[:::: Lucky, Chapter 12 - Part III ::::]

[:::: Authors Note::::]

Initially, there were only four chapters in Part III of Lucky; however, in what I am sure is a silly move on my part, I was once again reading the last couple of chapters, and the characters have spoken, wanting more air time.

As such, it’s a little hustle, and it's cutting into my time on Nuclear Family and The White Suit.  But the final chapters are getting more, and I must admit it's heartbreaking ☹.  But when the story is clear, I need to write it.

Speaking of the Nuclear Family, this week we return to Part II, where Robbie is running away with Amy, and her secrets are revealed.

Now, back to our story, enjoy!

[:::: Go Back to Lucky, Chapter 11 ::::]

[:::: Lucky, Chapter 12 – Part III ::::]

Following my release from the hospital after the donation of a portion of my liver to my estranged daughter, my recovery was pretty much textbook. Within six weeks, I was back at work on light duties and Grace and I resumed our nocturnal activities within eight weeks, much to both of our mutual relief.

Following our heated exchange, Daphne ended up spending the night in the watchhouse, but no charges were laid, so she was released with a warning, which I was okay with.  My former wife had fallen on hard times, and I did enjoy that she was now living the somewhat impoverished life that she had forced me to live.

I also got regular updates on Lacey’s health and recovery.  She was responding to the transplant well and was expected to make a full recovery.  Of course, it was taking a lot longer for her as her body had to accept the portion of my liver that I donated, and her illness needed time.  But we all had hope.

Lacey was back living with Daphne, and Torri had also been staying with them to help look after her sister. Four months after the operation, I felt that Lacey was strong enough to handle the conversation that I knew we were due to have.

My daughters knew that I was monitoring them, and they did not push me for communication. However, Torri let me know through a series of emails that they were grateful and would accept any interaction I wanted with them on my terms.  She also told me that Daphne was becoming more demanding and unhinged anytime my name was mentioned.  She felt that since I had traded up and had the means and money, I should be taking care of all three of them.

When Torri mentioned that I was footing the bill for Lacey’s care and covering all her appointments, her mother flew into a rant about how it didn’t help her.

It was a bright Wednesday morning, sunny and warm.  I smiled as I walked, my cane on my arm, but I wasn’t using it, and despite the complicated conversation I felt I was just about to have, I was smiling as I felt the sun on my face.

Daphne and Torri had left the house for the day, so Lacey was home alone when I knocked on the door and waited.

“Daddy!” she almost yelled, the surprise evident on her face as she opened the door.

“Lacey,” I said formally, and her face dropped a little from the elation shown just a few moments earlier. Then I smiled at her.  “It’s a beautiful day, and I was wondering if you might want to take a short walk with me down to the café on the corner. I’m told that they're now encouraging you to do short walks?”

She only hesitated a moment and asked if I could wait a couple of moments so she could grab her purse and some shoes.  I smiled and nodded.

A couple of minutes later, she emerged, and we started the little hundred-meter walk to the café.

“Lacey,” an older lady said as we walked in the door.  “So good to see you out and about.  How are you feeling, sweets?”

“Better, Mrs Weltch,” she told her.

“And who is this dashing man?” she asked, then smiled at me, holding up a hand before I could introduce myself. “Surely, the eyes, the nose.  Mr Other, a pleasure.  All Torri and Lacey do is talk about you.”

I smiled and greeted the woman, placing our orders.  Lacey and I are both having herbal tea instead of coffee.

She looked around and kept glancing over my shoulder at someone.

“Do you know that man who just sat down behind us?” Lacey asked a moment after I took my seat.  I turned around and spied the guy, then waved.

“That is Matt, he’s my security for the day.”

“Security?”

“Long story,” I told her, smiling. “But suffice to say my family doesn’t go out in public these days without an escort.”

Lacey looked over at Matt, who smiled back and nodded, then back at me.  She thought for a few moments.

“Torri and I spoke a lot about your job; we know that it is important, but we didn’t think it required a security escort.”

I laughed.

“It doesn’t,” I told her as I picked up a pack of sugar and played with it. “It’s a family thing.  My wife Grace and I, well, let's say that they like to keep tabs on us.”

Lacey’s face fell, and she glanced down at my leg, putting two and two together.

“May I see?” she asked, hesitating slightly.

I lifted my jeans just a little until she could see the titanium shaft.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Not like it used to,” I admitted. “If I don’t look after it correctly, it itches. But early on, a good friend helped me to build a routine that, if I follow it, doesn’t bother me too much. And I have an assortment of feet to fit different situations.  As in public I wear long pants, so unless you knew, you wouldn’t know to look that I was missing a foot.”

