The Pull of Destiny (68 page)

“Damn. That sucks,” Luke
muttered.

I nodded. Ma Weeks never
complained about anything, though. That was the one thing I loved about her,
there was no negative energy coming from her at all. “Yeah. She gets lonely, so
I like to go chat with her whenever I can.”

Luke gazed at me, his
expression one part wonderment, and two parts admiration. Giggling, I asked,
“What's that look for?”

“I'm just thinking about
how selfless you are,” he shrugged.

“It's not a big deal,” I
said casually, secretly pleased.
He thinks I'm selfless? Score!
“She
used to babysit me when I was younger and she likes my company.”

“Huh.” Luke tapped his
chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I actually don't think I even know
any of my neighbors.”

I couldn't stifle my
giggle, even though I tried. “Really?”

Luke shot me an indulging
look. “That's what I get for living such a sheltered life,” he said wistfully.
“I mean, I've lived in that building my whole life and I don't know anyone
there! Course, the fact that our elevator is private doesn't help.”

“Well, that's gotta change
for sure.”

“I know. That's why it's
on my list. 'Get to know my neighbors'. I put it on two years ago but I never
got around to doing it coz I was 'busy'.” Luke ran a hand through his hair
again, tousling it up. “Now I got nothing but time.” He gave me one of his
token endearing looks. "Hey, you wanna help me make cookies to give to my
neighbors?”

“Pretend you just moved
in?” I joked, liking the idea already.

Luke grinned. “Yeah,
something like that. We can play pretend.”

I nodded, trying not to
seem overeager. “Sure.”

***

We got to the restaurant
and I walked in behind Luke, trying hard to act as though I belonged there.
Elegant couples were being seated, the women dressed in fur coats and dripping
with diamonds. I looked down at my outfit and sighed internally.
Looking a
little frumpy there, Celsi.
Well, Luke said that I looked nice, and that
was the most important thing. My eyes darted this way and that, trying to drink
everything in at once. The decor was minimalist but very expensive looking. A
gleaming grand piano stood in the corner of the entrance room and I couldn't
take my eyes off it.
Gorgeous!

“It's so nice in here,” I
breathed to Luke, who was scrutinizing the restaurant goers like he was looking
for someone.

He nodded absentmindedly,
his eyes lighting up as he apparently spotted somebody across the room.
Tightening his hold on my wrist, he said, “Come over here, CiCi,” excitedly. “I
have someone I want you to meet.”

I followed Luke obediently
(like I had a choice, since he was practically dragging me), throwing him a
side eye nonetheless.
Someone he wants me to meet?
Who could that
possibly be? I didn't run in this kind of social circle, and I'm pretty sure I
didn't know anyone who did.

He stopped in front of a
tall man with short cropped hair who had his back to us. “Sir,” he started,
sounding nervous as he cleared his throat, “I'd like you to meet Celsiana
Sawyer.”

Okay, what's going on
here?

Confused, but deciding to
play along regardless, I put a smile on my face. Luke would no doubt explain
this later on. All I really had to do was go along with it.
It's probably
something to do with his list.

Stretching out my hand, I
started to say, “It's nice to meet you, sir,” as politely as I could.

The mystery man slowly
turned to face us and I froze, the word 'you' sticking in my throat as my voice
trailed off. Wordlessly I looked up into the man’s face, staring into a pair of
eyes almost identical to the ones I looked at every day in my mirror at home. I
wrapped my arms around my body, feeling faint as my brain tried to come up with
an answer for what I was seeing in front of me.
Is this man who I think,
hope he is?
And if so, how could this be?

“Oh, my God,” he muttered,
his eyes on my face. An expression of shock flitted onto his face.

Placing his hand bracingly
on my shoulder, like he knew my legs were about ready to give out, Luke said
“CiCi, this man is Enrique Garcia.” He paused and swallowed. “Your father.”

***

“I had no idea I even had
a daughter,” Enrique explained to me once we were seated at a window booth.
Luke had discretely disappeared, saying he would be back. I appreciated the
fact that he knew I needed space to think, to absorb this massive surprise.
Shock had rendered me emotional and all I could do was stare at Enrique.
Dad.
It seemed unreal to me. I couldn't even figure out what to call him. “The
thought never crossed my mind! I met your mom the summer I was 17 and I was
visiting my uncle here. She told me she was older and I believed her. It was
nothing more than a fling. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. And now, 18
years later, I find out about – about you.”

His voice broke as he
patted my visibly trembling hand.

“How
did
you find
out about me?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. It had something to do with
Luke, that was certain.
Now I know why he was acting so shady when I asked
him where he was taking me!

Don't get me wrong, I was
ecstatic beyond belief that I was sitting opposite my father at that moment,
with the chance to ask him all the questions Aunt Kelly wouldn't have answered,
but I was still curious enough to wonder how Luke had contacted him. And what
would Aunt Kelly say if she found out that we had met? All my life, she'd been
keeping me from him.

She'll freak the hell
out!

“Your friend, Luke. He
found me on Facebook.” Enrique laughed shakily. “Of all places, right? He sent
me an old picture of me and Sharon, then one of you. When I saw that picture of
you, I thought you were my little sister, Mariela. She looks just like you.” He
swallowed and I blinked back tears, hardly able to breathe. “We Garcia's have
the same eyes.”

“Where did he get the
picture of you and my mom?” I asked, confused. I had never seen a single
picture of Enrique in our house. Where had Luke gotten his hands on one?

