A Boy to Remember

by Cynthia Thomason

  “They knew I was pregnant,” Alex said. “They were very fond of Teddy and knew he would take care of both of us. They supported my decision.”

  “Didn’t they ask who the father was?”

  “Yes, and I think Grandpa strongly suspects. But I never revealed Daniel’s name.”

  Lizzie stared down at the ground. Moments before she’d pulled her hand from her mother’s grasp, and now she twisted her fingers in a frenzy of confusion and shock. “I don’t believe this,” she said. “All this time I’ve loved Daddy.”

  “And he loved you, with all his heart,” Alex said.

  “But it was all false! Poor Daddy. You used him, Mom. He would have done anything for you. He did! And all that time he could have married someone who hadn’t tricked him. He could have had his own children. He could have been a real father!”

  The disgust in her eyes was nearly Daniel’s undoing. Then she said, “But instead, he got stuck with you, and with me!”

  Daniel rose. “Lizzie, don’t do this. Teddy was an honorable man. No one is denying that. And he cared for you as if he were your real father. I’m sure he never thought of you as a substitute for the real thing. And I’m sure he loved your mother. She was up-front with him. He never thought she tricked him in any way.”

  Lizzie stood, as well. She only came up to Daniel’s shoulders, but she pierced him with a hurt-filled gaze. “You never even knew him!” Then she turned on her mother. “And how could you keep this from me?”

  “I wasn’t proud of what I had done,” Alex said. “And I was protecting you.”

  “You were protecting yourself!” Lizzie said. “Your Little-Miss-Perfect self!” She whirled around and started toward the house.

  “Where are you going?” Alex asked.

  “Mother...” The word seemed to drip with venom. “At this moment do you really think you have the right to know?”

  Alex started after her, but Daniel wrapped his hand around her arm and stopped her. “Let her go,” he said. “She’s angry and hurt. My guess is, she’s going to her room. We’ll probably hear a door slam in a minute, or maybe hear a lamp being thrown against a wall.”

  Alex dissolved into tears. She crumpled into the nearest chair. “Oh, Daniel, how will we ever get through this?”

  He sat beside her. “Time, Alex. It will take time, but everything will be all right.”

  * * *

  ALEX HAD NEVER thought her life was perfect, even though the outward trappings made it seem so to everyone around her. To their friends in Chicago, to Teddy’s colleagues at the hospital, the Popes were an ideal family. Loving and supporting of each other. Alex believed that Teddy was proud to have her by his side, and he was proud of the accomplished child they raised together.

  But always, Alex felt the pall of deceit over everything. She would find herself staring at Lizzie, trying to pick out similarities between her and Daniel. She would see him in Lizzie’s eyes. She would remember Daniel’s easygoing charm when she watched her daughter interact with others. Teachers, students, everyone liked Lizzie, just like everyone seemed to like her father.

  And so, for eighteen long years, Alex suffered because of what she knew to be true while living a life built on a lie. Logically, she knew Lizzie had never been denied anything...except the identity of her real father. And she was never told that her mother, the woman many people admired and envied, the one who cautioned her own daughter about pregnancy and abstinence, had made a mistake when she’d been young. She had lied about it from the beginning and arranged all of their lives so no one would know.

  And today, on this patio with the beauty of Dancing Falls surrounding her, Alex realized that the time of reckoning had come. When her tears dried, she simply sat and stared over the green expanse of manicured lawn. Daniel remained beside her, not speaking, not trying to console her. Just letting her deal with the aftermath on her own terms.

  “I suppose you have to go,” she said after more than a half hour had passed.

  “Yes, I do. I’m sorry to leave you like this, Alex. We have so much left unsaid. And we should decide where we go from here.” As if he thought she might misinterpret, he added, “With regard to Lizzie, I mean. I think she’ll need both of us now. She’ll have more questions.”

