4.32 Memories and Apologies

Gabriel sat beside Charlie on the couch a photo album spread open on his lap. "Are these your parents?" he asked pointing towards a young couple smiling towards the cameraman.

"Yes it is" Charlie's throat was dry. It still hurt to talk about his dad even after all this time.

"Let me see" Landon demanded getting up from the floor where he had sat pouting most of the evening. Pointing at the man's face he said "he looks like Zayne."

"Let us see" the girls cried clamoring to see "is Zayne your brother?"

"No he's not" Charlie told them once they had calmed down enough to listen "Zayne's just a good friend. Remember how we told you Grandpa came from another dimension?"

They all nodded agreement but it was Gabriel who put it together. "Is Zayne your dad from another dimension? Is that why he looks like your dad?"

"Yes" Charlie blinked back tears. It was hard to imagine that his dad could possibly be in another dimension with a different family like the Zayne they knew. If he was, he wondered if his dad missed him or had his new family wiped all memories of his previous life away. He rather doubted it after talking to Zayne. The guy seemed to have fond memories of his son and wife from whatever dimension they were from. It didn't make the pain any less or the jealousy Charlie felt towards whoever had his dad now.

"Your mom's pretty" Gabriel said bringing his mind back to the present.

"She was" Charlie agreed "my dad always said she was the love of his life."

"What was she like?" one of the girls asked.

"I wish I knew" Charlie sighed looking over at Andrew when his husband squeezed his shoulder.

"Why don't you tell them the story about how your parents met?" Andrew suggested "I know your dad told you that story a hundred times."

"I bet he gave her a speeding ticket" Landon guessed sitting back on the floor grinning.

"No way" one of the girls shook her head at him "I bet he rescued her from a burning building."

"Grandpa was a cop not a fireman" Landon pointed out sitting up aggressively shaking his head.

"So" she laughed at him riling him up.

"Enough" Andrew interrupted them before their bickering turned into an argument "let your dad tell you the story."

Charlie smiled over at Andrew his eyes thanking him while his mind searched through all the stories his dad had ever told him about his mom.

***

It was late when Cheri left from work. She tossed her bags into the passenger seat as she got in behind the wheel. She couldn't wait to get home. Take a nice long hot bubble bath. She sighed with anticipation. It had been a long horrible day. She hated her job. Her feet hurt not to mention the boulder sized headache she had throbbing behind her eyes. She never realized how draining it was to take people's orders all day long. Not only that but the constant complaints about how bad the service was or the food. She often wondered why they kept coming back if it were so bad or why eat the food if all you could do was complain about it? Did they think she was stupid enough to hand out free meals based upon their word and an empty plate. Obviously it wasn't bad enough they couldn't eat it. Whatever she thought about this waitressing job it was only temporary.

That wasn't even the worst part of her job. It was the constant come on's from the disgusting old men that leered at her over their coffee's. Was she supposed to swoon and fall at their feet when they offered to keep her warm at night? She smiled at the thought and the shock on the ancient old geezer who grabbed her wrist pulling her down to face level. His toothless grin and fetid breath washed over her while he gazed into her eyes with a look of utter bewilderment as he tried to decipher her answer. "Let go of me. I don't need a man, especially you, to keep me warm at night. They invented blankets for that."

Of course that seemed to open up other less desirable propositions from her co-workers. "Oh honey that's not what he meant...."

"I know what he meant" she retorted tossing her hair back.

"Well honey if you don't need a man" her co-worker gave her a leering head to toe inspection "maybe I could keep you company instead."

She shivered in disgust at the thought of sharing anything with that old hag. She knew the older woman supplemented her income by taking home anyone who asked. Needless to say the rest of her shift dragged on to eternity. Ugh she hated her job so much she thought. She made sure the doors were locked before starting her car. She may be young but she wasn't naive. She turned into traffic regretting not having her wiper blades replaced the last time she had her car serviced. The pouring rain and the bad wipers was making it difficult to see.

On impulse she took a short cut down a gravel road. She slowed down as a rhythmic thumping on her back fender caught her attention. "What the hell" she thought coming to a stop to investigate the sound. She searched her glove compartment for the flashlight she carried. Within seconds she was soaked from the torrential rain. Her flashlight spluttered for a moment before going out completely. "Great just great" she mumbled as she stood in the rain laughing at how awful one day could be.

Lights from an approaching vehicle had her lifting her hands to shield her eyes. The truck came to a stop and a man's voice asked "do you need help?"

What a stupid question she thought. "Nope" she shook her head frowning at the young man as he approached her "just felt like standing in the middle of the road in a rainstorm."

Nodding he got back into the cab of his truck "ok then have fun."

"Wait" she cried knowing her chances of anyone else coming along to help were less than zero "I'm sorry."

He hesitated a moment before turning towards her slamming his door shut "so you admit you need help."

"Obviously" she waved a hand towards her car "I think I ran over something."

