Daddy’s Wild Friend

by Charlize Starr

  “Well, you can’t do the right thing by stealing,” Hank says, but I think he looks like he’s deflating a little.

  “I’m not saying he was right to steal—I’m just saying we don’t need to handle it by having him thrown in jail,” I say. I can’t imagine where I would have been without Hank allowing me to learn from mistakes instead of just suffering for them, and I feel like it’s the least I can do, repaying it by dealing with Michael in the right way.

  “What are you suggesting?” Hank asks.

  “We have to let him go, but we don’t have to get the police involved,” I say. Hank nods. He’s always been a forgiving guy, even if his temper blows up quickly.

  “Alright, bring him in,” Hank says. I call Michael back in, texting Charlotte quickly as I do:

  You were right. About everything. Couldn’t have done this without you. Tell you later.

  “You, young man, are lucky Danny here intervened for you and reminded me how terrible he was at your age,” Hank grumbles, facing Michael.

  “I was,” I nod and shrug. “And I was given a lot of second chances.”

  “A lot of them by me,” Hank says. Michael is staring at us with wide, terrified eyes. “So we’re not going to call the police.”

  “Thank you,” Michael says in a broken sort of whisper.

  “We have to let you go, of course—but we’ll pay you for the rest of the week,” Hank says, nodding. Michael looks like he doesn’t know how to feel. I think to myself that it’s things like this that have made Hank my best friend all these years.

  “I understand, sir,” Michael says, still red-eyed and sniffling. “Thank you for not calling the cops on me. I’m so sorry. I really am.”

  “Now go get your things and head out,” Hank says, stern but without any anger behind it.

  Michael gets up to leave, offering a few more apologies as he goes until he shuts the door behind him. Hank and I look at each other in silence. It feels like there is nothing else to say. I can’t quite believe the answer this whole time was a scared kid in trouble and not a conspiracy to bring the business down. I guess I’ve spent too much of my life thinking about advanced combat tactics to see the simple answer to things. It seems a little surreal to think the whole mess is over, and I know I have Charlotte to thank for it.

  “You’re a lot nicer than you used to be,” Hank comments, looking over at me as we watch Michael gather his things from his locker. One of us needs to walk him out for a minute and collect his badge, but for now, we’re just watching.

  “Eh, you were always this nice,” I say, putting my hands in my pockets. “Maybe it finally rubbed off.”

  “Could be,” Hank says, then he frowns. “I should have listened to your concerns. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” I tell him, shaking my head. “It’s all over now.”

  “But it would have been over sooner if we’d done it your way,” Hank says, still looking apologetic.

  “Charlotte figured it out, actually,” I admit. I feel a little like I’m testing the waters, bringing Charlotte up. Hank smiles.

  “I kind of figured you told her,” Hank says. His grin is wide and genuine, with just a hint of a smirk, which makes me feel a lot more at ease about even more things.

  Hank leaves the office to walk Michael out, and I text Charlotte again, feeling relieved and hopeful. Like maybe now that our mystery’s been resolved, we can finally solve a few things between us, too.

  Chapter Twenty-One - Charlotte

  My alarm goes off and I’ve hardly slept. Last night, Danny and I had talked on the phone for over an hour. My hunch was right about Michael and his girlfriend, and I’m so glad all that’s over, even if I’m feeling unsettled. Danny said he and Dad had decided not to press charges, and I’m glad about that, too. It sounds like my father, who has always believed in second—and third and fourth—chances. It’s why Danny is his best friend. It’s probably why he hung in there with Mom for as long as he did.

  Danny and I had talked a lot about Michael, about Danny seeing himself in the kid, seeing reflections of himself at that age. After everything Danny and I talked about on his boat the other night, I understand why. I also understand that they had to fire Michael. Of course they did—he was stealing, and leaving him working around money isn’t giving him a second chance. It’s just being foolish. Still, I can’t help but feel worried about him, his girlfriend, and that baby they have on the way as I head out this morning.

