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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Life was pretty much the same as before Catie left in the weeks to follow. School had let out while Catie was gone, but Miss Parker had no worries about her daughter’s learning process suffering at all. The result of being a pretender, her daughter had the genius of an adult and therefore she was on a much higher learning scale than the other children. So summer school wasn’t necessary and after what had happened she couldn’t bear to send Catie away to camp, even a day camp. Miss Parker left her with Debbie and Annie, a college junior who was taking classes to get a child care degree and who earned credits and money by watching the two children during the summer. Catie loved going over to Debbie’s house to play, but so far, all Catie had wanted to do anyway was talk about her upcoming birthday and ways to spend the special day.
Catie had readjusted very well since her return home and for all outward appearances seemed to be the same bright and bouncy kid she was before she had left, but Miss Parker could tell that she missed Jarod a lot. Catie would sometimes stare out the window at the driveway as though waiting for him to show up on their doorstep. Or she mentioned things she had done with him while in the privacy of their home around the dinner table, and then become silent for the rest of the evening. After times like that, a smile couldn’t even be coaxed by her favorite video, The Wizard of Oz.
Although it had her slightly worried, Miss Parker could hardly blame her. She had found it very hard to pretend that all she wanted to do was catch Jarod and return him to the Centre “where he belonged” when all she could think about was the way his hands had felt on her body and the way that her heart jumped when he smiled at her. Or the way he had treated Catie even before he had known she was biologically his. But most of all she couldn’t forget his face as he drove away that last day. That was a constant image in her head. She could see his heart in his eyes as he looked at her for the last time and she could feel his heart beating in the same rhythm as her own, as they both held back the words they had wanted to say for fear that they wouldn’t be enough.
Broots and Sydney had understood well enough and even helped botch some of the leads on Jarod for her, but after the fifth failed attempt in two weeks even her father began to seem suspicious. Which was exactly the case the week before Catie’s birthday, when he called her into his office to talk to her.
“Angel, what is going on with you? I understand you went through a great deal with Catie, but we must catch Jarod!” he’d said frowning at her while he paced his office. “Then and only then, will everything return to normal around here.”
She had gazed at him silently, knowing inside that it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t understand what she was feeling. He had no idea that his daughter had fallen in love with the so-called enemy. She had simply apologized and he had suggested that she take some time off with Catie to get back in the swing of things. To her father’s surprise, she had agreed and walked out of his office without a word, a location already forming in her mind.
So without telling Catie where they where going, she had packed two suitcases and drove her confused daughter to the airport. A few hours on a plane and a short drive later they stood in front of the most perfect spot that Miss Parker could think of.
Catie’s face had lit up when she saw the townhouse set directly on the beach and immediately raced over to where she knew the key was hidden. Lifting the flowerpot she unlocked the front door and ran into her old bedroom, the one she had been in when she was with Jarod.
“Mama,” Catie said racing out again, panting with excitement. “Thank you!”
The tiny girl threw herself at Miss Parker knocking her back slightly and making her laugh.
“I told you I knew the best spot. And guess what? Uncle Broots and Debbie have rented the townhouse next door, and Uncle Sydney has the one on the other side of them. They are all coming tomorrow to help celebrate your next Sunday.”
“But that’s a whole week away. How long are we staying for?” Catie asked confused, but definitely not unhappy.
“I told Grandpa, over the phone, that we were going to be gone for about a week and a half.” Miss Parker answered moving to bring in the suitcases.
“Are he, Brigitte, and Uncle Lyle coming too?” Catie asked quietly.
“No, Baby. They had to go far away for business and they can’t make it. You remember that Grandpa gave you your gift yesterday. The China doll?” Miss Parker said unpacking and helping Catie to the same, as she talked. “And the dress that Uncle Lyle gave you to go with the doll?”
Besides, Miss Parker thought to herself, how could they come when I didn’t tell them where we were going?
“Uh huhs.” Catie replied and moved off to her room to hang up her dresses and put away the rest of her clothes. Catie remembered getting the present all right, just like she remembered being visited by both of them when the mean man had taken her back to the “bad place”. They had thought she was asleep, but she knew they were there. At first she had thought they were here to save her, but after a few minutes she understood by their words that they were going to try and keep her there without telling her mama. That was when Catie had given up hope. If her own uncle and grandfather were in on this, she would never see her mom again. Catie couldn’t tell her mom any of that, though because her mama was so happy now and it would ruin everything. Besides the bad people couldn’t ruin her birthday. Her mama would see to that.