"I'd say you did" he pointed towards the screw driver sticking out of the tire.

Laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation she said "that explains the thumping I heard. She took her phone out snapping a picture of it "no one will ever believe me" she explained watching her knight get to work on changing her tire. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked having grown tired with taking pictures and watching.

"Nope I've got it under control" he huffed pulling the tire off. "Ow" he cried waving his hand in the air.

"What happened? Did you hurt yourself?" Cheri cried rushing to his side.

"I'm ok" he hid his hand behind his back.

"Let me see" she demanded.

She pulled on his arm until she had his hand in sight. She tutted over the grazes along his knuckles. "Not much damage" she told him with a smile "you should put some disinfectant on it though when you get home."

"I'll be sure to do that" he agreed storing the tools and flat in her trunk "do you think you can make it home from here?"

"No problem" she said with an easy grin "how about you?"

Thankful for the rain and darkness that hid his blush he said "I actually live right over there" he pointed in the direction of a house not to far away "I saw you stop and thought you might need help." He walked towards his truck "I'm glad I did."

"What's your name?" she called after him not wanting this moment to end.

"Zayne Thompson" he said getting into his truck.

She stood in the gleam of the truck's headlights smiling "It's nice to meet you Zayne. I'm Cheri. I'd like to repay you for your help."

"That's not necessary" he shook his head.

"How about a home cooked meal?" she offered "it's the least I could do."

***

Later that night Charlie tossed and turned unable to sleep. Switching on the beside lamp Andrew sat up in the bed they shared "what's wrong?"

"Nothing" he mumbled "turn the light off and go back to bed."

"Liar" Andrew said "I know you. There's something bothering you. Was it telling the kids about your parents?"

Sitting up Charlie nodded "yeah it made me wonder about a lot of different things."

"Such as," Andrew prompted.

"Dad had so many siblings" he said his voice low and tinged with anger "they were all there for his wedding with my mom. Where were they when he died? All my life I thought it was just me and my dad. It's like they stopped caring about him. Like he didn't exist anymore."

"I'm  sorry" Andrew pulled his husband close "I always thought your dad was an only child. I never heard him talk about his family other than your mom."

"I remember asking him if I had cousins, Aunts, Uncles. You know that sort of thing and he'd always get this lost far away look in his eyes like he was remembering something that was painful." He shivered in Andrew's arms "what could my dad have done that his entire family disowned him? Cut him off like he was nothing?"

"I don't know" Andrew soothed holding his grieving husband close "your dad always seemed to be a good guy. The only thing I remember him mentioning he regretted was joining that BC so soon after your mom passed away."

Nodding Charlie sat up "I've never seen the show. Have you?" Andrew shook his head knowing that it was going to be a long night as he watched Charlie get up and retrieve the laptop from the dresser.

Several hours later Charlie sat silently staring at the blank screen. Taking his hand Andrew squeezed it tight. "That's not my dad" Charlie mumbled "he'd never treat someone like that."

"Everyone makes mistakes" Andrew murmured. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't watched the same episodes as Charlie had. Zayne had always seemed a good guy maybe a little hot headed but he wasn't the type to take his aggression out on anyone. At least he never thought so before.

"They had to have doctored the footage" Charlie said "my dad wouldn't have been so mean spirited. He wasn't that person" he turned hurt, confused eyes towards Andrew. "Tell me you don't believe it. Tell me my dad wasn't that person." Tears  cascaded down his cheeks as he tried to come to terms with a side of his father he didn't know or understand.

Andrew held Charlie as tight as he could while his body shook and trembled against him. He understood what Charlie was going through. It was difficult to come to terms with a fallen hero. To know that the person you looked up to all your life was less than perfect. It was even worse when that person was your dad. "Honey your dad was a good person. He saved lots of lives. He sacrificed his life for Uncle Jeff." He waved a hand towards the laptop "that was just a small fraction of who your father was. We don't know what happened then. At least not all of it. They only showed the portions that were interesting to get the most ratings. They made it look worse then it really was."

Charlie nodded against Andrew's shoulder "I know" he mumbled "I've spent my entire life putting my dad on a pedestal. I started to think he was perfect."

"I know baby" Andrew cradled his head against his shoulder "I'm sorry he wasn't perfect."

"It's ok" Charlie sighed relaxing in Andrew's arms "he's still my dad mistakes and all. I still love him."

"As you should" Andrew murmured feeling his husband relax in his arms. After a while he heard the deep even breathing as Charlie finally fell asleep. Andrew gently kissed the top of his head. He couldn't help but wonder about the absence of Zayne's family from Charlie's life. He wondered if he should ask his Uncle if he could try and find them or if he should just leave well enough alone.

***

Emmaline walked outside frowning at the rusty old car that slowed to a stop in front of the house. She looked behind her wondering if anyone else had noticed. The driver looked familiar, long dark hair. She watched as the driver's door opened and a familiar head popped out. "Indira" she frowned walking towards the old car she had drove up in.

