Coming Home (31 page)

Once I started I couldn’t stop. I found myself complaining about all
of his little quirks that I used to love, but found annoying. Like how he hums
when he eats sometimes or the way he really gets into a baseball game. I also
said I was happy to be in my own bed every night now because he snores. Then to
my total humiliation, I started crying.

Vicki moved to the chair next to me and wrapped her arm around
me. “It will be okay, Rebecca.”

The woman sitting across from me handed me a napkin. “Thank you.”

“If my son loses you, I’ll kill him.”

It took me a minute to figure out what she said. “You’re Ryan’s
mother?”

She nodded her head and laughed when I covered my face with the
napkin and started crying harder. I was sure whoever was left in the cafeteria was
staring at me wondering what my problem was. His mom moved her chair to the
other side of me and put her hand on my knee.

“This wasn’t very fair of us, was it?” She patted my knee. “I’m
sorry if you feel I tricked you. I just had to seize the moment I saw before
me. I wanted to get to know you, and I knew you wouldn’t have said any of that
if we told you who I was.”

I finally stopped crying and lowered the napkin. When I looked at
her, I could see Ryan’s eyes in hers. “I’m sorry. I really do love your son and
didn’t mean half of what I just said.”

“Don’t apologize for being honest.” She held out her hand. “You
probably already know, but my name’s Dorothy, and it’s very nice to finally
meet you.”

Vicki invited Ryan and his family to her house for dinner. Ben
brought Stacy, and I think she was relieved that the meet-the-parents thing
happened for us at the same time. I think Dorothy would have liked Stacy
anyway, but I also know how Stacy can be when she’s incredibly nervous.

“So tomorrow’s the night you go to that concert, huh? I’m so
jealous.” Dorothy was great in trying to include Ashley in the conversation.
Heather couldn’t come to dinner that night since she was going to the concert
with us the next day.

Ashley instantly perked up. “I can’t wait. I have the perfect
outfit.”

Vicki and I smiled at each other. “If I had known that’s all it
would have taken to get Ashley into fashion, I would have taken her to every
concert Dallas ever had.”

“Very funny, Mom.” Ashley rolled her eyes.

“You have to admit it was fun, Ashley.” Vicki turned to me. “And
thank you for coming with us. I know you weren’t sure about it, but you three
are going to look so cute in those outfits.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to come, Vicki. I just thought you
should have taken the opportunity you had and spent the day with Ashley without
Heather and me tagging along.”

“Somehow I think Ashley enjoyed it better this way, and I had a
blast.”

I didn’t tell anyone that my excitement was growing just as much
as Ashley’s. I had heard of Dawson Lewis before this concert had come up but
didn’t really listen to his music until it I was told about the tickets. I
needed to know what I was in for. I became a closet fan and knew every song by
heart. And I would deny it if I were ever asked.

Ben and Stacy left first, and Dorothy and her husband, Tom, left
shortly thereafter. Ashley had headed off to bed before everyone started
leaving. I was helping Vicki in the kitchen while Matt and Ryan were going over
their presentation one more time for the next morning.

“Are you going to Ryan’s tonight?” Vicki handed me another pan to
dry.

I shrugged. After my earlier outburst with Dorothy and Vicki, I
had spent another thirty minutes talking to my mom. It was kind of hard to talk
about everything with Vicki, and I knew she could sense there was something
else.

Vicki took the towel from me and dried her hands. She cupped my
face and made me look at her. “You two will get through this. I promise you.”
She hugged me. “Go home with him and make up.”

I hugged her back. “I really want to, but I don’t think it’s that
easy now.”

Vicki backed up and held my hands. “It is that easy. No matter
what else is going on, you two love each other. Just go home with him and love
each other.” She cut me off and pulled me to the den. “Ryan, take your girl
home.”

Ryan looked up and came to me the second his eyes met mine. He
didn’t say anything. He just took me by the hand and pulled me to the door. The
ride to his house was quiet and seemed longer than normal. Again when we got
there he didn’t speak. He just pulled me by the hand to his bedroom.

