Red knocked on Morgan’s front door. A friend of his who played golf with a judge in Berrien County had got him to sign an order giving Jared emergency custody. It took hours to get everything straight, including setting up future court dates, but he was back now, with his daughter.
He looked down at his baby girl, who had a pair of headphones on, listening to some CD Kent had suggested they buy at a local Walmart. Obviously, his friend knew what he was talking about because Corrine hadn’t stopped singing since she got it.
Hours had passed since Morgan had called to let him know that Cali had rushed to the hospital because something had gone wrong with Uncle Cal. He’d tried to call her, but he couldn’t get through.
He knocked again.
“Hold on,” Morgan called from inside.
When the door swung open, Red grinned at his friend, who was frantically buttoning his shirt. “I thought Syd was supposed to be on bed rest, not doing it.”
“Shut the hell…” Morgan didn’t finish his sentence because he looked down and spotted Corrine, who was hugging Red’s leg and peering up at him. Morgan looked at Red, then back at Corrine. “Wow,” his friend said. “She’s… beautiful. Like a miniature Syd.”
Red smiled and rubbed the top of Corrine’s head. “Corrine, this is my best friend, Morgan.”
Corrine reached out to shake Morgan’s hand. “I’m Corrine,” she said in a timid voice.
Instead of shaking her hand, Morgan bent down to talk to her eye to eye. “How about a high five?” He asked, one hand in the air.
Corrine grinned, then jumped up and smacked Morgan’s hand. “You’re tall,” she said.
Morgan peered up at Red. “You’re pretty tall yourself.”
Red’s daughter stood up on the tips of her toes. “I’m going to get bigger, too.”
Morgan patted her head and straightened to his full height. “Come on in. Syd is going to love her.”
Corrine stuck her hand in Red’s and they walked through the house.
“Morgan?” he heard Syd call from the bedroom. “Who is it?”
“Want some company?” Red said, poking his head in the room after Morgan opened the door and went inside.
Syd’s face lit up. “Red? You’re here.”
“Not by myself,” Red said, ushering Corrine into the bedroom. “I wanted you to meet your niece.”
Syd pushed herself up and straightened the covers. “Oh my God.”
“Corrine, I want you to meet my sister,” he said softly.
Syd gasped when Corrine peeked at her from behind Red’s leg. “Oh, my… you’re so pretty,” she told her niece. “Hi! I’m your auntie Syd.”
Corrine flashed her a shy smile. “You look like me.”
Syd giggled, her eyes filling with tears. “I guess I do.”
Red’s heart swelled. He’d waited for this moment for months, waited for the opportunity to have his sister and his daughter meet each other for the first time. He fought back the tears and they sized each other up.
Corrine stepped closer to the bed and pointed at Syd’s belly. “Are you going to have a baby?”
“Yes, I am.” Syd grinned. “Want to feel the baby kick?”
Corrine nodded and Syd placed her tiny hand on top of her stomach. Corrine’s eyes lit up and she squealed with glee after a few seconds. Red assumed the baby had finally kicked.
Syd wiped her eyes with her hand. “Did you feel that?” she asked, holding Corrine’s hand in place.
“Am I going to see the baby?”
“You can even help me take care of the baby.” Syd ran her hand through Corrine’s unruly, dark curls. “Do you think I could have a hug?”
Without a word, Corrine wrapped her tiny hands around her and Syd closed her eyes, then peered up at Red. She mouthed, “She’s beautiful.”
He smiled at her through his own tears and whispered, “Like you.”
Corrine looked at Morgan then. “Since she’s my aunt, are you my uncle?”
Morgan barked out a laugh. “Sure am. You can call me Uncle Morgan.”
“Are you famous?” she asked. “You have a big house.”
They all laughed at Red’s inquisitive daughter. She definitely had no filter, like him. If it was on her mind, she said it.
“Thank you,” Morgan said. “But I’m not famous, just a hard worker.”
“Do you have a swing set in your backyard? Me and my mommy used to go to the park.”
“I don’t have a swing set, but I know where a park is. Maybe we can go one day, when it’s a little warmer. Are you hungry, Corrine?” Morgan asked.
“Do you have ice cream?”
“I think I do. Let me check on that. Want to come with me?”
Surprisingly, Corrine grabbed Morgan’s hand and dragged him out of the room, asking all kinds of questions about food and parks and toys.
Red watched her leave the room and sat down on the bed next to his sister. “I can’t believe she’s finally here, with me.” He pulled her into a hug.
“I’m so happy for you, Red.” Syd wiped her eyes again. “You have a beautiful, intelligent daughter.”
He filled Syd in on the details of his trip. He explained the next step with the court and told her all about Nia and her crimes. “My baby has been through so much. I hope I can be a good father to her.”
“You will,” Syd said. “You’re great with kids.”
“But I don’t know anything about raising a little girl.” He’d always wanted to find his daughter, but he never thought he’d end up having to take her in and raise her full-time. A weekend here or there; maybe a summer, but not her entire childhood.
He was now responsible for making sure that she was healthy, happy, and well taken care of. It was all on him to be the parent that she needed, to be there for her through anything. The situation actually mirrored the one with Uncle Cal and Cali. Red understood a little better the choices Uncle Cal had made. On the drive home, he wondered how he’d respond when Corrine started asking for her mother. Would he tell her the truth? Could he tell his daughter that her mother would probably be in jail for the foreseeable future?
“Have you heard from Cali?” he asked.
