Carolina Days: Yesterday's Half Truths Part 24

We never knew the reason why he left us. I don't want to be a d.i.c.k to him tonight, but that unanswered question has driven me insane since the day he left. I have nothing to prove to him, but that doesn't stop me from dressing with care. I want him to be proud of the man I managed to become without him.

The coffee place where we're meeting is closer to Sasha's place than mine. I'm going to pick her up on the way. I text her once I'm in front of her building. Her mouth drops when she walks out the main door.

"This paint job looks insanely good," she gushes once she's in my car.

"Thanks. Clay took care of it while I was in California."

"Ah, Clay. Has he divorced Courtney yet, so I can marry him?"

I give her a look. "Don't see that ever happening."

"Why are all the hot ones taken?" she grumbles.

I shrug. Here I'm worried about seeing our dad; good to know she isn't as freaked.

"What do you think he looks like?" she asks out of nowhere.

Turning to look at her, I ask, "Who...Dad?"

She nods and I look back at the road. "I haven't thought about it. Did he say how he was sick?"

"Something with his liver."

I wonder if he's an alcoholic. Would it be easier to forgive his sins if he was addicted to something?

"Are you nervous?"

She nods. "I want him to like me. That's crazy, right?"

It is; jacked up thing is I want the same thing. "No, baby girl. Even though I'm not sure he deserves it."

"I watched your second episode and mentioned to someone who I work with that you're my brother. She lost her mind and is gross hot for you. Are you seeing anyone right now; 'cause if you're not, I'm pretty sure she's in love with you."

"In love with me? That's creepy, Sash. I'm sorta seeing your friend. Lindsay."

"I'm going to kill you."

My eyes widen. What?

She sees my expression and starts laughing. "I'm not actually going to kill you. I just can't believe you didn't tell me right away."

"Our second date is tomorrow night."

She smacks my arm. "Second date."

Even though it p.i.s.ses her off even more, I laugh. I love my little sister, but she's crazy.

"I'm going to kill her, too."

I stop laughing. "Don't mess with her."

She knows I'm not joking by my tone. "You must really like her."

"I do, so don't start any drama. Deal?"

"Moi, start drama?"

After rolling my eyes, I keep them on the road. We're at the coffee shop a couple minutes early.

I order an iced tea and get her an iced vanilla coffee. We aren't sitting long when he walks in. The years haven't been kind. Even though I feel a wash of guilt, I rejoice in his misfortunes. Who knows how different his life could have been if he had stayed.

After he orders a coffee, he comes to our table. Sasha stands and hugs him. I stand, but only give him a head nod.

"You kids look real good," he says, sinking into his chair.

Where is the man I idolized growing up? This isn't him. This is a stooped and skinny sh.e.l.l of the man I remembered.

"Thank you." Sasha beams under his attention.

I cut to the chase. "Why'd you want to meet us?"

He stares down at the table for a moment before looking up and into my eyes. "I've made a lot of mistakes over the years. The biggest one was leaving you kids the way I did. I'd like to make things right."

Sasha is practically hugging herself beside me, probably falling for him.

"Why now?" I press.

"I don't understand," he starts.

"It's been fifteen years. Why are you reaching out now?"

"I mentioned to your sister I've been having some health issues."

"And you'd like to right your wrongs before you kick the bucket?" I finish for him.

"Luke," Sasha gasps before narrowing her eyes at me.

"No, he has every right to be angry with me." He reaches out to rest his hand on top of hers.

I fold my arms across my chest and lean back in my chair. "Why did you leave in the first place?"

He pulls his hand back and lifts his cup of coffee with both hands to take a drink. "Mid-life crisis is the best way I can explain it. I felt overwhelmed and needed to escape."

Glaring at him, I ask, "Do you have any idea how much we struggled after you left?"

He at least looks ashamed at this. "I was a fool."

"What are you trying to accomplish by reaching out to us now, and why didn't you ask about Natalia, Jennifer, or Melissa?"

His fingers rub back and forth across the tops of his pants. "I saw you on TV and wanted to know if you'd be interested in a business opportu-"

I cut him off with a laugh as I smack my hand onto the table. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It's all on the up and up," he continues.

"Get up. We're out of here," I growl at Sasha.

