Back To The Start (One Tree Hill)

Chapter 31

Julian's POV

Julian's office

A week had passed since Brooke had been released from the hospital and my mother had moved in with us. I had feared that they would argue again because my mother liked to order around, but so far everything had gone smoothly and I hoped it would stay that way. Justin had become dear to our hearts that we could no longer imagine a life without him. And for him we had become something like 'surrogate parents'. So far we hadn't heard from our lawyer and I didn't know if it was a good or bad sign in case of a possible adoption. When I entered my office that day, my dad was already awaiting me.

"Hey, Julian! Nice to see you again," he said with an ironic undertone in his voice.

I walked around my desk and sat down. Only with difficulty I could suppress a comment on his reproach. "You know that a lot happened in my private life," I said irritably. "But now I'm back. Any news?"

"I heard your mother is living with you now," he said, ignoring the comment before.

I frowned. "Yes, she does, but what does that have to do with the new project?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I just thought I could drop by sometime."

I looked at him in surprise. "Sure," I nodded in agreement. "You can visit anytime."

"How is the adoption going?"

I was beginning to suspect that my father didn't intend to talk about business matters. His questions were too private for that. "Not good," I replied hesitantly. "So far, the lawyer hasn't contacted us. I expect a call from him every day."

"I might be able to help you," he suggested. "I have to fly to L.A. for a few days, and then I could go by your lawyer and ask him how far he has come with his investigations."

I could only stare at my dad. For years he hadn't been interested in my life, and now he wanted to help me with the adoption? "That's... really nice of you," I stuttered.

His mouth twitched slightly. "I guess you're wondering why I'm doing this? Well, maybe it's because I'm not getting any younger and this may be my last chance to make things right I screwed up back then."

My stomach suddenly knotted. "You... you don't mean to tell me you're going to die, do you?" I asked worriedly. I was relieved when he started to laugh.

"Oh, just because I mentioned 'last chance'?" He shook his head. "Don't worry, son, I'm in good health. It's just that I'm a little jealous of your mother at the moment, that she's got such good contact with you again." He grinned sheepishly. "I can't tell you how happy I am for you and Brooke, that you're becoming parents now. And I also know how much the little boy means to you. I just want to help."

I felt warm inside as I heard the words coming from my father's mouth. For many years I had been waiting for this moment. "When are you going to L.A.?" I asked.

"The day after tomorrow. It's about our project to make a TV-series out of the book. I want to meet with a person in charge of a TV station who might be willing to buy the rights to the series and then broadcast it."

"Wow!" I exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't that a little early? I mean, we haven't even started filming yet. Not to mention that we still need to re-cast some of the roles."

"These are just the preliminary negotiations," he said reassuringly. "We don't sign anything yet. But it can't hurt to 'stretch out our feelers'. If they like the concept, we've already won a lot."

"I'll fly with you," I decided spontaneously. "Then I can kill two birds with one stone. I would like to talk to the lawyer myself, and I would like to see Markham again, too."