Pushing aside those ugly thoughts a more cheerful one popped into her head. If only her daddy could come, then everything would be perfect! Maybe her mom knew. The question that Miss Parker had been dreading was asked when Catie wandered back into the room.
“Is Daddy coming?” Catie asked again softly, looking up at Miss Parker with a hopeful expression. Miss Parker sighed and sat on the edge of the huge bed that was next to a big bay window.
“Come here.” she said and settled Catie onto her lap. “I honestly don’t know if your father is coming. I know you miss him and I do too, but you know as well as I do that it might not be safe for him. But we can hope, right?”
Catie nodded and Miss Parker kissed the top of her head. Changing the subject, Miss Parker shifted so that Catie was looking at her.
“In the mean time, what do you say to a walk on the beach and then we go for a swim before dinner?”
Catie gave a small smile and nodded, and then a mischievous look came over her face. She bit her lip to stop from smiling and deadpanned, “Are you gonna cook? Cause I don’t mind orderin’ pizza...”
Miss Parker made a face at her daughter, then laughed and hugged Catie tightly. “Don’t get smart with me young lady! Go pick out a bathing suit, okay?”
“Okay!” Catie yelled and ran off into her bedroom, Miss Parker on her heels.
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Sydney was just about to leave his office, his suitcases already in the car, when the phone began to ring. It had been so long since he had been to the beach and now he was going to spend the time with very special people. So he was not very thrilled at the shrill sound coming from the telephone on his desk.
“This is Sydney,” he said answering phone, causing the irritating noise to cease.
“Hello, Sydney.” Jarod said smiling at the sound of his mentor’s voice.
“Jarod! How are you?” Sydney said sitting back down in the chair he had just evacuated, his annoyance dissipating quickly.
“I’m fine, Syd. I’m calling, because I can’t get a hold of Miss Parker. I was wondering if there was something going on that I should know about.” Jarod said trying to sound disinterested and trying to be careful not to let the concern he felt slip into his voice, just in case the line was being monitored.
“She is fine, Jarod. In fact she just took some much needed vacation time.” Sydney said picking up a pencil and toying with it.
“Anyplace in particular?” Jarod asked hope at seeing his family again springing up.
“I’m sorry, Jarod. I can’t tell you that.” Sydney said instantly regretting the words, but he knew that the Centre had been tapping his phone since he had gotten back.
“But Sydney...?” Jarod asked, shocked that Sydney wouldn’t tell him.
“All I know is that she said she was going someplace that had warm, family memories. Now I have to go, Jarod. Take care of yourself.” With that Sydney hung up the phone on a stunned Jarod. He stood for a few seconds staring at the phone, then grinned and flicked off the lights, locking his office door behind him.
For a few moments Jarod just stared at the cellular phone in his hand in utter shock, then Sydney’s final words ran through his head again. Sudden realization dawned on him and Jarod grinned. He flipped open his phone again, making the necessary flight arrangements.
**********************************************************************
Jarod stepped out of his rented, red, Jaguar convertible and shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun. He saw Broots on the patio of one of the beach town homes, with Debbie, trying to explain how to grill a perfect hamburger. He chuckled as Broots flipped a hamburger and it landed on the ground. He laughed again, louder this time, when Debbie expertly flipped one and it landed on the grill perfectly. He switched his gaze over to where he had noticed Sydney standing by the railing, looking out over the ocean and he walked over to him.
Sydney heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Jarod approaching. He enthusiastically embraced the young man and grinned. Jarod heard Broots shout to him and Jarod waved at him and his daughter, who waved and smiled back shyly. Again he focused his attention to the older man in front of him and raised his sunglasses.
“Where are they, Syd?” Jarod asked not being able to hold it in anymore. Sydney laughed, not offended in the least. And knowing exactly whom he meant he pointed over Jarod’s shoulder. Jarod turned and saw them appear right before his eyes, as though a mirage in the desert.
Miss Parker wore a pink halter-top and a matching pink and yellow sarong wrap around her waist. Her hair was pulled up in a messy twist and her dark sunglasses were perched on top of her head. She wore nothing on her feet and the waves were just licking them as she walked along the water’s edge. Just ahead of her, ran Catie in a light green sundress that swished around her knees. The child was running into the water, then running out again and over to where Miss Parker was walking, repeating the process over and over again. Her bare feet were making small imprints in the sand and Catie became fascinated by her being able to make her mark on the world. The slight breeze carried the girl’s laughter to where Jarod stood and he felt drawn to them as if by magic.
