Hard Redemption: A Second Chance Romantic Comedy

by Emily J. Wright

  “It seems personal. Are you sure?”

  “Is anything in our home remains personal? You’ll know about this one, way or another. It’s better if you read it now.”

  “Well—I can’t argue with that.”

  She cleared her throat, put her glasses on, and began reading the letter.

  Dear Amber

  I apologize beforehand if calling you ‘dear’ makes you uncomfortable. I don’t know anymore what should I call you and with what right.

  Mom stopped reading the letter for a few seconds and looked at me as if something serious was written ahead. She cleared her throat again and continued reading the letter.

  The last few days I spent with your family was nothing less than a dream come true. I got to hold Casey; I got to kiss you; and most of all, I got to feel the love of a mother for which I was aching for so long. I want to thank you for being a gracious host and opening your home for an ex-convict like me. I know it must be very difficult especially for Frank. Please pass on my thanks to him as well.

  I hoped to live a few more happy memories with everybody. But I think it’s time that I finally get out of your lives forever. I know it was long overdue as I for one wasn’t ready to let go. But if the last couple of days is any indication—I am cursed and incapable of being loved. I first ruined your life, then came back and made Casey sick. I am nothing more than a poisonous shadow whose mere touch will decay everything around it. That’s why, I am going far away from here—so far that the screams of my heart can never make it to you.

  I know Casey will surely cry, ask you many questions, and may even demand to make contact with me. But you have to be firm with her for her sake. I don’t want her to be ridiculed in future as the daughter of a criminal. Tell her—her father is dead. It won’t be a lie; I am dead inside, anyway. She is smart, but just a kid. She would believe it if you will be assertive.

  Anyways, I am leaving behind a couple of things in this envelope, and a package that is yours. I am sure you will be amazed to see in there the divorce papers—signed and initialed. Congratulations—we are divorced now. I have fulfilled my last promise to you before going forever. This is what you were breathing down my neck for so long. I tried to delay it as best as I could because I felt very proud to be your husband and didn’t want that feeling to end. But I can’t even begin to think of disappointing you in my wildest dreams. Your happiness is my happiness, and I am happy that you found your soul mate. I wish you and Walter a happy and wonderful married life ahead.

  You will also find a check for $260k inside—it’s everything I have, down to the last penny. Now, before you tear it apart thinking of it as my stash money, I want you to know that it’s not what you think it is. Last week, I found some diamonds. They were not stolen, I swear—it was more of a treasure. I sold them for $800k to a jeweler. That’s how, I bought Casey’s toys and dresses, paid $20k to your father, afforded that overrated dinner, and smuggled a new heart for Casey.

  I want you to use the money on Casey’s college tuition fees. She wants to grow up to be a cardiologist and cure you of the heartache caused by me. If she manages to do that, trust me, nobody would be happier than me.

  I am also returning you the bottle of conditioner. You will find it unused in the package accompanying the envelope. A little bit of advice—you don’t need it; your hair looks amazing as it is. I lied when I was going to the carnival with Casey. Your hair was looking astonishing; I just didn’t want to admit that.

  It would have been much better if I have told you all that in person, but after the whole breakfast in bed incident, I am unable to raise my head in front of you and look straight into your eyes. I hope you understand.

  PS: You are never getting your flip-flop back. It’s going with me to my grave.

  Duke ‘Your Culprit’ Kingsley

  After reading that letter, everything in Mom’s hand dropped on the floor. She couldn’t stop shivering, and it looked like that she would lose her balance and fell down on the floor.

  “Are you all right, Mom?” I quickly stood up and rushed to support her. She was devastated as if she had lost her own son. I though was confused as to how should I feel about Duke’s letter. And I nervously chuckled, “At least, he paid for Casey’s child care in lump sum.”

  “Really, that’s what you take from this letter?” I couldn’t understand whether Mom was furious or being sarcastic. She then bent down to pick the letter and kissed it like it was a page from the Bible.

  “You know, Amber, when you were growing up, and boys used to tease you by calling you a dumb blonde—I just wanted to kill them all. After all, how could they judge my daughter by her hair color? I mean, it’s a stereotype, you know. But when I am looking at you now, I realize that whoever coined that term must have some reason to do so. No wonder there is some shred of truth in it because the world’s dumbest blonde is none other than my own daughter.”

  “Mom, that’s so cruel.”

  But the wrath of my mother wasn’t over yet. “Oh, I am sorry. If this is what you call cruel, then what you did to Duke was merciful . . . ? You belittled him. You slapped him. You broke him down to such an extent that he now looks down while talking to you. . . . Yeah, I noticed that.”

  I had always been a pampered kid who would get anything the moment I asked for it. Mom, or for that matter, Dad, had never talked to me like that. And it was all happening because of Duke. I just couldn’t take it anymore and what was hovering on my mind came out of my mouth.