  The hurt inside Alex was so profound that she actually took Daniel’s words as a sign of hope. Would Lizzie ask her questions? That would mean her daughter would at least keep the lines of communication open. But would they ever be as close as they were before coming to Dancing Falls? And what about Daniel? Would he become involved in their daughter’s life, or would this be the last time she ever saw him? Would she go back to Chicago feeling even worse than she had all those years ago because she was forced to give up Daniel twice?

  How could they stay together, build a future, when Alex had denied Daniel his daughter, the person who should have bound them for the past eighteen years? She needed to respond to him. “Lizzie has your phone number,” she said, gathering the courage to look straight at him. “She’ll call if she wants to talk to you. I would never try to prevent her from doing that.”

  “I never thought you would.” He picked up his ball cap and settled it low on his head. “We...ah, you and I should talk soon. I’ll want to know how Lizzie is.”

  He did not say he would want to know how she was doing, and she didn’t blame him. The look on his face was resolute, but thank goodness she did not see hatred there. He would never forgive her just as she would never forgive herself. Some sins in life were simply unforgivable.

  He walked around the table, paused a moment and lightly touched her shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Alex. We did the right thing today. Lizzie will realize that in time.”

  She didn’t speak, just waited for him to round the corner of the house and get to his car. He’d just disappeared when the back door of the house opened. Jude came out with Martin. Each pulled a chair close to Alex.

  “Jude told me,” Martin said. “At first I wanted to throttle Daniel, but I guess I can’t even do that.”

  “I’m sorry, Daddy. I wanted to tell you so many times.”

  “I wish you had. I could have done something...”

  “No, Daddy, don’t. You shouldn’t have any regrets. This was my doing. If there are regrets—” she laughed bitterly “—and there are, they are all mine. Lizzie...where?” Her breath was coming in such short gasps, she couldn’t even speak in sentences.

  “She’s in her room, Allie-belle,” Jude said. “But don’t forget. She’s a Foster. We bend, but we don’t break.”

  Four arms encircled her in love, and that was her undoing. She began sobbing and couldn’t stop.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  AFTER ANOTHER NEARLY sleepless night, Alex awoke Monday morning with a sense of foreboding. She hadn’t spoken to Lizzie since the previous day, not because she hadn’t tried, but because Lizzie had remained in her room, disconnected from the family. Even Jude and Wesley, who’d taken trays of food up, hadn’t been able to reach her. And Alex hadn’t heard from Daniel, either. He must have made it back to Columbus, but he hadn’t called her to check in.

  Wearing only her pajamas, and not really inspired to get dressed, she went to Lizzie’s room and knocked quietly on the door. “Are you up yet, honey?”

  No answer.

  “Lizzie, we have to talk eventually. There is so much we have to say to each other. The silent treatment is not good for either one of us.”

  No response.

  Alex opened the door. The bed was rumpled, and Lizzie wasn’t in it. Alex felt her heartbeat ratchet up. She went into the room and started searching. Lizzie’s duffel bag was missing from the closet. Her cell phone was nowhere in sight. The top of the dresser had been cleared of her grooming products.

  Alex pictured her daughter in several gruesome sce
narios. In her delicate state of mind, anything could have happened. What if she’d taken the car and been in an accident? What if she’d taken off on foot and hitched a ride? What if she’d wandered off Dancing Falls property and gotten lost?

  She left the room and darted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. She met her father in the downstairs foyer.

  “Whoa, hold on, Alexis. What’s the matter?” Martin asked.

  “The cars,” Alex said. “Are they all accounted for?”

  “I assume so,” Martin said. “I can check. I was just about to leave for the office. Why are you asking about the cars?”

  Alex told him that Lizzie was missing. “You know how upset she was,” Alex said. “Who knows what she might do, where she might go. We’ve got to find her, Daddy.”

  Martin led his daughter to a bench by the front door. “Sit down, honey. We’ll mobilize all efforts to find her. I’m sure she’s all right. Just taking some time for herself. Upsetting us is probably the last thing on her mind.”