  I keep thinking about Catherine telling me how hard it was for her, keep playing it over in my head, her saying no one was there for her, that she had to do it alone. I want Michael and his family to have help, to not be alone, even if he’s made some serious mistakes. I can’t stand the thought of them being evicted or without power with it being so close to Christmas and with that sweet baby on the way.

  I want to help them somehow. I decide to call my friend, Chloe, in Philadelphia. She’s a social worker who has done a lot of work with family support centers, so if anyone will have ideas, it would be her.

  “Charlotte!” Chloe asks when I pick up, sounding bright and cheerful. “How’s small-town life treating you?” Chloe’s always like this, high energy all the time, even when I know she hasn’t been sleeping, or even home much. I don’t know how she does it.

  “You should come visit me sometime and see for yourself,” I say. Chloe laughs into the phone. It’s loud wherever she is—I can hear music and yelling in the background.

  “If I ever have a spare minute, I’ll let you know,” Chloe says. “So, girl, what’s up?”

  “I need your advice, actually,” I tell her. “So there’s this teenage couple I know—he used to work for my dad and she’s pregnant. He’s out of work now, and her parents kicked her out, so they’re trying to do it all on their own and struggling. I thought you might know of agencies or programs that could help them?”

  “Do you know how far along she is?” Chloe asks, sounding all business now. “And if she has an OB-GYN?”

  “I would say about eight months,” I estimate, thinking of the girl I’d seen in the parking lot and of pregnant patients I’ve worked with. “I don’t know if she does or not?”

  “Okay. Give me, like, an hour, and I’m going to email you a ton of information and forms for them to fill out to get assistance, okay? It’s probably easier that way, and they can’t do much without those. Have them fill out everything they can, and if you want, you can put me on the speaker to walk them through any questions they have. I’ll include lists of anything local, too, so they can go talk to someone in person.”

  “You’re the best, Chloe. Thank you so much,” I say, relieved.

  “Of course, honey,” Chloe says, warmly. She goes over a few of the details of what she’s sending, and then we hang up, her promising I’ll have all the forms soon. I call Danny as soon as we hang up.

  “Morning,” he says, sounding a little like he hasn’t slept himself.

  “Hey, do you have an address for Michael?” I ask.

  “In the files, why?” Danny asks, sounding curious.

  “I just talked to a social worker friend of mine, and she’s sending me forms for them so they can get medical checkups and housing assistance and things for the baby,” I say.

  “You did?” Danny asks. He sounds surprised in a pleased sort of way.

  “I was worried about them,” I say.

  “Me too,” Danny admits, “I was actually going to go see them today myself. I talked to a friend of mine who owns that lumber yard off the highway. He works with a lot of kids who’ve had a hard time, even kids who’ve done time. He’s willing to offer Michael a job if he’ll take it.”

  “That’s fantastic,” I say, meaning it. The fact that Danny had done that, had been worried and gone out of his way to help Michael like that, even after Michael had stolen from his business, really impresses me. It’s such a kind and generous thing to do. I think maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, Danny has shown himself to be noth
ing but kind and caring.

  “We could go over together if you want,” Danny says.

  “I’d like that,” I say, beaming. It still sort of takes my breath away, that someone I’d once thought so little of could be such a wonderful man.

  We meet and drive over to the other side of town together. In the car, I grab Danny’s hand across the console, and he smiles at me and runs his thumb over my knuckles as we drive. I love that Danny and are doing this together, that we’re helping these scared kids together. I feel like Danny and I make a great team, like we’re better together, somehow.

  Michael looks nervous when he greets us at the door, like maybe he thinks we’re here because Danny and Dad have changed their minds about pressing charges. But he and his girlfriend, Amanda, both start crying when we explain the real reason for our visit to them.

