Love's Call

by Jala Summers

  ***

  Liana stuffed a cheese covered French fry into her mouth and Kyle did the same. They had opted to sit out a game to share cheese fries, while they watched Alyssa and Lloyd continue, now competing against each other.

  Kyle leaned back in his chair and watched Lloyd bowl a gutter ball after Alyssa’s previous strike. He cursed under his breath and Alyssa jumped up and down, celebrating her temporary defeat over Lloyd. He smiled and playfully pointed at her. She continued to taunt him, and stuck out her tongue.

  He laughed at their silly antics and turned to look at Liana. She was watching Lloyd and Alyssa’s display as well and smiled, her dimple creasing her cheek. He loved her smile, and had missed seeing it the past three weeks. But he couldn’t keep avoiding the topic they’d both been skating around. “So, why didn’t you ever call me?”

  She whipped her head around to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “Huh?”

  “Liana,” he spoke calmly, quietly. “I know you found the number I left for you.”

  She was quiet a beat, and then nodded. “Yes, I did,” she said, and averted her eyes down to the nearly empty basket of fries. She grabbed one and chewed it, hoping he wouldn’t expect her to say too much while she ate. No such luck. He continued the questioning.

  “Why didn’t you call?”

  She held up a finger, and continued chewing the bite she held in her mouth. He waited patiently, watching her. When she’d finished, she drew in a deep breath and wiped her face and fingers with a napkin. There’s no getting out of this now.

  “I thought we said we were keeping everything on that ship. That’s what I was doing.”

  “Well, I can tell you, that’s not really what I wanted. I agreed only because it was what you seemed to want. But now, I’m not so sure that’s true. I don’t think you like playing this game either.”

  “Game?!” She was offended by his accusation. “I don’t play games.”

  “But you are playing a game, Liana. You’re pretending you don’t want to be with me, or see me, when you do.”

  She bit her lip, and looked away from him. She was quiet. There was no amount of denying she could do to make what he said any less true. He had read her inside and out.

  Kyle broke their silence. “I’m moving to Houston.”

  Did I hear him right? Liana slowly turned to look back at him. He wasn’t smiling, laughing, or doing anything to suggest that he was joking. She was sure he was dead serious, as he stared at her intently.

  “You...you’re what?”

  “Moving to Houston,” he repeated.

  “Wh..why? When?”

  “It’s a job relocation and expansion and I’ve been promoted to President over the Houston division. I’ve arranged to finalize everything and be settled here within a month.”

  Her jaw dropped and she had to tell herself to close her mouth. “You aren’t really coming here because of me, are you?”

  “Not entirely. Like I said, it’s because of my job,” he paused and then continued. “But I can’t lie and say that you didn’t have a little influence over my decision to take the position.”

  He reached out and placed a hand on top of hers on the table and was glad that she didn’t pull away. Instead, she looked up, and gave him a small smile.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A month had passed more quickly than Liana had expected, and Kyle had been fully moved into his temporary housing in a condo close to her own home for about two weeks.

  They’d wasted no time picking up where they’d left off during the cruise. Liana had taken the time to show him around her hometown, and teach him about the shortcuts, side streets and best places for entertainment and nightlife. However, they hadn’t spent much time enjoying the night life as they were enjoying each other more.

  Kyle was getting to know Liana in a much more intimate way than she’d ever shown any other man, and he loved every new discovery he uncovered about the complicated Liana Harris. And he was also enjoying his chance to explore every inch of her body that he had not been able to explore before on the cruise.

  Most weekends, they made it a point to clear their schedules so that they had time for each other. They’d agreed to not allow mistakes from their past relationships to rear their ugly heads in this new thing that they were trying with each other. And that meant that they would have to cut back on some of both of their workaholic tendencies.

  But they both were finding that they didn’t mind making time for each other so much, because every evening they were eager to get to see each other again.

  It was new, uncharted territory for the both of them, but they were enjoying every minute of it and every step along the way.

  And living so close to each other also allowed for quite a few surprises that they both thoroughly appreciated.

  Such as the surprise Liana had for him when he had stopped by her place that Saturday evening after she’d called to tell him she’d finished with her last client and was home for the night. “But hurry over Kyle. I have something special for you.”

  He’d rushed over to her place and was there in record time, thankful that there were no cops camped out, waiting to give some unsuspecting speeder a ticket.

  Liana had seen his car pull up in the driveway, quickly unlocked the door and raced back to the bedroom.

  When he’d arrived, he knocked on her front door and heard her muffled voice from behind the closed door call out, “Come in, it’s open.”

  Kyle pushed open the door and was greeted by the darkness of her home. He closed and locked the door behind him.