With wet eyes, she leaves her drink on the table and pulls her purse strap over her shoulder.

When he starts to follow us, I spin, getting right in his face. "Don't ever contact any of us again."

His mouth opens, but wisely, he does not argue.

Grasping her elbow, I lead my baby sister as she shakes to the pa.s.senger side of my car. Once she's settled, I get in. Silent tears stream down her face as I pull away from the curb. He saw me on TV and wanted money. I grip the steering wheel harder, blasting myself for taking the time to dress nicely to meet him.

One look over at Sasha lets me know she did the same. The makeup she probably applied with care for him now runs down her cheeks. He used her to get to me.

"Want me to come hang out for a while?" I ask when we reach her apartment.

She shakes her head. "I want to be alone if that's cool."

"I love you."

She gives me a wet smile. "I love you, too."

I call my mom on the way home. I'm not surprised when she answers quickly since she knew what we were doing tonight.

I skip h.e.l.los. "He wanted money."

"What?" She sounds horrified.

"Yep, he saw me on TV. Wanted to see us so he could talk to me about investing in something. I didn't let him get far enough to tell me what it was."

"How's Sasha?"

"She was crying when I dropped her off. Said she wanted to be alone."

"I'm going to head over there."

"She said she wanted to be alone."

"A child always needs their mother when they're hurting."

I don't argue.

What does someone wear to eat sus.h.i.+? Believe it or not, I did a sus.h.i.+ inspired blog post last year. I refer to it as I try to decide what to wear for my date with Luke. The last time we went out, I didn't know if it was going to be a date or not and had to dress in case it wasn't. This time I know, and knowing is somehow making it easy for me to stress out over it.

There are so many things to consider; the outside temperature, the parking spot to restaurant walking distance to determine shoe comfort level, type of food to be consumed to match sauces in case of any accidental spillage.

There is only a 10% chance of rain, so I'm going to chance it and curl my hair. Since it's a date, date, I'm going to wear a dress. It's on the short side, but my legs are currently still my best a.s.set, so I need to amp their impact. My dress is high necked and paneled, which has a slimming effect. The knit is a charcoal cotton blend with a subtle hint of s.h.i.+mmer.

I paired it with black hose and heeled Mary Janes. If it's chilly, I'm bringing my fitted black leather jacket. A cl.u.s.ter-style pendant of multicolored beads dangles from a long chain around my neck. I warm up all the grey and black of my outfit by going bronze with my eye makeup. Once I'm finished getting ready, I like the look so much, I hurriedly take a few pics before Luke arrives.

I've barely finished when he knocks. Pressing my hand to my chest, I try in vain to settle my racing heart. It would be just my luck to keel over and miss out on a date with Luke.

Nerves or not, I head to the door. Luke is a vision in a cream Henley and dark jeans.

"You look gorgeous." He smiles, pa.s.sing me a bouquet of wildflowers.

"Thank you." I blush. "Would you like to come in?"

He steps inside, waiting by the door while I hurry to put the flowers he brought in water. Coco is in the kitchen, lifting her head from her water dish as I enter.

"Do not eat the flowers," I warn.

She's had a habit of knocking over any potted plants I've ever attempted to bring into the house. Even though they'd look beautiful on my coffee table, I decide to set the flowers on my small kitchen table. It'll be easier to clean up in here.

"Thank you so much for the flowers," I say, walking back into the living room.

"You're welcome. Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me."

"I'm nervous," I admit.

"About the people who might be there or me?" Luke asks.

"Both." I blush.

"Don't be." He holds the door open for me, and then waits on the sidewalk while I lock up.

He walks me to his car, opening my door for me. I haven't been in a car in... I try to do the backwards math in my head but am distracted when he gets in on his side.

"What kind of car is this?"

"This is a '53 Chevy Corvette. I've been fixing her up since I got out of college."

"Her? Oh, I forgot what you called her. What's her name again?"

"Sally."

"Why Sally?"

He shrugs. "When I was little, my granddad had a little blue corvette named Sally. Before he pa.s.sed away, I loved going for a ride in his car and decided one day I would have a car named Sally, too."

"That's so sweet."

"My granddad was a great guy. I'm named after him."

"Two Lukes with cars named Sally." I grin.