“There’s something that I’m not following…why did the person want to blow up that building with that teenager in it?”
“Well, about 2 weeks later I was still recuperating at the hospital and I received a visitor. It turns out the 15 year old girl was a Princess and the man that planted the bomb was upset because his brother was sent to prison for the rest of his life, and it was all done by this girls father. So, this man wanted Abigail to pay the price.”
“Why doesn’t the army want the news to be revealed?”
“Pride, stupidity, maybe a little bit of both. We weren’t supposed to be out that night and they fear that revealing the truth will give them a bad name. It wasn’t their fault that 12 foolish guys decided to disobey the rules, but it was their fault that they didn’t have more stringent security to make sure we couldn’t leave. Abigail’s father, King Ahmed Brijad had an article printed in the newspaper and they thought that I would like to have a copy of it. Many times I thought about trying to contact Robbie’s family, but each time I was worried that bringing up the past would only be harmful.” He handed Thomas the paper. “Maybe I was wrong.”
Thomas stared at the heading and read it aloud:
American Soldier Saves Princess
He didn’t even know Robbie, but he felt a sense of pride. “Can I borrow this paper?”
“You can have it; I made copies.”
“Thank you!” He shook his hand and was out the door, before Joseph would see the emotion he had stirred up. He wanted answers, but he never believed the kind of results he would get. He just hoped that Rebecca wanted to hear the news; in his mind he had no doubt that it could bring everything to a close.
____________________
“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.” The group finished up a song at their next to last stop. The elderly woman clapper her approval. “Thank you!” They smiled as they looked the woman.
“I really appreciated this; it can get lonely here, but you all helped tremendously.”
“We’re glad you liked it.” Rebecca smiled.
“Come back any time.” She waved to them as they headed out of the room.
Before she got into the hallway she wrote down the woman’s name that was on her bedroom door. “Why do you copy down everyone’s name that we sing to?”
She looked at Bethany and smiled. “That way we can send them each a Christmas card. She smiled. “I like that idea.”
Rebecca nodded; she was pleased that they seemed to be enjoying themselves. She looked at her watch; she really expected to see Thomas at any moment. They only had one more bag of cookies. “Well, this is the last room. I…” her sentence fell when she saw Thomas running down the hallway. “I didn’t think you were going to make it;” she whispered.
“I am so sorry I am late.” The children hugged him and then he faced her. “Did I miss everything?”
“We have one more bag of cookies.” She handed it to him. “This is all you.”
They went into the room and the man looked at them. “Why hello; what do I owe this honor?”
“We just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas.” Thomas stated as he handed the bag of cookies to him.
“Why thank you; Merry Christmas to you too.” He looked over the smiling faces and his smile grew. “You both have such beautiful children.” His eyes went from Rebecca and then to Thomas.
“Their…” she started to object.
“Thank you; we think so.” He turned to Rebecca and smiled. “Would you like to hear a song?”
“That would be great! How about Rudolph?”
The group smiled; that seemed to be their favorite. The sang the song with enthusiasm as she watched Thomas and the children she began to imagine them as her family. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind; it suddenly seemed laughable. When they finished singing, she again wrote down the patient’s name and they waved goodbye to him. Once out in the hallway Rebecca looked at Thomas. “I have to say; I think your children were a great success.”
“Don’t you mean, our children?” He chuckled and she just shook her head. He suddenly seemed more himself and she liked that. “Well Rebecca, I can tell they seemed to have a good time.” The kids nodded with enthusiastic agreement. “I need to talk to you; can we go back to your place?”
She was confused; she just assumed he would take the children and they would go home. “Okay; I could make supper.”
“That won’t be necessary; I won’t take much of your time.”
She smiled. “Don’t be silly; I want to do it.” She led the way out of the nursing home and they got in the vehicles. She didn’t know what he wanted, but it sounded important. She just hoped that it didn’t change the easiness she was once again beginning to feel.
___________________
Thomas waited for Rebecca to enter the kitchen; she had put on a movie for the kids to watch and then they could have their conversation. “Okay; can you talk while I cook?’ She entered in the kitchen pulled some pots from the cupboard.
“Sure; I suppose.” He felt awkward having this conversation while she was busying herself, but it seemed to be the only way. “I’m kind of uncertain how you’ll take the news; so, if I start to say something you don’t want o hear, just stop me.”
She turned and looked at him. “I will, but that’s not reassuring for you to continue.”
He laughed. “Just trust me.”
She shrugged. “Go on!”
“I did some digging about Robbie.” When she turned to him, he couldn’t see if she was happy, sad, confused, or mad. Instead of trying to figure it out, he continued. “I found out what happened that night 11 years ago. Why didn’t you tell me that the anniversary was last week?”
She shrugged and went back to the cooking. “I don’t know; I guess it wasn’t something that one would share. We aren’t dating; there was no need to give up that information. You found out something? Like what?”
