Dashboard Lights

by Jena Wade

  I whipped my head up to look at him and nearly fell over. “What? You're the one who never called and then ended up telling my dad that you never wanted to see me again. Who does that?”

  Ollie reeled back in shock. “Your dad came to me and gave me money to get out of town. He told me you never wanted to see me again.”

  I narrowed my eyes. My mind wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders yet. “No. That's not what happened,” I said. “I came home from my trip, you never answered any of my calls or text messages. Then you were gone. You told my dad that you didn't want to see me anymore.”

  “Why would I ever tell your dad that? I had never spoken to him until that day he came to my house after I—” He clamped his mouth shut to stop whatever he was going to say. “Anyway, he gave me a check and told me to leave. That your plans didn't include me in your life.”

  The Ollie I knew from five years ago had been incapable of lying. He’d been too sweet, too innocent to ever be able to con anyone. Five years could change a person. But his tone rang true. I didn’t want to believe him, but my dad had interfered in my life so many times.

  I pulled my cell from my pocket. “No, that’s not what happened.” I thumbed through my contacts until I found what I was looking for. “See, I still have your number. I tried calling when I came back from my trip. I sent you messaged. I finally gave up.”

  Ollie looked at my phone. “That’s not my number. The last digit it wrong.”

  “What?” My hungover brain was working slowly. “Mother fucker.” I pinched my eyes closed and tried to quell my anger. It would do no good to lash out at Ollie.

  This time my dad had gone too far. He’d kept me from my destiny. My soul mate. Stupid fucker. Always trying to run my life one way or another. Hell, recently he'd even gone so far as to fill out the paper work to put my name on the ballot for Mayor.

  “The kid? Your son?” I choked out the words.

  Ollie closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Christopher,” he said. “He's five years old.”

  “Oh,” I said. “He's…?”

  “Yes,” Ollie said. “He's yours.”

  “Oh my God.” I sat back down and put my head between my knees, taking in deep gulping breaths. “Oh my God.”

  “I don't expect anything from you,” Ollie said. “If it was up to me, you never would have found out. I mean, up until a few moments ago I thought you never wanted to see me again. I still don't know what I believe. It's hard to sort this all out.”

  “No kidding,” I said.

  “Listen,” Ollie said. “We obviously need to talk about this, but Christopher's going to get up soon and I don't want him to meet you like this.”

  “But he can meet me, right? You won't keep him from me?” I pleaded with my gaze.

  Ollie searched my face for something, he must have found what he was looking for because he shook his head.

  “No, I won't keep him from you. But you can't meet him like this. I want to talk to him first. And I don't know anything about you, Philip. I'm very protective of who I introduce to my son.” He bit his lip.

  I scrambled, knowing I had very little time. “I'm the same man I was when you knew me before, I swear it,” I said. “Only now, I have a degree in fire science. I'm a fireman for Millerstown Fire Department. I rent an apartment on High Street. I still go to Sunday dinners with my family. My dad wants me to be mayor, but I don't want to. I don't have anyone special in my life. I still play too many video games on the weekends and on my days off. But I am a normal, everyday guy. I promise.”

  Ollie held up his hand in a stop motion. “Okay, okay, I get it. I wouldn't go so far as to call you normal, but apparently you didn't turn into a serial killer either.”

  “No,” I said. “I didn't. What about you, Ollie?”

  He looked at his watch. “We don't have time to go into that. Besides, this is about you meeting Christopher. Not you talking to me. Christ. This is such a mess.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can't believe your dad would do this.”

  “I can and I can’t. He’s always had it in his head that I’d take over his position as mayor and settle down with a woman someday, for whatever reason,” I said sadly. “Don't think I'm going to let him get away with it. He's been trying to run my life for too long. It's about time I told him to get fucked.”

  “Language,” Ollie said, then laughed. “Sorry. It’s a habit.”

  “What's he like?” I asked.

  Ollie smiled. “Amazing. So smart. He plays piano. He loves doing math workbooks. He likes to read. Comic books mostly, but I can get him to read a chapter book every now and again, as long as it's funny. He has your eyes.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I noticed that.”

  “He's going to wake up any minute now,” Ollie said.

  I stood, then straightened my jeans and my shirt. “I better get going. I'm going straight to my parent’s house to figure out what the fuck my dad was thinking. When can I meet Christopher?” I asked.

  “He has a half day at school today. I'll pick him up and talk to him about you and the situation. I'll see what he decides. If he's okay with tonight, then that's fine with me.”

  “Great. I don't have any plans. You want to meet here or someplace else?”

  “Not here,” Ollie said quickly. “Let's meet at Holly Park or something.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “It's a date.”

  “I'll let you know,” Ollie said adamantly. “If Christopher doesn't want to meet tonight, then I'm not going to force him. It might be too soon for him.”

  “Of course,” I said. “Whatever's best for him.”

  Ollie nodded.

  I pulled out my phone and handed it to Ollie. “Put your number in, please.”

  Ollie punched in his number and handed it back to me. I sent him a quick text so that he'd have my phone number.

