After filling Frank in with the details since regaining consciousness at the hospital the night before, Tom asked him to meet him at the Panera on High Street in fifteen minutes and not to tell Julie of their meeting. He said he would explain later. Frank, obviously intrigued by this unusual request, agreed and told his wife he was going to run a couple of errands.
Tom was tired of the guilt he was feeling for not reporting the incident he and Tracy had witnessed on that fateful night. He wanted to-no, needed to get this off of his chest. He wasn’t sure yet if he was going to tell Frank the whole story-about Tracy being pregnant-he figured he would play that part by ear.
After Tom went inside the popular cafe, he hung out near the entrance to await Frank’s arrival. Five minutes later, he saw his friend come through the door.
“Thanks for coming,” Tom greeted him.
“No problem. I’m dying to know what all of this mystery is about! I don’t suppose it has anything to do with your near-death experience, does it?”
Tom led the way to the counter. “Indirectly, I guess you could say. What would you like-I’m buying.”
“Just coffee. I’ve already had breakfast.”
Tom ordered two coffees and the pair made their way to a table near the fireplace in the center of the shop.
Frank took a sip and looked over at Tom. “So what’s up?”
Tom wasn’t sure exactly where to start. All of a sudden, he wasn’t sure that this was such a good idea after all and nearly changed his mind about confiding in his friend. Then he realized it was too simply too late to turn back now.
“First, let me ask you a theoretical question: if someone witnessed a crime and wanted to report it, could he do so anonymously?”
Frank was clearly taken aback by the question and Tom knew that he was already itching to know what this was leading up to.
“Well, yes. Of course he could. A lot of the tips the police get are from anonymous callers responding to public pleas for information on various crimes. Why do you ask?”
“But what if the police wanted the anonymous caller to pick out a potential suspect from a lineup or a mug sheet? How could he do that without getting involved with any litigation that may eventually come up?”
The attorney was clearly mystified about this line of questioning. “What in the hell has happened, Tom? And why do I have the sneaky feeling that you are this theoretical anonymous caller?”
Tom smiled uncomfortably. “Okay, so I’m asking on my own behalf. Now, what about the question?”
“It’s difficult to say, really. I guess realistically, the police would plead with you to come to the station with the info and to testify in the case if it became necessary. It really all depends on the conditions of the particular crime in question. So level with me, Tom. Tell me what you are referring to here.”
“In strict confidence, as my friend?”
“Of course. Shoot.”
Tom knew there was no going back now. He could only hope that Frank was leveling with him as well. “Well, remember the girl that was raped and dumped out of a car about a month ago?”
“Yes, of course. They’re still working that case.”
“I saw the guy do it.”
Frank’s eyes widened. “No shit?”
“No shit. I not only saw him dump off her body but I got a good look at his car, too.”
“That’s great news. But tell me, why in the holy hell have you waited this long to tell anybody?”
“Hell, Frank. I can’t tell you that. All I can say is that it certainly hasn’t been pleasant not coming forward with this before now, but unfortunately there are some, uh, complications that have made me hesitant to do so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Can’t tell you. Let’s just say that there have been some personal reasons not to, and now that I have, I’ll probably regret it.”
“I don’t understand. I don’t see how reporting that you eye-witnessed a crime in progress can be anything but a good thing. I’m sure the victim will attest to that after they nail the guy.”
“Can’t we just drop the reasons why and go from there, Frank? I really just want to do my civic duty because it has gotten on my conscience. The rest is irrelevant to the case, anyway. Believe me.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll back off. But if you change your mind, I’ll be all ears, okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. So where should I go from here?”
“Well, if you really don’t want to get involved, I’d just go ahead and call the police, anonymously, and tell them whatever it is you want to tell them. Describe the vehicle-make, model, year, color. As for the suspect’s appearance, give them a clear description-approximate height, weight, build and so on. Tell them what you saw; be as thorough as you can. They will be forever grateful to you, I’m sure. They don’t have squat on this case from what I’ve heard. Your info will no doubt give them the break they’ve been hoping for.”
“That’s great to hear. I feel better already,” Tom said.
“Have you told Peg any of this?”
Damn! Tom thought. Why can’t Frank just let it go?
