Dominick
I hurried back from the locker room after changing into normal clothes, and was relieved to find that Helena and Ali were waiting in the parking lot like we'd planned. With a nod, the three of us made it across the street. The diner was not especially busy, and we found ourselves a quiet corner booth.
I had no idea how Helena was going to react to the news, and I was starting to second-guess my idea of telling her in public. If she freaked out or made a scene, someone could overhear and the tabloids would be running the story before you could say baby mama drama.
It was a risk I was going to have to take. It had been difficult enough to convince Helena to come here, and I wasn't about to suggest going somewhere else—let alone somewhere private. When the waitress arrived, I ordered us a couple of coffees while Ali subtly put in a request for a donut and some milk.
Sneaky, sneaky kid, I thought, just barely containing my urge to laugh. After all, I didn't want to call attention to it and risk getting her into even more trouble than she was currently in.
"So you're probably wondering what all this is about," I said to Helena after the waitress finally left. "There's no easy way to say this, and you probably wouldn't believe me if I tried. I think Ali had the right idea, so I'm going to take a page from her book."
Or her folder, anyway, I thought, turning to Ali. "Could you show your mother the papers that you showed me in the rink?"
Ali pulled the documents out of her backpack and handed them to Helena. I anxiously watched her reaction as she read, relieved that she wasn't already yelling or otherwise making a scene.
She probably would've spit her coffee out if it had already arrived, though, judging by the look on her face.
Again, I didn't blame her.
She pored over the papers for a long time, long enough for the waitress to come back with our order and then leave again. Helena's face turned progressively redder as her eyes flitted across the paperwork again and again, but she never yelled.
That was a relief.
After a few tense minutes, Helena carefully placed the papers down on the table and turned to her daughter. "Alicia Charlotte Bramford," she said slowly, taking time to clearly enunciate each syllable of Ali's full name. "Just what is going on here?"
Before Ali had a chance to respond, Helena ran her hands over her forehead and kept going. "They say that it's always the quiet ones, but I never expected this kind of behavior from you. Breaking into that sports complex was one thing, but this? I don't even want to know how you got this. Or how many laws you had to break doing it."
"Three, I think. But they won't try me as an adult. I ran the numbers," Ali said, her subtle joke only detectable from the faintest curl of her lip. I chuckled softly, recognizing the same kind of gallows humor I had in my own youth.
"And you!" Helena said with growing agitation as she turned to me. She paused, her expression changing from annoyance to embarrassment. Her voice took on a softer tone. "You're the victim of all this. Jesus, I'm so sorry. She had no right to invade your privacy like this, to force herself into your life the way she did. I'm going to have a very long talk with her tonight about why this was so inappropriate."
Helena's voice was growing less steady as she continued to speak, and I noticed her hands were trembling. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she rubbed her eyes and continued. "A long talk. About bioethics. With my eleven year old," she said, unable to suppress a groan. "And I thought this summer was going to be a chance to unwind…."
"Sounds like you could use some help," I suggested quietly, surprising myself.
"My father helps out a lot, but he's out of town this week. Besides, I think this kind of thing might be a bit beyond his expertise," Helena answered with a shrug. Clearly, my offer of help was either too subtle or she had no interest in accepting it.
That was the problem with subtlety. If it doesn't work the first time, your only options are either to embarrass yourself by explaining or embarrass the other person by explaining.
I looked back at Ali, who was still working on her donut, and gave her a little smile. It was true that her behavior was far from ethical, but I couldn't be mad at her on a personal level. When I put myself in her shoes, it seemed clear that she had just wanted to find out more about her father.
I wasn't going to hold that against her. And I hoped that no one would.
Besides, even if I had been upset, I would've been too impressed for it to matter. Even with the help of an investigator, tracking me down had to be a major accomplishment for a kid. Hell, it would've been a major accomplishment for an adult.
The table returned to silence as Helena took a sip of coffee with unsteady hands, and I took a similarly awkward drink. Clearly, both of us needed time to digest this news.
"Well, what's done is done," I said finally. "And there's no taking this back now. I'll give you guys my number, and you can call once you've had more time to sort this out. Sound good?"
Ali grinned from ear to ear, looking more excited than if she'd just won a lifetime of free unicorn rides. For her part, Helena gave a thin and completely ambiguous smile. We exchanged contact information, and with that, I got up to leave.
"Take care of yourself. Okay, Alicia?" I said. She looked up at me with the two mismatched eyes I seemed to know so well, and nodded.
"I will," she said solemnly.
"And try not to give your mother any more heart attacks, okay?" I teased. "I think two is enough for one day."
Ali nodded, and I started to leave. Before walking away though, I turned back and looked at my daughter. It didn't seem right to just walk away, but I didn't quite know how to leave. She was still a stranger, so either a hug or kiss felt pushy and intrusive. I was still her father, however, and so a handshake or a wave felt downright insulting.
While I was debating, Ali scrambled up onto her seat. Planting a quick peck on my cheek, she solved the problem for me—and melted my heart in the process.