by Amber Heart
As they entered the dining room and approached the table, Silas was surprised to see the sheer volume of food spread out before him. Baked chicken, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and warm rolls, sat invitingly on the table. Silas’ mouth watered; his eyes and his nose delighted in the sights and smells of the delectable array.
“Sit anywhere you’d like,” Ingrid said, motioning toward the table. “Patience, come on dear. We’re ready!” she shouted as Chance and Silas took their seats beside each other.
“We almost forget the garden salad,” Patience cautioned as she brought it in from the kitchen and sat it on the table.
“You’re a life-saver,” Ingrid sang as she motioned for Patience to hurry up and get seated.
“Whew! So who’s going to say the prayer?” Patience asked looking around the table.
“I’ll do it!” Silas volunteered, eager to score points.
“Oh! How wonderful!” Ingrid mused.
“Let’s bow our heads,” he confidently instructed, just as the back door open noisily.
“Hey guys, I’m home early!” a voice rang out.
“Hun, we’re in the dining room,” Ingrid shouted, lifting her head from its bowed position.
Silas looked over at Chance who wore a look of terror on her face. Realizing that her dad was home, her cheery disposition had all but vanished and left a quiet, anxious soul in its wake.
Silas heard footsteps approaching and couldn’t wait to see what – or who – had Chance so nervous. All of a sudden, it all made sense. As soon as Silas saw his face, he inadvertently sprang to his feet.
“Chancellor Parker?” he gasped, totally taken by surprise. He knew they shared last names, but they’re related?
“Oh that’s right, you do go to Stronghold!” Ingrid said, piecing together how Silas knew who he was.
Silas looked at Chance again who avoided his glare and stared off to the side.
“We were supposed to have an Executive Board meeting but they canceled it at the very last minute,” the Chancellor said, walking over toward Silas, extending his hand. “Silas, is it? It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, before addressing the entire table. “Sorry I’m late! Shall we get started?”
“We certainly shall!” Ingrid agreed. “Grab a seat, dear.”
“Dad, can you say the grace,” Chance asked, strategically getting Silas off the hook.
“Sure,” the Chancellor agreed right before whole-heartedly embracing his duty, “let’s all join hands and bow our heads.
As the family prayed, Silas and Chance exchanged terse glances. Throughout dinner, he tried to be engaged in the conversation but really felt like he had been socked in the stomach. How could Chance keep this kind of information under wraps? Something about it felt off. He had a million questions and was almost certain that none would be answered that night.
At the end of the evening, Silas received warm regards from Chance’s family and was invited to come back whenever he wanted to. He graciously accepted their invitation and quietly asked Chance to see him out.
As they walked to the door, a pin-drop would’ve registered loud and clear. Shortly after they reached the foyer, Chance opened the door and stood by quietly. She said her first words to him as soon as he landed on the porch.
“I can explain,” she murmured, in what sounded like near-defeat.
“Save it,” Silas countered, making a bee-line for his car, unsure about when he would talk to Chance again.
Epilogue
It had been a week since Silas had spoken to Chance. Although she had valiantly tried to reach out to him, he just couldn’t bring himself to talk to her – not just yet. While he didn’t respond to any of her text messages or e-mails, he had actually read each one of them.
“Please don’t shut me out,” her last text message to him read as he sat studying for his Programming Course. “You promised that you wouldn’t, remember? Please let me explain.”
Silas sighed. She was right. Chance had asked him to hang in there after meeting her family and he had clearly told her that he would. From that perspective, he had gone back on his word. On the flip-side, she hadn’t been straight-forward with him about who she was. From her family’s status to her dad’s identity, she had held some important information back from him and – in a real way – it made him wonder what else might be up her sleeve.
“Meet me at Johnny Quicks in 30 minutes?” he suggested, signaling – for the first time – that he was ready to talk.
“Sure,” she replied immediately, curtly.
Silas closed his books and hastily shoved them into his book bag. He wasn’t looking forward to this meeting at all but realized that it was time to have a frank conversation. Instead of driving, he decided to take the 25-minute walk and, along the way, work through his thoughts. Silas reasoned that the fresh air and quiet time would help to clear his mind and lay the foundation for a thoughtful discussion.
The only problem: none of that was true. The closer he got to his destination, the more he wanted to turn around and go back to his study session. At least there, he had the majority of the answers. Here, in this case, all bets were off! When it came to Chance, things were much more undefined and in flux. Despite his reservations, he powered forward and, before he knew it, he’d arrived at Johnny Quicks.
“Table for two,” he said, as he reached the hostess’ stand.
“Would you like a booth or a high-top,” the petite, cheerful hostess asked, grabbing two menus.
“Wait,” Silas said, as a familiar face caught his eye, “it looks like the person I’m meeting is already here.
“Oh, OK,” the hostess replied, putting the menus back in their holder, “you’re welcomed to just go in.”
“Thanks,” he said, reluctantly starting down the well-worn path.
