“So… do you think all of this is weird?”
“No. I think it’s incredible that somehow in this crazy-ass world the stars aligned and put you and him on a path to find each other.” Salem looked up at me and smiled.
I laughed and looked down at the charms I was putting on the keychain. I happened to have the star charm in my hand but shook off any type of thoughts that would make me see it as a sign. But Salem was very much into that kind of thing. I wasn’t.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” I asked.
“Maybe.” She shrugged and then reached for her coffee. “Maybe your mom—”
No.
“Salem, no. My mom didn’t reach out to him or send some shockwaves to him from heaven. Nothing pulled on his heart strings.”
I stopped talking because I could feel the negativity grabbing hold of me. I finished my coffee cake and then looked out the window. I could feel her eyes on me and knew she was staring at me. There was stillness in my peripheral vision, so I knew she wasn’t working on anything. I swallowed and could feel a lump had formed in my throat.
“I think he and I could have maybe been friends when I was in high school.” I kept my eyes focused on looking out into the parking lot. “He might have been able to come to my track meets or something.”
“I’m sure he would have.”
That was what I thought too. And it fucking killed me to know that I had a dad out there who might have wanted to see me or be part of my life.
“When James told me, I thought maybe the photography guy was baiting us or something. Like it was a scam where he was working with someone who was supposedly my dad. We’d meet and everything would be great for a while. Then he’d say he needed money or a kidney, and I’d cave and give him whatever he needed. And then I’d worry that my other kidney was going to crap out.” I turned to look at her. Her shock was expressed with raised eyebrows. I took a sip of coffee. “So yeah, I thought it was a scam.”
“Where do you come up with these things?”
“TV.”
“Bran—”
“It could happen.”
“You’d rather believe that sort of concoction over a wonderful scenario of your mother putting you guys on the path together?”
“I said TV. Like crime dramas, not like that women’s channel.”
“Lifetime or Hallmark?”
“There’re two?”
“Yes. The scenario I came up with would fit best with the Hallmark crowd.” Salem smiled and then reached across the table to set her hand on my forearm. “I’m kidding, Bran.”
“I know.”
“So, you decided against the photographer scamming you?” she asked.
“Oh yeah,” I replied. I leaned back in the chair and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I quickly pulled up the Top Cage Fighters bio for Hollis Ward. I set the phone on the table and turned it around so Salem could see the screen. “That’s my uncle.”
“What?” Salem picked up my phone and pulled it closer. Her eyes moved as she read his bio. “Shut. Up. This is your uncle?”
“Yeah. He used to be a fighter in TCF, but he’s since retired.”
“Yeah, then there’s no way the photographer dude is scamming you.”
“Exactly. So, supposedly I have three uncles, according to James. But when I was researching this morning, all I could find are conflicting stories about how many brothers Hollis Ward has. Hollis is the oldest, then Morgan. Morgan is the photographer. My dad is Chase and the youngest. Supposedly.”
“Why supposedly?”
“Like I said, there’s conflicting info about maybe another brother, which would mean a third uncle.”