  “All right,” I said. “I better go. Let me know about tonight, okay?”

  “I will,” Ollie said.

  I hopped on the ATV and drove straight to my parent’s house. The old trail that I'd used years ago when Ollie and I had been dating was still there and it didn't take me long, only fifteen minutes, to get from his house to my parents.

  My parents lived in a ritzy subdivision just outside of town. It was the closest Millerstown had to a gated community.

  My headache still pounded behind my eyes, but my mind was going too fast to focus on it. My world had shifted in the last twenty minutes. I had a son. Ollie didn’t leave me, at least not by choice.

  When I entered the house, my mother was in the kitchen getting coffee ready. She gave me an odd look as I came in.

  “What are you doing here this early?”

  “I need to talk to Dad. Now,” I said.

  “He should be down any minute. What's going on?” My mom, Cheryl Miller, first lady of Millerstown, spent most of her time and energy on charity work and volunteering. She was devoted to her causes, which was great, but she rarely focused on anything besides them. Even me and my dad took a backseat to the events she put together.

  “I want to talk to Dad about it.”

  I doubted she had anything to do with him telling Ollie to get out of my life.

  My mother set a cup of coffee down in front of me, and I sipped it until my dad came in.

  “Philip, I'm glad you're here. We need to talk about that application.”

  “No, Dad. I don't want to talk about that. I'm not going to run for mayor.”

  “I don't have too many more—”

  “No, Dad,” I said more forcefully. It was rare for me to ever raise my voice to him, but this time it was warranted. “I ran into an old friend of mine. A good friend of mine. Oliver Stone.”

  My dad snorted but had no other reaction.

  “Do you want to tell me about what you did?”

  My mother looked confused, glancing between me and my dad. “What did your father do?” she asked as if it wasn't a surprise that he had interfered in my life in an
y way. I suppose it wasn't. I'd let him get away with his interferences for too long.

  “Dad?’ I said. “Did you pay him to leave town?”

  “Yes,” he said as if it was obvious and he had nothing to be ashamed of.

  I pinched my eyes closed and let out a long breath. It didn't surprise me. Obviously. I believed Ollie when he had told me what my dad had done but hearing it from my dad so nonchalantly set me on edge. Years of disappointment and despair rushed through me.

  “How could you do that? He—" It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about Christopher. About how Ollie had been left pregnant and alone. About how I’d been robbed of my son’s first five years. But I didn't. Something held me back and I trusted that instinct.

  “It was for your own good,” my dad said. “You're better than him. You can do better than him and you should be trying right now.” He pointed a finger at me. “You should be out there finding a suitable spouse that could be first lady or first Omega of this town.”

  “Did you change his number in my phone?”

  “Yes,” he said as if it was no big deal. “You were away on that trip. When you came back, I needed you focused on your future as mayor, not some Omega.”

  “Ollie was my future, Dad! I am not going to be mayor when you retire. Someone else will take your spot. There are plenty of capable people in this town. Fuck, why don’t you hound Tyler to run for mayor?”

  “Your is not qualified to run this town. He left this family,” he said, and he slammed his fist on the counter, raising his voice. “This town needs to be run by a Miller who’s committed to it. It's our namesake.”

  “That's a bit old school, don't you think? This is a democracy, not a monarchy.”

  “I don't have time for this,” my dad said.

  As he went to leave I grasped his upper arm and held him. “We're not done talking about this. You've interfered in my life for the last time. I can't have you trying to control me like this.”

  “It's for your own good. You'll see that sooner or later. You're a good boy, Philip.”

  I shook my head. “I'm a grown man, Dad. I have a career I enjoy and no desire to go into politics. I won't be following in your footsteps when you retire. That's it. That's the last of the Millers as mayor.”

  “No.” He jerked his arm out of my grasp. “You'll come around.” He left the room.

  I slammed my fists on the counter causing my coffee mug to shake.

  My mom put her hand over mine on the countertop. “Who is Oliver?” she asked.

  “A boy I dated in school six years ago. He was my Omega. I was going to marry him,” I said.

  “And now?”

  I shook my head. Two days ago, if someone had mentioned Oliver's name to me, I would have had a whole different set of opinions than what I did now. I clenched my fists. I wanted so badly to punch something.

  “My life could have been so different had he not done this. He's ruined it.”

  “Surely you don't mean that?” my mother said.

  “He has,” I said. “I've missed so much. I can never come back from this. He was my Omega.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “What else aren't you telling me?” she asked softly.

  I closed my eyes and fought back the tears that threatened to fall. “I have a son.”

  She gasped and put a hand over chest. “I have a grandchild?”

  I nodded. “Ollie and I were only together the one time, but he had a baby and I wasn't there for him. I wasn't there for our son. Christopher's five now. I've missed so much. Everything.”

  “Can we meet him?” she said. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.

  I shrugged. “I'm going to soon. I don't know how Ollie will feel about you or Dad.”

  “No,” she said. “We're not mentioning this to your father. He's lost his damn mind with this whole mayor thing. You’re right, he’s gone too far.”

  “I've been saying that for years.”

