When His Dreams Take Flight

by Andy Holloman

  He squeezed her hand, bent over, and placed his lips on her forehead. Tears trickled down his cheeks and onto her face. He ran his finger across her cheek and lips. “Okay, sweetheart. I love you. You’ve got to go now and I’ve got to start being a good father. Goodbye, my love.”

  ***

  Three weeks later, Allison Gina Townsend was released from the hospital. When she arrived at her father’s apartment, a party was in full swing to welcome the two home. Small wisps of red hair dusted the top of her head. Dozens of pink balloons were taped up around the apartment.

  “Oh, sugar, I can’t believe what a beauty she is,” said Jocellynn.

  “Thanks, Joss. And thanks for all you did while I was away most of the summer,” said Nick.

  “I was happy to do it. You do know that I’m going to be helping a lot with that beautiful little girl of yours, right?”

  “I’ll need all the help I can get,” said Nick.

  “My mom’s gonna pitch in, too. She can stay with the baby during the day, while you work, and then I’ll help out whenever you need me in the evenings. Don’t want you to have to deal with those sleepless nights all on your own.”

  “You’re an angel. The school board told me to take an extra month before I come back to work. How’s your mom doing?”

  “We got some good news after the chemo. The doctors are thinking she won’t need any surgery. Hopefully it is under control.”

  He smiled, “That is fantastic.”

  “Yes, it is. She’s been very happy,” she touched her hair, “well, except for her hair being all gone. She hates that.”

  “It’ll grow back.”

  “That’s what we keep telling her.”

  Patty came rushing up to them and hugged Nick. She had a bright silk scarf tied neatly around her head.

  “Oh, Nick, I am just so happy to see both of you. Can I borrow your beautiful baby and show her around to everyone?”

  He leaned towards her and she took the baby from him. “Of course you can, Patty. “

  She leaned down and kissed the baby’s head. “Oh my, I just love that baby smell.” The baby squeaked and twisted in her blanket. “She is so lovely. I love them at this age. I won’t be gone long.” She turned away from them and walked back to the living room. The other guests gathered around her.

  Jocellynn took him by the arm and moved him into the kitchen. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Sure.”

  “Timmie Laskin is coming over.”

  Nick smiled, “Really? Now, I never would’ve expected that.”

  “He should be here any minute.”

  “Cool.”

  “And that reporter called me again. We’ve got to talk about that.”

  Nick shook his head. “Damn, I’m so sick of—”

  There was a knock at the door. Someone from the other room walked over and opened it. Timmie shuffled in. Jocellynn waved and he joined them.

  “Hi, Principal Nick, hi Jocellynn.” He wore a wrinkled dress shirt and khakis. He shook hands with Nick. “I just wanted stop by and tell you how sorry I am about what happened because of my father.”

  Nick looked at Jocellynn and then back at him. “Wow, Timmie. I’m just—I mean, this is great that you’re here.”

  Jocellynn put her hand on Timmie’s shoulder, “You know, sugar, nobody blames you for what your father did.”

  “Thanks, I know,” he dipped his head to the side and pushed his bangs out of the way, “I have times when I think about, well, maybe I could’ve stopped him. But then I think about what you’re saying and a lot of other folks have said the same thing.”

  Nick put his hand on the other shoulder, “It’s just terrific that you’re here, Timmie. Joss is right; you’re not to blame for what happened.”

  He smiled, “Thanks, Principal Nick. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you in person how sorry I am about Ms. Tucker. She was my favorite teacher and she was always nice to me, even when I didn’t deserve it,” he tugged at his shirt collar, “And I’m really sorry about how disrespectful I was to you.”

  Nick crossed his arms, “That’s all in the past now, don’t give it a second thought. And I heard you graduated, congratulations.”

  “Yep. I made it, but just barely,” he smiled at both of them.

  “You’re the comeback kid, sugar,” said Jocellynn, “How’s your grandmother?”

  “Well, she’s been losing her memory for a while now, but it’s gotten a little bit better since she went on this medicine a few months ago. I’m going to be staying with her for a while longer to take care of her.”

  “That’s terrific. She’s lucky to have a grandson like you,” said Nick.

  “Well, it’s the least I can do for her since she’s taken care of me all the time, you know, with my parents being gone and everything.”

  “And what’s happening with your dad?” asked Nick.

  “I’m not, well, the lawyer told me that if anyone asks about him I’m not allowed to talk about it. I just hope he goes to jail for a long time for what he did.”

  “I understand,” said Nick.

  “Tell Nickie what you’re thinking of doing,” said Jocellynn.

  His face brightened, “I’m going to take this year and work to save some money and then I’m going to try to get into UNC-G. I want to be a teacher.”

  “Holy cow! A teacher?” Nick laughed, “How about after you graduate you come and work for me at Thomas High?”

  Timmie grinned, “Now that would be something else, wouldn’t it? I think I might just do that,” he turned his head towards the living room, “Is that your baby?”

  “Sure is. Why don’t you go over and introduce yourself? Maybe you’ll be her teacher someday,” said Nick.

  Timmie smiled, “I would like to see the baby.” He shook hands with Nick again and hugged Jocellynn. He joined the group in the living room.

  “Amazing,” said Nick, “I can’t believe that kid came here to apologize.”

  “Yeah. I was really surprised when he told me he was coming. Guess he’s done some maturing over the last few months,” said Jocellynn.

  “So, he doesn’t know about us finding the hammer?”

  Jocellynn frowned, “Honestly, I didn’t really think about that. I haven’t chatted with him since all that happened, well, except when he called me to find out when you were coming home from the hospital with the baby.”

  “We should be the ones to tell him,” said Nick.

  “We can do that right after you explain again how you knew the hammer was going to be under that log.”

  “I told you, it was just a hunch. The idea kind of hit me and I wondered if the police had gone over the area well enough. Especially since Alice was thinking there wasn’t any foul play involved,” he smiled at her, “We got lucky, that’s all.”

  She looked over at Timmie holding the baby, “If you say so. There’s a lot of strange things swirling around you, sugar. Like this TV reporter.”

  “I know. She calls me once a week,” he looked down at the floor, “just ignore her.”

  She turned to face him. “Nickie, what’s going on with that? You’ve got to talk to me about these things she keeps bringing up. And then I hear from Jenny that when you called in to warn her about the shooting, you already knew that Stick was the one that was going to be involved? What the heck is going on with that?”

  “When did you talk to Jenny?”

  She pointed to Jenny standing in the crowd around the baby. “She told me all this twenty minutes ago. It was like you knew what was going to happen.”

  He shook his head and chuckled, “That’s kinda funny. Do you think I can see the future?”

  “I’m not sure what to believe Nickie. This WRAL reporter tells me that she thinks you and Gene stopped a school shooting in Arkansas and another one in Texas.”

  He leaned in close to her, “You gotta trust me on this and let this nonsense talk just slide.”

  She looked towards the crowd
and then back at him, “Look, sugar. All this is a bit too much like the Twilight Zone for me. But if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”

  “Thanks,” he pointed at the baby, “Can we join the crowd?”

  She smiled, “Sure. Let’s go make a big fuss over that pretty little baby of yours, just like everyone else.”

  “I’d love to do that.” He held out his elbow and she hooked her arm into his. They walked over and joined the admiring crowd.

  THE END

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  Writer Andy Holloman lives in the Raleigh, NC area where he goes to incredible lengths to ensure his family is happy, healthy, and entertained. He enjoys the beautiful beaches and mountains of North Carolina, watching fine films with his lovely wife, participating in the local real estate industry, and being a social media goofball. You can catch up on all the latest antics at www.AndyHolloman.com Please drop by.