We hadn’t been alone for almost a week. We were always at work or
at Vicki’s. I was completely anticipating that he would make love to me that
night. Instead, he shocked me by laying me down fully clothed and holding me.
Ryan did nothing except hold me and whispered that he loved me. That night felt
more intimate than any other night we shared.

~*~

I left work early to meet Ashley and Heather at home
after school. We were going to get ready together, and I couldn’t believe how
much I was looking forward to it. There weren’t many concerts in the small town
I grew up in, so I felt as if I had a second chance at part of my childhood,
and I wouldn’t want to share it with anyone else.

I pulled into the driveway as Ashley was unlocking the front door
with Heather. Heather didn’t look that excited. I figured I would have a
difficult time keeping the girls calm, and it looked as if I were going to have
a difficult time cheering Heather up. I should have pressed Ashley to tell me
what was wrong.

Quietly closing the door behind me, I heard Ashley trying to
cheer Heather up. “Come on. We’ll put the latest Dawson Lewis CD on really loud
since no one is here to tell us to turn it down, and we’ll get all the moves
perfected for tonight. You won’t think about it once we get in the limo. Trust
me.”

“Hi, ladies. Are we ready for tonight?” I fist pumped the air,
trying to get the mood to shift a little.

“We’re getting there.” Ashley looked at Heather.

I was about to make a calculated move, and I hoped it wouldn’t backfire
on me. I had already been planning on telling Vicki that I was adopted and that
the search for my birth parents turned up nothing. I was taking a chance that
it just may come from Ashley before I got a chance to talk to Vicki myself.

“Ashley, how about you go and find some snacks or something?” I
was grateful she took the hint without any further coaxing. I sat next to
Heather and turned sideways to look at her. “I’ll tell you a secret if you tell
me one of yours.”

Heather looked at the doorway and then back to me. “A secret?”

“Yes. One that only my boyfriend, Ryan, knows. Well, and my
parents.” I glanced at the doorway, too, and then back to her. I leaned forward
a little and whispered. “It’s a big one, and I’m not ready for Ashley or Vicki
to know about it yet, but I’ll tell you so you know you can trust me. I trust
you, Heather. Do we have a deal? My secret for your secret?”

“Sure, but you go first.” Heather turned sideways and mimicked
how I was sitting.

“I’m adopted.” I watched as Heather’s face reflected obvious
surprise. “I came to Dallas to try to find my birth parents, but it’s
practically impossible. I don’t think they want to be found and that used to
make me feel a little sad. What I did find, though, surpassed my wildest
dreams. I couldn’t live without the people I’ve found here now.”

“How long have you known that you’re adopted?” She looked back at
the doorway again.

“They’ve never hidden it from me. When you show up new to a small
town at age five or so, there’s no way to keep that a secret.”

Heather took a deep breath. “My mom is an alcoholic, and my dad
is putting her in rehab again. If it doesn’t work this time, then my dad says
he’s kicking her out.” Heather started to cry and I wrapped my arms around her.

I figured her parents were getting a divorce. Divorce is bad
enough, but I didn’t expect the alcoholic parent. It was going to be a little
more difficult to get Heather in the party mood. I held her as long as she let
me. I think she’d been trying to stay strong for so long that this was the
first real time she allowed herself to let go.

Ashley must have figured I wanted to talk to her because she
never came back with snacks. Once Heather’s tears stopped and she listened to a
few encouraging words from me, we went in search of Ashley. We found her
upstairs, trying her hand at makeup. Heather actually smiled when she saw
Ashley.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Heather wiped off what Ashley
had been trying to do. Partially to make her feel better, but mostly because
she was better at it than I was, I asked Heather to do my makeup for tonight,
too. Ashley gave me a funny look, but understood when Heather got excited to
give both of us makeovers.

The limo showed up on time, but we were a little late. Vicki
needed pictures of all of us dressed up and ready to go. She said as soon as
she got it developed, the picture of the three of us was going on her wall.
Ashley and Heather had already been on the wall several times, but this was
only my second picture going up and I was thrilled.