  I go over the forms with them, explaining how they can get help with everything from daycare once the baby is born to assistance with their bills right now. Danny gives Michael his friend’s business card and tells him there is a job waiting if he wants it. They both thank us over and over and tell us how scared they’ve been, how they really weren’t sure day to day how they were going to make it.

  “This is the best Christmas present we could have asked for,” Amanda says, with tears in her eyes, hugging me, and I can feel the baby kick a little in her stomach as she does, like maybe it’s sharing its own thanks as well, too. “Thank you so much, both of you.”

  I tear up a little myself at that, and Danny slides an arm around my waist, holding me tightly. I think about everything being connected—like something had brought me back here, right now, not just for Dad, but for Catherine, for Michael and Amanda, for Danny, and for myself.

  I hope that wherever she is right now, Catherine can see us, that’s she’s laughing that raspy laugh of hers at how well everything’s come together over the past few days. Maybe it’s ridiculous, but I can’t help but feel better about everything thinking that Catherine will be watching over Amanda and the baby from now on.

  Chapter Twenty-Two - Danny

  The surprise inspection turns out to just be an ordinary random inspection, to my relief. It goes off without a single hitch—in fact, we do even better than we have in previous inspections. The inspector is a friendly older woman who says over and over that she’s heard nothing but good things about the Dock’s End and can’t wait to try it in her spare time. She wishes us both a Merry Christmas and sends her luck for the Naval Ball event.

  “I guess you were right about that,” I say to Hank when she’s gone. Hank laughs.

  “Neither one of us can be right all the time. That’s why we’re partners, isn’t it?” Hank says, clapping a hand on my shoulder. I grin.

  “Because we’re both stubborn assholes sometimes?” I ask.

  “We are that, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” Hank says, laughing. “Nah, because we both have blind spots, but they’re different blind spots. So even if we’ve both only got one good eye, we can usually see things clear between the two of us..”

  “Usually,” I agree, chuckling at his metaphor. I can’t imagine being in business with anyone but Hank, and I’m so glad that the tension of the past few weeks has lifted, that we’re back to everything running smoothly. Everything is working out better than I ever would have thought.

  “So,” Hank says, leveling me a long look, “I hear that you’re taking Charlotte to the Naval Ball?”

  “I am,” I say, swallowing down a lump in my throat. I think about lying, about saying she had just had no other way to go and always wanted, of making up other excuses. But I think Hank deserves more than that from me, and if things with Charlotte end up as serious as they feel, we’ll need Hank to know and to approve, anyway.

  “Good,” Hank says, grinning even wider, “I’m glad.”

  “Really?” I ask, trying not sound too surprised.

  “Well, you two have been looking at each other like cartoon characters with hearts for eyes ever since she got back,” Hank says, laughing, “and you both seem happy about it. So I’m happy.”

  “You don’t mind?” I ask. I had hoped Hank wouldn’t be angry with me and Charlotte, but him easily giving his blessing like this is more than I could have imagined.

  “You’re already family, Danny,” Hank says. “So, I’d tell you if you hurt her I’ll have to bury you in my yard, but I think that goes without saying.”

  “It does,” I agree, laughing a little. I feel lighter than usual and more hopeful, more optimistic about every part of my life. I don’t know what’s going to happen – with Charlotte, with anything – but I feel more ready for it now.

  “So, about that second location,” Hank says. I nod. I think I’m ready to have that conversation, too. I think I’m ready to take a lot of steps.

  Hank and I talk for the rest of the day and draw up a preliminary list of neighborhoods and locations to visit. We decide that maybe Hank was right, that the Naval Ball is the perfect time to announce it after all.

  Getting ready for the Naval Ball three days later, I’m nervous: about the food, about the event, and about Charlotte. I haven’t had a date on my arm at a big event like this in a long time. Having Charlotte with me feels important, like the first of what I already hope will be many events and occasions to come. With the trouble at the Dock’s End behind me, and with Christmas right around the corner, it seems like maybe, for once, I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

  Like with Charlotte is where I’m meant to be.

