Hard Redemption: A Second Chance Romantic Comedy

by Emily J. Wright

  I immediately took my words back—though it was entirely true—as I didn’t want to lose my only ally in the house. “I am sorry. I apologize, Mr. McCarran.”

  “What about me? Where is my apology?” Amber said crossing her hands trying to boss me.

  And I said what Amber didn’t want to hear. “Nah! It’s not necessary. These types of banters happen between a husband and wife.”

  “I am not your wife.” She really took offense to it and lost her control.

  “Calm down, honey. It’s all right.” Walter held Amber by her arm to calm her down, but in doing so, his hands grazed against Amber’s side boobs.

  And as God is my witness—I thought of 101 ways to kill him without getting caught.

  “Look—Amber. I want you to be happy. I really do. That’s why I made peace with your decision of getting married again and with a heavy heart decided to sign the divorce papers. . . . But before I could do that”—I showed everybody my heavily bandaged fingers—“I fractured my fingers at work.”

  Amber struck again. “What work? Were you poking your finger in your neighbor’s keyhole?”

  “That’s funny—you crack me up!” I said with a fake laugh. I don’t know when this woman would stop reminding me that I am an ex-convict. “But no, seriously. They are broken. There was an accident at the construction site.”

  “Daddy, don’t you deliver fish now?” Casey said with an innocent face.

  Casey didn’t know then that people tend to lie to each other as and when necessary. That’s what makes the society function in a stable manner.

  “I am sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t tell you earlier that I was having difficulty in keeping the business afloat. I shut the operations down a few days ago and started working in construction—”

  “And in few days of working at the construction site, I conveniently managed to get myself hurt.” Frank mimicked and completed my story with his own version of it. His cop brain was running on all cylinders then.

  “Not conveniently! You sounded like I wanted to get hurt. I could have died, Mr. McCarran. I got lucky that I survived with a few broken fingers.”

  Casey came ahead and hugged me tightly. “Daddy, are you going to be all right?” She was scared of losing me, unlike her mother who was trying to stop my heart with her angry stare.

  Amber was smart—apart from being vengeful. She did get pretty smart over the years in catching my lies and didn’t believe a word of my story. “Do you take us as fools? We are not five years old like Casey. Do you really want us to believe that you managed to drive from Brooklyn to Michigan with broken fingers but couldn’t put a couple of signatures?”

  But when it came to lies—I exuded extreme confidence in myself like no one else. I further went on to make her believe in my story. “I can operate the wheel with my left hand, but can’t sign with it. I tried, but it looked like a prescription for Diazepam. I don’t think it would make our divorce official and—”

  “Cut the crap!” Frank interjected with a serious look on his face. “Why are you here?”

  “Honestly—I came here to spend some time with my daughter before my wife ran into someone else’s arms forever. . . . I want to know Casey. Video call with her is not enough. I want to meet her more often—not once in many years.”

  I said it—I said the truth.

  And it felt so good to finally pour my heart out.

  But Frank was forthcoming in his approach and rejected my request immediately. “It’s not going to happen. You are a bad influence. I don’t want her to end up like you.”

  How dare he put my past between Casey and me? I would be a bad influence on my daughter?

  I was badly hurt and replied, “I made some mistakes in the past and paid for it. You don’t have to remind me again and again what kind of man I was.” I took a deep breath and further continued with what I had to say—then with a threat. “Let’s cut to the chase. I received some compensation for the accident and am currently on disability. I am going to spend some days here in Michigan with my daughter. If you refuse, I’ll not sign the divorce papers; and if you sue, I’ll not appear in court even if that means going to prison once again. . . . I will ruin this wedding one way or another.”

  Mary-Louise had to interfere when the things got heated up. “Can I talk to you for a second?” She grabbed Frank’s hand and took him away.

  Amber too left and followed her parents for a family meeting.

