Chapter 8

Rick glanced over at the empty seat next to him, his phone pressed to his ear in hopes she might answer despite the circus she expected her day to be. Drops of steady rain slid down the tiny oval-shaped window of his row, the dreary start to a day he already felt uncertain about hanging over him, literally, like a bad omen.

"Miss me already?" Kate teased, just managing to rescue the call from the brink of her voicemail system.

"I wish you could come with me." Even his voice sounded grey.

"Wow, Writer. Again? Your body is a true marvel of science. I thought we pretty well covered that ground this morning. A couple of times."

He'd spent the previous night at her place and she'd woken him early- not that he'd slept worth a damn, of course- her body melding with his in the most sublime of distractions, doing its utmost to help unburden him of some of his restlessness before the trip.

"The seat next to me is empty. We could get tipsy on free champagne, unwrap a couple of blankets, slide the window shade down…just imagine the trouble we could get into on a six hour flight." He raised his eyes to find a flight attendant standing before him with a mischievous grin. "Beverly loves the idea. She just told me so." He smiled back at the attendant and she continued down the aisle through first-class.

"Beverly?"

"She's my new American Airlines friend."

"I see. Well, just make sure Beverly keeps her hands off of your peanuts, okay?"

"Deal," he smirked, as he peered out the filmy window again at the soft blur that was his city. "I'm glad you answered. Hearing your voice helped. I hope your day isn't too hectic. I'll leave you a message when we land."

"I'm glad you called. Take a deep breath and think about your daughter's beautiful face. Everything's going to be great."

"I will. I love you. Talk to you later."

"Love you, too. Bye."

Rick switched off his phone, dropped it into his jacket pocket, tightened the strap of his seatbelt, and closed his eyes, with a bit more hope.

xxxx

It was early afternoon on the left coast when Rick's plane landed, the warm air and sunshine a most welcome change from the unusually cold late-March of New York. He sat in his rental car in the lot with the windows rolled down, sent a text message to his ex-wife to let her know he'd arrived. She'd agreed not to tell Alexis about his visit, not to ruin the surprise. He believed she wouldn't. She understood why he wanted it to be that way.

They got along well enough, for a divorced couple whose marriage was likely- or, depending on the day, definitely- a mistake from its impulsive inception. Aside from Alexis, Rick often wondered what good at all came out of it. Not that his ex-wife wasn't a good person. That wasn't it. She just wasn't good for him. Nor he for her. Silver lining: they'd both realized and agreed upon that fact relatively early on, early enough for it not to result in World War III come to New York.

Alexis would be home from school in a couple of hours, her reply message said, and he felt thankful for the extra time. The breeze whisking against his face for a while could only help.

He was staying out by the beach in Santa Monica, not at his usual L.A. spot in the heart of the pseudo-glitz of the Sunset Blvd craze, to be closer to Alexis in the little time he had to spend with her. His dishearteningly sizable alimony payments- courtesy of his old buddy, Storm- had helped to purchase a large condo with an even larger view, and while he cringed at the notion that he was paying for a gorgeous piece of real estate he'd never live in, he was grateful that his daughter, who'd fled from the comfort of the gorgeous loft in New York that was her true home, had such a place waiting to welcome her.

Rick loaded his small hotel's address into the rental car's GPS system and headed out into the sunshine and traffic of Los Angeles. It was an entirely different world than the one he lived in every day and he found an odd comfort in that. He wasn't boxed in by skyscrapers, he wasn't at the mercy of fickle Mother Nature, he wasn't overrun by sounds and smells and hustle and bustle. There was a freedom of space and a unique quiet. He knew it could never be his permanent home. He was too in love with his lady, New York. But he always welcomed the opportunity to spend a bit of time, especially now, when another love of his was there to share it with him.

He pulled up in front of the hotel some time later- everything took longer than one expected or hoped in L.A.- and handed the car keys off to the valet. He registered with the front desk and was led down a small set of hallways to an elegant room that overlooked the ocean. After emptying a mini-bottle of scotch into a glass of ice, he stepped out onto the balcony with his phone and dialed Kate's number for the second time that day.

"Nice timing, world traveler," she answered, with an audible smile. "How was the flight?"

"Hey, beautiful. Smooth sailing all the way, and you'll be happy to know that Beverly behaved herself the entire time, in spite of my numerous and usually effectual advances."

"Happy might be overshooting it a bit when you add in that second part."

"Right, yes, good tip." He swallowed down another sip of the scotch, already succumbing to the power of its calming effect. "So, why nice timing? How has your day been?"

"Oh, I just got back to the office after delivering some contracts. I just have a couple more things to do here and then I'm heading home. You caught me in the long-awaited bliss of silence. Everyone else has already left for the night."

"I'm glad to hear that. I really wish you could see what I'm seeing right now. It's a beautiful spot."

"Next time, I promise. Have you talked to Alexis yet?"

"Not yet. She's supposed to be home from school soon, so I'll head over to the condo in a bit." His heart fluttered with a pulse of excitement at the mere thought. "It's probably going to be too late to call you and say goodnight later, but I'll try you in the morning."

"It's a date," Kate said warmly. "I hope the reunion is everything you hope for, Rick. I'll be thinking of you."

"Naked?" Though she couldn't see him, he wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

She laughed heartily. "Do you really want me to think about you being naked while you're with your daughter?"

"No, sorry, I meant will you be naked when you're thinking of me? Because I can wrap that up nicely and save it for later."

"Well, I did have a busy night of Chinese food, nail filing and bill paying planned, but I'll see what I can do."

"That's all I ask." He looked off into the distance, the afternoon sun glinting off the surface of the ocean. "Hey, if I haven't said it already, thank you for having faith in me and for supporting me through this. It may not seem like a lot to you, but it's been everything to me."

