“It’sRebecca, honey,” she said softly.
“Who?”
“It’s Rebecca King, your daughter.”
Henry perked up immediately. He grabbed Sarah’s forearm and attempted to pull himself up. Sarah held his back to offer support.
“My Rebecca?”
Sarah smiled. “Yes, Henry. She’s here to see you.”
“Help me up.”
“No, honey. She’ll come to you.”
“Help me up,” Henry insisted.
“Henry…”
“I’ll not be flat on my back, Sarah. I want to be on my feet when I see my baby girl.”
Concerned that he would overexert himself, Rebecca stepped into the room and walked over to his bed. She was standing over him before he could make more demands of being on his feet. After a few seconds of contemplation, Henry relaxed against his pillow and smiled up at Rebecca.
“Look at how beautiful you are,” he whispered.
“Thank you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Well, we have met, girl. You were just too young to remember,” he reminded.
“Yes, I guess you're right.”
She studied his features, trying to find something they had in common. It was his large, chestnut eyes and thick lips she’d inherited. Even though he was lying down, she could tell he was quite tall. Her mom was only five-one and she was five-eight, which meant Rebecca measured somewhere between her tall dad and her short mother.
Henry smiled with damp, expressive eyes. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but the loud, disruptive sound of rap music flooded the small duplex. He gave Sarah a look that prompted her to walk toward the door. Assumingly, she went to go and put “Thug Life,” a.k.a. Boogie in check.
Visibly embarrassed, Sarah looked back and smiled awkwardly before leaving the room. Rebecca offered a sympathetic smile before returning her attention to her long-lost dad.
“Sarah was never able to have children,” he explained. “She poured all of her love into that boy, but he just ain’t no good.”
Rebecca placed her hand over his. “I understand.”
“Hey,” Henry said, finding new-found strength all of a sudden. “Don’t let this bed fool you. I’m normally a strong, healthy man. Once I recover from this setback, I want to spend some quality, father-daughter time with you.”
Rebecca nodded. “I’d like that.”
“I’m serious, Rebecca. I’m not a weak man, ya know. We still got time to catch up.”
“I believe you.” Rebecca chuckled.
“Good. I—”
A loud bang and the sound of glass breaking ended all conversation. Rebecca nearly jumped out of her skin. She instinctively barricaded the bedroom door with her body.
“What in the…” Henry started.
Concerned about his health, Rebecca held out her hand and urged him to stay calm. Even if she wasn’t very calm, she did want him to relax. He was, after all, recovering from a heart attack. She’d just met him, and she wasn’t ready to lose him.
When something hit the bedroom door hard, Rebecca felt a sudden jolt of pain to her shoulder. She cried out as she fell to the floor.
