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“I understand. I wouldn’t ever want to hurt my child either,” I glanced at Cole. “You can put me down now. I have to pay for my new tools.”
“I’ll pay for them,” Cole said, taking out his card and paying. I started humming the little bird song, not even realizing I was humming it.
“Hey, Dad, that’s the song you used to sing for us. Remember.”
I stopped and glanced at the boy. “My Dad used to sing my sister and me to sleep with this song,” I said, blinking the tears away.
“Where is your sister?” My Dad asked.
She’s in heaven,” I said, wiping away a tear that had escaped.
“I’m sorry,” he replied.
“Me too,” I said.
“Hey, Dad, don’t you think Uncle Joe looks a lot like you?” The younger boy asked.
I saw my Father turn his head and look at each of us. He was frowning, and I could tell he was trying to remember if he knew us. But that was so many years ago. How would he ever recognize me?” I took Cole’s hand and started toward the front door. Uncle Joe, we’re going now.”
Before we had a chance, the rest of his family walked inside. I looked at my sisters and smiled. They were so pretty. I could tell by looking at them that they had a good life, and I didn’t want to change any of that. We continued walking out the door. Uncle Joe was behind us.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t tell him who you were,” Uncle Joe said, walking to where his car was parked.
“Wait!” We all turned.
“You forgot your purchase.”
“Yes, I guess I did,” Cole said, walking to get the bag.
“I wrote that song, so how did your father sing it to you? Where is your father?”
“He disappeared when I was three and Jackie was two,” I said. “Goodbye.”
He nodded, and we went to our vehicle. Uncle Joe handed him a card before climbing into his vehicle. I didn’t say much on the way home. “You know where he is. You can always return and tell him who you are,” Cole said, reaching over and taking my hand.
“I know. I don’t want to cause any stress in their lives, but it helps to know that he is alive and he didn’t leave us. Maybe he was afraid to have a DNA test. I don’t know the reason, but I know that I’m walking away knowing my father didn’t stop loving me. That much I am sure of.”
“He looks so much like Uncle Joe. I’m surprised he didn’t see the resemblance,” I chuckled, thinking of my uncles. They were all still pretty young, and my Dad was two years older than Joe. So he must be in his fifties. I chuckled.
“What’s so funny,” Cole asked.
“Uncle Joe, I think he wanted to grab my father by the shirt and shake his memory out of him. But then he saw what I saw. A family that loves each other, and they don’t live far from us.”
“Please be careful when you leave for Afghanistan tomorrow. Get those boys out and come home to us, our baby, and me. We love you. I have a family now. You and our baby are my family. Plus the other one hundred and something members.”
“Plus, my side of our family. We have most of the mountain as relatives between you and me.”
We laughed most of the way home, naming off our family members. “Plus, if Allison and Ghost decide to talk to each other, we’ll have his family members. Everyone will have to go off the mountain to find someone unrelated to date.”
22
Viper
Nothing about this place had changed except maybe a few more destroyed buildings. I stole a glance at Ghost as we moved silently behind the dilapidated buildings. Despite the darkness, our night vision goggles provided clear visibility, and we could see everything before us. “Once we locate the boys, we'll need a jeep to make a swift exit,” I whispered.
My senses heightened as I heard something and instinctively raised my hand up for silence. Two soldiers passed by, oblivious to our presence, but we could see them. We heard them talking about the boys and their father. The father was being held captive in a building downtown.
“He’ll be dead before he has a chance to go to prison.” Fuck, I knew what I had to do. I had to see about getting the father out of there. The boys had already lost their mother, and they couldn’t lose their father, too.
