Sparked by Love

by Peggy Bird

  He pulled the car to the curb in front of his house and cut the engine. With one finger on her chin, he turned her face toward him, and with all the seriousness he could muster, said, “Why’s it so bad to think we might turn out to be more than friends?”

  “It’s not bad; it’s scary. Suppose … ” She broke off the sentence and returned her gaze to the roof of the truck cab, every muscle in her face tense.

  “Suppose … what? Suppose it doesn’t work out? Suppose it’s not real? Suppose I turn out to be the advance scout for the zombie apocalypse?”

  He thought he could see her face relax.

  “I don’t think you’re any more a zombie than you are a lesbian.”

  “I’m relieved. So what’s the ‘suppose’ factor?”

  “When I look around, I see a lot of failed relationships. I mean, look how it turned out for my mom.”

  “Your father really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

  “More like on my mom.”

  “He may have left your mom, but he did a number on you both.” Leo slid toward her and collected her into his arms. “I’m sorry for what happened to you and your mom. But you’re not your mom and I’m not your dad.” He kissed the side of her head. “If we go inside where there are more comfortable places to sit than on the gearshift and hand brake, I’ll continue trying to convince you I’m trustworthy.”

  She laughed. “If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re trustworthy. But going inside is a good idea. Walter’s waiting for us.”

  • • •

  The following day, Leo and Shannon spent hours packing up dozens of thin glass tubes of varying colors, sizes and shapes, securing them in the back of Leo’s pickup truck and transporting them to Vancouver where they schlepped them from the truck to the small bedroom Shannon used as a home office. By the time they were finished, the shelves along one side of the room were stacked with glass and Shannon’s books were piled on the floor.

  Leo was right. Amanda was effusive in her thanks. She’d kissed and hugged Shannon when the GlassCo office was clear of the pieces. Now there was space for the other two studio mates to store the work they were creating for their shows at the end of the summer.

  After the last load of glass was safely stored in Shannon’s house, Leo left to go home and Shannon took a walk around the Historic Reserve. It was a lovely evening; it had been another wonderful weekend. Well, except for Friday’s dinner which she’d managed to forget for the past two days because being with Leo wiped most every bad thing from her mind. Just as being at his house had removed the worry about either her father or Jeremy showing up at her house. When she finally got up the nerve to check her phone, neither had called, texted, or emailed. She was safe.

  For the moment.

  • • •

  The moment ended on Monday afternoon when her father showed up at work. Shannon was beginning to wonder if there was a sign she’d missed on the front of city hall saying, The door is always open to anyone who wants to hassle Shannon Morgan.

  Marty Morgan smiled and said, “Knock, knock” then walked into her cubicle without waiting for an invitation. He plopped down on the chair beside her desk and said, “We didn’t leave things on a very good footing on Friday. I’m sorry about that. Mostly because we need to get some things straightened out.”

  “Hello to you, too, Daddy. And please, feel free to interrupt me at my workplace anytime you want. I have no responsibilities other than dealing with you.”

  “If I thought you’d return a phone call or an email, I might not have to drop in like this. But you’d ignore them, wouldn’t you?”

  “You don’t know my phone number or email address.”

  “Jeremy gave them to me. Answer my question about whether you’d respond if I’d tried to use them.”

  “I don’t honestly know, Daddy. You made me angry on Friday ambushing me the way you did. I mean, in spite of the fact I only see you every couple of years when you bounce in and out of my life like a basketball, you seem to think you know what’s best for me.”

  “I don’t think that, sweetheart. I just want my daughter to be happy. And to try and forgive her old dad for not always being around. It was your grandfather’s last wish that we get this sorted out between us.”

  “If his death was so sudden, how come you know what his last wish was?”

  “Well, not his last last wish. His last wish that he told me about. When I talked to him the last time.” He shifted in the chair and picked up a pencil from her desk, bouncing the eraser end on the arm of the chair. “You know he always loved you. You were his favorite grandchild, just like I was his favorite son.”