  He was trying to be positive, but Alex knew he was concerned. He took his cell phone from his pocket. “I remember Jude pulling the same stunts herself whenever she was angry with your mother and me.”

  He stared at his phone as if trying to decide a course of action. There was panic in his normally calm eyes.

  “Should we call the police?” she asked.

  “Let’s check around here first. She could be at the barn with Jude. She could just be taking a walk. You head over to Jude’s, and I’ll get in my car and scour the property. Meet you back here in a half hour. If we haven’t found her, I’ll call the authorities.”

  A half hour later Alex returned to the house with Jude and Wesley. Martin pulled around to the back of the house. The passenger seat in his SUV was empty.

  When Wesley saw Alex, he tugged on her T-shirt. “Did Lizzie run away?” he asked.

  “No. Of course not,” Jude said. “She’s much too smart to run away.”

  “No luck,” Martin said. “Let’s look around for a note. If we don’t find one, then I guess we’ll get the police involved.” He viewed his cell phone, which apparently hadn’t left his hand. “I’ll call Jeannie in the office and have her cancel my morning patients.”

  Before he’d dialed, his phone buzzed. He looked at the number and connected. “Aurora, good morning. Is anything wrong? We have sort of a situation over here this morning...”

  * * *

  “AND I CAN guess what it is,” Aurora said. “Might you be looking for your granddaughter, Marty?”

  “We are! Do you know where she is?”

  “I do, indeed. She’s here at my place, upstairs in a guest room. Poor thing was so tired, she had some eggs and toast and passed out a few minutes ago. She said she’d been outside in my yard since the middle of the night.”

  “The middle of the night? Why, in heaven’s name...?”

  “She said she didn’t want to wake me. Such a sweet kid, but I wouldn’t have cared.” Aurora paused before saying, “What’s going on over there, Marty?”

  Martin gave a thumbs-up to Alex, and she collapsed on a chair. “It’s a long story, one I don’t have time to tell right now. Does Lizzie know you’re calling us?”

  “I didn’t tell her I wouldn’t, but she asked me not to. I figure she knows I’d call. She’s awfully upset, Marty.”

  “You did the right thing, Aurora. I’ll be over in a few minutes to get her. Just keep her there, okay?”

  “That won’t be a problem. But Marty...?”

  “What?”

  “I don’t think you should come over here right now. Let her get some rest. She needs it. And, well... I don’t know how to say this exactly, but she doesn’t want to come home. She asked if she could stay here with me for a while.”

  “She has a home, Aurora, and we’ve all been worried sick since we discovered her missing this morning. I know Alexis wants her home.”

  “That’s another thing... I don’t like to interfere in family problems. Goodness knows I’ve had enough of my own, and I don’t appreciate anyone butting in, but Alexis seems to be the problem. I questioned her a bit, and Lizzie says her mom doesn’t understand her, won’t let her make decisions on her own. Now, I know what kids can be like, and I figure this will blow over, but that child seems a long way from forgiveness at this point.”

  So Lizzie hadn’t told Aurora the crux of the problem. She wasn’t ready to reveal that part. “But Aurora, we can’t expect you to do the job of a parent.”

  “You’re not expecting anything. I’m offering, and I owe you, Marty. Let the girl stay with me for a few days. Let’s see how this washes out. I’ll take care of her...”

  “I know you will. It’s not that. Alexis is heartbroken over their argument.”

  “And to my way of thinking, so is this girl. I don’t know what happened to get Lizzie so upset. I suspect she didn’t tell me the whole story, and maybe she never will. But if she wants to, I’ll listen. Sometimes it just takes another sympathetic ear for problems to work themselves out.”

  Martin looked at his daughter. Alex gave him an expectant look that made him wish he could give her better news. Instead, he asked Aurora to hold on a minute. “Lizzie is at Aurora’s,” he said. “Aurora has offered to let her stay there a day or two, let her calm down, rethink the situation.”

  “She should be home. Here. With us.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but I think this might be a good idea.” He didn’t want to go so far as to admit that Lizzie didn’t want to come home, didn’t want to face her mother. “Some distance might be just what we all need right now. Aurora will take good care of her.”

