Title: The Daddy On the Bus

Author: Erin Kaye Hashet

Rating: PG

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Spoilers: None

Summary: It's May 2007, and this conversation takes place: "What brings you to New Haven?" He smiles for the first time since I've gotten onto this bus. "My daughter's graduation."

Disclaimer: I don't own most of these characters. There are a few in here that are entirely my own creation, though

The Daddy On the Bus

by Erin Kaye Hashet

The bus to New Haven is crowded as I get on, and I can't find a place to sit. I scan row after row of seats, and every one is full. Finally, I find a seat toward the back. A man who looks to be in his late thirties or early forties is sitting there, and next to him is a large, sealed cardboard box. When he sees me coming, he quickly moves it to his lap, and it's so big it nearly covers his face. I smile at him in appreciation, and take my seat.

He seems nervous, the man next to me. He keeps checking his watch. The bus does seem to be taking awhile leaving. I hope Kate won't have to wait too long for me at the station. The poor girl's been under enough stress lately, with the divorce and the move and all. Girl— I still call her girl. She's thirty-two now, but she'll always be my girl.

A few seats in front of us is a young mother with a fussy little baby. She tries patting its back with a few gentle "shh's," but that doesn't seem to be working. As the bus pulls out of the station, she starts singing "The Wheels on the Bus" to it. She goes through all the verses, including ones I don't remember from when Kate was little. By the time she's gone through "the people on the bus go up and down," "the babies on the bus go waah-waah-waah," "the mommies on the bus go shh-shh-shh" and "the daddies on the bus say, 'Let's go for pizza,'" the man next to me is rolling his eyes.

"Christ, I hate that song," he mutters. I think he's talking to himself, not to me, but I smile at him nonetheless.

"It's amazing how songs like that grow with each generation," I say to him.

He looks at me and gives me a small smile. "My daughter has it on a CD at home. I think a relative gave it to her. She listens to it all the time, and my wife and I can't stand it."

I laugh shortly. "My daughter did too— well, she had it on a tape." I sigh. "Believe it or not, there'll be a time when you miss those wheels-on-the-bus days. My daughter's thirty-two now. Has a little boy of her own. I was just there a month ago, helping her move to New Haven. Now I'm going to visit." The trees on the highway are rushing by outside the window. "She just got divorced, which is awful, that's why she moved, but at least now she's close enough so that I can visit more often." I stop, embarrassed. I just poured out tons of personal information to a man I've only known for minutes. But he's been looking at me the whole time, really listening. So I feel relaxed enough to ask him, "What brings you to New Haven?"

He smiles, wider this time. "My daughter's graduation."

I raise my eyebrows. "Your daughter? Not the same one who listens to 'The Wheels On the Bus?''

He laughs. "No, no. My other daughter." His face stretches into a broad grin. "She's graduating from Yale today. Summa cum laude."

My eyes widen. He doesn't look old enough to have a daughter graduating college. "From Yale? Wow, you must be so proud."

The expression on his face is adorable. "You bet your…I sure am." He reddens as he realizes he almost said "You bet your ass," to a sixty-one-year-old woman. I smile at him to let him know that I know what he meant to say, and I wouldn't have minded even if he had said it. I know how it feels to have a kid graduating college. I felt the same way when Kate graduated. And his daughter went to Yale!

"So what's in the box?" I ask him.

He groans. "Cakes. A gigantic box full of these special little cakes. They're for my daughter's graduation party. I had to go all the way to New York to get them for the party tonight, and if this d…darn bus doesn't hurry up, I'm going to miss the ceremony!"

I frown inquisitively. "You had to go to New York City just for cakes? Why not anywhere closer?"

He sighs. "Well, her mother's best friend is a chef, and apparently she makes these little cakes Rory loves. And normally she'd be catering the party, but she's pregnant and laid up in bed with complications. She says we absolutely must have these cakes at the party, because that's what Rory would want, and the only place she knew of that had cakes that remotely matched the quality of hers was in New York, and apparently someone forgot to order them. So I got sent to New York last night to get these, because they wouldn't be able to ship them out on time, and…yeah, it's a whole big mess." He throws his head back and exhales. "So now I might miss my daughter's graduation, all because of some cake."

I smile sympathetically at him. "Well, I'm sure Rory appreciates the thought, if you love her enough to go all the way to New York to get her cake."

He waves his hand dismissively. "Oh, she's a good kid. She doesn't care that much about cakes. I'm sure she'd much rather have me at her graduation. And I'd much rather be there." He stares out the window, as if he can make the bus go faster just with his eyes.

I was quiet for a moment. Then I spoke. "You know, when my daughter graduated from college, her father wasn't there."

He looks back at me, an eyebrow raised. "Really."

"Yes." I look at my lap. "He and I divorced when she was two, and she barely knows him even now. I don't regret being with him— I wouldn't have Kate without him— but I've always regretted that she didn't have a better father figure in her life." I look at him again. "Kate's divorced now, too, and I'm so afraid that her four-year-old won't know his father either." I've only known this man since I got on the bus, but somehow it doesn't feel inappropriate when I reach over and squeeze his hand. He doesn't seem to mind. "Rory has to know that you love her very much. I could see that the minute you mentioned her. One day isn't going to change that, whether you make the graduation or not."

He lets out a short laugh but doesn't say anything.

"When she was growing up, I was so scared that my daughter would think that her father didn't love her," I continue, hoping to make him feel better. "I don't think your daughter has to worry about that."

He looks at me and smiles, a real smile. "Thank you," he says.

When the bus stops in New Haven, he checks his watch. "Thank the Lord," he says, sounding tremendously relieved. "I have plenty of time."

As we get off the bus, I tell him goodbye and that it was nice meeting him, and he says the same to me. I scan the station, looking for Kate and Jeffrey. But the man finds his family before I find mine.

"Luke!" A tall woman with long, dark hair waves to him. She's holding a little toddler, who claps her hands and exclaims, "Daddy!"

"Hey!" He smiles and sets the box down, then leans in to kiss his wife, then his little daughter.

"Look, Mia, Daddy's home!" his wife says to the little girl. "Now we're all gonna go to Rory's graduation!"

Kate spots me just then. "Mom!" she calls, and I wave to her. She begins to walk toward me, but I can't take my eyes from Luke and his family. He's holding his younger daughter, and I feel a twinge of jealousy. Perhaps my grandson will be lucky enough to have a father figure like him in his life. God knows everyone should be.

--End

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