“From your Aunt Kelly.” I
raised my eyebrows in surprise as Enrique continued.
Aunt Kelly had a
picture of mom and Enrique that she had never shown me?
“He apparently had
to go through quite the interrogation just to get my name from her. But he
finally convinced her that you meeting me was for the best and she broke down.”
His voice turned thoughtful. “I remember Kelly. Real tough cookie, she never
trusted me. She's really protective of her family, I can tell.”

I nodded slowly. “She is,”
I whispered.

It was wrong of Aunt Kelly
to hold me back from meeting my father. She’d sworn up and down that she had no
idea where he was or If he was even alive. She even lied to my face that she
didn’t know his full name, but I knew that she was just, in her own way,
looking out for me.
I can't fault her for that
. I loved her too much. It
was just amazing to know that, for the first time in my life, Aunt Kelly wasn't
the only person I had to fall back on. I mean, if Enrique didn’t want to be in
my life, he wouldn’t be here, right?
Right.

“She should have told me
about you, though. I missed so much of your life.”

The questions from me
started, hesitantly at first, then quicker as I realised that Enrique loved to
talk almost as much as I did.

“What do you do? Do you
have a family? Where do you live? How did you meet my mom?”

I wanted to know
everything, but unfortunately, Enrique had to be on the 9.30pm plane back to
L.A., so we didn't have much time to bond.

As our conversation went
on, I discovered that he was an accountant with a fairly uneventful office job,
which was 'just how I like it' as he said. He met my mom through his cousin,
who went to the same school as her. “I was only in New York for a couple of
weeks, but we spent a lot of time together. She had a wild spark in her. But
she was totally hilarious. Do you remember her much?”

For a second, I thought of
telling him that mostly I remembered my mom for her terrible mood swings when
she was high, but I decided not to. He obviously didn’t know what made her
abandon me, and just letting that bomb drop on him right now would be enough to
send him running to the nearest exit.

“Not really,” I murmured,
content to listening to him as he continued.

 He lived in Glendale with
his long time fiancé.

“We're getting married
next year,” he told me shyly. “Maybe, after we get all the minute details
settled, you would like to meet her?”

Wordlessly, I nodded.

Enrique had one younger
sister who he was very close with. His mother had been black and his father Puerto
Rican.

“We got our hazel eyes
from the Puerto Rican side of the family. Sharon thought my eyes made me look
exotic.” He smiled. “She was a sweetheart, despite her faults.”

When I tentatively
mentioned that I liked playing the piano, he was amazed. His sister, Mariela,
was a music teacher. “Creativity must run in the family,” he enthused. “I
showed her your picture, she was stunned! She hopes to meet you if all goes
well.”

This was almost too much
for me to bear. A new father
and
a new aunt? And Aunt Kelly knew about
this and was okay with it?
Am I lucky or what?

“I would love to meet
her,” I replied softly.

When I told him that I
went to Dalton, he was impressed, although he sounded concerned when he asked
if Aunt Kelly could afford it. When I told him that she did the best she could,
he asked, “Do you think she would let me help? Seeing as I haven't had the
chance to contribute to your upbringing thus far.”

I thought about Aunt
Kelly's fierce independence and sighed. We needed all the help we could get,
but I just didn't see her sucking up her pride to ask anyone for it.
Maybe
if Enrique asks her...

“It wouldn't hurt to ask
her,” I said, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible.
I don't know about
her reaction, though!

Enrique glanced at his
watch and sucked in a breath. “My time here is almost up.” He placed his hands
over mine and smiled. “I'm so overwhelmed by this, Celsiana. You must mean a
lot to Luke, for him to go through all this trouble to get me to come here. He
did a background check on me before he let me anywhere near you because he
didn't want to see you hurt. Bought the plane tickets, made the restaurant
reservations- he must have spent quite a lot of money, just to see you happy.”
My eyes widened as Enrique spoke. Luke did all that? For me? “Is he your
boyfriend?”

Don't I wish!

“I'm not sure. I mean, I
think we might be at that in between stage right now,” I said honestly.

Enrique nodded, the
expression on his face showing that he understood perfectly. “I see. Well, he's
a special kid, anyways. And here he comes, right on cue.”

He smiled as Luke slipped
into the seat next to me.

“I hate to be a buzz kill,
but your cab is waiting outside, Mr. Garcia,” he said politely.

“Call me Enrique, son,”
Enrique said expansively. “I
do
owe you, after all. More than you can
ever imagine. You've given me a present that I never would have expected.”

My eyes filled with tears
as Enrique stood up. He was leaving already! We had barely gotten to know each
other.

“Can't you stay a little
longer?” I asked, my voice wobbling.

“I really wish I could, my
dear,” Enrique replied, sounding a little choked up himself. “But I have to go.
I promise that this won't be the last you'll hear of me. This is only the
beginning.”

My lips trembled as I got
to my feet. “Okay,” I whispered, trying not to cry. I didn't want him to leave.
I wanted to sit down and talk to him all night long.

Enrique hesitated for a
second before wrapping his arms around me in a hug. “If your aunt wants me to
take a paternity test to prove that you’re mine, I will. Then maybe she’ll let
you visit me for a weekend.”

Sniffling, I pulled back,
wiping my eyes on my sleeve. At least I wasn’t wearing makeup, that way I
wouldn’t scare the guys away with panda eyes. “That would be nice.”

“Your aunt’s done a fabulous
job raising you,” Enrique said admiringly. “Although I wish that I had a part
in that, I think you’ve turned out perfectly.”

“She has, hasn’t she,”
Luke commented quietly from beside me. I reached for his hand and squeezed. He
squeezed back.

Enrique nodded, a proud
smile lighting up his face. “You’re the most unexpected surprise I’ve ever had
in my life. And the best, by far.”