Miss Parker watched Catie chase the waves and smiled widely. Suddenly Catie stopped short and stared straight ahead. Then she began to run down the stretch of beach, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Daddy!” Catie cried and leapt into the strong embrace of her father. Jarod lifted Catie way over his head and spun in a circle causing the child to laugh hysterically. He brought her down to his chest again and she buried her face in his neck clinging to him tightly.
“My Catie-Bug!” he said happily, not caring at all if she hugged all the oxygen out of his body.
“Daddy, I knew you’d show up. Mama didn’t think you would, but I knew. I knew.” Catie said over and over.
“I will never miss your birthday, Catie-Bug. Not for anything in the world.” Jarod said pulling her back so she could look into his eyes.
Catie grinned and kissed him, sweetly, on the nose. “I missed you so much, Daddy.”
“I missed you too, Catie.” Jarod said tenderly.
“Catie!” came Debbie’s cry from the patio. “My dad says you can flip a burger if you hurry!”
Catie wiggled to get down and she began to run towards the house. She stopped and turned back to look at Jarod.
“You won’t leave will you, Daddy?” Catie asked a worried expression on her face.
“I won’t leave, sweetheart. I promise.” Jarod said solemnly and that seemed to satisfy her for she ran the rest of the way to the house. Jarod turned and saw that Miss Parker had not budged an inch, from the time he had made his appearance on the shore, and he made his way over to where she stood.
Miss Parker saw him approaching and couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him. He looked to good to be true, with an open white shirt showing off his tan and a pair of black pants rolled up over his ankles, so that they wouldn’t get wet. His feet were bare, like hers, and she stared at his feet rather than looking up and have him disappear in front of her eyes. He stopped right in front of her and she reluctantly looked up, certain he was a figment of her imagination. They just stood there staring at each other as if in disbelief.
“Hi,” he said smiling at her.
“Hi,” she whispered, but not smiling back. He titled his head and looked at her, a slightly confused expression on his face. Miss Parker swallowed hard and looked up into his face her eyes bright.
Clearing her throat she asked, “Are you real? Or am I dreaming again?”
Jarod just smiled, eyes twinkling, and let her talk.
“I imagined something like this happening at least a thousand times, but each time I would wake up before I could touch you.” Miss Parker reached out a hand and let her fingers graze his chest. Then taking a deep breath she laid her whole palm down firmly on his hard front. Jarod sucked in his breath, as though he had been burned, and looked down at her, his face now deadly serious. She shook her head as if in disbelief and he stroked the side of her face with his hand, to assure her. She looked up at him, a wondrous expression on her face and held his hand to her cheek.
“I’m real,” he said leaning his forehead against hers and letting it rest there a second or two before lifting it again and staring into her eyes.
Miss Parker nodded and sighed quietly and found herself wrapped in his embrace. Her head rested on his chest and she was filled with an emotion so far beyond happiness she doubted that it had a name. Jarod held her head to his chest and just hugged her tightly.
“Everything’s okay now, Parker. I’m here now.” he whispered into her hair and hugged her tighter, not to reassure her anymore, but to make sure he believed it as well. “We’re together.”
From his view on the porch, Sydney smiled as he watched two of the most important people in his life reunite. He looked down to his right and saw Catie next to him, watching her parents. She leaned into Sydney’s side and grinned also.
“Hi, Pop-Pop.” Catie said lifting her arms up to be held by her grandfather. Sydney just smiled at the bright child beside him thinking that she was too smart for her own good.
One day, not long after she and Miss Parker had returned home, she had caught him watching a DSA of one of Catherine Parker’s therapy sessions and had said something that, luckily, no one else had noticed before.
“You were in love with her, Uncle Sydney.” Catie had said matter-of- factly leaning on his arm. He had been surprised, but not as much as he should have been. He was tempted to lie to her, but when he glanced into her young eyes he had seen that she already knew the truth. She had just been waiting for him to confirm it. And so he had.
“Yes, Catie. I was.”
They watched the interaction between the two adults on the screen and Catie again made a correct assumption.
“You are my Mama’s daddy, aren’t you?” She had asked him not expecting an answer, because again she had no need for one. She was certain she already knew it. That had definitely taken him off guard and he thought back to a long time ago.