  Liana had turned out all of the lights and lit candles throughout. And he noticed that the candles were lined up on the floor, creating a path to her bedroom. His grin couldn’t get any wider, as he followed the path to what awaited him in her bedroom.

  He walked in to see Liana sprawled out seductively on her bed, wearing nothing but a white, see-through lacy camisole. He hurriedly undressed throwing his shoes off, tugging at his belt, loosening it and pulling off his pants. He yanked the shirt up and over his head and crawled slowly on his knees on the bed, toward her.

  He devoured her with his kisses, and ran his tongue slowly, trailing down her neck to the area between her rounded breasts. He cupped a breast in his hand and toyed with her nipples through the fabric of her chemise. She arched her back, moaning her delight.

  Suddenly, their play was interrupted by the ring of Liana’s doorbell. They jumped, alarmed at the loud sound and Liana ran to her door to look through the peephole. “Shit,” she said, and turned to Kyle, “It’s my mom.”

  “You’re kidding,” he said wide-eyed.

  “Mom, give me a second. I...I have to clean up a bit,” she yelled through the door.

  “What?! Liana, open this door. I don’t care what your house looks like,” her mother exclaimed.

  “Okay, just a minute.”

  Kyle hustled to blow out and collect the candles, while Liana raced to her bedroom and pulled lounge pants and a T-shirt from her dresser drawer and put them on. Kyle followed her into the room to put his clothes back on and Liana watched him, waiting until he was fully clothed.

  Great timing, Mom, she thought as she jogged back to the front door, flipping on all of the lights. She knew her mom would be upset that she had to wait so long before Liana let her in, but Liana also was pretty sure she didn’t want to meet her daughter’s boyfriend for the first time in his birthday suit.

  “Hey Mom,” Liana said and reached forward to hug her mother. Liana’s mother looked at her daughter with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

  “Girl, what are you doing in here that’s so important you can’t let me in?”

  Kyle came out of the bedroom, and Liana’s mother’s eyes widened and then looked back at Liana, as her face lit up with realization. “Ahh, I see,” she said, nodding her head.

  “Mom, this is Kyle. I met him on that cruise I told you about a couple of months ago. He just moved to Houston. Kyle, this
is my mother, Lena Harris.”

  Kyle stepped forward and extended a hand to her, “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Harris.”

  “Likewise,” Lena said, as she looked him up and down, sizing him up. “So you’re what’s been keeping Liana busy lately. No one in her family has seen her for weeks.”

  Liana cut her mother off before she could continue. “Mom, why are you here so late?”

  Lena went to sit on the couch, and Liana and Kyle followed suit, sitting on the loveseat next to her. “Well, since we don’t see or hear from you much anymore, I figured this was the best time and way to reach you.”

  Liana was getting impatient with the shaming her mother was piling on, and tried to get to the point of the visit. “So, what’s going on?”

  “Your father has been placed in hospice,” she said, and Liana felt her mouth go dry. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “The doctors say he doesn’t have much time left as the cancer has spread to multiple other organs.”

  Liana had known that her father had been diagnosed with cancer of the pharynx a few years ago, and had seen him a few times since then. But her relationship with him, even then, was always strained, and she rarely visited him. The last she’d heard, her sister, Daphne, had told her that he was in remission.

  This news completely floored her and she blinked back the tears. Kyle saw the distress in her face and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. He rubbed her back with his other hand, in a comforting gesture.

  “You might want to stop by to see him. If you do, he’s at the Hampton Hospice Center.”

  Liana nodded, “Okay, she choked out.

  Lena stood, and walked toward the door. “I have to head back home, but I just wanted to stop by and tell you that.” She looked over at Kyle, “Plus, I can see you have company anyway. I’d hate to disturb you two. Good night Lia.”

  Liana opened the door for her mother and hugged her before she walked out of the house. Liana closed the door behind her and looked up into Kyle’s face. He stood in front of her and saw her red, wet eyes, the tears threatening to fall.

  He held his arms out, and she moved toward him and sank into his chest, allowing herself to cry. She wasn’t just crying for the loss of her father, but for the loss of a possibility for a better relationship with him one day, that would never happen now.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Liana stood outside the door to her father’s hospice room, and took in a long, slow deep breath. Kyle placed an arm over her shoulder, and she felt comforted by his touch.

  He’d asked her the night before if she would be okay with him coming along with her. “I want to be there for you, Liana. I would like to come, but if it’s too much for you, I won’t.”

  She had hesitated for a long moment and then told him that she would like him to come with her. She was glad now that she did.

  He leaned over to whisper, “Whenever you’re ready.”

  She reached up to squeeze his hand that rested on her shoulder and pushed open the door.

  Donald Harris looked up when he heard the door open and was shocked to see his oldest daughter, Liana enter.