"You have. You have said it. And I'll be here for whatever you need."

He tipped back the last of his drink and sat in the shadow and the purr of the Pacific until it was time to go surprise Alexis, the warm L.A. sun kissing sweetly at his face.

xxxx

Rick was greeted by the building's doorman as he entered the sleek and sophisticated lobby, his footsteps echoing between the walls of grey marble. The dark-suited, ornately-spectacled man scanned the day's visitor log and located Rick's name with a "yes, there you are," before directing him to the elevator and up to the fourth floor.

He rode up nervously- alone, thankfully- his left leg bouncing lightly as he watched the glow of the numbers climb toward his destination. His hand held tight to the small box hidden in his jacket pocket, a gift he'd brought with him for the occasion. It was his daughter's half-birthday, after all. He certainly wasn't going to arrive empty-handed.

The elevator doors slid open with a chime and he stepped out into the hallway in search of unit D. He turned the wrong way at first (imagine that, he thought) then reversed direction, standing before the intended door with a knot beginning to twist in his stomach. It was worry. It was excitement. It was disappointment in himself for not coming sooner.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, reaching, finally, for the buzzer to announce his uninvited arrival. All was still, at first, as he waited to be greeted by the beautiful face of his first ex-wife. And she was beautiful. He could never deny that. But then came the delicate voice from inside: "I've got it, Mom!"

Rick's throat went instantly dry with the realization that he was about to be face-to-face with his daughter for the first time in far too long. The lock snapped back and the door opened, and for an extended moment, time seemed to stop and stand still. He couldn't believe how different she looked, how grown up. She couldn't believe her father was standing at her door. And when that moment of suspended time came to an end, Alexis smiled, and Rick felt his lungs fill with air once more.

xxxx

He'd kept the leather writing journal from Kate under his palm the entire flight home. It had been his talisman on the trip, he was certain of it, the bearer of incredible riches well beyond anything money could ever buy. Kate had been with him the whole time, though she'd remained thousands of miles away. She'd told him everything would be okay, that it would all work out, and now, sitting in a cab from the airport on the way to her apartment to share it all with her, for the first time in a long time, he believed that.

Kate answered his knock, and he cradled her body against his in the entryway, his hands at her lower back, still holding tight to the journal. She smelled of fresh laundry and mint. How he'd missed that.

"I feel like I've been saying this too much lately, but I really missed you." He pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I missed you too. Come in here and tell me everything. I have wine opened, if you'd like some."

"I would, thanks." She tugged him inside by the upper arm and led him into the kitchen. "Did you have a good day today?"

"It was fine, yeah, uneventful," she answered as she poured him a glass, "but I want to hear about how you and Alexis left things. Tell me, tell me."

Rick smiled and nodded. "Give the woman what she wants. Yes, ma'am." He finally relinquished the journal to the kitchen counter and took the glass from her.

They sat close on the sofa, her knee touching his, his arm extended behind her along the pillows' edge. His fingers tickled along the back of her neck and she leaned into them ever so slightly, without true intention, yet seemingly without the ability to stop her body from wanting to be closer to his.

"She's coming home, Kate. When she's done with this semester of school, she's coming home." The joy in his voice was palpable but soft. "We talked a lot. Well, she talked a lot and I did a lot of listening. And I heard everything she said and she wasn't wrong about any of it. We have things to work on. I have things to work on." His head dropped as the lump in his throat began its journey upward. "I just want her to be happy again, Kate."

"I know you do," she said, lifting his chin with her fingertips. "And she knows that, too, even more so now. I'm really proud of you for doing this, Rick, for facing it, for having faith in her and in her love for you."

He leaned in, rested his forehead against hers, inhaled her sweet scent of mint. "I never could've done this without you. Any of this." He pulled back and kissed her lips gently. "I'm so grateful for whatever it was that brought you into my life. So damn grateful."

"If I remember correctly, it was the icicles starting to form in my nose, so we'll have to write Mother Nature a nice thank you card."

"Right, yeah. I wonder how much postage that requires."

They laughed together.

"Oh, and speaking of writing, hang on one second." He popped up off the sofa and headed back into the kitchen to grab the journal from the counter. "I wanted to share something else with you."

"The journal? Did you-"

Rick handed it to her and she drew her finger along its cover, admiring its artistry, once again. "Open it."

Kate flipped open the soft cover and the first page was covered with his words, and then the second and then the third and on and on. She finally stopped turning them over, looked up as his eyes watched her, his eyes filled with pride.

"I started a new story, Kate. Finally. While I was out there. It just- it just started to come out of me that first night, after I'd brought Alexis home. I have no idea if it's any good or not, but I don't think I care about that right now. To feel inspired enough to create something new is more than I ever could've hoped for before I left."

She closed the journal and pulled him in for a deep kiss. "This is amazing. A change of scenery. I'd hoped so much. Do I get to know what it's about or is it a big-time writer's secret?"

There was that irresistible lip bite of hers again.

"It's nothing like I've ever written before. It's about a father and a daughter finding their way together."

"Is it? I'm-"

"And," he interrupted, "about the uber-hot lawyer who loves the father and kisses him a lot, and smells like mint and clean laundry, and has this incredible pair of red patent stilettos."

Her brow crinkled. "That sounds very…specific."

"Well, I've always been drawn to the details. You know, an observer by nature. Say, you're a lawyer, would you maybe want to help me out with some of the research?" He winked and grinned smugly.

"How about you take me to bed and read me what you have written so far. That'll make it easier for me to decide whether or not the project is worthy of my time and effort. I'm a very busy woman, you see."

She stood and turned for the bedroom. "Oh, and grab the wine, Writer," she called over her shoulder as she moved away.

"Yes, Counselor. No objections here."

xxxx

Note: Thank you, readers, for indulging my whims.