Committed ✦ Wilk

Twenty-One

"Hey, sweetie," my mom said walking into my apartment. I smiled up at her and focused my attention back to my essay. "Can we talk for a minute?" She seemed like she was bother about something. I nodded and closed the laptop and sat it on the couch cushion next to me. "So I was thinking about how you said you were going to California," she gulped. I nodded and waited for her to finish her opening statement. "I thought about how your father lives there..."

"Oh, yeah..." I bit my bottom lip. "I completely forgot about that. Go on."

"I want you to have a relationship with him, Baylor. I know this seems crazy - especially since I always made sure he was never in your life, but I want to mend our relationship in every way that I can. I found his contact information, and I was wondering if you would like it," she seemed hesitant and I couldn't help but let my eyes grow three times larger.

"Yeah, yeah of course," I nodded. She smiled softly and pulled a slip of paper from her pocket. "So this is it, huh? His number," I scanned the ten digit number scribbled in black ink and it all felt so surreal. She nodded. "Thank you, mom. But what if he doesn't want to talk to me?" I frowned at the thought - the thought of my own father not wanting anything to do with me.

"He will," she patted my leg. "I have to go, I have a couple of errands to run. Call him though, I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to hear from you," she hugged me and her raspberry scent lingered around the area in which she had been.

"Thanks again, mom," I smiled at her. She waved goodbye and walked out the door. I ran my hands across the crumpled paper and sighed. California was three hours behind on time, so it was only five in the afternoon there. I figured I would call Sam first and see what he thought of the situation. I didn't want to get my hopes up and be let down, so I would have to play it safely. I pulled out my freshly purchased phone and found Sam's contact. I clicked on it and patiently waited to hear his voice.

"Hey, baby, what's up?" He chirped happily.

"Hey, so my mom just came over and handed me this number..." I said narrowing my eyes at the digits. "You'll never guess who it's for."

"Who?" He asked and I heard someone shout. "Shut up, I'm on the phone," Sam yelled loudly causing me to momentarily move the phone from my ear. "Sorry about that, baby. I'm with a bunch of loud idiots."

"It's my dad's number," I bit my bottom lip and waited for his response but he didn't say anything. I frowned unsure if he even heard what I said.

"Your real dad?" He asked finally. "How did she even get his number?"

"I don't know - but I'm not sure if I should call it or not. What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" I ran my hand along the fabricated cushions and rested my head on the back. I stared up at the ceiling with millions of thoughts rushing through my mind. "What do you think?"

"Are you crazy? Call him! Do you know how happy he's going to be when he hears you for the first time since you were a year old? It's been eighteen years, Baylor. You have to call him. You even said it yourself - it's not his fault he wasn't in your life, and it's not your fault either. You said he lives in California right? If everything goes smoothly - which it will, then when you go out there you'll be able to meet him and he'll be able to meet baby-girl."

"I guess you're right," I sighed.

"Of course I'm right, so go call him and then tell me what happened alright?"

"Alright," I nodded.

"Good luck, baby. I love you," he said - I could practically feel his smile and a small grin crept on my lips.

"I love you," I hung up the phone and stared at the paper slip again. I couldn't believe that I was holding his number in my hands - and in seconds I would hopefully be carrying on a conversation with him. I sat down my phone and the slip, and stood up. I ran my fingers through my hair and paced around the living room still unsure. Was it going to be a wise move? Was it going to all work out or was it going to completely blow up and leave me without my father? After a few minutes or staring out into the blank nothingness that was the outdoors I finally walked back over to my phone and dialed his number with trembling fingers. It rang multiple times and I started to lose hope, but then my heart nearly stopped.