  For a secret family meeting, McCarran’s sure didn’t know how to talk in whispers so that nobody could hear them. I could clearly hear their conversations—and so did Walter. Yet, we both pretended to have not heard anything and avoided making eye contact with each other.

  “Mary, is this the time for a family meeting? I was about to nail that smug bastard.”

  “You would do no such thing.”

  “Mom, he is going to ruin my wedding. I can feel it. . . . Oh, God!”

  “This situation can be easily averted. . . . Let him spend some time with Casey.”

  “Certainly not!” Amber shouted.

  “Mary, do you even realize what you are saying? He is going to ruin Casey . . . like he did Amber. I’ll not let that happen—not again. At this age, I don’t have the strength left to take Casey out of the emotional rubble that he is going to cause.”

  “Frank, he is her father after all. You can’t stop him from seeing Casey forever. He loves her and will not cause any harm to her—”

  “He loved me once—and gave me emotional scars and suffering for a lifetime. That man,” Amber said pointing her finger towards me furiously, “is poisonous. I’ll never let him around Casey.”

  “I know how you feel . . . but I think your mother is right. We can’t refrain him from seeing Casey. Even after the divorce is final, he would still have the visitation rights.”

  “So, what do you suggest, Dad?”

  “I say we beat him at his own game. We would let him see Casey until he signs the divorce papers, and then push him out of our lives forever. He doesn’t have any money. What would he do? Sue us?”

  “That’s a brilliant idea, Dad.”

  “What do you say, Mary?”

  “It could work . . . yeah.”

  “All right, then. Let’s go.”

  Frank came back along with Amber and Mary-Louise and announced, “We have decided that as long as you are in Michigan—you can see Casey.”

  “Thank you, Mr. McCarran. That’s very kind of you.”

  “Of course. I am not a heartless monster that you believe me to be.”

  “Where are you staying?” Mary-Louise asked and initiated my plan of action.

  I insinuated that I was broke and couldn’t afford a decent place. “I don’t know—probably in some cheap motel. I hope they are not rat-infested.”

  “Good choice. That’s where you belong,” Frank said while pointing his fingers at me multiple times as if he would stab my eyes with it.

  “Nonsense! We have a guest bedroom.” Frank sensed what Mary-Louise was about to say and shook his head in a no, but unaware of it, she said: “You can live here until your fingers heal.”

  “What?!” Frank and Amber said with surprise—and in chorus.

  “Come here, woman.” Frank grabbed Mary-Louise’s arm and took her away. “Are you out of your mind?”

  Amber followed her parents like an annoyed little girl, and yelled, “What the hell, Mom? You offered him a place in our home.”

  “How could you do this, Mary?”

  “Shut up—you two,” Mary-Louise whisper-yelled that made both of them shut up. She was fierce and didn’t even hold back on her husband. “No wonder you never became a detective; you can’t see things through.”

  “Mary!” Frank gasped.

  “Oh, shut up! You know it’s the truth. If that’s not the case, you would have invited Duke to stay with us in the first place.”

  “And why is that? Why would I have opened my door for an ex-convict? I am an honorably
retired police officer for God’s sake.”

  “Because if he stays here, we can keep an eye on him and ensure that he doesn’t extend the excuse of broken fingers too long, and most importantly, not run away when the time to sign the divorce papers arrives. He would be a bother—no doubt about it—but only for a few days. After that, he will be out of our hair forever.”

  “That’s actually very smart, Mom. What do you think, Dad?”

  “I think your mother wasted her talents being a homemaker. She would have been the Commissioner of Michigan City PD by now.” Frank praised Mary-Louise and kissed her on the lips.

  After the McCarran family returned from their second family meeting, Frank announced, “You can live here . . . but on the couch; the upstairs room is earmarked as my aerobics room.”

  “Couch? Phew! I didn’t expect that from you. How will I sleep on the couch? I am used to sleeping on the floor.”

  “Damn it!” Frank whispered in frustration and asked Mary-Louise, “Do you think it’s too late to take back my offer of the couch?”

