15.06 (#2)

Chapter 8

"You look happier." My mom noticed when I had gone to visit the family for our bi-monthly Sunday dinner.

"I am happy." I grinned at her as I place the chicken on the table.

"What changed?" She smirked.

"Nothing. Can I not be happy?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Of course you can be happy son. It's just that after Donny's wedding, I haven't seen you smile the way you have in a long time."

"I talked to Rori." I told her simply.

"Oh and that has kept that permanent smile on your face for the last one month then?"

"We still talk. Almost every day." I admitted. My relationship with Rori was repairing, slowly but she was beginning to open up to me. Every day she would tell me a bit about her life past life and I'd listen to her laugh as she recounted the crazy moments she shared with her siblings or parents. I loved hearing her voice as she chattered on about anything. She could talk for the world, no wonder she managed to get that much funding for her projects.

"That's great Christian. I see things are improving with you two."

"Yeah, I'm glad that I talked to her."

"Just be careful though. I don't want her to hurt you again." She warned.

"I'll be careful don't worry." I reassured her. She was right though, despite the fun Rori and I were having, things may not stay the same. With her everything was unpredictable, you never knew what to expect. I may have started talking to her again, but my heart was shielded as hers was. We were older now so consequences would be greater now that we had more at stake. Love was not a game, and it wasn't easy. One thing I didn't know yet and the curiosity burned my brain was the absence of Olivia's father. She may not have been my daughter, but she was Rori's which meant in the six years we had been apart something happened and she wasn't opening up about that.

When Rori told me she didn't know who Olivia's father was, there was a hint of secrecy. She didn't want to tell me, fine, doesn't mean I wouldn't find out. My dad was coming down the stairs to join us on the table, followed by Felicity. Our small family sat at our respective places, before eating. We weren't religious people, but we did thank God before our family dinners. It was a new tradition we started when I finally pulled myself out of the shit-hole I found myself in after Rori left.

Once dinner was over, Felicity and mom cleared the table so I pulled my father to the side. Being a Jamieson he had a lot of influence in New York so it wasn't an unreasonable request to make, "Hey dad I need you to do me a favour."

"Sure son what do you need?" He asked, pouring two glasses of gin.

"Can you find some records about a child, six years old?"

"What kind of records do you need and why of a six year old?" He questioned, he was definitely intrigued by request.

"Her name is Olivia Greensmith."

"As in Rori Greensmith?" His eyebrows was raised, shock evident on his face.

"Yeah. Rori had a kid dad. She says I'm not the father, but I want to be sure."

"Why don't you just do a paternity test?" I never thought about that.

"If it's not me I still want to know who the father is." I admitted.

"Okay I can see what I can dig up. I'll let you know what I find out."

"Thanks dad."

"Are you in contact with Rori?" He asked.