Dolphin Tale 4

Chapter [17]

Lorraine Nelson openly gaped at the man in front of her, a man who she had thought would never appear in her life ever again. A man who had left her years ago.

"You."

Mr. Nelson sighed, "Yes, Lorraine. Me."

"Spencer Nelson."

Mr. Nelson nodded. "Yes, Lorraine. That is my name. I am Spencer Nelson. I am your husband. I am the father of Sawyer Nelson."

"Ex husband," Lorraine said coolly. "You left us forever, remember? You said that you would not come back to us."

Mr. Nelson looked crestfallen. "I know that I said those things, Lorraine, but I made a mistake. I made the biggest mistake in my life. I love you guys. You're my family."

"Your decision was permanent, Spencer. There's no coming back, now. What has been done, has been done. You can't change the past."

"Only death is permanent, Lorraine. And, I know that I can't change the past, but I want to have some control over my future. I want to make it up to you two. I love you so much. I'm so sorry for leaving you. I was an idiot."

Lorraine looked at Sawyer before turning back to her ex husband, shaking her head.

"Please, Lorraine. I want to set things straight. I want things to return to normal. I want things to be how they used to be,"

"Things will never be as they used to be," Sawyer said. "That day you decided to leave, everything changed. Everything changed because of you, Dad, and now you're begging for mercy? You're begging to be let back into our lives? Well, let me just tell you something, Dad. Think again."

"I'm just asking for another chance. Please, just give me another chance. I'll do anything for you. I promise that I'll never leave you, no matter what."

"Promises are made to be broken," Lacie said bitterly. "Why don't you just leave? Can't you see that you're doing both of them more harm than good? Can you honestly not see that?"

Once again, Mr. Nelson ignored Lacie. "Please...?"

Sawyer sighed. "Mom, what do you think? Should we give him a second chance?"

Lorraine ran a hand through her hair. She sighed and shook her head. "Just go in, Spencer. I think we need to talk. We need to setlle some things. Sawyer, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone."

Sawyer nodded and pushed Lacie back into the house. "Make sure my dad doesn't get up to any trouble, okay? I'll be back soon."

Lacie sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Okay." She watched as Sawyer made his way over to his mother.

"Sawyer."

Sawyer looked expectantly at his mother. "Yes?"

"What is she doing here?"

Sawyer inhaled and exhaled slowly. "She has a name, Mom. Lacie is here by my invitation. Is that a problem?"

Sawyer's mother frowned and placed her hands on her hops in a motherly fashion. "Yes. Sawyer, there is a problem.  What happened to you and Hazel? I thought that you two were still together. Are you? Or did Hazel find out...?"

Sawyer sighed and shook his head. "No. We're giving each other some space. Hazel found out about our little incident... She said that she just wanted to have some time alone to think things through. I respect her wishes, so I'm giving her the space she needs. I miss her, though."

"How did Hazel find out? Did you tell her when you first saw her?"

Sawyer shook his head. "No, I didn't tell her straight up, though I regret not doing so. It would have probably been less painful. No, Phoebe told her."

Lorraine noted the bitterness in his tone and sighed. "Sawyer, she was probably doing it for the best. If she had found out on her own, there would have been more than just a puddle of tears. More than just a small crack in your hearts. There would have been a river of tears. There would have been a fissure."

Sawyer sighed. "I know, Mom."

"So, is Lacie permanent? Is she Hazel's replacement?"

"Mom!" Sawyer raised an eyebrow at his mother. "Is that what you seriously think? Mom, you do realise that nobody could ever replace someone like Hazel? She's so unique. And, like Dad said, nothing—except death—is permanent. I may be with Lacie now, but that doesn't mean that I'll be with her forever."

"Okay, if you say so, Sawyer."

"I do, Mom. I do." Sawyer turned and walked back into the house. He paused at the door and turned around to face his mother. "You coming?"

Lorraine Nelson sighed. "I suppose so. We can't leave your father waiting for too long. He's got a lot of explaining to do." She followed Sawyer back into the house.

Sawyer sat himself down at the table across from his father. Lacie sat down beside him and laced her hand in his. She smiled and gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Sawyer's mother remained standing.

"So, why are you here after so many years? Why come back now, when you didn't even bother to contact us? No letters. No phone calls. No nothing. Why, Spencer. Why?"

Sawyer looked at his mother and saw tears forming within her eyes. He sighed and turned to face his father. "Dad, after so many years of bitter silence, why would you come back? If you truly loved us, and missed us, you would have made an attempt to contact us. But you didn't. You remained silent for all these years. We didn't even know that you were still alive. You were gone for ages, Dad. Why?"

"I just wanted a change of scenery, you know? I bought a house in Washington. It's nice there, you know? I like it there."

Sawyer frowned. "If you like it there, why did you come back to Florida? What's the reason for coming back? There has to be a good reason."

Spencer Nelson shrugged. "I just missed you. You're my family, you know. Am I not allowed to miss my family? Am I not allowed to see them anymore?"

Lorraine Nelson sighed. "We're obviously not your only family, though."

Spencer Nelson looked up at Lorraine, frowning. "What are you talking about? Of course you're my only family. I love you guys. What are you talking about?"

"The ring, Spencer. Whose ring is it?"