“What makes you ask that, Catherine?” he had asked, surprised.
Catie had just looked at him, with an expression much wiser than her years and said, “There is a connection between you and my mama like there is with me and my daddy. Mama feels it too, but she doesn’t know what it is, like I do. It’s a heart string.”
“A heart string?” Sydney had asked puzzled.
“Uh-huh. It’s like when a person is born they automatically have an invisible string from their heart to their moms and dads. Then as they get older and learn to love more people more strings appear so that when you die, your heart has so many strings it looks like a sun with it’s rays of light.” Catie had told him tilting her head and talking as though she were a Greek philosopher instead of a four-year-old child.
Sydney had smiled and nodded, realizing for the first time he was talking to a pretender and not just a little girl. She had a wisdom and comprehension that many adults don’t ever achieve. He didn’t even remember Jarod having such a grasp on things at two years older than her. Sydney liked this theory of Catie’s, so when she asked him again moments later if he was her grandfather he said yes. Although he knew he didn’t have to, he had made her promise not to tell her mother. She had agreed, but like he had guessed she’d said that it wasn’t her place to tell her mother. It was Sydney’s job.
Since then, in private she had called him Pop-Pop and he had let her, clandestinely delighted that his secret had been found out. So far he had just never found the right time to tell Miss Parker about her true parentage, but if all went well he had decided to tell her sometime this weekend.
His mind drifted back to the present when his impatient granddaughter stomped her small foot and again lifted her arms to held.
Once in his arms she leaned her head against his and smiled. “It’s gonna be okay, Pop-Pop. It’s all going to be okay.”
“I hope so, little one.” He said, looking out again to watch his daughter and the man he already thought of his son kiss in the dying sunlight. “I hope so.”
“Pop-Pop, when are we going to tell Mama our big secret?” Catie asked grimacing at the sight, like any normal kid would, but secretly loving seeing her parents together.
“I don’t know, Catherine.” Sydney said knowing that she meant about him being Miss Parker’s father. “I don’t know if there is a perfect time. We just have to see the way the cards fall.”
“Okay, I understand.” Catie said, but she knew deep down he was afraid to tell. A plan formed in her head and she grinned to herself.
A small smile must have escaped onto her lips because her grandfather looked at her and asked, “What is so funny, Catherine?”
“Nothing, Pop-Pop. Nothing at all.” Catie said and wiggled to down, then ran into the house to join Debbie at the computer. She knew what she had to do. Come hell or high water, her mother would know the truth that night.
Catie had readjusted very well since her return home and for all outward appearances seemed to be the same bright and bouncy kid she was before she had left, but Miss Parker could tell that she missed Jarod a lot. Catie would sometimes stare out the window at the driveway as though waiting for him to show up on their doorstep. Or she mentioned things she had done with him while in the privacy of their home around the dinner table, and then become silent for the rest of the evening. After times like that, a smile couldn’t even be coaxed by her favorite video, The Wizard of Oz.
Although it had her slightly worried, Miss Parker could hardly blame her. She had found it very hard to pretend that all she wanted to do was catch Jarod and return him to the Centre “where he belonged” when all she could think about was the way his hands had felt on her body and the way that her heart jumped when he smiled at her. Or the way he had treated Catie even before he had known she was biologically his. But most of all she couldn’t forget his face as he drove away that last day. That was a constant image in her head. She could see his heart in his eyes as he looked at her for the last time and she could feel his heart beating in the same rhythm as her own, as they both held back the words they had wanted to say for fear that they wouldn’t be enough.
Broots and Sydney had understood well enough and even helped botch some of the leads on Jarod for her, but after the fifth failed attempt in two weeks even her father began to seem suspicious. Which was exactly the case the week before Catie’s birthday, when he called her into his office to talk to her.
“Angel, what is going on with you? I understand you went through a great deal with Catie, but we must catch Jarod!” he’d said frowning at her while he paced his office. “Then and only then, will everything return to normal around here.”
She had gazed at him silently, knowing inside that it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t understand what she was feeling. He had no idea that his daughter had fallen in love with the so-called enemy. She had simply apologized and he had suggested that she take some time off with Catie to get back in the swing of things. To her father’s surprise, she had agreed and walked out of his office without a word, a location already forming in her mind.
So without telling Catie where they where going, she had packed two suitcases and drove her confused daughter to the airport. A few hours on a plane and a short drive later they stood in front of the most perfect spot that Miss Parker could think of.