  “Mom, I know that you are just saying that because you have a soft spot for Duke in your heart. . . . He is the son you never had, but I am your daughter, your own flesh and blood, and in case you forgot, he ruined my life.”

  I was certain that Mom would side with me as Duke was the one who wrecked the life of her daughter. But I was so wrong. She had bottled up her anger towards me for years and was just getting started.

  “You always say he ruined your life. How? For once in and all, tell me how? . . . For God’s sake, Amber, you have a business degree from UCLA. Frank and I have made you self-independent. Even after Duke was arrested, you could have stayed in New York, gotten a good job, and raised Casey on your own. But you chose to come back and live the life of Daddy’s little princess forever. . . . And while you were living under our roof, and eating our food, Duke was repenting for his crimes. He was doing three jobs a day to save enough money for you and Casey.”

  Mom was just moments away from crying. I tried to calm her down, but she shoved my hand away. She was highly disappointed in me—so much that I felt that she might never forgive me for leaving Duke. I could feel it in her eyes burning red with anger inside the sea of emotions.

  “Mom, I am so confused,” I asked for her guidance. I had begun to realize that I might also be at fault somewhere.

  But my heart shook to the core as Mom further said, “You are not confused. You are stubborn to look past Duke’s mistakes. He is madly in love with you, Amber, but what he doesn’t realize is that you are not worthy of him—never were. You can never love him like he loves you. Hell—you didn’t even bother once to listen to his side of the story. You never asked him what transpired his arrest. You just followed your father’s footsteps and didn’t miss a single opportunity to remind him that he was a criminal who got arrested the same day his daughter was born. You pushed him, he took it; you pushed him more, he again took it; but this time—you pushed him beyond what he could handle. You shattered him into pieces and drove away the man who loved you most in this world.”

  I was blinded by what Duke did to me that I never realized what I had been doing to him was way worse. I was in tears and moved ahead to hug Mom.

  But she put her hand on my chest and stopped me from hugging her. “Don’t hug me. I am not feeling it.”

  I was crying loudly, but Mom refused to console me and continued lashing at me.

  “He banged his head on the wall and was ready to give his life for Casey. He drove for 30 hours straigh
t to get a new heart for her. He gave you everything he had down to the last penny. . . . What more do you want from him, woman? Do you want him to burn alive in the middle of the street for you?”

  I was feeling so ashamed of myself that I turned my face away and covered it with my hands. But Mom still didn’t take pity on me as I stood there speechless with nothing to defend myself.

  “It was Duke who was doing everything to save Casey’s life while your fiancé was busy checking his messages, attending business calls, and even refused to give money—though he had it. So, congratulations—my bratty daughter—you have found your match in the snake named Walter. You two will be perfect for each other. . . . Now, if you will excuse me, I’ll go find a clean stall and cry my eyes out for my son.”

  Mom left me crying and went out of the door.

  “I almost forget to tell you something.” She abruptly returned back and stood at the door. “Duke was never arrested. He surrendered the day Casey was born.”

  “What?!” I felt like Mom had literally pulled the floor beneath me, and I fell face first downwards. For a few seconds, I was numb; I didn’t know how to react to it.

  “Yeah . . . ,” Mom continued, “he told me that when he held Casey for the first time, he experienced something divine inside him. It appeared to him that his messiah was born in the form of his daughter. He grew a conscience with her mere touch. He called the detective on the house burglary case and confessed for all of his crimes. When I met him in prison, he promised me that he would never do anything ever again that would put his daughter to shame.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” I was shocked, and frankly, angry too. How could she hide that big secret from me? I had every right to be aware of it.

  Mom finally left saying, “I told you now. Let’s see what you are going to do about it.”

  I was left alone in the room with Casey. Mom showed me the true mirror in which I was the one who looked ugly—not Duke.

  Chapter 21

  It had been four months since Casey’s heart transplant. I wasn’t in touch with her or any member of the McCarran family. I changed my number, sold my car, and moved to Portland.

  My life was the same as it was a couple of months back. I was living in a small apartment—smaller than the one in Brooklyn—and waited table at a nearby restaurant. The manager of the restaurant was nice though. He made me an employee of the month even though it was just my second month working there.

  All in all, everything was going fine including my pay—50 cents above the minimum wage. But the only thing I didn’t like about that place was the weather. I had to carry an umbrella with me all the time; it would rain whenever you expect the least.

  One day, I was walking back to my apartment when it began raining heavily. It was sunny in the morning, but by evening, black clouds engulfed the sky. I forgot to carry my umbrella that day and reached my apartment soaking wet.

  I opened my apartment door with closed eyes and turned towards the right where I opened my eyes again. I kissed Amber and Casey in the photograph hanging on the wall; it was my daily ritual for years.