  “You were his only son and I was his only grandchild, Daddy. Don’t try that approach to make me feel sorry for you. It won’t work.”

  “Whatever. He wanted us to be closer. He wanted you to be happy. I told him about your friend Jeremy and he was very impressed with what he heard. Said he thought you’d make a good couple.”

  Shannon closed her eyes and calmed herself. “Let me make it clear. It’s over with Jeremy. We dated for a while. He left. I’ve moved on. I have a new boyfriend. End of story.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I know that Jeremy thinks it could be something else.”

  “You believe him over your own daughter?” She was beginning to lose it again.

  “Not necessarily. But I do recognize when people are making mistakes. I should. I’ve made enough of them in my life. Jeremy recognizes he made a mistake and wants to make it up. And I don’t want you to make the mistake of turning away someone who’s good for you.”

  “I’m not. He isn’t.” She turned back to her desk, shuffling papers, hoping her father would take the hint.

  “Looks like you’re trying to tell me the conversation is over. I’m not sure it is, but I’ll leave on one condition. I want you to go out to dinner with Louise and me … ”

  “No. No dinners where I’m bushwhacked. Sorry.”

  “Let me finish. I want you to go out to dinner with Louise and me—only the three of us—so you can get to know her. She liked you. Said she admired your spirit. We want you to come to Las Vegas when we get married. Be part of the wedding. That’s another thing your grandfather wanted—he met Louise a few months back and said he hoped we could all be together at the wedding. I know Louise wants it, too. In fact, I think she wants to talk to you about an idea she has. And remember, I have your inheritance to deliver to you.”

  Shannon closed her eyes, trying to think of a reason to say no. She couldn’t come up with one. But then, that was the story of her life—knowing in her head she should say no when he didn’t treat her the way she wanted him to, but saying yes in the hopes that, somehow, he would be different this time. Opening her eyes, she said, “All right. I’ll do it, as long as it’s only you and Louise. Where and when?”

  “You tell me this time.”

  “Okay, Wednesday night. Right after work. Meet me at the entrance to city hall at five-thirty. We’ll have dinner in the restaurant at the Hilton next door.”

  “It’s a date.” He stood, leaned over her desk, and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, sweetheart. I knew you wouldn’t be cruel to your old dad.” With no more good-bye than there had been a hello, he sauntered out of her cubicle, whistling.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Marty and Louise were waiting for Shannon in the lobby of city hall on Wednesday. Her father kissed her cheek, and much to her surprise, so did Louise.

  “I’m so glad we have a chance to do this over,” Louise said. “I want to spend a little time with you without all the drama of last Friday.”

  “Sounds good to me, too, Louise,” Shannon responded.

  The three walked the block to the restaurant at the hotel where Marty had made reservations. After they had ordered their meals, Louise said, “Okay, now let’s do what we should have had a chance to do last week. I’ll tell you mine, if you’ll tell me yours.”

  “My what?�
��

  “Your story. All your father said was you were close for a long time, but he hasn’t seen much of you since college. Now that I think about it, he hasn’t even mentioned where you went to college.”

  Although she was surprised her father had claimed a closeness that was never there, Shannon didn’t want to embarrass him by disputing what he’d told the woman he probably was trying to impress. She let the comment about being close to him go and only responded to the question about her alma mater. “I went to UC Santa Cruz. Majored in politics. I’ve always loved the subject.”

  Her father muttered something about how all politicians were corrupt and shouldn’t be trusted. Louise’s pat on his hand could have been a sign of affection or a signal to hush. Whichever it was, it worked to silence her father.

  “How’d you land in Vancouver?” Louise asked, picking up her glass of wine for a sip. Shannon noticed her father had gulped his cocktail down and was signaling to the server for another.

  “A classmate told me about a job opening in the mayor’s office for a press aide and I applied. I’ve always loved the Pacific Northwest. Fell in love when my mom and I visited a cousin of hers in Seattle.”

