch across from me with Ashley, I see both of them anxiously waiting for me to say something. I don’t want to have this conversation right now, but I know they will continue hounding me until I tell them the details. Ashley’s hand goes to her swollen belly, rubbing it, making my thoughts drift to how alone Kasey must have felt when she was pregnant. I wish I had been there for her pregnancy.
Our earlier conversation comes back to me. It tears my heart apart knowing the entire time she was waiting for me to show up, but I never did. I must have been the biggest asshole in her mind.
“She didn’t purposely keep Josephina from me,” I say out loud, the thought rapidly coming out. I couldn't help the cracking in my voice as I said it. I feel like shit over the entire situation.
I see Ashley’s face light up. “She named her Josephina? How sweet,” she says with a smile.
“She was sent up here to live with her aunt when her parents found out she was pregnant. It’s why she was no longer living in Savannah when I got back from boot camp. She tried writing to me, but I never got the letters,” I explain to them.
Mark nods his head at me, most likely remembering when I had gone back looking for Kasey, but she was gone. He knew about my last night with Kasey and how much I couldn’t stop thinking about her. At the time, Mark told me it was for the best. She needed a better future. I had believed him. I didn’t have any other choice.
Ashley’s face grows curious, but confused. “What happened to the letters?”
Her question makes me wonder the same. My parents never mentioned a letter when I got back from boot camp. I never found any when I packed up the house. It’s a mystery I’m never going to solve with them now gone.
“I don’t know, but the last one was returned to her. It must have arrived after I sold the house,” I say, already reaching into my back pocket where I had placed the envelope. “It’s the one telling me Josephina was born. That’s also the last time she tried writing to me,” I add, removing the picture for them to view.
Mark reaches for it and holds it up for him and Ashley to view together. “It was taken right after Josephina was born,” I tell them,
“Yeah, she’s mine. There’s no doubt about it,” I admit to her, the guilt feeling like a weight on my chest.
Although it’s dark outside, with the help of the streetlights illuminating inside of the car, I can see her satisfied expression on her face. “Good, then when can we meet her? Because if you think for one second that you’re keeping that little girl from us, I’ll strangle you, Joseph Mitchell,” She is using her best stern voice, making Mark laugh.
“You know she’ll do it too,” Mark replies as he grabs Ashley’s hand to bring it up for a kiss.
“Why would I keep her from you guys? You’re my family,” I tell them, knowing it’s the truth, since I have no actual family left.
“Good, then you can invite them over for dinner tomorrow night. I really want to meet her. That way I can also get a feel for this girl that has been keeping your daughter from you,” Ashley says.
“She didn’t keep her from me,” I firmly argue, looking back out of the window, her resentment getting to me.
I can’t blame Ashley for thinking that way though. They don’t know Kasey like I do. Or at least the way I used to know her. Her actions today showed dramatic changes in her. The old Kasey never once stood up to me; this one did it without hesitation, which made me smile. She was confident and much more beautiful because of it.
Arriving at Mark’s house, we all head inside. I go straight to their couch to take a seat, leaning my head back as I close my eyes, trying to absorb the events of the day. Today has mentally exhausted me.
Hearing Mark near me, I open my eyes, seeing him already handing me a beer. Grabbing it from him, I open it and take one giant gulp. As he takes a seat on the couch across from me with Ashley, I see both of them anxiously waiting for me to say something. I don’t want to have this conversation right now, but I know they will continue hounding me until I tell them the details. Ashley’s hand goes to her swollen belly, rubbing it, making my thoughts drift to how alone Kasey must have felt when she was pregnant. I wish I had been there for her pregnancy.
Our earlier conversation comes back to me. It tears my heart apart knowing the entire time she was waiting for me to show up, but I never did. I must have been the biggest asshole in her mind.
“She didn’t purposely keep Josephina from me,” I say out loud, the thought rapidly coming out. I couldn't help the cracking in my voice as I said it. I feel like shit over the entire situation.
I see Ashley’s face light up. “She named her Josephina? How sweet,” she says with a smile.
“She was sent up here to live with her aunt when her parents found out she was pregnant. It’s why she was no longer living in Savannah when I got back from boot camp. She tried writing to me, but I never got the letters,” I explain to them.
Mark nods his head at me, most likely remembering when I had gone back looking for Kasey, but she was gone. He knew about my last night with Kasey and how much I couldn’t stop thinking about her. At the time, Mark told me it was for the best. She needed a better future. I had believed him. I didn’t have any other choice.
Ashley’s face grows curious, but confused. “What happened to the letters?”
Her question makes me wonder the same. My parents never mentioned a letter when I got back from boot camp. I never found any when I packed up the house. It’s a mystery I’m never going to solve with them now gone.
“I don’t know, but the last one was returned to her. It must have arrived after I sold the house,” I say, already reaching into my back pocket where I had placed the envelope. “It’s the one telling me Josephina was born. That’s also the last time she tried writing to me,” I add, removing the picture for them to view.
Mark reaches for it and holds it up for him and Ashley to view together. “It was taken right after Josephina was born,” I tell them,