  “Yes, honey . . . ,” Mary-Louise said as she chuckled and rubbed Frank’s arm.

  “Well—thank you for inviting me into your home. I know my place, and won’t bother you at all.”

  “He must have said the same things to his victims,” Frank said with a giggle and Amber joined in on the fun with a sneaker of her own.

  I then went ahead to pull my luggage out from the back seat of the car. While I was emptying the trunk of the car, I requested, “I would appreciate if you take Casey’s toys inside . . . and while you are at it—my luggage.”

  “Your luggage? What are we? Bellboys? Do it yourself.”

  “I could have”—I looked at my watch—“but Casey and I are getting late for a happy meal. . . . Come on, Casey. Let’s go.”

  “You are taking Casey out? Alone? Like hell I am going to let that happen!”

  What was wrong with Amber? When did she become so skeptical? She literally put her foot down to stop me from taking Casey out.

  “Let him take Casey,” Frank advised.

  Unbelievable!

  Did the world turn upside down or there was something in the sandwich I ate on the way over here which was making me hallucinate? Frank McCarran was taking my side. Well, that was a first.

  “But, Dad.”

  Frank knew what was going through Amber’s mind and said, “There is no place he can run or hide where I can’t find him. And honestly, I want him to run off with Casey because that would just give me an opportunity to hunt him down like I always wanted to.”

  McCarran’s were surely the doofus family on the block. Can’t a father spend time with his daughter without getting doubted for planning her kidnap?

  I opened the door for Casey while looking at Frank with a smile. It could be perceived as my politeness that even after hearing his lifelong intention to hurt me, I was showing him respect. But that was not it. Behind that smile, I was actually imagining pouring gasoline on her bald head and lighting it up on fire. If only our legislature has given one arson scot-free.

  While I was closing the passenger side door after fastening Casey’s seat belt, Mary-Louise made an excuse to check Casey’s seat belt. But she was actually concerned for me as she whispered, “It was a long drive from Brooklyn; you must be tired. Why don’t you take a nap first?”

  “Thanks—but I don’t want to waste any time,” I said and got inside the car. “We will be back when we can.”

  “Bye, Mommy. Bye, Grandma. Bye, Grandpa.” Casey waved at them when we were moving away.

  After having a happy meal with Casey, I bought some fish food from the pet store nearby and enquired about the nearest lake from the store clerk. The lake was small—but not far from there. We reached there in no time.

  Casey and I talked a lot by the lakeside. Mostly, she was talking, and I was listening.

  “Casey, I have been meaning to ask you . . . What happened to your teeth?” I asked Casey about her missing front tooth as I threw a fistful of fish food in the lake.

  “Grandpa is training me for the 5k. One day, I felt woozy and fell face first on the ground.”

  “5K for a 5-year-old!” That old smug has gone mad. “I don’t know much about the law, but I think that’s child abuse. If not, your grandpa must go to prison anyway for being an S.O.B.”

  “What’s an SOB?” Casey asked innocently.

  “Umm . . . It’s something I call your grandpa when I get angry with him. It’s no big deal, but perhaps don’t tell him about it.” I desperately tried to handle the situation.

  “All right,” she said kicking the lakeside grass with her little foot.

  I then cleverly diverted her attention by asking, “So—do you like to train for 5K? Do you want to be a cop, like your grandpa, when you grow up?”

  “No. I want to be a doctor.” Her eyes twinkled with excitement.

  “A doctor!” I was surprised that a 5-year-old had already made her career choice. “Which one?” I asked with my fingers crossed and then almost begged, “Please don’t say dentist. I don’t want your face up stinking mouths.”

  “Not dentist—a heart doctor.”

  “A heart doctor? You mean a cardiologist?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s great. Put me on the top of your patient list right now; heart troubles run deep in Kingsley family—something to do with our genes.”

  “Mommy is on the top of the list. You can be second if you like.”