  Alex let out a long breath. “Okay, then, if you think it’s the right thing to do. But Daddy, tell Aurora to call us. I need to know how Lizzie is.”

  “I will.” He returned to the phone and gave his instructions. Aurora promised to comply. When he disconnected, he went over to Alex and put his arm around her. “She’s safe, Alexis. That’s the best news for now.”

  * * *

  ALEX ALMOST COULDN’T get her fingers to cooperate. She held her cell phone in a shaky hand, took a long, deep breath and punched in Daniel’s number. Through the two short rings, she went over what she would say. But she never got the chance.

  “Hello. This is Daniel Chandler, Ohio State representative, 6th district. Your call is very important to me. Please...”

  Alex tuned out at this point and waited for the message to end. At the beep, she said, “Daniel, this is Alex. I need to speak to you. It’s about Lizzie. Not really an emergency, I guess, not at this point, but...”

  Alexis, quit babbling! “Please call me when you can. Thanks.”

  Less than five minutes later, her phone rang.

  “Thank you for calling back so quickly, Daniel.”

  “You said this concerns Lizzie. What’s wrong? Is she all right?”

  He sounded winded, his words clipped and short.

  “Yes, she’s fine, but she’s not here at Dancing Falls. She’s at our neighbor’s house, you know, the place where the owner is setting up a bed-and-breakfast?”

  “Ms. Spindell’s house?”

  “That’s right.”

  “What’s she doing there?”

  Alex tried to keep her tone light, to mask the panic clawing inside her. Remembering Wesley’s words, she said, “I suppose you could say she ran away from home...”

  “What?”

  “It’s all right. Like everything else Lizzie does, she did this responsibly. Only put a half mile or so between us. Aurora’s a nice lady. She’s offered to keep Lizzie for a couple of days until she calms down.”

  Daniel didn’t speak, but Alex heard papers being shuffled.

  “I should come home,” he said eventually. “I
can rearrange some things.”

  “That’s up to you, of course,” Alex said. “But I don’t know if Lizzie would see you. She certainly doesn’t want to see me, not yet, anyway. But I wanted you to know this latest development in case she contacts you. If she does, and if she tells you anything I should know that wouldn’t violate her privacy, I’d appreciate a call from you.”

  She heard a light tapping, like a pencil eraser on a desktop. “Okay, I’ll wait here and see if she calls. I suppose giving her time to adjust is important as long as you think this arrangement at Ms. Spindell’s is best. And Alex...”

  “Yes?” Just hearing him say her name gave her hope. Even false hope was better than none.

  “I expect the same consideration from you,” he said. “Call me if there’s anything I can do or anything I should know.”

  “I will. Thank you, Daniel.” She waited a moment and then, there being nothing left to say, she ended with, “Goodbye.”

  “Just a minute,” he said.

  Her traitorous heart skipped a beat. “I’m still here.”

  “How are you?”

  It was just three words, a simple question, and yet it was as if an emotional dam burst. She let out a sob and bit her lips together to keep them from quivering. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “So sorry for everything.”

  “I know you are,” he said.

  “But Lizzie is what matters now, the only thing that matters.”

  “Alex...” His voice was soft, almost a caress. “I could tell you not to be so hard on yourself, but I know you will be anyway. Lizzie is not all that matters. You matter, too. You matter to a lot of people, but especially to Lizzie. I’ll be in touch, okay?”

  “Yes.”

  He disconnected and she sank into the nearest chair. She’d crossed a hurdle with that call and survived. But her body felt drained. And she couldn’t help noticing that he hadn’t said she mattered to him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  MARTIN HAD ALWAYS been proud of his oldest daughter, but he was especially proud of the way she adjusted to Lizzie’s absence. Despite her anxiety, Alex had given Lizzie her space. She’d satisfied her longing for her daughter with calls from Aurora and a report from Jude. None of this could have been easy.