Love Makes Us One (Part 2 of Four Makes One) Ronnie's Story(Completed)

Chapter 6 - Life Goes On

There's a small smile on his face as he gazes at his daughter, "The guys went to the store and bought the whole thing for her. We ended up having to take most of the stuff back, but we made it work. They insisted that we find a place together so they could help me out. Until we did, they were sleeping on the couch and on the floor in her room. They've been there with me since the beginning. They love her like she's their own," he put his arm around my shoulder, "What's your story. Is dad waiting in the wings?"

"I got pregnant by my teacher when I was sixteen." I spit it out before I lose my nerve.

His eyes get wide, "How did that happen?"

"He was a new teacher and he paid special attention to me from the beginning. He would do things like keep me after class or have me come in after school. We would talk and it progressed. Eventually, we started having sex. I was so in love with him and I thought he was in love with me, until I got pregnant and he disappeared. My father hunted him down and gave him a choice. Either pay child support or go to jail for statutory rape. He came home with my first check and I've been getting a check from him every month since," I look over at Amy making monkey sounds with the monkey like she's talking to him and I smile.

I feel Solomon's arm tighten around me, "You are very brave. I'm here for you if you need me."

"Thank you. If you need any help with Megyn, I'm here for you also," I volunteer.

"I'll definitely take you up on that. My mom tries where she can, but she lives in another state. She talks to Meg on the phone as much as possible, but it's not the same," his hand starts rubbing my arm and I get the tingles again. At least I'm not vibrating this time.

We continue the trip thru the zoo and then stop for a quick snack. The girls eat quickly and then we are back to seeing the animals.

After we finally get through the zoo, Megyn and Amy announce that they're hungry. We call Tyler and let him know that we are coming to eat and he excitedly tells us that he'll be waiting for us.

We pull up to his restaurant and I can't look away from it. The outside has a sign up top that says 'Tyler's'. The building has brown, orange and dark yellow hues. It's so inviting.

We get the girls out of the car and inside of the building and I've never seen anything like it. There are big, plush couches when we walk in the door for people who are waiting and there are quite a few. To the right is a bar and the bar stools look like recliner seats. It looks so comfortable.

We walk up to the hostess, who recognizes Solomon immediately, "Hi Mr. Tate. Mr. McCarthy told me that you were coming. How are you tonight?"

"I'm doing wonderfully this evening Suzanne. Has he found a place for us?"

She nods, "Follow me." We follow her to our table and I look around. There aren't regular table and chairs, there are couches and living room tables. People are eating off of fancy tv trays. I love it! We reach our table, er, couch and are seated. Solomon and I sit on one side and the girls sit on the other. Shortly after we are seated, Tyler joins us, sitting on the other side of me.

"Hi Ronnie. How was your day?" He gives me a side hug.

"We had a lot of fun. I love your décor. It sets a warm atmosphere. Have you been here all day?"

"Nope. I came in at one today. We close at midnight, and I needed to be here tonight for it," his hand squeezes my shoulder and he smiles happily at me.

"Uncle Tyler! Aren't you going to say hi to me?" Megyn asks.

"I would never forget my favorite girl!" Tyler sweeps over to her, picking her up out of her chair and giving her a hug while swinging her around and she giggles. Amy looks at them with amusement in her eyes. Tyler sees her and picks her up also, "So I have two favorite girls now!" He picks her up and does the same thing that he did to Megyn. Amy giggles while Megyn jumps up and down egging him on.