Love Will Keep Us - Book 5

Our Daughter

STEF POV

"Seems neither you or I can't help but pick up these overtime shifts." Mike laughs as we both hop into the patrol car to start our second night shift this week. Taking the passenger side tonight, I sip my coffee as he does the same and light my smoke.

"Yeah well, you know Christmas is coming and all the kids want everything under the sun."

"Ha! I can imagine. Corey still bugging you for more Atari games?"

"That and some stupid 100 basketball jersey. He needs a job because he must have hit his damn head if he thinks we are buying that." I laugh.

"I hear ya. We got lucky with Cal, ya know. She never asks for anything outrageous. A few books and art supplies."

"Yeah. That's true." I say softly now looking out the window and feeling my stomach turn.

"She misses you, ya know?"

"Ha, I doubt that Mike. I think she's relieved to be away from me."

"Yeah, you sure about that?" He says taking a another sip of coffee.

"Yeah, I am pretty sure. Why?"

"Because she wants to come home?" He says as I look at him surprised. What the hell did he just say? Callie wants to come home? Putting my smoke in the ashtray I'm not sure I hear him right.

"Mike, don't fuck around tonight. I'm not in the mood."

"I'm not, Stef. She spoke to me and wants to come home. She said she feels guilty for leaving me, and I told her she has no reason to feel guilty. I just said next time I want her to come to me, not to escape you or Lena."

"No, I agree with that."

"But she misses you. And her sibling and Lena. Whether she admits it or not. You know she's stubborn like her mama." He says laughing as I roll my eyes at him.

"She didn't mention anything to me about it, Mike."

"Oh Stef, stop being so stubborn. Jesus, you're more and more like Frank, Sr. everyday." He laughs again as I puff my smoke. "The girl misses you, Stef, and you miss her. Speaking of which, Sharon is really coming?"

"God, so my dad says. I don't know. I need to call him and see where he's staying. We offered to have him and my mother stay with us, but you know that's not happening." I roll my eyes again as I finish my smoke and grab my thermos.

"Look, Sharon is Sharon. I don't know if she will ever come around, but you got a beautiful family, Stef. Let her think what she wants, she's going to anyway."

"Yeah, don't I know," I quickly set down my thermos as I point to the car that just sped past us going what looked like way over the speed limit.

"Dang, might be a busy night!" Mike laughs as he puts on his siren and we take off after the vehicle. I can only hope it is busy, for thinking of Sharon only made my stomach hurt.

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As the family was starting to prepare for Thanksgiving and decorate the home a bit for the holiday, Sharon and Frank were preparing for their trip out West. Frank knew it wasn't going to be easy, for Sharon was stubborn and set in her ways about everything, especially in regards to Stef and her "lifestyle."

She had not seen her daughter since Frank, Jr's funeral, and her appearance was shocking even then to the woman. Sharon just didn't understand why Stef was choosing to live this way, and why on earth she wanted to be illegally married to a woman, especially a black woman and raise her children. She just didn't get it as she marked off the prayers in her Bible and packed an extra set of rosary beads for the trip. Maybe she could get her daughter to change back to what she was? God willing.

"Now Sharon, please. Stefanie invited us, and I want us to have a good time there. She has really made a life for herself." Frank says as Sharon looks at him continuing to mark off the pages in her Bible.

"We are going there to talk sense into her, Francis. How many more years is she going to let the devil continue to rot her soul? Doesn't she realize hell is waiting for her? Just waiting to swallow her up whole. Her life is, well, it's embarrassing. Her job is...God. And Mike? What on earth happened to him? They both need to sit down together and pray. Pray for their souls and they need to confess to everything and ask for forgiveness. It is not too late for them to remarry and give Callie a proper life. Someone has to talk sense into Stefanie Marie."

"Sharon, you..."

"Francis, that is the goal of this trip. And I will be packing some of her dresses so she can remember who she is and her Bible I have here. Don't you want your daughter back? The one who didn't have that filthy mouth she has and God, what has she done with that mouth of hers. We need to throw her in a pool of holy water."

Frank can only sigh, for it was apparent that Sharon wasn't listening to a single word he was saying. He also knew that she would, in no way, stay with their daughter; so, he'd call Stef later that evening to confirm this with her even if deep down it made him sad.

While Sharon was praying for her daughter's soul, Frankie was praying for her own as well after digging through her mother's old box of photos. She had found a picture of her and Stef from when they lived on base back in the late 60's and she had especially been drawn to one of the older ones where Stef had very long, blonde hair, bangs and was wearing what appeared to be a homely dress.

Frankie was very confused as she stared at the picture, even if she had seen some of them before, for it was nothing like her Mama Dukes at all. Nothing. But Frankie had remembered how she had spoken to the woman about how she was afraid to say she liked women back then and that she was hiding. Frankie's young mind began to work as she stared at the photo, and as she rummaged around the trunk some more, she produced what appeared to be one of Stef's old dresses.

"Oh, damn!" She cursed softly under her breath as she stood to her feet and held the blue, paisley dress up to herself. Because Frankie was shorter than Stef, the dress went to the floor, and she immediately had the idea of possibly cutting it and trying to fix it as she quickly shut the trunk and scurried off to her room with the dress and pictures in her arms. Maybe they would accept this look more from her for she would hide just like her Mama Dukes did.