“Can you look at me?”
“Thomas, I have cooking to do; you don’t want the children to eat so late, do you?”
He stood up and touched her hand. “It can wait. We can order out if we need to. This is important.”
She dropped the pan and allowed him to escort her back to the table. She slowly sat down and then cleared her throat. “Why did you pursue this?”
He shrugged. “I wanted to get you closure.”
“Will it?”
“I hope so;” he handed her the newspaper and waited for her to read the headline and skim over the article. He could see a tear in her eye. “I talked to the soldier that was with your brother. He’s the one that gave me the information.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me. You ask nothing in return?”
He snickered and looked away. “I wouldn’t exactly say that.”
Her eyes got big. “Oh; you do want something in return?”
When he looked back at her; he saw an unfortunate hesitation. “I want your happiness. I want things to go back to normal between us. It’s been duly awkward and I don’t like it one bit.”
She laughed as she wiped away a stray tear from her cheek. “I don’t either.”
“I actually looked into this when you first told me the story, but it took some more research to finally get the answers. The fact is, you could go to the Dallas Army and demand some answers; they…”
She slowly shook her head. “I have wondered for 11 years what happened to Robbie and thanks to you…I no longer have to think about that. That’s all that I need.” She stood up and went back to the stove.
“Are you positive?”
She turned to face him and before he could question that she walked over to him and gave him a hug. “This was the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me.” They pulled away and she smiled. “I’m certain that I have the information I need and my parents will feel the same way.” She surprised him by brushing a kiss on his cheek. “So, thank you Thomas.” She then turned away and worked a
gain on the food.
“Do you need any help?”
She shook her head. “No, but thank you. You should go in the living room, and watch the movie with the kids. They’re watching Monster’s Inc.”
“Okay; holler if you need anything.”
“I will!” She smiled as he left the kitchen. He let out a slow sigh of relief; that went far better than he could have dreamed. It gave him hope that they would even grow closer together; it was what he now wished for each and every day.
Chapter 19
Rebecca surveyed over the children as they decorated their Christmas cards for the patient’s at the nursing home. “They look wonderful.” She replied with satisfaction. “Your dad is going to be so impressed.” She smiled as each of them put their own spin to the designs. Even Judy and Joey were leaving their creative marks. She looked at the clock; she knew that Thomas would be there at any moment and they were all a mess. “You better finish up; your dad will be here soon. You definitely need to have a date with the sink.” She laughed seeing the glitter and glue on all of their hands and even their faces. As they each finished their cards they were working on they gradually got up from the table. It was Bethany that was the last one to get up. She didn’t appear to need more time, but she was just sitting there. “So, what’s up?”
She sat down so that their chairs were facing each other. Bethany looked up; her once excited glow had vanished. “I don’t know; I have a lot on my mind.”
Rebecca laughed. “Don’t sound so down. I’m sure everything can work out; it might help to talk about it.”
“I want to go to the dance, but I can’t even bring myself up to say it to him again.”
“A lot has happened in the past couple of months; he might not be so strict.”
“I’m not willing to take that chance. What if I ask him and he says no?”
Rebecca remembered being her age before; it was difficult being a soon to be teenager. “Would it help if I talk to him?”
“Do you mean that?”
Rebecca nodded. “I know how difficult it can be, but you have to accept whatever answer he gives you.”
She nodded. “I will.”
She jumped up; she looked happier than before. She hugged her. “Go clean up and I’ll talk to him when he gets here.”
“Thank you so much.” She was about to leave, but then stopped. “One more thing?”
“What?’
“There’s this boy; his name is Drew Glass. All the girls like him, but he said that he would like to dance with me. Can you mention that to dad?”
Rebecca started to laugh. “Sorry; I’m all about helping you out, but for that you are on your own.”
Bethany groaned. “I was afraid you would say that.” She then heard the doorbell and she looked at Rebecca. “Okay; thanks for what you can do.” She hurried from the kitchen and Rebecca went to get the door.
“Come in!” She pulled back for him to enter the house. “Nice day at work?”
He grumbled. “I suppose so.”
She laughed. “That good; huh?”
“It’s just sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a normal 9-5 job. Don’t worry about me, it’s just wishful thinking I guess.”
She had never heard him say that he would be willing to change career paths, but she knew it had to be hard. “You could be a Private Investigator; you seem to be pretty good at that.” She was thinking about how he had found out information that she had searched for in the course of 2 years.
He laughed. “I don’t know how much easier that would be, but I have a feeling the only reason it worked out so well this last time was because it was important to me.”
She looked away; she didn’t want to show him how much his words meant to her. “Come in the kitchen and see the artwork that your talented youngsters did.”
She led the way and pointed to the table; we’re going to mail them to the nursing home residents. “Wow! I am impressed. You are a good influence to them.”
“It helps that they enjoy doing these things. Um…I do have something to say to you.”
“Okay; should I be scared?”
