It was three days later when Phoenix summoned me to his office. I was pretty sure I knew why he was calling me in there and I couldn’t have been more nervous. Feeling like I was walking the proverbial plank, I ventured down the long hallway from my room to his office.
Entering his office, I found Phoenix sitting behind his desk, Patch occupying one of the chairs in front, and one empty chair clearly reserved for me.
“Come on in and have a seat,” Phoenix said and gestured toward the chair.
I glanced at it and started rubbing my hands together. “Um, if it’s okay, I would rather stand.”
“That’s fine, sweetheart. Just shut the door, would ya?”
“Of course.”
Patch cleared his throat, “I have the paternity test results.” He held up an envelope. “This was given to me sealed. I have no idea what the results are. So, who wants to do the honors?”
Phoenix and I stared at one another. I subtly shook my head. There was no way I could open that envelope and read the results. “Patch, I don’t think Ember wants to and I don’t know any of that medical jargon, so how about you open it and just tell us the results, yeah?”
“All right,” Patch nodded and tore open the envelope. He was silent for a few excruciatingly long seconds before he held up one of the papers and read, “Possibility of paternity is 99.99%.” Then, he changed the tone of his voice and said, “Phoenix you ARE the father.”
Neither Phoenix nor I said a word. “Oh come on. Have neither of you watched those morning talk shows?” Patch looked back and forth between the both of us. “Guess not. Well, I’ll just leave these here with you,” he tossed the papers onto Phoenix’s desk and left the room.
I didn’t know what to say. I had tried so hard since all of this came to light to not think about it. I didn’t want to hope one way or the other and set myself up for disappointment. I now realized, in doing that, I set myself up for lack of excitement as well.
Phoenix wasn’t saying or doing anything. He was just sitting there staring at his desk. Hesitantly, I inched closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I saw it. The small drop of water on his desk, joined by another drop soon after. He was crying. This beast of a man was crying. Dare I hug him? Should I give him some privacy? No, Reese said to acknowledge the awkward situations.
“I need you to help me out here. See, I’m kind of socially awkward thanks to my upbringing, so I’m not sure what the appropriate response is to a beast man crying. Should I just pretend like you have something in your eye and go fetch you some eye drops?”
Phoenix looked up at me, his eyes red and full of unshed tears. Then, he threw his head back and laughed and laughed. He reached his big hand out and pulled me into his chest. It was at that moment, feeling his arms surrounding me, his laughter filling the air, and his tears wetting the top of my head, that I finally felt like someone loved me.
Phoenix’s laughter died down, but he still held me to his chest, “Oh, sweet girl. I wish I had known about you. You would have been a welcome addition to my life, just like you are now. I know you’re pretty much grown, but we just found each other. Will you stay here? At least for a little while, so we can get to know each other?”
“You want me to stay? Like here at the clubhouse or here in Croftridge?”
“Both. For now, I think it is best for you to stay at the clubhouse, at least until I find out more about this orphanage. Is that okay with you?”
“Can Reese stay, too?” I asked.
“Of course. Anything else?”
I pulled back from him and started rubbing my hands together. “What is it? You can ask me for anything. If it is within my power and my means, I’ll give it to you.”
“Do you have any pictures of my mother? I’ve never seen any and I’ve always wondered what my biological parents looked like.”
He nodded and pulled open a desk drawer. “Dash mentioned something about that the other day and asked me to bring some.” He pulled out a photo album and placed it on his desk. He flipped to the first page and turned the album toward me. “This is Annabelle.”
I gasped and place my hand on my chest. I looked at him in horror. Jumping out of my chair, I pointed an accusing finger at the photo, “That is not my mother! Is this some kind of a sick joke or something? Let’s see how much we can mess with the poor little farm girl?!”
Phoenix was on his feet, too, “Of course not. Why the hell would you even think that? This is Annabelle! Why do you think it isn’t? How would you even know?”
Still pointing at the photo, my finger shaking like a leaf, “Because that woman’s name is Annelle. She worked at the orphanage when I was little. She was the nicest one there.”
“Is she still there?” he quickly asked.
“No, one day she was just gone. No one spoke of her ever again. When I asked about her, I was told to hush and never say anything else about her.”
“How old were you when she disappeared?”
I couldn’t remember exactly when it was. I knew it was after I had started school because she was there when I left that morning and gone when I got back. “I’m not sure, maybe five or six.”
“You’re sure this is the same woman?” he questioned as he flipped to other pages filled with pictures of Annelle, or Annabelle.