  I turned around only to find Casey standing in front of me. I was startled at first. And then, I lost my balance and somehow saved myself from falling down by leaning on the wall.

  Honestly, I was not sure if she was real. I could very well have been hallucinating. I stepped ahead and poked her shoulder to confirm. She did appear to be real.

  “What are you doing, Daddy?” she said nicely which amazed me even more.

  “You are real? You are real!” After the initial shock, I realized she was my daughter—not a figment of my imagination.

  “Casey, Casey, Casey . . . ,” I said her name over and over again as I continued to kiss her face.

  “Aw, your beard,” she complained to me about my scratchy beard like she always used to do.

  “What about it? What about it?” And I continued to rub my beard on her face like always.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked her while rubbing her arms. “The last time I saw you, you scared me to death.”

  “Mommy told me how you saved my life. Thank you.” She kissed my cheeks and gave me something wrapped in gift paper.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s obviously a gift, Daddy. I brought it for you.”

  I unwrapped Casey’s gift and found a framed family photograph that Mary-Louise snapped when Amber and I were going out on a date.

  “It’s perfect,” I said moving my hands on the glass of that picture. “I love wonky mama.”

  I laughed—probably after months—when I looked at the picture. I was rejoicing seeing Casey and our family picture 2.0 that it didn’t strike me until later as to how she reached here.

  “Casey, how did you come here all alone? Your mother must be looking out for you.”

  “I didn’t come here alone. Mommy is in the kitchen,” she said pulling my beard.

  “Get out of here.” I didn’t believe her and went straight to the kitchen to check for myself.

  “Hi Honey.” Amber was cooking in the kitchen, and she said hi to me. “I am making pasta. Do you want me to feed you with my hands?”

  I turned back and saw Casey behind me—smiling. I turned around again and found Amber in front of me—cooking.

  I was facing a real Deception movie-like situation.

  Speechless.

  Staggered.

  Stupefied.

  I didn’t know whether it was real or dream; I didn’t have the spinning top to answer that.

  “It’s nice here. . . . I like the rain,” Amber said as she turned off the stove, and then started walking towards me. “Who knew all it takes was goosebumps to remember that night?”—She showed me the goosebumps on her arms—“I remember.”

  I knelt before her and broke down into tears. I covered my face with my hands as my cry became louder than ever.

  “Mommy, why is Daddy crying?” Casey asked innocently.

  Amber stroked my hair and said, “Because he is a big crybaby. . . . Come on . . . stop crying.” She removed my hands from my face and began wiping my face with her hands. “Casey is wondering how you can cry far better than her. You are going to give her complex with your crying skills.”

  I was still looking down—sobbing—but Amber continued with her efforts. “Look at me, Duke.” She put her fingers under my chin and tried to push my head above, but I resisted and continued to look at the floor. She then knelt down before me and while caressing my cheeks asked, “Will you never forgive me . . . ? Did you forget that your world is in my eyes? Don’t you want to see how your world is doing?”

  I was still speechless and avoiding eye contact with her. She then moved her face so close to mine that I had no option but to look in her eyes.

  “Hello.” Her gentle voice was like a sweet melody.

  She took my face in her hands and gently kissed my forehead. Then moved down to kiss the bridge of my nose followed by my nose tip. She asked Casey to close her eyes and finally kissed my lips.

  But there was nothing gentle about it if you know what I mean.

  Chapter 22

  ‘Time is the key, it holds all the cards. Let it take its course, and you will know all the answer’.

  Miss Applebaum was right. All her predictions came true; it was just a matter of time.

  I moved to Brooklyn with my family, but none of us liked it there—we were Michiganders by heart. Casey was missing her friends, I was missing Mary-Louise, and Amber was missing Frank.

  So, we bought a house in Michigan—right across the street from Frank and Mary-Louise’s house. Frank helped me secure a job as an insurance agent—my first lie to Amber which after all turned into truth.

  Three years later, when I am looking back at my life now, I wonder who benefited the most with the diamonds in the fish.

  Was it me?

  Casey?

  Miss Applebaum?

  Miss Amanda Applebaum was all over the
news yesterday when she took over Hyde Medical research Institute after the arrest of her brother Michael Applebaum Junior. Apparently, me buying that adolescent heart for Casey set a series of events which led to Michael’s arrest.

  Was it just a coincidence?

  I beg to differ.

  I believe it’s me, but I also believe that it’s not over yet. I feel like a pawn in something big—Miss Applebaum, and my destiny is intertwined somehow.

  I don’t know what the future holds but I prefer not to think about it too much as I have now everything—my wife, loving parents-like parents-in-law and the sunshine of my life, Casey.

  My family is complete now.

  Author’s Note

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