  “Liana?” he said. When she moved close enough for him to get a better view and he could confirm that it was indeed, Liana, he felt overwhelmed. His voice cracked, as he said, “Liana. I’m glad you could come.”

  Liana was uneasy on her feet and her emotions were going haywire. Her father looked nothing like the big, towering man she remembered as a child. He was now a frail, wispy figure, and the hospital bed seemed to swallow him up as he lay in the center of it. He reached out a rail thin arm to her, and motioned for her to come to him with his bony fingers.

  She took slow steps toward him, and Kyle stayed close behind. When she bent down, her father embraced her and she wrapped her hands around his thin back, feeling the bones of his ribs. The severity of his condition rattled her, and she felt herself giving into her emotions. Kyle noted her mood change and jumped to her aid. He extended a hand toward her father. “Mr. Harris, I’m Kyle.” he said.

  Donald shook his hand, but gave him an odd look. He looked back at his daughter. He hadn’t ever remembered her dating anyone and had never met any of her male friends before. Liana knew what he was thinking. “Kyle and I have been seeing each other for a while, Dad.”

  Donald nodded. Kyle turned to Liana. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Harris.”

  “You too, Kyle.”

  Kyle eased the door closed quietly behind him after stepping out of the room. Liana sat in a chair on the other side of her father’s bed.

  “I know you probably didn’t even want to come, but I’m glad you did, Liana.”

  She wouldn’t admit that he was right, she hadn’t wanted to come, and changed the direction of the conversation. “I thought you were still in remission, Dad. How long have you known that the cancer had spread?”

  “The doctor told me about a month ago. I just didn’t want to burden all of y’all with it.”

  “You should have told us. If Mom hadn’t told me, I still wouldn’t know now.”

  “I know I haven’t been the best father to you and your brothers and sister, and I didn’t want y’all getting worked up or feeling guilty or none of that.”

  They sat in uncomfortable silence a moment. Donald continued, “I know you blame me for the awful things you had to witness growing up, and you should. It’s my fault that I wasn’t the father that you needed.”

  Liana felt tears stinging her eyes as he spoke. He continued, “I won’t make excuses for what I did and didn’t do for all of you. But I want you to know that in spite of it all, I loved you and still love you Liana. I know I had a shitty way of showing it, but it’s the truth.”

  Liana shook her head and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Yeah dad, you did have a shitty way of showing it. I can’t speak for my siblings, but you did a number on me. And I’m still dealing with the effects of it to this day.” She bent over to dig a tissue out of her purse and dabbed at the tears that fell from her eyes.

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough, baby girl, but I am sorry.”

  Sadness overtook her when she heard him call her “baby girl”, a nickname she hadn’t heard since the good old days that she remembered with her father, before things turned sour. She lifted her hands to cover her face as the tears streamed out, and her body shook with her sobs. “I...it’s...I just don’t know what to say, what to think, Daddy.”

  Liana felt like the vulnerable little girl again, as she cried out the years of pain, frustration and sadness. Donald wiped the tears from his own cheeks. He couldn’t bear to see his daughter in so much pain and it hurt worse to know that he was the source of that pain.

  “Is it too much to ask you to come here?” he asked weakly.

  She rose from the chair and sat on his bed. He opened his arms and she leaned down to embrace his frail body, hugging him gently. “Oh, my Liana girl. I’m so sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. But please, please let it go with me. When my body lays to rest, let all of the pain lay to rest with me. I want a better life for you than I could give you, baby girl.”

  Liana felt as if her tears were coming in an endless stream and they flowed freely as she rocked side to side in her father’s weak arms. He was right. Seeing her father in such a fragile and weakened state made her wonder why she held on to her grudge against him for so long. And now, it seemed even more ridiculous than ever to hold on to it. Her father was dying, and if she was honest, he’d done all that he’d known to do.

  Maybe life had become too hard for him, maybe he’d been weak. But whatever the reason for his behavior didn’t matter anymore. He was a flawed person, same as she was, and that was what he’d chosen to do with his short life.

  Her father was right. It didn’t make sense for her to mess up her own life, and come to the end like him, filled with
regrets all because she didn’t do her best to change and be a better person. She resolved there to let this pain rest. She was ready to let go.

  ***

  The high-pitched ring of Kyle’s cell phone filled the quiet hallway in the hospice, and he fumbled to pull it out of his pocket to answer it before it could ring a second time.

  He looked down at his phone and recognized the number. It was Shaila. She had started to call him at least once a day for the past week, but he hadn’t answered any of her calls. He pressed the Reject button, switched his phone to vibrate mode, and slid it back into his pocket.

  ***

  Kyle opened his laptop on the dining table in his condo, and sat down to see if he’d received any work-related emails.