County Falls

Chapter 33: Clearer Through the Lens

The day I was to meet up with my dad finally arrived. My mind changed constantly as I got ready in my room. According to my mother, he was delighted that I agreed. I doubted my dad used words like delighted but my mom seemed thrilled regardless. He chose a location about an hour away from my house, which was thoughtful considering he lived hours away.

"What if he doesn't recognize me?" I asked my mother.

"He will recognize you Kai. Relax."

"What if he starts crying? I'm not sure I can handle that."

"He's always hated showing emotion in public. You get that from him." I gave my mom a dirty look which she deliberately ignored. She came to my side and fastened a chain around my necklace. "He gave me this when we were still married. May it bring you good luck."

"Hopefully more luck than it brought to your marriage." I mumbled. It was my turn to receive a dirty look. After all the preparing, it was time to head to the restaurant. My mom hugged me longer than normal and watched me drive off.

My palms were a sweaty mess. I was so distracted with thoughts about the meeting, that I almost ran off the road.

"Focus, Kai." I told myself. I was never going to get any of my questions answered if I was road kill.

I pulled up to the address shown on my navigation. It was a small, rustic family diner near the freeway. It was different from Monroe's entirely, with the wooden decor and the portraits of brown bears hanging on the wall. The crowd was different too. Instead of young teens it was inhabited by bikers and truck drivers which made sense due to its location near the road. I had no idea if he was here or not and I didn't know what car he drove but I decided I would wait for him inside, figuring it would give me a chance to scope out the place. I didn't have the chance though because as soon I walked in, I recognized a familiar face. He was sitting at a booth reading the menu. He looked pretty much the same from the last time I saw him except older, grayer and with glasses. His hair was still short and black and when he looked up at me, there was no mistaking who's eyes I had. They were his.

He gave me a slight smile and I waked up to the booth. I cleared my throat when I reached him and awkwardly took a seat. He looked ready to stand up and give me a hug but I wasn't ready for warm moments. He was, after all, a stranger.

We sat there in silence. I'd be damned if I was going to say anything first.

"You look beautiful Kai." He finally said.

"Thank you." I replied politely.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, but I could use a drink."

"Are you 21?" That question stung. "I'm kidding." I gave a nervous laugh. He called for the waiter to order my drink and his food. "This use to be my favorite diner. Your mom loved it too. It use to be packed with locals but when the new diner on main street opened, the crowd went along with it."

"My friends uncle owns that place."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "I work there now."

"That's great. I'm glad you're making your own money. How about school? You get good grades?"

"They're decent. I got in to County University."

"Wow." He said. "Good for you. I was never one for school. Your mother was the scholarly one." I wished he would stop talking about my mother like he knew her. It fell silent again when the waiter brought our orders. He took a bite of his burger and I sipped at my drink. "You must have a lot of questions. I have the answers but you may not like them."