  “I know,” she said. “I just assumed that sooner or later he would accept that you weren't going into politics. But he seems to just double his efforts every time you tell him no.”

  “He's obsessed,” I said.

  “When do you get to meet Christopher?”

  “Tonight,” I said quietly.

  “Will you tell me about him?”

  “Yeah.” I tried to smile as a sort of encouragement for her.

  “I’ll talk to your father. See if I can get him to understand that you won’t be changing your mind.”

  “It won't do any good.” I downed the last of my coffee and handed her the empty cup.

  “Probably not.”

  I gave her a hug and promised again to fill her in when I got a chance. The day was going to be a long one, but I’d be ready and waiting for Ollie’s call.

  My son.

  I was going to meet my son today.

  Chapter Four

  Ollie

  Christopher climbed into the back of the car and plopped down in his booster seat.

  “How was your day, buddy?”

  “Good,” he said.

  “All right, buckle up.”

  He let out a long, dramatic sigh, but put his seatbelt on. I couldn't help but smile at that, then my heart clenched at the thought of the conversation I was about to have. I had known that it would have to happen sooner or later. I didn't think that I'd ever actually introduce Christopher to Philip, but I always knew that I would have to tell him about his Alpha dad someday.

  “So, what did you learn about today? What was your favorite part of the day?”

  “Oh!” Christopher perked up. “We’re going a field trip to the fire station in a few weeks.”

  “Really?” I said. What were the odds of that?

  “I got a permission slip for you to sign.”

  “All right. Do they need volunteers to chaperone?”

  Christopher shrugged.

  “Well, I'll get ahold of your teacher and I'll see if I can come along.”

  “Dad, you don't have to go to every field trip.”

  I grinned. “Maybe I want to learn about the fire station.”

  “Okay,” Christopher said.

  “Hey, buddy, how about after dinner tonight we go to the park for a little bit? I've got someone I want you to meet.”

  “Who is it?” Christopher cocked his head to the side as he spoke.

  “It's a friend of mine from high school. You know that I went to high school here in Millerstown, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, a friend of mine named Philip is still around. And—”

  “Is that who came over last night?”

  I fought back a grimace. I’d hoped he would think that had been his imagination. Christopher had been nervous to sleep in the new house the first few nights and he kept waking up. “Yeah,” I said. “He did.”

  “Did he stay the night?”

  I swallowed thickly and gripped the steering wheel. “Sort of,” I said. “He fell asleep on the porch and I didn’t want to wake him, so I just let him sleep.”

  “Oh, that seems kind of silly. He didn't even have a tent.”

  “No,” I said. “He didn't even have a tent. So, Christopher, you know how most of the kids you know that have an Omega dad also have an Alpha dad?”

  “Yeah,” Christopher said. “You said my Alpha dad couldn't be around all the time, but that he was a very nice man.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Well, the man you're going to meet tonight. Philip. He's your Alpha dad. He helped make you.”

  “Oh,” Christopher said, and he bit his lip, a habit I knew he’d picked up from me.

  “Look at me, buddy. Talk to me. What do you think? We don’t have to meet with him tonight if you don’t want to.”

  “I want to,” Christopher said. “Do you think he likes fire trucks?’

  Oh boy. Such simple things to a five-year-old to determine if someone was worthy of being a friend or not. I’d leave out the fact that Phi
lip was a real-life fireman for now. Philip could tell him.

  “Yeah, dude, I think he likes fire trucks.”

  “Cool.”

  ***

  I walked with Christopher across the park from where we parked the car to the bench where we’d meet Philip. My phone pinged with a text message alert and I opened it up.

  Should I bring anything?

  I smiled at that. What could he need to bring to a park?

  I texted him back. No. I have his ball glove if he wants to play catch, but other than that, we're good.

  Okay. Be there in five minutes.

  Christopher and I sat on the bench.

  “You want to go play on the swing set for a little while?”

  “No,” Christopher said. “When do you think he'll be here?”

  “Couple more minutes,” I said.

  Christopher had his hands folded in his lap, kicking his feet wildly as he sat on the bench.

  “What are you thinking about buddy?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing. Do you think he likes baseball?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I'm pretty sure he likes baseball.” Philip had been first baseman on the high school team, and I was pretty sure he’d played on his college’s team as well.

  “Can he coach my T-ball team?”

  Whoa. That was territory I wasn't ready for. “I'm not sure. But maybe he'll come to some games.”

  Christopher turned to look at me. Concern etched on his young features. “The other kids have dads that come to every game.”

  I knew that wasn't true, but I wasn't going to point that out.

  “I make it to every game.”

  “I know,” Christopher said. “But the other kids have two parents that come to every game.”

  “Christopher, we've talked about this. Not every family has two parents. Families aren’t the same. Some have a mommy and a daddy, some have two mommies, and some have two daddies. There are many families where the parents don't live together. There's even a few that we know that have three parents. All families are different. It doesn't mean you're loved any less, though.”

  “Okay,” he said. But I knew the topic wasn't done. If I knew my son well, the first thing he would ask when given the opportunity would be for Philip to coach his T-ball team.