One Wish Left

CHAPTER 9: FATHER

"So you think he's a safe person to introduce to Kieran?" her mother asked. They were sitting in the bleachers watching Kieran's first middle school basketball practice. The gymnasium was a bit too warm and smelled of sweat and rubber.

"Brodie always spoke so highly of him. I know he used to get into a lot of fights, but I think it's something he grew out of. Besides, he's a police officer, Ma," Laura explained, taking off her sweater. "How dangerous could he be?"

"Well, I don't know, but I'd love to meet him myself, dear."

Laura dug in her purse for a piece of gum. "And you will. I doubt you'll have any objections to him, though. He's incredibly kind."

"You came to that conclusion rather quickly," her mother said, turning to take in her daughter's expression.

"It's not like I don't know him at all," she said defensively. "I think we were even good friends at one time, strange as that is. Somehow I think our bizarre connection is still there after all these years."

Laura's mother stayed quiet, looking at her. Laura could see her staring out of the corner of her eye.

"What, mother?" she sighed.

"Nothing, dear," her mother replied, smiling serenely to herself. After a moment, she added, "I suppose it's events like these that make you realize how much this man's presence could mean to Kieran." She gestured to the court where her grandson was practicing lay-ups with the team.

"Exactly," Laura said. "It's not that I think women can't bring up sons on their own; it's just that it could be such a benefit to him, something really special, to have a good man in his life."

Her mother turned her gaze back to her daughter. "And you think Jesse is that good man rather than Chad?"

Laura paused, momentarily tripped up by the question. She flushed with guilt at the realization that Chad hadn't even entered her mind in the conversation. She was so used to compartmentalizing that part of her life, the single and free version of Laura who gallivanted around L.A. with her boyfriend, that she often forgot about him when she was in Chicago. She'd never felt particularly guilty about that before; leading two different lives was how she kept sane. But she was feeling it now.

She watched as her son participated in a free throw drill. "You know I think Chad is a good man, Ma. It's not about that. It's just... I've kept my love life separate for so long for Kieran's sake. But now, his need for a father figure is causing me to reevaluate a lot of things. I could easily bring my two worlds together right now. Make Chad a part of Kieran's life. I'm just not ready for that, Ma. I really, really wish I was, but I'm not."

Laura's mother said nothing. She was skilled at using silence to get information out of people.

Laura breathed out a shaky laugh. "With Jesse, it's so easy because he's already family to Kieran. And there's just something about knowing someone as a teenager that makes you trust them as an adult," she said, turning her brimming eyes to her mother's. Laura was surprised by her own sudden emotion. "And Jesse is Brodie's, Ma. He was Brodie's favorite person in the whole world. I feel like that is such a precious thing to have found again. I can't let that go."

Her mother squeezed her hand. "I understand, sweetheart. If Jesse is everything we hope he is, he would be a treasure indeed. An answer to prayer."

Laura turned a yearning eye on her son. "A wish come true," she whispered.

+++               

Jesse threw open the door of the gym to a blissfully perfect day. He'd just finished an intense and gratifying workout with the speed bag, so the breeze felt delicious. In this uncommonly happy state of mind, he was thinking how glad he was that he'd decided to walk to the gym when he felt a buzz in the pocket of his sweatpants.