  “Your mother?!” I feared for Amber’s health and panicked. “Is she suffering from a heart ailment?”

  “Yes. I heard her talking to Grandpa that you have given her heartache that no one can ever cure. I have decided then and there to become a doctor to cure Mommy.”

  “I appreciate your concern, sweetie,” I said as I stroked her hair, “but no one can cure your mother except me.” I then kissed her head feeling lucky that I was blessed with an angel, and assured, “And I promise I’ll do the same.”

  “Daddy, why are you throwing fish food in the lake?” she abruptly asked when I was almost finished with it.

  “For the fish, of course. Just showing my appreciation. They changed my life for good and in turn yours. Your medical school tuition fees will be sponsored by these little creatures.”

  “I don’t understand, Daddy. There is no fish in this lake. All of them died in the fish kill last week.”

  “I would have appreciated this information if you have told me about this earlier,” I said as I tickled her and gave her a spin.

  I then carried Casey on my shoulders and on the way back to the car said, “Come on, show me your town. We can feed the fish tomorrow.”

  Time sure does fly when you are with your kid. I came to know that the hard way when after spending the entire day with Casey we reached back to the house quite late at night.

  I rang the doorbell, and Amber answered it at almost the same time as if she was already waiting by the door. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

  She got all bossy with me, and honestly—I liked it. I thought that at any moment she would ask me to drop my pants and bend over. My craving for getting spanked by her was long overdue, but that dream just shattered into million pieces by her screeching shout.

  “Where is Casey?” She was acting like I forgot Casey in the mall or somewhere.

  And I absolutely took offense to her accusations. But she said it with such conviction that I had to look out of the corner of my eyes to check.

  Yup—she was right.

  I did forget Casey.

  Chapter 5

  “Where is Casey? Can you be any more irresponsible? Where did you leave her? . . . ”

  As Amber’s bicker finally begun to get on my nerves, I had to raise my voice to stop it. “Oh, my God, Amber. What kind of father do you think I am? Casey is just parking the car.”

  Yeah—it happened. I told her the most obscure lie. Believe me—it can happen to the best of us in di
fficult situations.

  “What did you just say?” Amber was not sure that she heard me correctly.

  I realized by then what a terrible lie I just uttered and tried to stand my ground. “What did you hear?”

  “That Casey is . . . parking the car?” It sounded weirder coming out of Amber’s mouth than mine.

  “Really, Amber. That’s what you heard. Our five-year-old daughter, who is still struggling to ride a bike, is parking the car. Why don’t you make it more believable, huh? I don’t know, like she is flying a Boeing 777 from London to New York.”

  Yes! I am back.

  Amber felt bad about herself and said, “I must have heard it wrong. . . . I am sorry.”

  Wow! It felt so good when she apologized to me. Not because she did it—but the way she did it.

  Eyes looking down.

  Innocence on the face.

  Fondling her necklace.

  At that moment, I saw the glimpse of the innocent, sweet Amber that she once was.

  I was still a bit angry with Amber for doubting my parenting skills even though they were just subpar. And in a disappointing tone, I further said, “Casey is still in the car, collecting her things. Why don’t you wait inside and I’ll go get her for you?”

  And as I turned around and got off the porch, my lips shaped the words ‘Oh my God,’ realizing that I was so close to getting kicked out of Amber’s house.

  I quickly ran to unlock the car and got Casey out. “I am so sorry, sweetie.” I kissed her forehead and hugged her as a way of apologizing for being a terrible father.

  But in my defense, I was sort of an online dad until then, and it needed some time to transition successfully in this new dynamic of father and daughter relationship.

  “Why are you sorry, Daddy? I had a wonderful time today. I really loved playing hide and seek with you.”

  Casey was thinking of me accidentally locking her in the car as the game of hide and seek. She was so innocent and good-hearted which got me really concerned about her future. I realized that I would have to fight a long, hard battle against the flock who would come to pursue my little girl.