“I think I’ll come home tonight, then,” he said. “Maybe I can see Lizzie on Saturday, and I’ll check on my father.”
Nothing about wanting to see her. She wondered where she could go tomorrow so she wouldn’t make the meeting between father and daughter any more awkward. As much as she wanted to see Daniel, she knew her presence would probably make everyone tense.
“I’ll tell her you’ll call in the morning,” Alex said. “Or you can call her yourself.”
“You tell her. That will be fine.”
“Oh, Daniel...?”
She almost questioned him about his decision to run for higher office, but then she remembered that she had no right to ask about his personal or professional life.
“Yeah, what?”
“Ah, nothing. It can wait. Drive safely.”
“I will. Thanks for calling, Alex.”
“Sure.” She disconnected and tried to tell herself that she should be relieved. Lizzie would be starting down a new path with her father. Alex truly believed the path would be relatively easy for these two—they were already so much alike. She was happy for Lizzie. She was happy for Daniel. Maybe in the end, that would be happiness enough.
* * *
“MOM, YOU’RE NOT even going to be here?”
“Not planning to, honey. Daniel’s not coming over to see me.”
“How do you know? I’ll bet he wants to see you.”
Alex rarely heard panic in her daughter’s voice. All through the performances of The Music Man, Lizzie was composed and confident. Now, at the prospect of seeing Daniel, she was close to falling apart.
“I honestly don’t see what the problem is, Lizzie. Daniel is the same man you idolized all summer. Your mentor, your friend. You’ve been comfortable with him for weeks.”
“It’s not the same, Mom. He’s different now. I’m different. Everything is different. I don’t know what to say to him.”
Alex looked around the kitchen for her purse. Daniel called ten minutes ago and talked to Lizzie. He would be at Dancing Falls in another few minutes. Alex wanted to be gone. She found her bag. “Say what comes naturally to you, Lizzie. He’s going to be as nervous as you are. Remember I told you that he’s dealing with a relationship that is as new to him as it is to you.”
Lizzie plopped down on a bar stool. “I know. I remember. But what if we can’t think of anything to say to each other?”
“I don’t recall a time in your life since you were eighteen months old that silence was a problem.”
Lizzie paused a moment and then tried a new tactic. “Don’t you want to see Daniel, Mom? I mean, just a week ago I thought you guys might actually be in love.”
So did Alex. And she wished she could go back to that time for just one more day, so she would have a chance to prepare Daniel for what was to come, a chance to tell him how she felt before their worlds came crashing down. This morning he hadn’t even asked to speak to her. Clearly, there was no going back. Now all she had to figure out was how to go forward.
She tossed her purse over her shoulder. “Be yourself, Lizzie. That’s the person Daniel already likes. I’m sure his opinion hasn’t changed.”
She went out the back door and got in her car. When she drove away from Dancing Falls to go who-knew-where, she saw Daniel’s car entering the drive in her rearview mirror.
* * *
LIZZIE OPENED THE DOOR. Daniel took a quick look around the foyer, down the hall. He didn’t see anyone else. “Hi,” he said. “Thanks for seeing me. I believe we’ve got some things to talk about.”
She walked toward the living room. “Yeah, I guess we do.”
“Is your mom home?”
“No. She ran out... She left to do some errands.” Lizzie sat in a chair, and Daniel sat on the other side of the marble coffee table. “We won’t be interrupted in here,” she said. “Grandpa’s down at the barn with Auntie Jude and Wesley, and it’s Rosie’s day off.”
Daniel smiled to himself. When he was Lizzie’s age, he never had to contend with so many people in order to have a private conversation. This was merely one example of the different worlds they came from.
He exhaled. “Hmm, this is quite a situation we’re in, right?”
“You can say that.”
“Would you like to ask me any questions? I’ll try to be as honest as I can.”
She stared into his eyes for a moment. “Did you really love my mother like you said the other day?”
Whoa! Talk about starting with a bang. Daniel didn’t know much about teenage girls, but he should have figured this question would have been on her mind. Thankfully the answer was an easy one for him. “Lizzie, I was crazy about your mother.”
“Would you have married her?”
“I can’t say. I would have wanted to do the right thing, but knowing what that was at the time might have been confusing. What I wanted and what your mom wanted could have been two different things. I do know this, however. I wish I’d known you from the beginning. I’ve missed out on so much.” He smiled at her. “And I know another thing, too. Any father would be proud of what you’ve accomplished. I had nothing to do with that, but I can still be proud.”
Thank goodness she seemed satisfied with that answer.
“Did you hear that she’s letting me go to Ohio State?”
“Yes, I did hear something about that. It had to be a tough choice for her.”
“I know. But I think she’ll come to accept that this is what I want, and I’ll make a success of my training.” She waited before adding, “You’ll still come to the university once in a while, won’t you, Daniel?”
“Anytime you need me to or want me to.” He sat forward in his chair. “Look, Lizzie, I don’t know how to be a father. I know that you had a good dad in Teddy, but this will be a learning experience for me. I want to be there for you. I want you to be able to count on me. I don’t expect that I’ll take Teddy’s place. It will be some time before you’re even close to feeling about me the way you felt about him, if ever. But I’m going to try. And you have to tell me when I’m messing up, okay?”