Catie’s face had lit up when she saw the townhouse set directly on the beach and immediately raced over to where she knew the key was hidden. Lifting the flowerpot she unlocked the front door and ran into her old bedroom, the one she had been in when she was with Jarod.
“Mama,” Catie said racing out again, panting with excitement. “Thank you!”
The tiny girl threw herself at Miss Parker knocking her back slightly and making her laugh.
“I told you I knew the best spot. And guess what? Uncle Broots and Debbie have rented the townhouse next door, and Uncle Sydney has the one on the other side of them. They are all coming tomorrow to help celebrate your next Sunday.”
“But that’s a whole week away. How long are we staying for?” Catie asked confused, but definitely not unhappy.
“I told Grandpa, over the phone, that we were going to be gone for about a week and a half.” Miss Parker answered moving to bring in the suitcases.
“Are he, Brigitte, and Uncle Lyle coming too?” Catie asked quietly.
“No, Baby. They had to go far away for business and they can’t make it. You remember that Grandpa gave you your gift yesterday. The China doll?” Miss Parker said unpacking and helping Catie to the same, as she talked. “And the dress that Uncle Lyle gave you to go with the doll?”
Besides, Miss Parker thought to herself, how could they come when I didn’t tell them where we were going?
“Uh huhs.” Catie replied and moved off to her room to hang up her dresses and put away the rest of her clothes. Catie remembered getting the present all right, just like she remembered being visited by both of them when the mean man had taken her back to the “bad place”. They had thought she was asleep, but she knew they were there. At first she had thought they were here to save her, but after a few minutes she understood by their words that they were going to try and keep her there without telling her mama. That was when Catie had given up hope. If her own uncle and grandfather were in on this, she would never see her mom again. Catie couldn’t tell her mom any of that, though because her mama was so happy now and it would ruin everything. Besides the bad people couldn’t ruin her birthday. Her mama would see to that.
Pushing aside those ugly thoughts a more cheerful one popped into her head. If only her daddy could come, then everything would be perfect! Maybe her mom knew. The question that Miss Parker had been dreading was asked when Catie wandered back into the room.
“Is Daddy coming?” Catie asked again softly, looking up at Miss Parker with a hopeful expression. Miss Parker sighed and sat on the edge of the huge bed that was next to a big bay window.
“Come here.” she said and settled Catie onto her lap. “I honestly don’t know if your father is coming. I know you miss him and I do too, but you know as well as I do that it might not be safe for him. But we can hope, right?”
Catie nodded and Miss Parker kissed the top of her head. Changing the subject, Miss Parker shifted so that Catie was looking at her.
“In the mean time, what do you say to a walk on the beach and then we go for a swim before dinner?”
Catie gave a small smile and nodded, and then a mischievous look came over her face. She bit her lip to stop from smiling and deadpanned, “Are you gonna cook? Cause I don’t mind orderin’ pizza...”
Miss Parker made a face at her daughter, then laughed and hugged Catie tightly. “Don’t get smart with me young lady! Go pick out a bathing suit, okay?”
“Okay!” Catie yelled and ran off into her bedroom, Miss Parker on her heels.
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Sydney was just about to leave his office, his suitcases already in the car, when the phone began to ring. It had been so long since he had been to the beach and now he was going to spend the time with very special people. So he was not very thrilled at the shrill sound coming from the telephone on his desk.
“This is Sydney,” he said answering phone, causing the irritating noise to cease.
“Hello, Sydney.” Jarod said smiling at the sound of his mentor’s voice.
“Jarod! How are you?” Sydney said sitting back down in the chair he had just evacuated, his annoyance dissipating quickly.
“I’m fine, Syd. I’m calling, because I can’t get a hold of Miss Parker. I was wondering if there was something going on that I should know about.” Jarod said trying to sound disinterested and trying to be careful not to let the concern he felt slip into his voice, just in case the line was being monitored.
“She is fine, Jarod. In fact she just took some much needed vacation time.” Sydney said picking up a pencil and toying with it.
“Anyplace in particular?” Jarod asked hope at seeing his family again springing up.
“I’m sorry, Jarod. I can’t tell you that.” Sydney said instantly regretting the words, but he knew that the Centre had been tapping his phone since he had gotten back.
“But Sydney...?” Jarod asked, shocked that Sydney wouldn’t tell him.
