“If he even had those skills. But then there’s the part where he said she knows about the money he set aside in case we ever reconnected. That means Glenda knows aboutus.” Harper poked the bed covers for emphasis. “And she has for a while.”
It was certainly more than Shar had done. Frankie put her fingers to her mouth as she tried to think. This was a lot to process. But her heart ached at the prospect of meeting her father. “Did you answer him?”
“No, not yet. We need to do that together. Unless you don’t want to?”
“I do. Definitely. Thanks for waiting for me. What should we say?”
“I think we tell him a little more about ourselves and then see if he’s interested in meeting.” Harper lifted her chin slightly. “And I think we should take Willa with us if that happens. She’s the reason we found him.”
Frankie wasn’t so sure. But before she could say anything, Harper spoke again. “I know you want to protect her, but Willa’s an adult. She can manage herself. And I think it would be better for us to all go together than for her to meet him on her own. This way, if things don’t work out, she won’t wonder what might have been.”
“Good point. I agree with that.” Frankie couldn’t help but be cautious when it came to her kids and what was in their best interests. “Let’s email him back and converse with him a little more before I make that decision, okay?”
“Sure. But you know Willa might go meet him anyway, even if you say no. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.”
“I’m aware. But I’d rather know him better first.”
Harper nodded. “Then let’s get this email sent.”
“Now? Won’t that look…I don’t know, too eager?”
“The man is in his eighties, and we obviously are eager. Why wait?”
Harper had a point. “You’re going to do it on your phone?”
“Yeah, why not?” Harper had already opened up a new screen to reply and had her thumbs poised over the keyboard.
Frankie typed text with one finger or, better still, voice to text. She’d never gotten the hang of thumb typing. “Okay. What should we say? Thanks for writing back? And for sharing so much with us?”
“Good start.” Harper typed away for a bit, then read. “Dear Buck, thank you for answering so quickly and being open about yourself. It seems odd to us to find you after all these years, but itwas only because my sister, Frankie, tracked down Sharlene that we know about you at all.
“Shar told us her parents told her years ago that you’d died in a car accident. I don’t know if her parents really told her that or if it was her way of trying to stop us from looking for you, but my niece, Willa, the young woman who found you, wasn’t deterred.”
Harper looked at Frankie. “What do you think so far?”
“Good. Keep going.”
Harper typed some more, then read what she’d added. “We would very much like to know more about you. Especially the full story about what happened that caused us to be taken away. All we know about the bank robbery is what Shar told us. She said she had no idea what had been planned, no idea that she was the designated driver until it was too late.
“It’s nice to know that you remarried. Do you have other children? If so, do they know about us? The offer of money was kind, but it’s the furthest thing from either of our minds.” She looked at Frankie again.
Frankie nodded her approval.
Harper went back to reading. “We both have great lives. I’ve never been married, but Frankie has. She’s now divorced but has two fantastic kids. Willa, who you’ve messaged with, and Jason, her son. Frankie is an assistant principal at a charter school. I work as a personal assistant in L.A. No kids, but I do have a labradoodle named Archie.” Harper looked at Frankie. “Do you mind if I tell him all of that about you?”
“No, that’s okay. It’s not like he couldn’t find that out himself with a little digging on Facebook. Ask him…” Frankie shook her head. “I want to know about prison and what his life was like afterwards, but that’s a lot to cover in an email. I feel like that’s more suited to in-person conversation. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I’d agree with that. Okay, let me wrap up and then I’ll read the whole thing over again.”
“All right.” Frankie read Buck’s email on her phone while Harper typed a little more.
After a few minutes, Harper’s thumbs came off the screen. “Okay, here’s how I ended it. We look forward to getting to know you better. Please share anything you want. We’ll be happy to answer your questions, too. All the best, Harper and Frankie.”
Frankie nodded. “That’s good. Read the whole thing back.”
Harper did that. They tweaked a few minor things, then decided it was ready to send.
“Hang on,” Frankie said. “Include my email in the addresses so I get a copy.”