She smiled. “You won’t mess up, Daniel. You’ll do fine.”
His heart melted just a little, erasing a tiny bit of the anguish he’d felt these past few days.
“There is one thing we should talk about,” Lizzie said.
“Shoot. Anything you want.”
“Mom thinks we should keep our relationship just between us for a while. I think I get why she suggested that. You’re a public person, and I can understand if you don’t want the whole world to know you suddenly are the father of a seventeen-year-old.”
“Lizzie, the truth is, I’d like to take out a headline in the local paper so everyone would know, but I understand where your mom’s coming from. She’s worried that the media will play this up in a way that puts you and me in a bad light.
“As I see it, the people you care about most already know. Your grandpa, your aunt, so I’m okay with respecting your mother’s opinion on this as long as you are. In fact, I’d like for us to get to know each other before we take on the world.” He thought a moment before saying, “But don’t think for a minute that I’m going to be content keeping you a secret for very long.”
“Sure. I’m fine with that.”
“But Lizzie, there is one person you absolutely have to see again, so I’d like you to take a short drive with me. Would that be okay?”
A few minutes later they were in the car and headed toward Chandler’s Hardware Store.
* * *
GUS WAS BEHIND the counter when Daniel and Lizzie arrived. Thankfully, he’d seemed in good spirits this morning, but then, he always did, even when the pain was bad. He’d taken the news about Lizzie exactly as Daniel thought he would. With understanding and comp
assion and forgiveness for everyone involved. “Life is too short to carry grudges, Danny,” he’d said, and Daniel was still thinking about those words now.
“Besides, son,” Gus had added, “you might need someone to help you through some tough times. I know you’re a strong man, but I’ll feel better knowing there is someone you can count on. And she seems like a real sweet girl.”
So, with confidence, Daniel parked in front of the store and walked in with his daughter.
Gus smiled from the stool he was sitting on. “Hello again there, young lady,” he said. “I’d like to come around this counter and give you a big hug, but it might be easier for both of us to just shake hands for now. The hugging can come later.”
Daniel had told Lizzie about Gus’s cancer. She knew he was frail, and moving was difficult.
Gus stared intently at Lizzie’s face. “She’s got your eyes, son, and she looks a lot like Helen.”
Daniel smiled. He’d told Lizzie about her grandmother on the drive over.
“Hi, Mr. Chandler,” Lizzie said, taking his hand.
“That won’t do at all,” Gus said. “Call me Gus. Everybody else does and it’ll suit me fine.”
“Okay, Gus.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to one of your performances, Lizzie,” Gus said. “Getting around isn’t as easy as it used to be. But Daniel said you stole the show.”
She grinned. “I don’t know about that, but I had a great time.”
Gus asked a few questions about The Music Man, which Lizzie answered with enthusiasm. When he asked where she was going to college, she told him Ohio State. Daniel figured that might be the first public announcement she’d made about her intentions.
“That’s where Danny went,” Gus said, staring fondly at his son. “And I suppose he turned out okay.” He held one finger up toward Daniel. “You watch out for this young lady,” he said. “She’ll need someone to count on in the big world of higher education.”
“She’ll be able to count on me,” Daniel said.
Gus shifted on the stool, and Daniel stood, ready to help him if need be. But Gus shooed him away. “So how are you doing with all this news?” he asked Lizzie. “I know it was a shock to me, and must have been doubly so for you. Are you okay?”
“I’m getting used to the idea,” Lizzie said. “I’d already thought a lot of Daniel, so maybe the transition from friend to family won’t be too hard.”
Gus beamed at Daniel. “I always wanted Danny to have a child, even hoped it would be a pretty little girl like you. Always thought he’d be a good daddy.” Still holding Lizzie’s hand, Gus added, “But I never thought he’d hit the jackpot like this.”
“Lizzie’s special,” Daniel said. “I’m already so proud of her. I hope I’ll be a good father once I learn the rules.”
“We both have a lot to learn about being father and daughter,” Lizzie said.
From a few yards away, someone cleared his throat. “Ah, Gus, you want me to sweep off the loading dock?”
Daniel whirled around toward the back entrance. “Jerry! How long have you been standing there?”
“Not long. A few minutes.” The young man shuffled his feet.
“Yes, you can sweep up,” Gus said.
When the man had left, Gus turned to Daniel. “I know you wanted to keep this news within the family for now, son, but Jerry probably heard. I can tell him not to spread any gossip. I bet he’ll listen to me.”
Daniel looked at Lizzie. She shrugged and said, “Up to you. I’m okay with whatever happens.”
“Me, too.” He smiled. “Let it go, Pop. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ALEX FOUND OUT that Daniel had decided to run for one of Ohio’s two senate seats by reading the paper Wednesday morning. The headline read “Local favorite Daniel Chandler making big announcement at town hall meet.”
She handed the paper to her father at the breakfast table. “Did you see this?”
