CHAPTER 23
Garrison
This place is like something out of a movie. A large, round receptionist desk sits in the middle of the lobby, the woman behind it wears a headset, holding her finger up to us as we wait for her to finish her phone call. Sawyer’s grip on my hand makes both of us sweat but I don’t let go. I look over at her and smile, she’s wearing a light blue romper with flowers printed around it. The pastel color shows off her tan and long legs. Hanging around her neck is a simple diamond pendant that I saw her take out of her mother’s jewelry box this morning. I sure as hell hope this meeting ends well for her today.
“Sorry for the wait. How may I help you?” the mousy brunette behind the desk asks, turning on the largest fake smile I’ve ever seen.
“I have an appointment with Dean Sawyer. Garrison Cocuzzo.”
She glances down at her computer and nods. “Yes, regarding your estate planning?”
I shrug and nod, feeding into my lie. Suddenly, this seems like a bad idea. Sawyer and I should’ve discussed our plan of attack instead of walking in there blindly. Hopefully, he’s running behind, and we can step into the hallway to form a quick plan but no, luck is not on my side as the receptionist directs us down the hallway to Dean Sawyer’s office. We take a seat across from his desk and she tells us he’ll be in shortly then leaves us alone. I look over at Sawyer whose head is practically spinning as she inspects the office. She reaches out for a picture frame and looks at each person carefully. I start to ask her what we’re going to do when the door opens.
Both of us immediately look behind us and see Dean Sawyer enter. The man looks nothing at all like the other two we’ve already interviewed. He’s tall, it must be where Sawyer gets her height. His hair is a dark brown with white framing his face, and peppered throughout his stumble on his chin. He has dark eyes that match Sawyer’s and I begin to finally feel good about this meeting.
He wears a sharp suit that I know for a fact cost him no less than a thousand dollars, my father never left the house without wearing something identical. The only difference is that he doesn’t wear a tie, his dress shirt has the top button undone.
Dean holds out his hand, smiling as his shakes my head. “Hello, Mr. Cocuzzo. Dean Sawyer, nice to meet you.” He glances down at his shirt before I can respond. “I hope you don’t mind the informality of no tie. I’m not due in court today so I like to take advantage of a dress down day when I can.”
I nod, squeezing his hand firmly. “No problem with that, I completely understand.”
He smiles and releases my hand, reaching over for Sawyer as he responds to me. “As a man that wears a uniform to work every day, I’m sure you know where I’m coming from.” He looks at Sawyer and smiles. “Dean Sawyer,” he repeats to her, introducing himself once again. Sawyer barely moves as she’s in a trance, taking him in from top to bottom.
“This… this is my girlfriend, I hope you don’t mind that she came today,” I lie, unsure what to say and I’m not about to mention her name just yet.
Dean shakes his head, moving around his desk. “Not at all.” He takes a seat and looks at Sawyer who is still holding the framed picture. “That’s my niece Pyper and her son Carter. They’re the closest I have to kids of my own.”
I rest my hand on Sawyer’s thigh, squeezing softly to try to break her trance. She takes a few seconds then sets the picture down and looks over at me, excitement growing in her eyes.
“Mr. Cocuzzo, I hope you don’t mind but I took the liberty to do some research on you so I knew what I would be dealing with. My research led me to find out that you’re the son of Gianni and Olivia Cocuzzo, owners of Cocuzzo Intel Research Firm, correct?”
My cheeks heat up and I glance over at Sawyer, who is currently hanging with her jaw open. I nod and answer, “That would be them.”
Dean’s smile gets bigger now that he’s confirmed who he’s working with. “Well, then, I can understand why an heir of a multi-billion dollar company would be interested in estate planning. That’s very smart on your part, Mr. Cocuzzo.”
I close my eyes when he says the word billion and I hear Sawyer gasp. Opening one eye at a time, I look in her direction and shrug. “Did I forget to mention that?”
“Um… yeah,” she mumbles, still in shock. “Kind of a big thing to forget to mention,” she says with a scoff.
Sighing, I turn back to Dean who is now staring at Sawyer. I shift uncomfortably as I don’t like the way he’s leering at her chest. Sawyer is still looking at me so she doesn’t notice. I clear my throat, trying to get his attention off her before I lunge across his desk and force him to stop staring at her.
Dean looks over at me, shaking his head. “I apologize,” he says to me.
Sawyer looks at him then to me, confused at his apology.
Dean leans in Sawyer’s direction. “I don’t think I caught your name, ma’am.”