“No, but your daughter really wants to go to that dance.”
Thomas groaned. “I had hoped that this nonsense would have been settled. Why is it so important to her?”
“Well, for starters, all of her friends will be there. You don’t want her to be the only 8th grader that stayed home; do you?”
“I guess when you put it that way, I don’t. I just don’t know about this.”
“Thomas, I will be there. Nothing will happen to her. If you want, I can pick her up and take her back home. She will never leave my sight.”
“Well, that does make me feel a little bit better. I would feel a lot better if I was going.” He laughed, but then stopped. “Could you use another chaperone?”
“Do you think Bethany would approve of that?”
He shrugged. “Probably not, but I could use a good dance.”
“I’m sure they could use the help, but I’m leaving it up to you to tell her.”
“Bethany, you can come out now.” Rebecca turned to where Thomas was looking. Bethany rounded the corner with a smug look on her face. “What do you say? Am I allowed to go to the dance as a chaperone?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really, but I promise that I will stay my distance.”
“I guess if that’s my only options; I’ll take them.” She ran over and hugged him. “Thank you dad. Thank you Rebecca.”
Rebecca smiled. “You’re welcome, but now I have a favor to ask of your dad.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Which is?”
“I would like to buy Bethany a new dress.”
Rebecca saw Bethany turn to her dad and her eyes were big. “That’s not necessary; I can handle that, but thank you.”
“Bethany, will you stay here with your siblings while I go have a little talk with your dad?”
“Sure!”
Thomas followed Rebecca into the foyer and she grabbed a car seat and a bag. “Might as well get something accomplished.” She replied with a laugh. Once they were outside; her steady pace slowed down. “Please let me do it.”
“Why?”
“I have never had a daughter to buy things for and even though she’s not my daughter I feel close to her. I would like the opportunity to buy her something nice. This is a huge deal for every young girl; it’s her first dance. So, please.”
“I suppose if you really want to; I appreciate that.”
“Okay good.” He placed the seats into the van and she was about to head back to the house when he stopped her. “Now, I have a favor of you.”
She laughed. “I guess ask, while the getting is good.”
“Will you accompany me to the 8th grade dance?”
She searched his face to make sure he wasn’t teasing her, but she didn’t see any signs. “Why that’s the nicest offer I have ever received. I would love to go to the dance with you, but beware the chaperone usually does more work than dancing.”
He shrugged. “I’ll find a way.”
She laughed as they went back into the house. She didn’t expect that, but she was suddenly very giddy and she felt like a teenager all over again. It was going to be an unforgettable night.
___________________
Thomas had just checked on the last child; Judy was soundly sleeping and got into his bed. He couldn’t believe he had invited Rebecca to the dance, but he was pleasantly surprised that she had agreed. He smiled to himself; it had been a long time since he danced with a female, but he would have to work on his moves. Even though she said that they wouldn’t have much time for socializing, he figured he would find a way. As he turned off his light he heard a light knock on his door. “Come in!”
He was confused as to why Bethany was in his room; usually it was the younger ones that couldn’t sleep. “Hi!” She crawled in his bed and he just looked at her. “I couldn’t sleep.�
�
He laughed. “I gathered that, but that’s not like you. Something on your mind?”
“I have a confession and I really needed to tell you, because it’s driving me nuts.”
“Okay; did something happen at school? Did you get a bad grade? Does the Principal need to talk to me?”
She turned to face him and shook her head. “No; none of that.”
He let out a slow breath; then how bad could it be? “Well, then I’m ready for whatever you have to throw at me.”
“There’s this boy…”
He pulled back and his jaw had dropped. “In second thought; I’m not ready. Let’s forget we ever…”
“Dad, I have to tell you.”
“What?” He moaned; he just prayed he didn’t pass out.
“This boy, his name is Drew Glass and a lot of the girls think he is pretty cute.”
“What about you?” He couldn’t help, but ask the question.
“I might think he’s cute, but that’s not the point.”
“He said he wants to dance with me on Friday night, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t totally embarrass me.”
“Would I do that?” She nodded and he laughed. “Fine; I won’t do that, but you have to promise me something.”
“I guess that’s fair.”
“You have to promise me that before you dance even once, you find me and let me meet him.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am dead serious. Is that a deal?”
“Can’t he meet just Rebecca?”
“What? I am your father. I promise you; I won’t embarrass you.” He was a little hurt that she would prefer to introduce him to Rebecca, but he wasn’t surprised. Rebecca was much less intimidating than he could be. He definitely wouldn’t mention that he was a cop.
“Okay; I will trust you.”
“Thank you!” He pulled her into a hug. “I love you Bethany.”
“I love you dad. Thank you for agreeing to all of this.” She ran out of the room and he shut off the light. It wasn’t easy admitting ones oldest child was growing up. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do; outside of standing back and watching it happen. It was hard, but the life of a parent.
Love From the Ashes Page 16