"Emmie" Indira cried running up to her and throwing her arms around the young woman.

Emmaline stood there arms hanging at her side. This wasn't what she expected. The Indira she knew was anything but this expressive woman hugging her. "What are you doing here?" she stammered at a lost as to what to say or do.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" Indira asked frowning her arms dropping to her sides an unfamiliar look of uncertainty in her eyes.

Emmaline braced herself for an onslaught of verbal abuse. Instead of the classic Indira put upon poor me act Emmaline watched as her sister half turned towards the ancient vehicle mumbling "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."

Reaching out Emmaline grabbed her arm "don't go. Mom and Dad will want to see you."

"Will they?" she asked her voice carefully modulated not to give away any emotion "I wouldn't if I were them."

"Indy is something wrong?" Emmaline asked using the old nickname she had used when she was little.

A slight smile flickered across Indira's face "life happened." She chuckled sadly "I finally learned that life doesn't revolve around me. I don't have all the answers and I certainly don't know everything." She hugged her arms around herself "the only problem is I learned it a little too late. Everyone hates me."

"Not everyone" Emmaline protested "mom and dad love you. Always have if you had been listening."

"And you? What about you?" Indira asked "I was always awful to you and Andrew. The things I said and did."

"If that's an apology I accept" Emmaline said crushing her sister in a bear hug "I love you, I've missed you."

They pulled apart as Indira took in a shaky breath "I've missed you too" she smiled walking towards the car "I have someone for you to meet."

Emmaline followed behind her curious to know who she was going to meet. She gasped as Indira helped a toddler from a car seat. "This is my son" Indira said kissing the boys cheek.

The dark purple hair was all Emmaline needed to know who the father was. She tried to smile as she watched her nephew "does Randy know?" The look on Indira's face was answer enough "you should have told him."

"I tried to find him" Indira blinked back tears "I wanted to tell him. I was hurt and angry. He left me." She took a breath that stuck in her throat thick and suffocating "I can't justify what I did or didn't do. Everything was all screwed up in my head. I was screwed up. I won't deny it. I wanted to hurt him but underneath the anger I hoped he'd come back without me asking him to."

Astonished Emmaline watched as Indira burst into sobs that shook her entire body. She had never seen her cry before. "I lost everything I worked so hard to achieve. The image of a happy family gone. The business career...gone. The image of success...gone. It didn't mean anything when I was hollow inside. It was only after I lost it that I realized what I had given up to get it. I had to admit to myself that I didn't want that life anymore." She hugged her little boy close "I decided for my son's sake I needed to try to rebuild the bridges I had burned. He deserved to know his family even if I was never welcome."

"Of course you're welcome" Emmaline objected "you're family. We love you. All you ever had to do was come home."

***

A ball flew over the gate to the back yard, bounced and rolled into the street. A little girl about eight years old ran after it "Elissa don't run into the street," a deep voice cautioned the girl. She skidded to a halt staring at Indira "daddy come quick."

"What's wrong?" her dad asked eyes on his daughter not seeing the woman she was staring transfixed at.

Pointing Elissa said "it's her daddy it's mommy."

Randy followed his daughter's finger. His breath caught in his throat. "Indira" his voice muffled as if he were trying to talk around cotton balls.

Indira turned to meet him her son clutched in her arms. "Randy?" her voice quivered as her eyes misted with tears "I...I didn't know you were here."

He took a step forward his knees shaking as if they'd buckle at any moment. "You're parents were kind enough to offer me the garage apartment."

"Good. That's good" she struggled to hold onto the squirming toddler.

"Down mama down" the boy demanded.

"Alright pumpkin" she said moving to put the boy down on the ground "stay close to mama."

The boy nodded toddling over to explore the plants near the house. Randy followed him with his eyes "is that..."

"Yes" Indira nodded "I found out I was pregnant a few weeks after you left. I tried calling you but your phone was shut off."

"You could have called my  parents or yours" he said sounding hurt and angry.

"I was angry" she cried "and afraid. I wanted you to come back but I wasn't ready to admit it. As time went by I realized how much I had messed up but by that time I didn't know how to fix it."

"Why are you here?" he asked dragging his eyes from his son.

She briefly explained what she had already told Emmaline "I can't justify my actions. I was awful. I want to change. I think I have changed." She looked over at Elissa "I wouldn't want anyone choosing me as a role model to follow."

"What do you want from me?" Randy asked pulling his daughter close.

"Nothing" Indira replied "I know we can't go back and we can't pretend nothing happened." Nodding over at her son " he deserves to know his daddy and his sister. That's why I'm here. Family."

"You want me in his life" Randy asked sounding doubtful.

"Yes I do" she nodded firmly "you are his father. He needs both his parents."

"Alright" he nodded back at her "I'd like that."

"Good" she smiled feeling for the first time that things were finally going in the right direction.