Chapter Sixty-Three
T he day before Christmas Eve brought a heavy chill to the air, but the forecasters weren’t calling for a white Christmas. Vickie bundled up in a black turtleneck, dark jeans and her favorite boots. Her heavy red wool coat and matching beanie completed the look.
She was meeting Ryan again, this time for dinner. And she wished she were more excited about it. She knew it wasn’t a good sign to be so ambivalent. He sent her text messages just to check in and called to make sure she got home okay. All those little things that should make her like him.
All that time with Thatcher, she’d imagined him doing sweet things for her. And now Ryan was actually doing them—no imagination needed.
And she didn’t care.
She hurried down the street. They were meeting at a little pizza place not too far from her apartment. Since this was their third date, he’d tried to pressure her into letting him come pick her up. But she’d made an excuse about having some errands to run beforehand, which translated into her dropping a bill off at the nearest mailbox drop off she passed on the way. The truth of the matter was that she wasn’t ready for him to be in her space.
“Hey, gorgeous.” He said, as she walked up. “I love that coat. Red is really your color.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
Ryan was a handsome guy. His blue eyes and sandy blonde hair made him look like the all-American boy. Each time Vickie had seen him, he’d been in clothes that she could tell were expensive. He was very well-groomed, which in her experience, went along with his political career. He wasn’t in office, but he worked for a consulting firm and spent the bulk of his day on Capitol Hill.
If her mother were ever to meet him, Vickie knew she would demand marriage on the spot.
Once they’d ordered, Ryan shimmied out of his suit jacket and loosened his tie. “Did you have a good day?”
She explained about the lack of visitors along the Mall. “It was a long day. How about you?”
Ryan launched into a long tirade about his day. He’d had some kind of altercation with a senator’s assistant. It might’ve been interesting except that his speech was peppered with expletives. Each time he used a choice word, she could feel her eyes grow wider. Figures. Third date is when the true colors usually come out. She began to tune him out. It wasn’t even worth hearing. Had she given off some kind of vibe that said ‘potty mouths don’t bother me’ or something? It wasn’t like she was a prude. If he’d have spilled his drink or ran into a wall and let a colorful word slip, that would be one thing. She wouldn’t like it, but could at least chalk it up to being accidental. But to throw that kind of language into a regular sentence meant something else. It meant that that was ingrained in him, part of who he was.
She forced herself to make small talk until the meal was over. Once they were out front, she began to feel unsure. The last time she’d met him for dinner, he’d been going back to work, so there was no pressure to let him walk her home. But this time it was different.
“Why don’t you let me walk you to your place?” he asked, grinning.
She racked her brain. Not that she thought she was in danger from him or anything, but she didn’t want to have to go through the complications of him walking her to the door. “Actually, I need to run by work for a minute.” It was a split-second decision, but she knew it was the right one. “But thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. Let me at least walk you to the Metro.”
She nodded. “Sure. Thanks.” She shoved her hands into her pockets so there’d be no danger of him trying to hold her hand.
Once they were at the escalator, she smiled. “Thanks for walking me here.” She reached over and patted him on the arm. “Have a good night.”
Before he could react, she’d already stepped onto the escalator. “Bye,” she called.
“Good night.” Confusion rang in his voice.
Poor guy. She knew he’d spend the next few weeks wondering why she wouldn’t take his calls. But cursing the way he had done was a deal breaker for her. She sighed. At least Kristy wouldn’t accuse her of creating an excuse this time.
∞∞∞
Vickie leaned back against the grooved column and looked out over the Mall. Despite the chilly temperature, there were still several people visiting the Lincoln Memorial. A light snow had begun to fall, and she could see the lights of the National Christmas Tree in the distance. It was really magical. She sighed. It had certainly been an interesting few months.
She watched a young couple run toward each other at the reflecting pool. At least they’d had sense enough to stay out of the water for their Forrest and Jenny reenactment. Vickie couldn’t help but smile.
“Come here often?”
At the sound of Thatcher’s familiar voice, she turned. He stood gazing down at her and smiling.
She clamored to her feet and faced him. “What are you doing here?” she asked. She noticed his hair first. It was cut in a short, trendy style. His old wire-rimmed glasses had been replaced with a new pair that seemed to frame his chiseled face. He wore an expensively cut suit that looked almost as if it had been made just for him.
