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He nodded at the illogical logic, which even she didn’t understand, as she pivoted towards the rides, at first with a hurried gait, then with a fast jog and finally with an all-out run. She checked with the attendants at the roller coaster and pirate ship, then with all the other rides, but the cell phone was nowhere to be found. She was about to head back when a small reflection gleamed in the grass. She grinned as she picked up the state-of-the-art smartphone, relief loosening the vise squeezing her chest. Placing the device safely in her pocket, she set out for the exit at a rapid pace.
She rejoiced when she saw Aidan, standing there by the front gate. She made it! She picked up speed, then… she froze. He was not alone. Five teachers and thirty preschool kids surrounded him. And standing next to Aidan was…
Jeanie.
Father and daughter turned toward her, identical expressions of recognition animating identical features. “Laura,” he greeted in his normally friendly tone. “Look who I found.”
She knew exactly who he found.Did he?
“I saw him standing there and thought it would be nice for the kids to meet the man who was investing so much in their town,” one of the teachers spoke, a blush staining her features. “He’s been sharing his childhood adventures.”
Every would-be response caught in Laura’s throat. Obviously, he didn’t know… yet. Could she escape with the secret intact? Aidan grasped her hand, bringing her to stand directly in front of the kids. “Kids, I’d like you to meet my friend, Miss Laura.”
Laura blinked down at Jeanie, and the little girl started to giggle. Aidan smiled at the child he didn’t know was his. “Aren’t you a cutie? What’s so funny, sweetheart?”
Jeanie held her hand to her lips, but the giggles wouldn’t stop. “That’s not her name, silly.”
He inclined his head, just the slightest. “Well, if that’s not her name, what is?”
“Mommy.”
Chapter 10
He had known it would happen.
Had known he would meet Laura's little girl, see the child she so fiercely protected, and hopefully today. Yet never in his wildest dreams could he have expected the effect it would have on him – the impact of one little girl.
Time stopped. Movement ceased. As if one little word could distort the very boundaries of space and time, the universe advanced in slow motion, every minute detail being played in dramatic suspense. Jeanie giggled again, her face a picture of joy, blissfully unaware of the turmoil around her.
Why this meeting affected him he didn't know. He looked closer at the girl, and suddenly, it was like when he saw the little girl playing piggyback on her father's back – amplified a thousandfold. A razor-sharp wave of grief hit him, of loss and yearning for what could have been. His muscles tensed, his breathing shallowed, as he took in the beautiful girl.
Perhaps it was because she looked like what he imagined his little girl might. The same shining blue eyes, the same long blond hair and wide smile. Of course, there were differences – she didn't have his late wife's angular face or her olive skin, not her pin straight hair or rounded chin. Yet still, there was something about her… something familiar… something powerful.
Laura's secret couldn't involve her, could it?
And yet what if it did? Suddenly a million thoughts swirled, paint on a conspiracy theorist's canvas. The little girl truly resembled his imaginings of the last five years. Laura knew about the fertility clinic. What if somehow she had found his child, if somehow this was the child he thought he’d lost? For a moment, his heart soared with hope.
A second later, it crashed in fiery glory. It couldn't be – there was no way she could be his little lost girl. No chance the child could have somehow survived the crash. The pregnancy was too young, the crash too severe, the report too thorough.
What was he thinking? He had seen reports of the crash, everything positively identified. Proof this child could not be his. The little girl had brought back the grief from losing his unborn child, giving fodder to a grieving imagination. His child might have looked like any of the little preschoolers surrounding him. He needed to focus on the here and now, and especially on the little girl whose mother he was considering for a much more important role in his life. Perhaps one day this child might be more to him, but it would be through a family relationship, not through blood.
“Hi Mommy!” Jeanie jumped through the crowd and latched on to her mother. Kneeling down, Laura embraced her daughter in a bear hug. The scent of pine needles and cotton candy sweetened the air. The little girl even smelled adorable.
“Hi baby.” Laura stood up, but kept protective hands on her child. Aidan also rose, staring back and forth from mother to daughter. Ahhh, now he could see the clear resemblance between them, same nose, same chin. Clearly this was her biological daughter. How could he have ever thought…
“Well, we have a show to go to,” the preschool teacher spoke, wearing a bright smile that showed complete oblivion to the fireworks erupting. “Children, say good-bye.”
Adorably bidding an all-encompassing farewell, the children started off. Jeanie smiled politely at him. “Good-bye, sir.”
His lips lifted at the little lady’s sweet voice. "Good-bye, sweetheart," he said, his voice emerging strangely husky. His earlier grief must still be affecting him.
Turning to her mother, Jeanie asked, “Mommy, can we have pancakes again tomorrow?”
Aidan couldn’t stop an intense gaze when she nodded. “Sure, honey.”
With a smile that could brighten any day but today, Laura's daughter bounded away to join her group. He took a moment and a breath, then addressed Laura. “Let’s walk to the car.” The words were wooden and hollow, the product of what should’ve been an innocuous encounter.
She paled, her countenance as besieged as his tightened lungs. Was she scared something would happen now that he had seen her daughter, that it would somehow change things? It affected him more than expected, but that had nothing to do with Laura and everything to do with his overactive and overstressed imagination. Still, he couldn't help but wonder at her over-protectiveness.
