All The Faith In The World

Chapter 19: He Came Into The Diner

Noah's P.O.V

It was two days before finals and 4 days before school was out for the summer break. I was working the late afternoon shift in the diner with Connor. Faith went over to Hayden's house to study for some test. And mom was at home, I think. She was there this morning, but you never know with her.

The diner was pretty empty except for the same usual few people. Mrs. Wesley from down the street with her new little girl, Paris. Chuck Thompson, the truck driver who stops in every so often for a country fried steak. LeAnne Barker, who always wanted pancakes. The kind with little chocolate chips in them and whipped cream on top. That was also Connor's favorite. Finally, the Jackson-Abraham family. It was a gay couple, Carter Jackson and Sawyer Abraham, with their three adopted kids. Two boys and a girl. One boy was older, Everett. The girl's name was, Kayla, she was also the second oldest of the group. And the youngest was Brandon. I always admired their family because of how nice they were and how happy they always were.

Everyone was eating their food and seemed content with themselves. So, I took this time to start planning out my stupid final English paper. What was some event in my life that absolutely terrified me? Well, obviously it was in the hospital waiting room. But, we had to present them to the class and I don't know if I'll be able to handle talking about it in front of everyone. This is a good topic to do though, because it was the one time in my life I ever experienced actual fear. The actual fear of losing someone or something that means the world to you.

Suddenly, the door to the diner opened wide. The hot air blew in, along with a tall man. 

Candie Kinsley, the hostess, goes over to the man who walked in. The red haired, green eyed man standing in our doorway. I can't stop staring at him. It's like he's a hypnotist and I'm his patient.

"Hey, Noah. What did table 7 order again? I'm just totally spacing everythin- hey, are you okay there, buddy?" Connor asks coming out of the kitchen. All I can do is point to the tall and familiar man talking to our hostess. Connor sees him immediately.

"Is that him?" I ask. Connor nods his head slowly,, knowing who I meant without me even having to say his name. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Let me just go talk to Candie real fast," he said. He quickly walked over to her and pulls her to the side for a minute. He speaks to her quietly so our new guest wouldn't hear. She nods her head and says something quiet back. He nods his head and walks away. I can read his lips, thanking her immensely.

"What was that about?" I asked him when he came back to our corner by the kitchen.

"I asked her to put him in one of our sections. So, then we can kind of talk to him. Get some information. Find out if it's really Robert," he said. She is frantically searching her list of tables for an open one he would like, but one that will still fill Connor's urgent and somewhat strange request.

At that same moment, Faith and Hayden walk into the diner.

Faith, without looking where she was going, crashes into the mystery man's back. He turns around to face her. Her face instantly goes from fun and laughing to serious and puzzled.

Uh-oh.

Faith's P.O.V

"I mean, like, while it's a really cute outfit, I feel like it's too dressed up for my personality. You know? Cuz, I always wear like a t-shirt and shorts. So, if I were to wear this nice tank top and sandals it wouldn't be right, right?" I asked Hayden as we made our way up the path to the diner's front door.

"Yeah, I can see it. But, if you have a cute outfit, and you want to wear it, then go for it. Nothing makes a person feel better than wearing a cute outfit," Hayden says. He opens the door to the diner and I walk inside. He trails behind. The cool air blew over out faces and instantly made my entire body shiver. 

"But, if it's not me, then I don't want people thinking I'm dressing up for some special-" I ran into the man waiting in front of us. When I looked up to see who it was, I gasped.

He was a tall man. About 6'8'' at the maximum. He had on a blue t-shirt with dozens of oil stains on it and a pair of dirty old jeans. His shoes were a pair of old, worn through tennis shoes with plenty of oil stains on them as well. His hair was red and thick with a beard to match. The massive beard stretched from his side burns to his chin, looking like a tutu on his face. His eyes were a bright emerald green with a certain shine to them that just comes naturally. Small freckles dotted his cheeks like when you shake cinnamon on top of whipped cream.

"Dad "  I thought. He looked down at me, his emerald green eyes piercing into mine. I could tell he recognized me.

"Whoa, watch where your goin, little darlin," he said with his thick, country accent. He sort of laughed. He's everything I've dreamed of him to be. He's exactly the way I pictured him. His smile fades as he begins to remember me, little by little. "Hey there."

"Hi," I breathed out, "My name is Faith. Faith Abigail Porter." I put my hand out for him to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Faith. My names Robert. Robert Silas Porter." He shook my hand, looking confused and shocked at the same time. I smiled.

My dad shook my hand. My actual dad shook my hand.

"Nice to meet you, dad."