The Long Way Home

My father was pulling everything away from me.



Friday, About Six Months Later



I put the glass on the table, "This is the Carano I had while I was in Italy for the Alto Adige tasting. It's perfect and peaking this year. It's Baron di Pauli."



The man smiled at me, "You actually went to the tasting there?"



I nodded, "My friend is a sommelier, she invited me to join her."



He stuck his nose in the glass and nodded, "It's fruity."



"It finishes with dark chocolate. The fruit and chocolate are delectable."



The lady gave me a blank look, "Can we get a cheese board with the wine?"



I bit my lip but couldn’t hold it back, "The reds don’t go with cheese. That’s a white wine food. Did you want to try something else?"



Her cheeks flushed, "No. I'd like the cheese, please."



"Excellent. How is the wine?"



The man gave me a thumbs up, "Fill us up. It's beautiful."



I poured them both a glass and placed the bottle back on the table. I walked back to the kitchen and nodded at Jon, "I need a cheese board."



He grimaced, "Didn’t they get a red?" His French accent was noticeable when he said they.



I folded my arms, "Americans, what can you do?"



He swore in French and muttered things I didn’t catch. He had given me a job, something I had never had before, when I was alone in the world last May. My family and friends had all abandoned me when the wedding was over. Rebecca, Helena, Angela and Brandi still saw me, but it was in secret. I was a pariah of the blue bloods. Phil was already engaged again. Ashley would make a beautiful bride. It grossed me out, but the fact he was marrying her, seemed to make it okay she wasn’t even twenty yet.



France had not taken a single call from me or returned any of mine. He didn’t return a single email or make a single appearance in my life. The small wine bar was the only thing in my life.



Jon handed me the cheese board, "I hope they choke."



I frowned, "No, you don’t. Then I have to do the Heimlich, and no one wants to do that to a two hundred-pound man."



He scoffed, "They think they know everything."



I laughed and walked the cheese out to them. The wife plucked a grape and some Brie as I laid it down. The husband glanced at my ass, making me uncomfortable and annoyed. I smiled, "Enjoy."



I walked to my other tables, clearing and refilling. Jon had taught me how to serve. I had no idea how to do anything, beyond fill a glass.



I looked at the time and hurried back to the kitchen, "I have to go."



He looked at the time, "Oui. It's time for your appointment, non?" I loved his blended French and English.



I nodded and pulled my apron off. He nodded, "I will get Beth to finish the tables and make sure you get your tips."



I winked at him, "Thanks." I needed those. I needed every dime I got. My rent was paid but the ring had only gotten me forty thousand, even with the receipt. I never had taken the five hundred thousand from the account. I daydreamed about it sometimes, like when I was really hungry or cold, and wished I had even a few of my things from before.



The whole world had opened up and closed simultaneously for me. I had never seen or experienced the things I was now, both good and bad.



I ran down the street to see the people I had been dreading all along.



When I got inside, the two men were already there. Will smiled and opened his arms. I felt sick; I was so embarrassed. I hadn’t seen him in the six months, but we had run into each other at a bakery the week before.



I almost slumped into his chest. He squeezed so hard that my back cracked and then he pulled me back, "You look so different."



I nodded, "Poverty changes you." I blushed and ran a hand through my hair. He shook his head, "You look beautiful, different in a good way." He nodded at the guy next to him, "This is Vince. He just plays for Boston. He was actually the reason I hunted you down yesterday and asked if you would meet up with me."



Vince took my hand. He looked like a hockey player, burly and thick. His sweater was exactly what I could imagine France wearing.



I sat as Will pulled the coffee-shop chair out for me.



Vince smiled. I could see where he was missing a tooth in the back. It seemed all hockey players were missing teeth or constantly bruised.



Finally, I said what I was thinking about, "Have you guys heard from France?"



Will shook his head, "No. His contract was up and he said he was taking a leave for a year. Went to play in the Italian league."



I nodded, I knew that. The whole world did. It was on the news. "Yeah, I've felt the brunt of numerous Rangers’ fans being pissed at me."



Will snorted, "The whole team is pissed at you."



I winced, "Sorry."



He shook his head, "Vince just got back from Italy."



My eyes widened, "Did you see him? Is he okay? He doesn’t answer my messages."