“I’ve been looking all over the city for you. This was my last stop and I was hoping you’d be here.” He looked seriously at her. “There are some things I need to say.”
Vickie felt numb. He was the last person she’d expected to see here, and the fact that he’d actually come hoping to find her was surprising. “Is everything okay?” It occurred to her that perhaps he’d been to a funeral. She remembered hearing his daughter say that her mother was really sick.
He shook his head. “Everything isn’t okay. It hasn’t been since the day you took my truck and left.” He sighed. “Can we sit down for a few minutes?”
She nodded. She still couldn’t believe he was here.
Thatcher lightly grasped her arm and guided her back into her favorite spot beside the column, then sat down next to her. He was silent for a moment and finally he began to speak in a low voice. “You have every reason not to want to see me again. I betrayed your trust by not telling you the whole truth about who I am.”
She met his brown eyes and was surprised to see the emotion they held. He had betrayed her trust. But still she wanted to hear to what he had to say.
“This is a story that goes back many, many years. It’s about a boy who never felt like he was good enough.”
Vickie listened quietly as he told her about the torch he’d carried for Jane.
“She was in my youth group at church. I was just the nerdy guy who was in band and read non-fiction for fun. Everyone knew I had a crush on her. But she dated Clark Langston for most of our high school years.”
She drew her brows together. “Clark Langston? As in your colleague who sent us after the false documents?”
He nodded. “Yes. You know how I told you that our hard feelings went back to high school? Well, Jane was part of the reason.” He sighed. “Clark and I had always rubbed each other the wrong way. We were very competitive academically. But he was the star football player at our school and mister everything. It always really got him when I’d beat him at academics.” Thatcher dropped his eyes. “This will sound kind of stupid to say, but he spent a lot of years bullying me.” He looked over at her. “My growth spurt didn’t happen until college, and I was just this scrawny little nobody.”
She fought the urge to grab his hand.
“Anyway, Clark cheated on Jane during the spring of our senior year. She was devastated. And for some reason she turned to me for comfort. I was ecstatic. Jane ran in much wilder circles than I did, and she was way more social than me.” He looked sheepish. “The night of our senior prom was the night Katherine was conceived.” He shook his head. “It was out of character for me, and I never forgave myself.”
This time, Vickie did take his hand. “You were eighteen. That was a long time ago. It may be time to let the past go.”
He shook his head. “That isn’t even the worst of it.” His grip on her hand grew tighter. “Jane’s parents insisted that we get married. She was really scared and I couldn’t believe it. I knew she didn’t love me. And honestly, I didn’t love her either. My teenage crush got out of hand. But we got married right after high school graduation.”
Vickie nodded encouragingly. “Go on. What happened next?”
He sighed. “Jane didn’t want to be my wife. I would try, you know, to do things I thought would make her fall in love with me. I’d write her poems and come home with flowers.” He shook his head. “But she didn’t want any of it. Right after Katherine was born, Jane started going out on me.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose. “And after that, it all spiraled out of control.”
She listened to the rest of the story, one that spanned the past eighteen years since Jane took Katherine to California and ended with Katherine showing up on his doorstep. “Wow. You’ve really dealt with a lot lately.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I know you have too.” He sighed and let go of her hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole truth before Katherine showed up. I was afraid of what you’d think of me. I didn’t want you to see me as some man who didn’t care enough about his daughter to fight for her.” He shook his head. “I took the easy way out.”
“I don’t think badly of you for your actions. You were young and scared, and it sounds like Jane didn’t exactly encourage you to be part of Katherine’s life.” She was angry, despite having heard of Jane’s illness. Thatcher was a good, kind man who would be a fantastic father.
Thatcher stood up and held out his hand to her. “There’s more I have to tell you, but I’m going to need you to stand up to hear it.”
She grinned. “Should I be worried?” she asked, placing her hand in his.
He gently helped her to her feet. “No need to worry.” He gave her a nervous smile. “Just listen.” Thatcher took a breath. “Now that you know part of my history, maybe you can understand why I’ve behaved the way I have. For the past several years, having a relationship with someone hasn’t been a goal for me. In fact, I haven’t had a ‘real’ date in years. Only fix ups now and then for university events. And then I met you.”