“I’m glad she could convince you the accident wasn’t your fault. They call it an accident for a reason. You happened to be in the right place at the right time to ensure both our kids were safe,” he expressed.
I contemplated whether I wanted to share the news I just received or not. My mind was still reeling from the letter from John. Over the past few weeks, Micah had become my safe space. He was also a father, so his perspective may help me better understand all of this.
“Along with my feelings from the accident, I received a random letter from a man claiming to be my father—the father I’ve never known. He wants to meet me, but I’m a little conflicted,” I said.
“Wow, that’s heavy. All this time, you didn’t know your pops, I had no idea,” Micah said.
“I’d gotten over not knowing him long ago. My mother kept his identity a secret. Based on the letter he sent me, he didn’t say much. He seemed like he wanted to tell me his story in person.”
“How did learning all of this make you feel? Are you okay? Do you want me to go meet him with you?” Micah questioned.
I shrugged my shoulders. “He never explained his absence in the letter. I’m unsure of what I would gain from meeting him at this stage in my life. His time to reach out would have been during my childhood,” I said somberly.
“I get that, but will you be okay if you don’t meet with him? Not being around because he chose his wife and family is awful. At the same time, you deserve to learn more about your other parent. People make mistakes, but there’s a reason he’s reaching out now. Do you maybe want to learn more about him?” he asked.
“I think that’s the hard part. When I was Reign’s age, I asked about my dad all the time. My mother never said much. One day, I just stopped asking. When she died, so did any more talk about him. I guess I got so used to the fact that I was parentless,” I admitted.
Micah pulled me in for a hug. I didn’t notice I had been crying until we broke our embrace.
“I can come with you if you want. You don’t have to do this alone. I’m sure this has been a shock—this, along with dealing with your emotions from the accident. What can I do to take your mind off of everything?” Micah inquired.
A slight chuckle escaped my lips as I wiped my tears. “You’re already doing it. Thank you for listening to me. I think I’ll take your advice and go hear him out. The mood was a little heavy. I didn’t want to dampen our day with my revelation. We need to find something funny to watch. Life has been way too serious lately,” I said.
Micah handed me the remote. As I searched for something to watch, the doorbell rang, and I gave Micah a curious look.
“I ordered some pizza and ziti from the pizza shop right before you guys came. There should be enough food for everyone,” he explained as he went to grab the food. He walked the food into the kitchen. When he came back into the living room, he called for the girls.
“Pizza’s here! Come on and eat!” he shouted up the stairs.
Moments later, I heard the girl’s laughter as they made their way down the stairs. Something about this felt right; I could see Reign and me having many more moments with Micah and Violet, as a family.
A few days later,I sat in my car outside the Moon Café. My nerves were all over the place. Micah convinced me to meet with John, but I was nervous. The fear of the unknown made me want to go back home, but after going through the love letters between John and my mother, I could feel their love. In the letters, he admitted he couldn’t leave his family. As I continued to read, it seemed my mother gave him an ultimatum, asking him to choose between us and his family, and I knew how that turned out.
As I was lost in my thoughts, the phone rang. I looked down. It was Micah.
“Hey,” Micah said when I answered.
“Hey,” I replied.
“I’m just making sure you’re good. My offer to come join you still stands if you need me,” he offered.
“Thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I have to do this alone,” I admitted.
“I understand, and you’ll be fine. I’ll be home all day, so if you want to stop by, you can,” Micah said.
I smiled at his offer. It was nice having someone concerned about my well-being again. “I’ll stop by. Let me stop procrastinating and get inside. See you soon,” I said as we disconnected the call. The clock read 1:00 p.m. It was time to meet John. I got out of the car and locked the door. After a short walk, I entered the cafe.
“Hey, Harley, good to see you again, girl. You’re a little early for our weekend brunch,” Tess teased. She was one of the owners of Moon Cafe.
“What can I say? The food is good, so I’m stopping by on a random Thursday,” I joked. We shared a quick laugh. “I’m meeting someone here,” I said as I looked around. John sat in the back at a table on the right side. He looked just like the photos from my mother’s box, just a little older.
“I found him. I’ll see you soon, girl,” I said to Tessa as I made my way over to John.
His smile grew wider the closer I got to the table. When I finally approached, he stood up. “Harley, you are the spitting image of your mother down to the ginger hair color. You certainly didn’t get that from my side of the family,” he joked.
“I hear that all the time,” I replied, unamused with his joke. I took a seat across from him. He made light of my appearance, but staring at him, it didn’t appear that I took anything from his side of the family. While I stared at his face, nothing about him felt familiar. As he sat back down, he continued to stare at me.
“I’m sorry for staring. I just can’t believe we’re meeting after all of this time,” he explained.