I really wanted wine with dinner, but I decided to stick with
non-alcoholic beverages for Heather’s sake. I didn’t need to remind Heather of
her situation with every sip. I had to tell them more than once that dinner wasn’t
a race. We still had to wait the same amount of time no matter how fast they
ate. They didn’t slow down until I pointed out that they wouldn’t want to be
sick before the concert and miss it all.

I looked around the restaurant, and it was obvious how many girls
were going to the concert tonight. I was a little jealous when I saw it was
date night for a lot of father and daughters. My dad is great, but I don’t know
that he would have done this. I wondered if my birth father would have. I looked
at Ashley and knew in an instant Matt would have taken Ashley if I weren’t
here.

Is this what it was going to be like the rest of my life?
Wondering if my birth parents would have done this or that? I really needed to
work on changing that. I couldn’t go through life constantly wondering. I meant
what I said to Heather earlier. I couldn’t have found a better group of people
even if I never found the ones I was searching for.

The concert was exactly as I thought it would be—loud and
exhilarating. I couldn’t believe some of the girls actually passed out when Dawson
Lewis made eye contact. I kept watching for signs from Heather and Ashley, and
while they were having a great time, they managed to keep themselves together.
They really did know all the dance moves and switched from one song to the
other with ease. Part of me wished I had taken them up on their offer to teach
me when we learned we were going, but watching them have fun was more than
enough for me.

We pulled up to Heather’s to drop her off first. I got out with
her so I could talk to her one more time before she went in. When she realized
we were on the way to her house, she slipped back into the sadness she had
arrived at Ashley’s with. I wanted to make sure she knew she could count on me
and that I was her friend—not just Ashley’s.

I stopped her before she reached for her door. “Heather, I had a
great time. Thanks for letting me tag along with you two.”

“Are you kidding? It was great having you with us.” Heather
hesitated and then looked away. “I’m sorry for all the things I said about
you.”

“I’m not so old that I don’t remember how I hated to have adults
around.” I nudged her shoulder with mine. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t forget what I told you. What your parents are going
through has nothing to do with you. Whatever happens, it’s not your fault.”

She hugged my waist and whispered. “What happened with your
parents is not your fault, either.” She went inside before I could respond.

I slowly walked back to the limo. I was a little stunned. It
wasn’t as if everyone hadn’t been telling me that. It was just how she said it as
if she knew it wasn’t my fault. It was more than just encouragement—it was a
fact. Maybe it was because we both were suffering from parental issues where
the other people around us knew who their parents were and knew they were loved
by them.

Ashley opened the limo door before I got there. “Everything okay
out there?”

I got in and hugged her. “Yes, it’s been a terrific night. Thank
you for entering that contest.”

We sat and talked about our favorite parts of the night. Ashley
admitted that seeing Dawson Lewis in person was a little bit of a letdown since
he seemed younger in person. She thought they may need to start looking for
older guys to crush on. I smiled partially because it was probably true that she
was growing out of his target audience age, but really my smile was because
Matt was going to hate it.

The ride home was taking way longer than it should, so I looked
out the window. We were heading back into the city and not towards Ashley’s
house. I tried to lower the divider, but it didn’t move. I moved across the
limo to sit behind the divider to knock, thinking it was broken, but it still
didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?” Ashley was starting to get worried.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. I think he just forgot how to get to your
house.” I knocked a little louder and still received no response. I moved back
to my seat and grabbed my purse for my cell phone.

“There’s no signal. I tried to text mom that we were on our way
home like she asked, but it’s down.” Ashley looked at her phone again.

I quickly took out mine and noticed I had received a text from
Ryan while we were in the concert, but didn’t have any signal to send a new
text or make a call. I was completely shocked by his text. They fired Charlie.
I looked towards the glass divider again. Even though I couldn’t see who was
driving, I had a horrible feeling I knew who it is.