Vince sipped from his cappuccino. It was a contradiction watching him drink from such a delicate cup. "I saw him in Rome. He came and met up with me and the other guys who went."



"How did he seem?" My heart was beating through my sweater.



His eyes couldn’t hide the truth of it, "He seemed okay. He wasn’t upset or anything. He's coming back. Signed his contract. Said he'll be back in America after Christmas."



My heart skipped beats, "Really?"



Will gave me a smile, "He's a stubborn guy, J.D. I think he thinks the reason you never got married was because Phil broke it off after the whole spectacle. I think he thinks you’re still together."



I almost started to cry. I felt my eyes trying to tear up. I shook my head, "I tried to catch him. I just was so stunned, I think." I looked down at my hands as Will slid a piece of paper across the table.



"Go get him."



I looked up, "What?"



He nodded.



I shook my head, "I can't accept that."



He smiled, "His address is in there. He isn’t coming back here for Christmas. Go get him. Tell him everything."



I scowled but put my hand on the ticket. I couldn’t be foolish and let it ride again. I didn’t have the money anymore to go on my own. Tears filled my eyes, "Why are you doing this for me?"



His face was so stoic but I heard his voice crack, "It's not me. It's your sister. She came and found me a few weeks ago. Came to a game and stood outside the locker room. We thought she was a good-time girl, but she wanted to find me. Told me how she couldn’t see you often without losing everything herself and how her husband works for your father. She had already risked so many things helping you, but she told me the story. The whole story."



I winced, ashamed that he saw how I had chosen Phil to stop my father from taking everything.



But he smiled after a minute, "She told me about the threats your father made against Mike and you. She told me that you were living in a shitty, little apartment and working as a wine server because your father made sure no one would hire you or help you. I waited outside of the wine place and followed you to the bakery." He reached into his pocket and slid an envelope to me, "She said to give you this, as well."



I took the envelope, not opening it in front of them. I was ashamed of the fact she snuck me money and a ticket. I was broke, almost completely.



"I don’t know how to thank you."



He looked at Vince who shook his head, "We didn’t know people were so fucking evil. Your dad is a piece of work. Coach told me he was told that Mike France was not to be given a contract this year or next. He said something like it came down from the high-ups, trying to teach him a lesson."



Will nodded, "Same in New York, but our owner is a bit of an asshole himself. He isn’t one to be told how to do anything. He knows New York needs Mike. He doesn’t give a shit about anything else and he doesn’t need the finances from wealthy investors. He needs wins. That’s what he cares about."



Vince laughed, "Our owners and managers felt like it was a trick from the Rangers’ owners to make sure that Mike didn’t get snatched up. They offered him double to go there."



I frowned, "What?"



He nodded, "And some crazy lady named Muriel Lawson sent in a huge donation to the team, incentive to offer Mike a contract. He's coming to Boston, not New York."



I opened my mouth, stunned and speechless.



Will shrugged, "New York is going to miss him, but they were too slow to offer him a great contract. Boston is lucky. Best right winger there is in hockey and a dirty scrapper."



I put my hand over Will's, "Thank you. I don’t even know how to thank either of you but… thank you, anyway." I leapt from the chair, launching myself at Will. He wrapped around me. I had never been kind to someone for no reason. I had done it for charity work and for the ability to say I had done it. I had never been good to someone just because it made me happy. Here were the two of them, almost complete strangers, helping me because it was the right thing to do. They didn’t have to hunt me down and help my sister help me, but they did.



I jumped up and hugged Vince. They both laughed.



Will nodded his head, "Your flight leaves in a few hours. You better get a move on. A car will be waiting outside of your apartment in an hour to get you to the airport."



I wiped my teary eyes, "Thank you." I shook my head, "Thank you."



I turned and left for the wine bar to tell Jon I was quitting.



Of course when I got there, he already had a glass poured for us both and a huge grin that told me, he too had been visited by the fairy named Brandi.



He hugged me and sent me on my way.



When I got home she was sitting outside of my building on the stairs.



I started to cry. I hadn’t seen her in weeks. I had been alone almost all the time.



She got up, sobbing and wrapping herself around me. I felt something hitting me. I looked down at her belly. It wasn't perfectly tight and flat like before. It had a tiny little bump. “Oh my God, is that a baby belly?”