Sawyer swallows so hard I can see her throat bob up and down. I reach over and take her hand in mine. It’s the confidence she needs as she lifts her chin and throws back her shoulders. She takes a deep breath then bolding states, “I’m Sawyer Kingham.”
In slow motion, I move my gaze to Dean, who sits behind his desk dumbfounded for a second until a smile spreads across his face. He stands up, walking in front of Sawyer and for lack of knowing what else to do, he clasps his hands together and holds them in front of his body.
“So, you’re Lana’s daughter then.”
Sawyer
And yours! I want to scream at him. I’m your daughter, too, but no, play it cool, Sawyer, don’t get overly excited. Unlike when a parent normally meets their child for the first time, covered in goo and screaming at the top of their lungs, I’m an adult and so is Dean Sawyer, so as much as I want to scream and yell in excitement, I also don’t want to scare him off. So, instead, I bob my head up and down quickly.
Not sure what to say next, I dig in my purse, pulling out Ms. Monkey and setting her on my lap as I search for one item in particular. Dean reaches over and picks up the stuffed monkey. I look up at him and watch his smile grow as he inspects the old toy.
“She gave it to you.” He nods happily then hands it back to me. “I wasn’t sure if she would or not.”
“I… I was sick and inconsolable so she gave it to me. From the moment she handed it to me, Ms. Monkey was my best friend, we were inseparable,” I explain, stuttering over my words.
Dean nods, looking as fatherly as I expected. “Good, I’m glad it was able to bring you comfort.”
I glance down in my purse and find what I’m looking for. Pulling out the torn playing card, I hold it up. Looking into his eyes, I search for truth. “I found you because of this. My mother had it stuck in her mirror, and it wasn’t until I started to clean out her house that I found it.” I pause, realizing I know have to tell him what happened to my mother. “She… she… she was in an accident and passed.”
Dean reaches out, taking my hand in both of his. He nods as his lips frown. “I heard the news. I’m very sorry for your loss, Sawyer. Your mother was an amazing woman.”
I blink quickly, not wanting to ruin this moment with tears. The warmth of his hands spreads down my arm and for the first time ever, I am feeling what it’s like to have the love of a father. He holds my hand a second longer, then lets go and reaches in his pocket. He opens his wallet and I suck in my breath when he pulls out the other half of the playing card.
“The card was from the night we met.” He pauses to smile. “I was home for the holidays. Your mother came into the VFW with her father and a friend of hers. Your grandfather didn’t stay long but the ladies did. She immediately caught my eye and I had to ask her to dance. Her moves on the dance floor were exceptional and I loved being her dance partner. I knew a few dances, but she became my own personal instructor that night.”
“You dance?” I whisper in utter amazement.
“Starting that night I did. When I was discharged from the service, I started taking lessons and I still do, every Monday evening. Your mother actually came to a competition with me as my dance partner the weekend I gave her that monkey.”
My jaw drops once again and I shake my head. This is far more than I ever could’ve expected but the question remains, why was he never in my life? Before I can come out and asks, he continues with his story.
“That night was probably the greatest night of my life. The funny thing is that your mother and I hardly talked because we just danced all night long. Her friend left with one of the other guys there, but Lana stayed, teaching me how to two-step until Ed, the bartender, kicked us out. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get her out of my mind and I had to have her number. I grabbed the closest thing to write on which,” he holds up the playing card, “was this. I tore it in half. Lana wrote her number on my side and I wrote the number to the VFW Hall because I was only in town visiting with one of my buddies. We offered to give her a ride home but she declined. It was a beautiful night out, even though it was December. I remember she said her parents wouldn’t be happy if she was dropped off by a couple of men she’d just met.”
I smile, that sounds like my grandparents. They were very old school and traditional, which is why I always assumed the never let my father in the picture since my mother got pregnant out of wedlock.
“When did you all meet again?”
Dean smiles softly. “About a month before she had you.”
I frown, shaking my head. “So then… did you two… that night you met?”
Dean looks at me with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“When did you two… I mean… you’re my father… right?” I blurt out, my stomach quenching as for the first time since we’ve arrived, I’m beginning to have doubts.
“Oh,” he says softly and puts the card back in his wallet. “Sawyer, I’m so sorry. I wish I could say yes but… I am not your father.”
My body goes numb. I feel pressure on my hand from Garrison but I feel nothing else. The wind has fallen out of my sails because I’m back where I started… a bastard child.