Not Expecting to Collide (COMPLETE) - ABP Fanfiction

Chapter 82 - Hurt and Comfort

"Do you want me to stay with you?" October asked gently. She cupped his cheek with her hand and looked into his cerulean eyes.
Bam shook his head. "No. I think I would rather do this alone." He stood completely rigid in the muck on the beach. The only thing that betrayed his calm demeanour was the phone that he fidgeted in his hand.
"You don't have to do this, you know. We can find another way."
Bam covered her hand with his, closed his eyes and leaned into her palm. "No. There is no other way. I need to do this. For Rainy. For me."
October knew before she had said it that Bam was not going to back down. She stood on her toes to brush her lips across his. "I'll be in the trapper shack when you are done." She gave him one last encouraging smile before dropping her hand from his face and turning to leave. Bam watched her retreating form until she disappeared behind the tree line. He turned out toward the water and steeled his resolve before dialling the phone.
It rang twice.

"Hello?"
Silence.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ma."
"Bam? Bam! Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me, Ma."
"Oh. Oh Bam. It's so good to hear from you." Longer silence. "I didn't know if I would ever hear your voice again."
"Me neither, Ma." Bam said haltingly. "How - how are you?"
He heard the sadness in his mother's gentle voice as she spoke. "I'm ..." She trailed off before finding the right words. "I miss you all."
Bam closed his eyes. He didn't expect to feel this way. He expected anger and shouting and words that hurt. Not this. His voice hitched. "I - we miss you too, Ma."
"Who is it, Am?" He heard his father's muffled voice in the background. "It's Bam." His mother answered with trepidation. There was rustling and more muffled conversation that he couldn't make out. He expected the line to be cut, but then a different voice came on the other end.
"Hello son. Finally coming to your senses?"
Resentment rose up like bile in the back of Bam's throat. Any warm and fuzzy feelings he got from the brief conversation with his mother were instantly replaced.
"I wasn't aware that I had taken leave of my senses, Da." He bit back his anger and replied with an even voice.
"So you're not calling to apologize for choosing that floozy over your family?"
"That woman you are speaking about is now my wife." Bam ground out through gritted teeth. "I'd suggest you choose your words more carefully."
Billy laughed, low and joylessly. "You have taken leave if your senses, son. If you haven't phoned to apologize, then what do you want?"
Here was his chance. For Rainy, he reminded himself.
"I need you to sign a letter of permission so I can take Rainy with me across the border into Canada."
Again with the laughter. This time it was louder. "You've been without me for nine months and you're already splitting the family apart! Tell me son, what else have you managed to mess up in my absence?"
"We have been getting along just fine without you, Da." Bam clenched his jaw so tight that it ached. He wanted to shout into the speaker about all the good things they had accomplished over the past months, about Birdie's new job, about Matt's relationship with Amber, about the success of the shipping season. About his baby growing inside October's womb, but he knew that if he did, his father would just find a way to discredit them with his ugly words. Bam clenched his fist around the phone and forced himself to speak calmly. For Rainy. "The letter, Da. Will you sign it?"
There was a short pause before Billy answered. "No, I don't think I will, son. If you have done so well without me then you can figure this one out on your own, too. Don't call back until you are ready to apologize. It only upsets your mother." The line went dead before Bam had a chance to respond.
Bam resisted the urge to throw the phone into the water. He didn't even get a chance to say good bye to his mother.
He felt regret at the way she was going to learn the news of his marriage, if his dad would even tell her. He felt another pang when he realized that she might not ever know the grandchild for whom she had so dearly wished for years.
Now to deliver the news to Rainy. He trudged toward Browntown with slow and deliberate steps trying to find the right words to tell his littlest sister that, once again, her hopes were dashed.
When he reached the door of the trapper shack, he paused with his hand on the door knob when he heard a voice call his name. He turned to see Rainy sitting on a snow-covered stump near the woodpile. "He said no, didn't he?" She asked meekly.
Bam stared at her a long time, wondering what he could possibly say to soften the blow. Finally, he simply nodded. Rainy stood from the tree stump and brushed the snow off her legs. "I knew he would." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Rainy, I'm sorry." Bam whispered.
Rainy put her arms out and squeezed him in a quick embrace. "You tried. I love you for that." She stood back from him and shrugged. "See you at supper." With that she turned and made her way through the yard. Bam didn't miss the hurt in her eyes or the defeat in her posture as she walked way from him.
He sighed heavily and opened the door to the trapper shack. Inside, the lamp flickered against the dull light of the winter afternoon. October set her book aside and went to him immediately. She placed her warm hand under his jacket over his heart and looked up at him with questioning eyes. When he lowered his gaze and shook his head, she snaked her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to rest against hers. "We'll figure it out." She said quietly before leading him over to the bed. She removed his boots and jacket and pushed him down onto the bed. Wordlessly, October wrapped her soft body around his hard angles. Bam closed his eyes and allowed himself to draw upon all the comfort that she so lovingly gave.