Our Autumn Fire

Fifteen

    “Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” Wesley was seated across the table at Hayley’s     apartment while she fished through the fridge nervously munching on anything that looked even half-appealing.

    “Yeah, I’m sure,” she said pouring herself a glass of orange juice. “This is something I need to do alone.”

    “Alright, well don’t get so tense. Relax. It’s going to be fine.”

    Sara had called Hayley the day after Andre proposed to Alicia telling her that she was able to contact Mr. Jacques Etienne and set up a meeting with him. That was over a week ago, and Hayley’s nerves had only gotten worse since the idea of meeting her biological dad for the first time had become a reality. She had thought about asking Wesley to come with her at first, but she later changed her mind. She wanted to be able to be herself without the influence of his calming aura when she saw Jacques for the first time.

    She gulped down the juice as fast as she could and faced Wesley. “Thank you, Wes. For coming with me to see Sergeant Donohue the first time and encouraging me to go through with this and for just being there with this whole thing. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it all without you.”

    Wesley walked up to her and gave her a kind hug. “There’s a reason we’ve known each other for almost twenty years. That’s what friends are for.”

    Hayley let his embrace take away her jitters and sighed happily. She knew that no matter what happened in the meeting with Jacques there would always be people she could come home to.

    “Besides,” Wesley reminded her, “If things don’t work out, you’re lucky enough to already have two amazing parents that love you more than anything in the world.”

    Grabbing a bottle of water, Hayley smiled and moved towards the door where she turned to look back at him. “Wish me luck.”

    “Good luck.”

    Hayley closed the door filled with a mixture of hope and fear before driving off to meet Sara at her office. The private investigator was busy with a few clients when Hayley got there, but she stepped out for a moment to give Hayley a final update.

    “I’ve had him meet you at a public area that still allows for intimate conversations. He’ll be at Century Park about an hour north. The directions are right here.” She gave her an envelope which contained the directions as well as a recent picture of Jacques so that Hayley would be able to find him. “He should be getting there around two, so it’s up to you if you want to be there first. Just head up the brick path to the center fountain.” Hayley nodded, and Sara returned to the three men huddled in her office.

    Taking a deep breath and clutching the folder, Hayley stood wondering how the forthcoming meeting would go. She knew that Jacques worked as a construction site manager and not remarried since splitting with Milicent. She also knew that he was supporting his niece and mother since they had moved in with him, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to know what kind of person he was, how his laugh sounded, whether he loved to sing or play sports or jump in the rain, and most of all how he could have just given her away and forgotten all about her.

    She absent-mindedly checked her watch a couple times while she was lost in her thoughts, but the time didn’t register. It wasn’t until the third look that she realized she would have to leave soon if she wished to be at the park by two o’clock. Taking a moment to compose herself, she headed out and drove to a burger joint to get a milkshake to calm her anxieties.

    By the time she had left for Century Park, it was a quarter past one and the traffic seemed to be purposefully keeping her from meeting her father. It wasn’t until half past two that she finally made it to the park and rushed to the fountain at the middle of the public area.