“No, of course not. Why else would I be meeting you covertly like this?”
Frank grinned knowingly. “Aha! Now I’m starting to get the picture.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tom, it’s more than obvious what’s happening here. And I don’t know why you’re so worried talking to me of all people about it. The reason you don’t want anyone to know about your witnessing this incident is because you were somewhere where you weren’t supposed to be! Am I right?”
Screw it. “You got me there, Frank.”
Frank chuckled. “Gotta admit, I didn’t know you had it in you! Peg’s no slouch and you guys seem to be really tight for an old married couple. This gal must really be something special.”
“She is, or I should say, was. So now that the cat’s out of the bag, can we just move on and never mention this again?”
“Mum’s the word.”
“Good. Well, I’m going down to the school and catch up on some work I put off before the break. Thanks for everything, friend.”
“No problem. And don’t worry about any of this-things always have a way of working themselves out.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Tom killed the last of his coffee and stood up. The two left and Tom thanked Frank again for his advice before heading to campus.
Alone in his office, Tom debated whether or not to call Tracy and tell her that she wouldn’t have to talk to the police after all. He could at least spare her that inconvenience-not that she would have followed through with it, anyway.
He picked up the phone and punched the first four numbers to her apartment then promptly hung up.
What am I doing, here? he thought. All he would do is stir everything up again. Tracy had decided to let him off the hook for getting her knocked up and told him to go fly a kite. Why couldn’t he just be content with that and be thankful that he could still have his life?
Could this have come out any better, you nitwit?
With a smug grin on his face, Tom decided to make a call after all, but not to Tracy. He opened his cell phone, pressed “send” and scrolled down to his home number. Kelli answered.
“Hi, kiddo. Is your mother around?”
“Hi Daddy. Guess what I did,” his daughter said.
“What?”
“I cleaned up my room all by myself!”
“That’s awesome, sweetie! I’ll bet your mom is very proud of you.”
“She is-she’s gonna let me have my own birthday party next month!”
“That’s really great, Kelli.”
“Well, I’ll go get Mom now,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“Yes, dear, what is it?” Peg said.
“Just letting you know that I’m on my way home. You want me to pick up anything on the way?”
“Yes, now that you mention it. We’re almost out of milk and if you want any beer tonight, you’d better pick some up as well.”
“Christ, I’m glad you remembered the beer! Anything else?’
“That should do it for now. I’m going to go to the store tomorrow and will get the rest of what we need.”
“Okay. I’ll swing by the market and be home in about fifteen minutes or so.”
“See you then.”
Tom cranked up the volume on the Accord’s CD player. As he listened to New Year’s Day by U2, he was reminded of the party that he and Peg were going to on New Year’s Eve. One of Peg’s friends was having a fairly good-sized get-together at their house and he was dreading the very prospect of it. He would be much more content drinking beer at home and watching the ball drop in Time’s Square with Dick Clark than facing an evening of socializing with a bunch of yuppie Bush lovers. Peg sure knew how to pick ‘em, he thought.
Five minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket. He avoided parking anywhere near where he had parked the day before, still reeling from the fact that he had almost lost his life in this very place. He found a spot near the entrance, shut the car off, got out and entered the store.
After he’d picked up the milk and a twelve pack of Michelob Ultra, he got into the express line. As he placed his items on the counter, he took one look at the cashier and did a double-take.
The young girl looked oddly familiar. She was about eighteen or so, had brown hair and was quite pretty. He glanced at her name tag, which had Erin written in black Sharpie on it Erin, he thought. Why did he feel like he knew this girl?
“Sir?” she said, staring at him expectantly.
Tom wondered how long he’d been staring at her.
“Oh, sorry! Yes,” he stammered, still trying to place the girl in his mind.
“Paper or plastic?” she asked as she scanned the milk.
“Um, neither, really. I’ll just carry them.”
“That will be $13.79, sir.”
Tom fumbled for his wallet and got out his credit card. He swiped it through the machine. Erin handed him a receipt and he signed it then returned it to her.
“Thanks, have a nice day,” Erin told him as she handed him another receipt.
“Uh, thank you. Can I ask you something, Erin?”
“Sure.”