As he walked toward her, Chance slowly realized that Silas had arrived.
“Hi,” she said gloomily, looking up from her menu and placing it down on the table.
“Hi,” he replied void of any emotion, placing his book bag in the booth first before sliding the rest of his body in.
Chance took a deep breath and then switched her glance from the table directly into Silas’ eyes. “Believe me, I get why you’re upset with me. I just want you – I just need you to hear me out. Please,” she pleaded, her eyes sad, blue eyes staring deeply into his.
As he watched her make an appeal to him, the ice that encased Silas’ heart began to melt. Unwilling to let on or change his outward posture in any noticeable way, he simply replied by saying, “OK, I’m listening.”
Chance took another deep breath. “I want you to remember the first time we hung out, that night we had coffee after class.”
“Yeah?” Silas said, as the fog that shrouded that memory slowly begin to lift.
“Well, you asked me why I looked so embarrassed when Dr. Byrne acknowledged our paper and I told you that, throughout my life, compliments have often been empty or – in many cases – given just to get something back in return.”
“OK?”
“Well, because my dad is who he is – and, mind you, that’s something that I don’t have any control over – it’s hard to tell when someone is genuinely impressed with me or when they have some kind of ulterior motive – or just want something from my dad. Byrne included!”
Silas shifted in his seat, diligently trying to wrap his mind around everything Chance was saying.
“That said,” Chance paused, “I – quite purposely – don’t offer up certain information before I get to know someone. I have to wait until a person’s motives are clear to me or until I truly believe that they like Chance Parker – the person – before I reveal any of the other stuff that other people use to define me.”
“Hi, I’m Mazy,” a bespectacled waitressed interrupted, her hands clasped in front of her. “Can I get y’all something to drink?”
“Oh, I’d like water with lemon, please,” Silas said.
“Tea f
or me,” Chance said with a sigh, mentally transitioning from the heavy conversation that was underway to the much, much lighter task of placing an order.
“Got it! Be right back!” Mazy said, rushing off to get their drinks.
As they were left to themselves, silence dominated Silas’ interaction with Chance – that is, until he made the effort to break the ice.
“Well, I just want to say that I get it. I understand it. I know why you behaved the way that you did. I think, in some way, that I had a rough understanding of everything you just said as soon as I saw Chancellor Parker walk into the dining room. It’s just the – the deception of it all. I’m having a hard time with that.”
Chance exhaled, feeling like she would always be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to this particular matter.
“All of this just makes me wonder what else, if anything, you’re hiding from me.”
“Well,” Chance interjected, “let’s not forget that you didn’t tell me about Ava right away. I only found out about her after the plan for Kalyn to pick her up before our meeting fell through.”
Silas looked off to the side and took a deep breath, hesitant to concede Chance’s point.
“Here’s what I think,” Chance began, “no, here’s what I know. I miss you.”
Silas’ ears perked up and his eyes got wide as Mazy brought the drinks back to the table. Knowing how guarded Chance is, he knew that it took quite a bit for her to show her vulnerable side. “I miss you too,” he shared, reaching out his hands and punctuating his sentence with a smirk.
“And,” she replied, reaching out her hands to meet his, “I miss Ava.”
Silas chuckled, and tightened his grip around her hands just slightly.
“So, how can I fix this? How can we go forward?” Chance asked.
“Well, I think we’re off to a good start now. It looks like we both want to make it work!”
“Yeah, I know I do,” Chance concurred.
“So, let’s make the effort to be more up front with each other.”
“I can do that.”
“Good, and let’s try dinner with your parents again; this time, I’ll have a little bit of a heads up about who will be there. Deal?”
“Deal!”
“I know we’ve got to recover and adjust to the circumstances but – I’m – I’m ready to figure all of this out with you.”
Beaming, Silas let Chance’s hands go and quickly got up.
“What’s going on?” she said, genuinely confused.
“Scoot over,” he said to a giggling Chance as he slid in to her side of the booth.
“You are so silly!” she said, marveling about how, just an hour ago they were on the outs.
“You think you’re ready to do this?” he asked, a slightly serious glint in his eye.
“Yeah!” she mused, “You?”
“I am,” he said with a sly smile. “You know what we should do?”
“What?”
“Seal this with a kiss,”
“Oh yeah?” she asked, “let’s do it!”
As he brought her in closer, and eagerly anticipated her tender embrace and loving smooch, the warm feeling and fluttering heart he was used to whenever she was around came back in full force. In that moment he grew more confident than ever that they were at the beginning of an amazing journey on the path to forever.
Bonus Chapter
It was a Saturday afternoon and, as a part of a newer tradition, Silas, Chance and Ava were at the kitchen table hard at work, each in a unique way. Silas, with his laptop’s screen all aglow, was in the middle of a software engineering project. Chance was drafting an outline for her Introduction to World Literature course by hand and Ava was in the middle of an enthralling coloring exercise. With everyone laboring diligently and extremely focused on their individual tasks, the table served as a central place for everyone to get their work done but, in the most basic way, also spend time together.