  “He’s a worthless piece of shit,” her father said. “He and his equally worthless wife had half a dozen kids who are probably all on welfare now.”

  Embarrassed for him, Shannon tried to talk over his comment, addressing herself only to Louise. “Anyway, I worked there until this job came up. I’m the community relations and public involvement coordinator. I work on public hearings, deal with homeowner associations, and listen to people complain about dogs and noisy neighbors. This time of the year, I also help manage the annual Fourth of July event.”

  Their server interrupted with their salads.

  When she’d left, her father said, “Sounds like you have a plateful. I didn’t realize your job was so responsible.”

  “You’ve never asked, Daddy.” Shannon stabbed a piece of lettuce with unnecessary force.

  “Your job is even more reason for you to think about the kind of man you want to get involved with. You deserve someone who has an equally responsible job. Someone who’s a professional. Like Jeremy.” Marty had finished his second drink and was signaling for another.

  “Daddy, I told you. I’m dating someone else now. He’s a wonderful man. I think you’d like him.”

  Louise intervened before Marty could say anything else. “Tell me about your new man.”

  “His name is Leo Wilson. He’s an artist.” She didn’t let her father’s snort of derision deter her. “We met through work. A local foundation awarded him seventy-five thousand dollars for a glass art installation during the Fourth of July celebration here. I’m in charge of … ”

  “Seventy five thousand dollars of taxpayer money for art? Where are the priorities of your city?” her father said.

  “A private foundation awarded the money, Daddy. No public dollars.”

  “Still … ” He gulped down his third drink. “A man who can’t find real work and plays with art isn’t exactly the kind of man I want for my daughter.”

  “I’m smart enough to know the kind of man I want, Daddy, and you … ”

  Louise intervened again. “How about we limit the conversation topics to you, me, and your dad? And thank you for telling me about yourself, Shannon. Maybe you’d like to know a bit about me.”

  Shannon took a deep breath, ashamed of letting her father goad her into yet another pointless conversation. She nodded. “Of course. I was about to ask.”

  “Well, I’m a nurse. I’m divorced with two daughters around your age. They live in Reno, where I live. They’re both married, and I have one grandson, a baby named Trey.”

  “You look too young to be a grandmother,” Shannon said. And meant it.

  “Thank you. But as much as I’d like to think otherwise, it’s undeniably true,” Louise said with a shy smile.

  “How did you and Daddy meet?”

  “It’s kind of a funny story. I volunteer at a soup kitchen a couple times a month. One Saturday I was dishing out lunches when this man came up to the serving table and started talking to me. I thought he was a client and I kept trying to give him food. It was Marty. He was there to check on the new computer he’d sold to the group running the shelter where the soup kitchen is.”

  “I didn’t know you were selling computers, Daddy.”

  “Big market for them. I can hook you up with a good deal if you’re interested.”

  He’d slipped into salesman mode in only seconds. But at least he was trying to sell her a computer not a man this time.

  “Anyway,” Louise continued, “once we got it all sorted out, he asked me to have coffee with him. That was six months ago and we haven’t spent much time apart since.”

  “How do your daughters feel about … ” Shannon paused, not sure how to phrase the rest of the sentence. Finally she said, “about your getting married?”

  “They want me to be happy. And Marty makes me happy.” Louise smiled at Marty and the grin he gave her in return said a lot to Shannon about how real their relationship was.

  “I hope, Marty and I hope,” Louise went on, “you and Jennifer and Jessica—my daughters—will be our attendants at our wedding. It would mean a great deal to both of us.”

  “How thoughtful of you.” Shannon took another mouthful of lettuce and chewed for a few minutes before asking, “When exactly is the wedding taking place?”

  “We were planning it for the weekend after the Fourth of July.”

  “The timing may be something of a problem for me. I’ll be coming off the big Independence Day event and trying to catch up on what’s piled up while I was busy. I’m not sure I can get the time off to fly to Las Vegas for more than an overnight.”

  An overnight when she’d have to be away from Leo, too, since she was pretty sure he wouldn’t be included in the festivities.