  Chapter Twenty-Three - Charlotte

  The Dock’s End looks like a winter wonderland when I step into the Naval Ball. It’s absolutely perfect. It’s spectacular.

  There are small Christmas trees covered with lights making a beautiful border around the room. All the tables have been adorned with silver tablecloths and have been moved to make a circle around an exquisite navy blue carpet that is covering the dance floor. Everywhere around, there are little touches of holiday magic, centerpieces filled with Christmas ornaments and bright red ribbons wrapped around bunches of festive flowers.

  The whole place has been transformed, and I want to stand in it forever, soaking it in. I feel transformed myself, wearing a long forest green velvet dress and sparkling silver jewelry. I haven’t had a reason to dress up like this in a very long time and I’d forgotten how much fun it can be, how glamorous it can make me feel. I feel like I’m in an old-fashioned Christmas movie, like some kind of movie star about to meet her leading man for the big ballroom dance number.

  I walk through the room, and I have to hold back a gasp when I do see my leading man. Danny is always one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen, but in his formal Navy uniform, he really does look like a movie star. It absolutely takes my breath away.

  “You look stunning,” Danny whispers, walking up and taking my arm. I feel my face flush.

  “Thank you. You look wonderful, too,” I say, putting my hand on top of his.

  “Thanks,” he says, grinning. “I don’t get this thing out much anymore.”

  “It suits you,” I say, still staring at Danny.

  “I’ll remember that,” Danny says. “I haven’t had a date for anything like this in a very long time. So it didn’t matter much.”

  “Why is that?” I ask.

  “I’ve been looking for something more, lately—someone more,” Danny tells me. I grasp his hand tighter as I feel the last of my reservations about him slip away entirely. Whatever kind of person Danny used to be, that was a long time ago, and he’s more than proven himself to be better now, to be the kind of man worth holding onto. I know I’ve fallen for him, and hard. I think I’m glad I have.

  “You have?” I ask. Danny nods.

  “Someone like you, Charlotte,” he says, pulling me in closer and sliding a hand onto my face.

  “Here I am,” I say. I think I'm whispering, and I’m not sure why.

  “Here you are,” Danny repeats, like it’s a m
iracle. Like he can’t quite believe it. Out of the corner of my eye, something on the ceiling catches my attention, and I smile, looking up at it.

  “Did you know we’re under the mistletoe?” I ask, biting my lip. Danny grins broadly and leans in to kiss me right in the middle of the Dock’s End with Christmas lights glittering around us. His hand stays on my face as we kiss, warm and tender, intense, making me feel like I’m melting into him. I want to do nothing but kiss Danny forever. I want to stay in this moment for the rest of our lives. I want to live all the moments of our lives feeling this happy.

  When we break apart, I see Dad watching us from across the room. He smiles at me and claps his hands silently like he’s applauding us. I can’t help but feel like somewhere, Catherine is watching and applauding herself. I know she’d love how everything has turned out.

  I pull Danny out onto the dance floor, desperate to be in his arms, to keep this magic alive. He follows, pulling me in close and leading me around the floor to the Christmas carols piping through the room. Off to the side, waiters are setting up the buffet of Danny’s food. It smells wonderful, and I feel filled up with pride—proud of Danny and of Dad for pulling this special night off so beautifully.

  “Come back to my apartment with me after the ball?” I whisper in Danny’s ear as we dance. His grip on the small of my back tightens, and I feel the catch in his breath where his chest is pressed against mine.

  “I’d love that,” Danny says with a hint of something darker, more thrilling in his voice, and I shiver just thinking about it. I need to touch Danny again, to have his hands on my skin now that it means so much, now that I know it’s something I want to keep doing not just for one night, but maybe for a very, very long time. I’m flushed and turned on just thinking about it, and I stay a little turned on the whole rest of the evening, through several more dances, through all the delicious food, through standing with Danny as people compliment his food, through all the people congratulating Danny and me, telling us what a lovely couple we make.