“I’m sorry, Dad, if it hadn’t been for us, it never… You wouldn’t…”

I waved a hand dismissively.

“You know if it wasn’t for some desperation on your sister's part, and Grace convincing me it was the right thing to do, we likely wouldn’t be sitting here,” I told her.

We both went quiet as Lacey digested the comment. She looked over at Matt, then back at me.

“Still,” she said as she took a tentative sip of her tea. “This is still our fault.”

I nodded.

“I believe your mother has a pretty big part of the responsibility to share as well,” I told her. “But yes, Tori and you also have your roles. As did I.”

“No,” my daughter told me, a scowl on her face. “That’s bullshit, Dad, and you know it.  You did nothing wrong.”

I looked away, out the windows of the old café.  The windows needed a clean, yet the slight distortions in the glass added a charm to the place that made it feel like you were visiting your grandparents.

“I still made mistakes, Lacey,” I told her softly. “But they were more in my actions; I could have done things differently.”

She shook her head.  “No, we drove you there; it was our fault.”

“Partially,” I admitted, surprising her. I sighed. “Look, Lacey, had you not fallen sick, we likely would never have seen each other again.”

She nodded her head slowly.

“And you do need to hear it said that, regardless of your mother's actions, what Torri and you did to me over that last year was the most heartbreaking time I have ever been through. I would have done anything… Anything, to spend time with either of you, but you threw it back in my face.”

She nodded, and I could see tears, but they weren’t spilling, not yet.

“That day, in the café, you broke my heart.  I was angry, lost, and I felt rejected by the people whom I had given up everything to love, despite your antipathy towards me.  Negative emotions, I did not truly understand at the time.”

Lacey nodded.

“The following month, my accident, losing my foot.  It took me to the edge where I knew it was better that I was no longer in the world.”

“No…” Lacey said, and I smiled sadly at her.

“I know, and I have already had this talk with your sister,” I told her, and she swallowed and nodded. “But unlike everyone else, you likely get the feeling of hopelessness that grows in you when you feel like you have no way to fight back against your life.”

It took a moment, but she nodded.

“What you went through is horrible, Lacey, truly horrible.  However, where you had people around you, your sister, friends, even your mother,” I told her, trying not to spit that last word. “I didn’t feel there was anyone around me.”

Then I smiled.

“But it was also in that darkest place that I met Grace.  She saved me, Lacey.  Pulled me back from the edge, and she had also been through some horrible situations.  But Grace never once hesitated to show me her love, even when sometimes I knew I made her want to scream and run away.”

“I met her at the hospital,” Lacey told me quietly. “She came into my room while you were resting.  She’s a beautiful woman, Dad.  If I can end up being half as stunning as she is, then I will be doing well in life.”

I smiled and sat back.

“I hear I have a younger brother and sister?” she asked, trying to step away from the serious topic for a few minutes.

It worked. For the next fifteen minutes, I showed photos of the family, including Grace, the kids, and me.  And while Lacey was happy to see them, I could also tell she was saddened.

“I miss the days when there was no agenda, no need for us to do anything more than go to the park.  We didn’t need to be anywhere but with each other; we didn’t need to be seen or spend money.  We could just be Torri and me with our father.”

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment.

“I recall that day as well; it is burned in my memory as the most shameful day of my entire life. Worse, in the time that followed, Torri and I became so shallow that we became lost.  Things filled the hole where love once was.  Being busy, being the most popular became more important than being satisfied.”

I nodded slowly.

“I think it was during the New Zealand trip that Torri and I had the first idea of what we had become and that we didn’t like it. And I know Torri and I spoke about the shame we felt.”

I nodded once more, continuing to let her talk.

“Despite it all, Dad, you came back and sacrificed yourself once more for me.  Gave yet another part of you that will again leave its mark on you forever,” she said as the tears now began to fall. “Torri and I have discussed it, Dad.  We want to move closer to you.  We don’t know if you will forgive us or accept us.  But we owe you a debt we can never repay.”

I know my eyes went wide for a moment, and then Lacey spoke her mind once more, even as she wiped her tears with a tissue.

“We spoke about it, Dad. It has been decided that once I am healthy enough, we will find jobs and move.  And no, we don’t want your charity. Torri and I will make our own way and spend the rest of our lives trying to make it up to you.  Our only request is that you don’t shut us out; let us know if you ever believe you could love us again one day…

[:::: End of Chapter 12 ::::]

[:::: Read Chapter 13, Part III ::::]

[:::: View the Lucky Story Page ::::]

[:::: Read any of John’s Stories on John’s Story Guide ::::]