“All I know is that she said she was going someplace that had warm, family memories. Now I have to go, Jarod. Take care of yourself.” With that Sydney hung up the phone on a stunned Jarod. He stood for a few seconds staring at the phone, then grinned and flicked off the lights, locking his office door behind him.
For a few moments Jarod just stared at the cellular phone in his hand in utter shock, then Sydney’s final words ran through his head again. Sudden realization dawned on him and Jarod grinned. He flipped open his phone again, making the necessary flight arrangements.
**********************************************************************
Jarod stepped out of his rented, red, Jaguar convertible and shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun. He saw Broots on the patio of one of the beach town homes, with Debbie, trying to explain how to grill a perfect hamburger. He chuckled as Broots flipped a hamburger and it landed on the ground. He laughed again, louder this time, when Debbie expertly flipped one and it landed on the grill perfectly. He switched his gaze over to where he had noticed Sydney standing by the railing, looking out over the ocean and he walked over to him.
Sydney heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Jarod approaching. He enthusiastically embraced the young man and grinned. Jarod heard Broots shout to him and Jarod waved at him and his daughter, who waved and smiled back shyly. Again he focused his attention to the older man in front of him and raised his sunglasses.
“Where are they, Syd?” Jarod asked not being able to hold it in anymore. Sydney laughed, not offended in the least. And knowing exactly whom he meant he pointed over Jarod’s shoulder. Jarod turned and saw them appear right before his eyes, as though a mirage in the desert.
Miss Parker wore a pink halter-top and a matching pink and yellow sarong wrap around her waist. Her hair was pulled up in a messy twist and her dark sunglasses were perched on top of her head. She wore nothing on her feet and the waves were just licking them as she walked along the water’s edge. Just ahead of her, ran Catie in a light green sundress that swished around her knees. The child was running into the water, then running out again and over to where Miss Parker was walking, repeating the process over and over again. Her bare feet were making small imprints in the sand and Catie became fascinated by her being able to make her mark on the world. The slight breeze carried the girl’s laughter to where Jarod stood and he felt drawn to them as if by magic.
Miss Parker watched Catie chase the waves and smiled widely. Suddenly Catie stopped short and stared straight ahead. Then she began to run down the stretch of beach, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Daddy!” Catie cried and leapt into the strong embrace of her father. Jarod lifted Catie way over his head and spun in a circle causing the child to laugh hysterically. He brought her down to his chest again and she buried her face in his neck clinging to him tightly.
“My Catie-Bug!” he said happily, not caring at all if she hugged all the oxygen out of his body.
“Daddy, I knew you’d show up. Mama didn’t think you would, but I knew. I knew.” Catie said over and over.
“I will never miss your birthday, Catie-Bug. Not for anything in the world.” Jarod said pulling her back so she could look into his eyes.
Catie grinned and kissed him, sweetly, on the nose. “I missed you so much, Daddy.”
“I missed you too, Catie.” Jarod said tenderly.
“Catie!” came Debbie’s cry from the patio. “My dad says you can flip a burger if you hurry!”
Catie wiggled to get down and she began to run towards the house. She stopped and turned back to look at Jarod.
“You won’t leave will you, Daddy?” Catie asked a worried expression on her face.
“I won’t leave, sweetheart. I promise.” Jarod said solemnly and that seemed to satisfy her for she ran the rest of the way to the house. Jarod turned and saw that Miss Parker had not budged an inch, from the time he had made his appearance on the shore, and he made his way over to where she stood.
Miss Parker saw him approaching and couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him. He looked to good to be true, with an open white shirt showing off his tan and a pair of black pants rolled up over his ankles, so that they wouldn’t get wet. His feet were bare, like hers, and she stared at his feet rather than looking up and have him disappear in front of her eyes. He stopped right in front of her and she reluctantly looked up, certain he was a figment of her imagination. They just stood there staring at each other as if in disbelief.
“Hi,” he said smiling at her.
“Hi,” she whispered, but not smiling back. He titled his head and looked at her, a slightly confused expression on his face. Miss Parker swallowed hard and looked up into his face her eyes bright.
Clearing her throat she asked, “Are you real? Or am I dreaming again?”
Jarod just smiled, eyes twinkling, and let her talk.