“She hasn’t called since she left.”
He wanted to go check on her but he didn’t want to leave Corrine. Their relationship was so new he felt like he needed to keep her in his sight.
“What happened with Uncle Cal?” he asked, concerned that he hadn’t heard from Cali.
“He’s on a ventilator,” she told him. “I’m a little concerned. I’ve been trying to not think about it, but…”
“I want to go see her, but…”
“Corrine will be fine with us.” Syd squeezed his hand. “She seems to like Morgan. I can call Kent over since she’s familiar with him. But you should go see Cali. She needs you. She’s not doing too well.”
He kissed Syd’s palm and stood up. “I’ll be back.”
* * *
Red peeked through the window in the door to Uncle Cal’s room. Cali was sitting bedside, her head down.
“Cali?” he called, his voice soft.
When her head whipped up, her eyes softened. She ran into his arms, hugging him tight. He wrapped a hand around her neck and held her to him, whispering random words of comfort to her. She fell apart in his arms, sobbing like it hurt too much to even bear. He eyed Uncle Cal. Holding her face in his hands, he pulled her into a tender kiss. She gripped his shoulders, digging her fingers into his muscles.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry, Cali.”
“He won’t wake up,” she sputtered.
Taking his thumbs, he rubbed the wet skin under her eyes and pulled her into his arms. The words seemed to die on his tongue because, really, there was nothing he could say to make this better for her.
He’d never seen her like this, but he guessed she deserved a moment to let it all out. And he was glad he was there for her.
“What do you mean?”
“I left. I took a break. While I was gone, he had some sort of attack. He was all alone and I was asleep on Syd’s bed. I just couldn’t sit in that chair anymore. I had to stretch my legs, get some fresh air. I should have stayed with him.”
“What are the doctors saying?”
“They suggested a call to hospice. I can’t… I can’t bring myself to do it.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll take care of it if that’s what you choose to do.”
She swept her hands under her eyes and returned to her seat. He scooted another chair next to hers. “Is this how a person is supposed to die? Not knowing if the people he loves are near him?”
“I’d like to think he knows.”
She nodded and picked up Uncle Cal’s hand. A tear fell onto her jeans. She wiped her eyes again with the back of her hand. Sniffing, she turned to him. “I’m a mess. I probably look crazy.”
“Not even a little. You’re beautiful.” He took in her perfect fit, dark jeans and form-fitting sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail. The only sign of her distress was her red-rimmed, swollen eyes.
“The doctors did say he could wake up any moment… or not at all. I just want to hear his voice. I want to be able to tease him about the nurses seeing his goods, or fuss over how much he’s eating. I want more dinner, more vacations… more time.”
“Talk to him now. Like I said, I’m sure he can hear you. Imagine what he would say to you about those nurses.”
Red stared at Uncle Cal and thought about the last conversation he’d had with him. He wasn’t happy with the older man and had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t appreciate what he’d done. Although he was serious, he still hoped that wouldn’t be the last time he’d ever get a chance to speak to Cali’s uncle. He’d been his lawyer for a while but he also considered him a friend, family.
“How did everything go?” Cali asked. “With Corrine?”
“She’s here. I left her with Morgan, Syd, and Kent so that I could come and be with you for a while.”
“I’m so happy you were able to bring her back. How is she? Has she asked about her mother and why she’s with you?”
“Every half an hour or so. I hate lying to her about it, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say. Do I tell her the truth—her mother is in jail and she’ll be living with me—or do I continue to protect the image she has of her mother?”
Red’s words struck a chord with him. Glancing at Uncle Cal out of the corner of his eye, he could finally understand what the man was going through with Cali. The situations were different, but eerily similar. Cali and Corrine both had mothers who probably didn’t deserve to have them and they both had male figures in their lives that would do anything to protect them—including lie.
“Well, I’m always on the truth bandwagon, no matter how much it hurts.”
He knew Cali would say that. She was all straight talk, no chaser. He was usually the same way. It was one of the reasons they became good friends. Most of the women he knew couldn’t handle the truth. Even Syd had to be handled with kid gloves in certain situations.
“I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
“I would love to meet her,” she told him.
“Do you think we should have a conversation about how this may change things? I plan on keeping her here with me.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“What does this mean for us?”
She shrugged, rubbed her legs. “I’m not going to lie; it’s pretty scary. She’s going to need so much. You have to take the time to get to know her, get her settled into a routine. I don’t want to intrude on that time with her. It’s pretty important.”
“But you’re part of this. I don’t want to make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with. We went into this relationship never knowing if I’d ever find her.”
“I think I’ve always known. Come on, Red. You would’ve never stopped looking. It wasn’t a matter of if, more like when. You wouldn’t be Red if you didn’t give your all to her.”
“Full disclosure?”
“Honestly, my mind is so clouded with Uncle Cal, I haven’t had time to really think about it other than praying that you found her.”
“That’s honest. We’ll have time to talk about it. For now, just know that I’m here for you.”
“There was never a doubt.” She leaned in and kissed him, sighing when he ran his tongue across her bottom lip.
An alarm on a machine went off and they jumped up. She raced out of the room, shouting at the nurses. Doctors and nurses swarmed in the room, pushing her back so they could work on Uncle Cal. Red held on to Cali while she begged the doctors and nurses to tell her anything. Eventually, they asked them to leave the room. In the hallway, Cali collapsed into his arms. He held on to her and would continue to do so as long as she needed him.