“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.”

“You’re in love with her.” Vicky stated.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I nodded. “Yes ma’am I am.”

She had tears running down her face. “If you two would excuse me.” She got up in a rush and went in the direction of the bathroom.

Heather wiped under her eyes. “I haven’t seen my sister in almost fifteen years. Seeing that she has someone so in love with her that he goes out of his way to find her family makes me happy.”

She put both her arms around me and hugged me. “Thank you for making my sister happy.”

I liked Heather. I barely knew her, but I liked her. I wrapped one arm around her and said, “You don’t have to thank me. She is the one that makes me happy. She makes me whole.”

Annie

I was sitting on the couch when Gage got back to his house.

“Annie. I thought you had to work tonight?” Gage looked shocked to see me. His voice was calm, though.

“Who was she?” I blurted out.

He tossed his keys onto the entry table and walked over to me. “Who was who?”

“Gage, don’t you dare play fucking stupid with me. I saw you. I saw her. Your hands were all over each other.” He had the audacity to stand in front of me looking clueless. “The girl from Passion, Gage. Who the hell was she?”

His eyes widened slightly. “Oh. You saw her?” His voice was tight.