“I think I’m in love with her.”
Trent nearly dropped my daughter. Recovering, Trent put Londyn on the floor. “It’s almost Christmas. Why don’t you wait until after the holidays? Then you two can talk about this.”
“I want to invite them over for Christmas. Everyone is coming to my house and I wanted her real family to be there. She deserves to have a family.”
“I don’t know man. I still think I would talk to her first. At least mention it before shit blows up in your face.”
“Thanks for the support, bro. Keep an eye on Londyn. I have a call to make.”
Trent grunted as I got up and made my way down the hall to my office. Sitting at my desk I picked up the business card. Mr. Aaron Halt, Private Investigator.
Dialing his number I waited for an answer. “Hello, this is Aaron Halt.”
“Hi. My name is Gage Tucker. I was calling to hopefully get some help from you.” I was fidgeting with my watch. My nerves getting the best of me. Maybe Trent was right.
“What is it that I can help you with, Mr. Tucker?”
“My girlfriend. Well, really it’s her family. My girlfriend was in and out of foster care. Her sister was adopted when they were little. I wanted to try and find her mom and sister in time for the holidays. Surprise my girlfriend.”
“Of course. That is something I can definitely help with. I just need a little more information. What is your girlfriend’s name?”
“Annie Nicole Holland.”
“Her date of birth?”
“July twenty first, nineteen ninety.”
“Was she born in Alabama?”
“That I know of, yes.”
“What is her mother’s name?”
“Vicky. I’m assuming her last name is Holland as well.”
“OK. And her sisters name?”
“Heather. I know she is two years younger than Annie. She was adopted around the time she was six. Other than that, I don’t know anything else.”
“This is a good starting point, Mr. Tucker. I will start my research and keep in touch as things progress. Hopefully I can have them reunited in time for the holidays.”
“Thank you, Mr. Halt.”
We hung up and I let out a deep breath. That was easier than I thought. Now all I had to do was wait.
Two weeks passed before Mr. Halt called me back.
“Mr. Tucker, Mr. Halt here. I have some good news. I found your girlfriends mom and sister. They actually have been in contact with each other the past few years. Heather lives about an hour outside of Fairhope and Vicky lives in Pensacola. I have a number for both woman if you would like.”
Scrambling around to find a pen and paper I jotted down the numbers he rattled off. “Thank you so much, Mr. Halt. I will have your check in the mail tomorrow morning.”
“It was my pleasure, Mr. Tucker. Good luck.”
I hung up my phone and sat it on my desk. The numbers on the paper were staring at me. Taunting me. Leaning back in my office chair I rubbed my palms over my eyes. Should I do this? Fuck it. I came this far. No going back now.
“Hello?” A quiet female voice answered.
Clearing my throat, I said, “Um. Hi. I was looking for Heather.”
“This is her. Who’s calling?”
“My name is Gage Tucker. My girlfriend is your sister, Annie.”
“My…my sister? I haven’t seen her since I was six. How did you find me?”
“I had a little help. I was wondering if you would maybe want to meet.” My voice full of hope.
“Um. Yeah. I think so.” She sounded unsure.
“We could meet somewhere public if it makes you feel better. I was also going to contact your mom and see if she would meet with me.”
“I can call her. When would you like to meet?” She sounded a little more at ease.
“I live in Fairhope. Would you want to meet at Passions on Saturday at one?” I knew Annie would have Gabe and most likely meet her friends on the beach since it was supposed to be nice. No chance of her seeing us. Sneaking behind her back felt wrong and had a small knot forming in my stomach, but I pushed it back. In the end, seeing her face when she met her mom and sister would be worth it.
“Yeah. That should work. I will call my mom and make sure that is okay with her.”
“Can I ask you something first?”
She paused for a moment before saying, “Sure.”
“Is your mom better? You know, clean.”
“Yes. Five years now.”
A little relief. “Ok. Thank you. So, I will plan on Saturday. If something changes you can call me at this number and let me know.”
“Thank you, Gage.”
Ilooked at my watch for the umpteenth time since sitting down in the small diner. Five minutes until one. I was getting nervous. My legs were bouncing and my palms were sweaty.
I glanced at the door. There was a younger woman, around twenty walking in with an older woman, around forty. They spoke to the hostess and she pointed in my direction. I took a drink of water and stood.
“Gage?” Heather asked.
I stuck my hand out to her. “Yes. You must be Heather.”
“It’s so nice to meet you.” She put her hand on her mom’s arm. “This is my mom, Vicky.”
Heather was the total opposite of Annie. She had light blonde hair and golden brown eyes. Vicky looked a lot like Annie. Same dark brown hair and blue yes. But Vicky looked tired. The years of drug abuse showing. “Hi, Vicky. Gage Tucker. So nice to meet you. Please, take a seat and we can talk.” I pulled out the chair next to me for Vicky. She patted my hand and smiled sweetly.
“Gage, I can’t thank you enough for this.” Vicky sat beside me.
Heather was sitting across from me. She looked as nervous I was. “What made you decided to look for us?”
I wasn’t sure if I should say, but I wanted them to know about Annie. What she has struggled through and came out on top. I ran my finger over my lips. “She hasn’t had it easy. She bounced around foster homes growing up. When she was seventeen she got pregnant by the guy she thought she would married. Before her son, Gabe was born he was killed in a car wreck. She raised her son by herself for five years. She has done an amazing job. She has worked her ass off to get where she is. I’m proud of her. The one thing she can’t work for…her family. She deserves her family. If I can give her that, then I will.”
Heather’s eyes were filled with tears. Vicky was staring at the tablecloth. I didn’t mean to make her feel like shit, but she needed to hear the truth.
“Sounds like she is very lucky to have found you.” Vicky spoke through her tears.
Shaking my head I said with confidence, “No. I am the lucky one. She came into my life when I needed her most. I can never repay her enough for what she has done for my daughter and me. If you two were open to the idea, I wanted to invite you to my house on Christmas. You can spend Christmas as a family.”
“I would love nothing more than reuniting with my daughter. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her. I have wanted to find her for so long. I was too afraid though. The last thing she ever said to me was ‘I hate you’. I hear those words replay in my mind all the time. I was afraid of what I would find if I found her. If she would resent me. So, in my head I created this fantasy life for her. She was married to a millionaire and they had the typical two point five kids with a summer home on the beach. She was happy and better off without me.”
Heather reached across the table. “Mom. She will forgive you, I did. You’re sober now. You’re healthy. You’re in control of your life.”
“She is happy, Vicky. I just think there is a huge hole where her family should be. I want to fill her holes and make her complete.”