If there was anything that Silas appreciated about his time with Chance, it was learning how to balance a solid work ethic and a satisfying social life. These joint Saturday afternoon study sessions were a normal occurrence and Ava had quickly adapted to sitting quietly and working on her assignment, while the grown-ups did much more heavy lifting. From the beginning, as they collaborated on the Humanities paper, Chance challenged Silas to do his best work. Dedicated to finishing his senior year strong, Silas worked hard to keep the momentum going and experienced real success as a result.
Well overdue for a breather, Silas simultaneously stretched his legs out in front of him and reached his hands to the ceiling. “Who’s ready for a break?” he yawned, stalling for the moment, reluctant to return back to his assignment.
“I could use one,” Chance admitted, putting her pen down and reclining in her chair. “What do you have in mind?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” he said, willing to do just about anything that didn’t involve staring at his computer screen.
“You wanna go to the park, Ava?” Chance asked, right before being met with an enthusiastic nod from the youngest person in the room. “I think we’ve got a winner here!” Chance announced before asking, “What do you say, Pop?”
“I think that’s a winner, indeed!” Silas agreed, almost as excited as Ava was to visit her favorite place on earth. If history was any indicator, Ava would not only be immensely excited the whole time they were on site, but she would be so tuckered out after ripping and running all day that she would be asleep well before her bedtime and rest peacefully throughout the night.
“The park it is!” Chance resolved, ready to get the show on the road.
After saving and securing their work, the rag-tag bunch put on their jackets and got prepared to meet the brisk March air. With the park so close to Silas’ apartment, they certainly didn’t have to go far and considering that it was free and a lot of fun, this really was the best bet.
“Let’s get on the swings, Ava,” Chance suggested, picking up her pace – from a walk to a light jog – and, without a word, inviting Ava to a race. Never one to turn down a good challenge, Ava quickly launched into her version of a run and giggled blissfully. Having handily won the race to the swings, Ava laughed from the bottom of her stomach as she raised her arms in triumph.
“You are just a whiz at everything, aren’t you?” Chance mused, as soon as she caught up with Ava. “Alright, you got me! You win!” Chance said, acknowledging her loss fair and square. “C’mon let’s get you up and ready to go,” she continued, lifting Ava from the ground and hoisting her into the swing.” By the time she was securely fastened in, Silas had arrived and was ready to assume his duty as Ava’s professional pusher. Not to be left out of the fun, Chance took a seat in a nearby swing, lifted her feet, and let herself dangle.
“Push, Pop!” Ava demanded, excited to be hoisted in the air.
“Here goes!” Silas said, igniting a chorus of laughter as he met the toddler’s demands to go higher and faster.
“You guys are just so cute together,” Chance mused, just as Silas stopped the swing long enough to give Ava a kiss on her cheek. “You want to do the monkey bars next, Ava?” Chance asked.
“What a lovely family!” an older woman said, as she walked by Silas, Chance, and Ava with her cane. “Whatever you do, just keep on loving each other – you hear?” she said, either sadly mistaken or seeing something in them that had yet to fully reach the surface.
“Thank you, ma’am!” Chance said, choosing to accept the somewhat misguided compliment and hoping that it was a precursor of what was to come.
“Let’s get you on the monkey bars,” Silas said, unstrapping Ava from her seat, and gently placing her feet on the ground.
“Monkey bars! I like those,” Chance said, just as clearly as anyone else would. Poised to take full advantage of the freedom at her feet, Ava ran freely to the next station.
“That’s right, baby!” Silas said, taking Chance’s cue and playfully running to
the next station.
Once he was in place, Silas hoisted Chance back into the air, coaxing her to grab ahold of each handle bar – one at a time. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you!” he said.
Ava reached above her head, and with Silas’ help, managed to successfully get from start to finish.
“Do it again, Pop!” she said, hoping to get a real-live instant replay.
“Let’s start from the opposite side this time!” he insisted, hoisting Ava up once again and, walking her back to the start. Her excited squeals – as if she was doing something for the first time – made Silas’ heart dance.
“OK, guys – let’s choose one last thing,” Chance said, “I need to get back and finish my outline.”
“Alright, Ava – what’s it going to be?” Silas asked, watching her closely as she scanned the playground.
“Uh, seesaw!” she requested.
“OK, well, you can’t be on that ride by yourself! You’ll need a partner,” Silas said, wondering how she would address this challenge.
Without missing a beat, Ava quickly said “Come on, Chance!” and motioned her over to grab her hand.
As Silas, Chance, and Ava made their way over to the seesaw, linked together at the hands, the older woman’s premonition weighed heavily on her mind. “From your lips to God’s ear” She said to herself!
Slave To My Boss
A Billionaire Office Story
By Amber Heart
Chapter One