No, they’d never been a secret. You can’t tell someone important news if they’re not around to hear it. But when he walked back into my life two months ago I was officially - actively - keeping it from him.
And that would be an issue for my mom and sister.
I swore to myself that I’d tell him, but I had to work up the nerve. The more time that passed, the harder it had become.
It was big news. Huge. How was I supposed to just turn around after two months and blurt out, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, six years ago you fathered twin baby girls. Pass the salt?’
I laughed almost delirious with the thought. I took another sip of my rum and coke to try and take the edge off.
It was safe to say that I was nervous.
I shouldn’t have agreed to a date. Sex, I could’ve easily moved on from but dating, that was a whole other ball game. That was where the danger came. I couldn’t afford any more damage to my heart and yet, there I was waiting for my very own heartbreaker to walk through the door.
And then he did. He looked good, sinfully so.
“Are you ready to go?” He had appeared next to me with a smile gracing his lips.
“Yes, I am. Where are we going?”
“I thought we’d revisit a special place.”
He looked super pleased with himself at that remark. I on the other hand was perplexed. A special place? Nothing had come to mind. My confused look only seemed to add to his glee.
I guessed it would be a surprise then.
I waved to Flank as we made our exit, the surprise on his face was comical. I giggled as Callum led me around the back to his car, a flashy high-end sports car.
Ugh. I moaned as I sunk back into the luxurious leather interior. Just another reminder that he had no clue about the girls. He had a two-seater top of the line convertible. I had a brand new range rover fitted with booster seats and mini DVD players, butterfly car seat covers, and adorned with food wrappers and stuffed animals.
We lived very different lives.
I’d grown to love my new life because I’d had no choice. By telling him the truth was I not taking away his choice? The obligation would have taken over and he’d have been trapped by the truth.
“What?” I asked Callum as he squeezed my arm and pulled me back down from the clouds. “Sorry, I was miles away.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. What were you saying?”
“Just that I’m happy you agreed to come out with me.”
“Me too.” I intertwined my fingers with his and gave a squeeze. The rest of the car ride I couldn’t rid my face of a smile, all other thoughts had left my mind.
When the car stopped, I looked around to see where we were. It was a quiet street but then I saw it, the Chinese restaurant across the street. I gasped audibly at the recognition.
Wow, how long had we been driving? Clearly, a lot longer than I’d thought. We were a fair way from downtown Detroit. In fact, if I remembered correctly this was the suburb where Callum had grown up.
Without waiting for my door to be opened, I pushed it open and stood in awe. I barely remembered the night but this was where we had our first date, the last time around.
“I would’ve gotten it.” Callum protested before linking our hands and leading me across the street.
“Does Dan still own it?” I gestured to the restaurant ahead of us.
“No, he actually moved to Toledo a couple of years ago. Just sold this place, packed up, and went on his way. But he was never one to stay in a place for too long.”
That made sense to me. He was as much of a free spirit as you could be. And you didn’t collect as many stories as he had by staying in one place. That man had loved his stories. Especially the ones about Callum as a young boy.
Dan and Callum had lived on the same block while Callum was just a boy. Dan had moved away when Callum was in his early teens. He’d just upped and left, but then years later Callum stumbled upon the Bamboo Garden. And that’s where he found Dan.