Martin scanned the article. “It says Daniel will be at Greenfield High School tomorrow night. Most politicians like to go back to their hometowns to share really big news. The reporter who wrote this article seems to think it’s pretty definite. What about you, Alexis? How do you feel about Daniel announcing his intentions to run?”
Daniel would be in town soon. Alex hadn’t seen him since that morning on the patio when the truth had come out and her life had fallen apart. That was almost two weeks ago. She’d been able to keep up with his activities through Lizzie, who phoned and texted her father daily. Also, Lizzie had apparently not given up on her mother and new father getting back together.
“You should call him, Mom,” Lizzie had said just last night. “You’re both being so stubborn.”
“Honey, it’s not that simple,” Alex had explained. “I caused so much hurt. Time has to pass before all those wounds can heal.”
“You’re going to wait until it’s too late,” Lizzie countered. “Daniel may find someone else or he may move to Washington and you won’t ever see him.”
Alex had thought about her daughter’s dire predictions throughout another long, restless evening. And now to discover that he was coming to town tomorrow. Just the thought of seeing him again made her heart pound, her palms sweat. She missed him so much, but could she go to his speech? What if he resented her presence? What if he turned her away? Could she risk having her heart shattered again?
Martin set the paper next to his plate. “Are you going to the town hall meeting?” he asked her as if reading her mind.
“I doubt it,” she said. “Lizzie and I are leaving for Chicago the next morning. I probably should stay home and pack. I’m sure Lizzie will go if you want someone to go with.”
“I’m on call at the hospital,” Martin said. “So I’ll have to miss the speech. Doesn’t really matter. He’ll get my vote unless he totally messes up between now and election time.”
Her father leaned his elbows on the table and gave her an earnest stare. “You’re aware, Alex, I was ready to kick Daniel Chandler to the curb when I first heard that he was the boy who got...well, you know.”
“We’ve been all over this, Dad. He didn’t force me to do anything back then. That’s the truth.”
“So you’ve told me, and often enough that I have to believe you. Plus, Lizzie seems to think a lot of him. And he’s been a darned good senator for the folks around here. The improved water system, the additional lands devoted to parks, child care for the working mothers who need it... That’s all Daniel’s doing. And if I believe my granddaughter, he’s making strides as a father.”
“I doubt anyone can question Daniel’s integrity,” Alex said, recognizing that the wrong person with information about what happened eighteen years ago could seriously affect his sterling reputation. A political enemy could turn the story of what happened into something sordid. The facts could be twisted so Daniel appeared an uncaring, or even absent, father. But so far, as much as Alex could tell, the word about his unplanned fatherhood hadn’t leaked.
“For what it’s worth,” Martin said. “I think you should go to the town hall. You’ve got no reason to hide from him, Alex.”
Martin’s accusation stung and Alex protested. “I’m not hiding! I’m giving him some space to sort things out.”
“He’s been sorting them for a week and a half now, Alex. And you’re leaving in two days. Don’t you see it’s time you two had a good long talk about—” he paused, took a breath “—I don’t know...about the daughter you share, the feelings you share, the future I believe you wish you could have had?”
Alex felt the familiar burn of tears in her eyes. “We don’t have a future, Daddy. I ruined it. Daniel doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
All at once the food on her plate made her stomach tur
n. She couldn’t eat. She wasn’t sleeping. She’d made such a shambles of everything.
“But you do still have feelings for him, don’t you?” Martin asked.
Alex answered with a slight nod. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
“Here’s an idea,” Martin said. “I’ll bet Aurora would like to go to that town hall. She’s always talking politics and what needs to be done around here. What if I give her a call and you go to that meeting together? I have a hunch she can be a pretty reliable wingman...or woman.”
Could she do that? Alex wanted so badly to hear what Daniel had to say, to have a glimpse of him one more time before she left for Chicago. It would help to have someone beside her, someone who wasn’t judgmental. For some reason Alex knew she would feel comfortable with Aurora, and safe. She dabbed her eyes with her napkin and looked at her father. “I might be okay with that plan,” she said. “But we’ll have to sit in the back.”
Martin smiled. “That’s all right. You two can be fashionably late and get the worst seats in the house.”
* * *
NORMALLY, DANIEL WAS at ease in front of crowds. He’d spoken at so many events and meetings that one simple town hall shouldn’t bother him. Yet tonight he was anxious, fidgety. At first he chalked his unusual reaction up to the importance of this particular town hall. He was going to announce his candidacy for a national senate office and ask for the support of his constituents. Without the votes of the locals, he probably wouldn’t stand a chance of winning against the long-term house congressman running against him.
If that wasn’t enough to leave every nerve ending frazzled, his daughter would be in the audience. He wanted Lizzie to be proud of him, to recognize him as one of the good guys, a politician who truly cared. And then there was Alex, the woman he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since the horrible breakup almost two weeks ago.
He hadn’t stopped caring about Alex. He hadn’t stopped loving her. But the moment he realized that Lizzie was his daughter, when the similarities between her and his mother were so obvious, he hadn’t been able to unfeel the hurt. Did the pain go so deep that he could never trust Alex again? If she hadn’t trusted him then, would there come a time when she didn’t trust him again? A relationship that wasn’t built on trust didn’t have a chance.
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