“I imagined something like this happening at least a thousand times, but each time I would wake up before I could touch you.” Miss Parker reached out a hand and let her fingers graze his chest. Then taking a deep breath she laid her whole palm down firmly on his hard front. Jarod sucked in his breath, as though he had been burned, and looked down at her, his face now deadly serious. She shook her head as if in disbelief and he stroked the side of her face with his hand, to assure her. She looked up at him, a wondrous expression on her face and held his hand to her cheek.
“I’m real,” he said leaning his forehead against hers and letting it rest there a second or two before lifting it again and staring into her eyes.
Miss Parker nodded and sighed quietly and found herself wrapped in his embrace. Her head rested on his chest and she was filled with an emotion so far beyond happiness she doubted that it had a name. Jarod held her head to his chest and just hugged her tightly.
“Everything’s okay now, Parker. I’m here now.” he whispered into her hair and hugged her tighter, not to reassure her anymore, but to make sure he believed it as well. “We’re together.”
From his view on the porch, Sydney smiled as he watched two of the most important people in his life reunite. He looked down to his right and saw Catie next to him, watching her parents. She leaned into Sydney’s side and grinned also.
“Hi, Pop-Pop.” Catie said lifting her arms up to be held by her grandfather. Sydney just smiled at the bright child beside him thinking that she was too smart for her own good.
One day, not long after she and Miss Parker had returned home, she had caught him watching a DSA of one of Catherine Parker’s therapy sessions and had said something that, luckily, no one else had noticed before.
“You were in love with her, Uncle Sydney.” Catie had said matter-of- factly leaning on his arm. He had been surprised, but not as much as he should have been. He was tempted to lie to her, but when he glanced into her young eyes he had seen that she already knew the truth. She had just been waiting for him to confirm it. And so he had.
“Yes, Catie. I was.”
They watched the interaction between the two adults on the screen and Catie again made a correct assumption.
“You are my Mama’s daddy, aren’t you?” She had asked him not expecting an answer, because again she had no need for one. She was certain she already knew it. That had definitely taken him off guard and he thought back to a long time ago.
“What makes you ask that, Catherine?” he had asked, surprised.
Catie had just looked at him, with an expression much wiser than her years and said, “There is a connection between you and my mama like there is with me and my daddy. Mama feels it too, but she doesn’t know what it is, like I do. It’s a heart string.”
“A heart string?” Sydney had asked puzzled.
“Uh-huh. It’s like when a person is born they automatically have an invisible string from their heart to their moms and dads. Then as they get older and learn to love more people more strings appear so that when you die, your heart has so many strings it looks like a sun with it’s rays of light.” Catie had told him tilting her head and talking as though she were a Greek philosopher instead of a four-year-old child.
Sydney had smiled and nodded, realizing for the first time he was talking to a pretender and not just a little girl. She had a wisdom and comprehension that many adults don’t ever achieve. He didn’t even remember Jarod having such a grasp on things at two years older than her. Sydney liked this theory of Catie’s, so when she asked him again moments later if he was her grandfather he said yes. Although he knew he didn’t have to, he had made her promise not to tell her mother. She had agreed, but like he had guessed she’d said that it wasn’t her place to tell her mother. It was Sydney’s job.
Since then, in private she had called him Pop-Pop and he had let her, clandestinely delighted that his secret had been found out. So far he had just never found the right time to tell Miss Parker about her true parentage, but if all went well he had decided to tell her sometime this weekend.
His mind drifted back to the present when his impatient granddaughter stomped her small foot and again lifted her arms to held.
Once in his arms she leaned her head against his and smiled. “It’s gonna be okay, Pop-Pop. It’s all going to be okay.”
“I hope so, little one.” He said, looking out again to watch his daughter and the man he already thought of his son kiss in the dying sunlight. “I hope so.”
“Pop-Pop, when are we going to tell Mama our big secret?” Catie asked grimacing at the sight, like any normal kid would, but secretly loving seeing her parents together.
“I don’t know, Catherine.” Sydney said knowing that she meant about him being Miss Parker’s father. “I don’t know if there is a perfect time. We just have to see the way the cards fall.”
“Okay, I understand.” Catie said, but she knew deep down he was afraid to tell. A plan formed in her head and she grinned to herself.
A small smile must have escaped onto her lips because her grandfather looked at her and asked, “What is so funny, Catherine?”
“Nothing, Pop-Pop. Nothing at all.” Catie said and wiggled to down, then ran into the house to join Debbie at the computer. She knew what she had to do. Come hell or high water, her mother would know the truth that night.