  “Well, then, we’ll have to see about changing the date. It’s important you’re there and we’d like it to be for more than one night. My daughters are anxious to meet you. How about we see what we can do to move the date to later in the month, maybe the last week?”

  “I hate to make you change your plans because of me,” Shannon said.

  “We’re only having a small ceremony in one of the wedding chapels. It’s not a problem to move it if it means you’ll be there,” Louise said.

  “Let me know the date and I’ll talk to my boss about taking some time off.”

  The rest of the meal was amicable enough. The tension between Shannon and her father was at a minimum. She was surprised to learn he planned to stay in Vancouver for another week or two, maybe even longer so he could see the Fourth of July event she was in charge of, he said. She had mixed feelings about his plans. Part of her wanted to show him how good she was at her job. Part of her wondered why he was really staying.

  By the time dessert—and her father’s after dinner drink—arrived, Shannon was close to comfortable with the evening. It was mostly thanks to Louise who was doing her best, it seemed, to keep the conversation on safe topics. Shannon had come to like her very much and to hope this time her father was with a woman who could give him a good life. Maybe even help her finally get closer to him.

  She was almost ready to leave when Marty said, “Now, we have one more thing to discuss: your grandfather’s will.” He motioned to Louise who pulled a package out of the large hobo bag she’d carried. “Here’s the first part.” Handing the package to Shannon, he smiled and looked expectantly at her.

  Shannon untied the string and removed the brown paper wrapping. It was an odd way to present what was inside—a long strand of what she knew were real pearls, a diamond engagement ring, and a gold bangle bracelet she remembered from family stories that she’d teethed on.

  She could feel tears build up and reached for her own purse to grab a tissue. When she had wiped her eyes and blown her nose, she fumbled for her father’s hand. “Thank you, Daddy
. You don’t know how much this means to me. I remember Gramma wearing all these pieces. She was so special. And I love it that Granddad thought to leave them to me.”

  “Well, you know how much he loved you. He may have been old but there was nothing wrong with his mind.” He brought out a wallet from the inside pocket of his jacket. “There’s one more thing: he left you some money. It’s not much. The bulk of his estate came to me. But it might help you buy a house or something.”

  The check was for ten thousand dollars and would go a long way to paying for her college courses. “That’s more than I expected. I had no idea he had that much money.”

  “He saved all of his life and invested well.” Marty shrugged his shoulders and broke eye contact. “Better than I have, anyway.” Louise patted his hand, and he seemed to brush off the mood. “There was quite a bit of money in the end.”

  “I’m happy for you, Daddy. It’ll give you a good start on your new life with Louise.”

  “Yes, well, there are a few things that have to get taken care of first, but I think it’ll be okay.” He smiled across the table. “Everything will be just fine if you promise to be at the wedding.”

  It was an odd change of subject, but Shannon wasn’t going to press it. Her father seemed much more mellow now and she didn’t want to rock the boat. “I can’t promise anything yet, Daddy, but I’ll try. I’ll talk to my boss on Monday and see what I can do.”

  “We really need you there, don’t we, honeybun?” He patted Louise’s hand, which Shannon was beginning to believe was some sort of calming signal they used between them.

  “Absolutely, we want you there. But most importantly, we want you to want to be there with us to share the day.”

  The evening ended with Louise and Marty walking her home. Pointing out the historic highlights along the way gave her a safe topic of discussion. They both kissed her good night on her front porch and left.

  As she watched them walk hand-in-hand back toward the center of town, Shannon tried to shake off the feeling there was more to this than her father was revealing, but she couldn’t figure it out. His recent behavior didn’t give her much reason to trust him. Hell, his behavior all her life gave her little reason to trust him. And yet, he seemed interested in having her at the wedding more than he had ever wanted her involved in anything before. Was it foolish of her to hope that this was the change in his attitude she’d always wanted? Maybe his relationship with Louise and her relationship with her daughters had opened his eyes.