“Have we ever met?”
She smiled sweetly. “No. But I think I’ve seen you here before. In fact, I believe I waited on you yesterday afternoon.”
Tom thought back to the day before, gazed at Erin and recalled that she had indeed been the one who had waited on him.
“Oh, yeah, you did! Well, thanks for waiting on me again,” he said stupidly.
Erin giggled. “No problem.”
“Goodbye, Erin.”
“Bye.”
Tom placed the beer and milk back into his grocery cart and headed for the exit. Once he reached Peg’s car, he opened the trunk and unloaded the cart, his thoughts still on the checkout girl.
He knew the girl better than that, he thought. In fact, he knew her quite well…
But how? When?
Slamming the trunk lid, Tom walked around the car and got in, his mind lost in thought. He started the car, threw it into reverse and backed out of the spot. He felt like he was moving in slow motion as he headed for the street.
Her name was Erin. Why did that name seem just as familiar to him as her face did? He knew that girl, somehow.
But she apparently didn’t know him. She had basically denied knowing him beyond having waited on him the day before. She had not shown the slightest shred of recognition while he had been standing there before her all that time.
So he must be wrong, he decided. He must be confusing her with someone else.
Trying desperately to dismiss it from his mind, Tom turned on the radio just as the Beatle’s Hey Jude was beginning to fade out. The song helped him put Erin out of his mind, but not for long.
He recalled driving on a snow-laden highway in total darkness, a young girl sitting in the passenger seat. She was telling him her life story-how she had been orphaned and run off to New York with Kyle “Jesus Christ!” he cried aloud.
Erin was Erin Myers. The girl he had rescued from those delinquents at the Waldorf Astoria!
Tom nearly drove over the curb as the events came back to him in jumbled bits and pieces: The drive to New York in search of Erin and Kyle. The total desolation of New York City. Being assaulted and manhandled out of his Jeep in front of Macy’s by those lowlife assholes, Chappy, Hoops, and what the hell was his name? Bummer! That was it.
His heart pounded furiously as Tom tried to negotiate a turn along Hartford Road. He realized that he was going to have to pull over before he had an accident. He made a right onto the next street and parked halfway down the block.
Heaving a huge sigh, Tom killed the engine.
What in the holy hell had he just been thinking about?
Where were these memories coming from? Why did they seem as real as this street he was now parked on?
Have to think this through, he resolved.
He had been awakened in his Jeep by those three hoodlums in front of Macy’s, he recalled. One of them, the Brit, was going to shoot him. He’d made a break for it and ran like hell-could barely see a thing, it was so dark. He’d ducked into a store that had been looted and hid, but they found him. They had led him back to Macy’s and forced him into a goddamn hearse of all things!
The subsequent events raced through his mind. Being locked in a room at the Waldorf where the maimed and tortured body of Erin’s old boyfriend Kyle was hanging from the ceiling, his escape to the elevator, his confrontation with Bummer (had he actually killed someone?), finding Erin in the room tied to the bed, their escape…
Tom’s head was swimming. Why did these events seem so real-as though they had actually taken place the day before? How could they seem so real when in fact he knew they couldn’t be. He hadn’t gone anywhere yesterday but to the supermarket Then it hit him.
Like a ton of bricks.
Of course none of this had really happened. He had been dreaming it had happened He must have dreamed all of this shit while he’d been under the influence of raw gasoline and carbon monoxide!
Tom drew in a deep breath and stared straight ahead.
More accurately, he had probably been hallucinating, as well. The doctor had said that hallucinations were a possibility…
Whatever it was, it hadn’t been real, thank god. It had just been the worse nightmare he’d ever had.
And the longest one by far, he suddenly realized.
But why was he recalling it only now?
Of course, it had to be from seeing Erin and recognizing her. Seeing her at the checkout line had triggered his memory and made it all come back to him.
He wondered now how much of the dream he could recall. He knew there had been more to it. Much more. What had happened leading him up to his being in New York in the first place? He knew he had been looking for Erin, who had been abducted by Kyle from his home, of all places. Why had she been in his house?
Of course-the power outage! He had come home from the supermarket to discover that the power was out everywhere and that his family and friends had totally disappeared. In fact, everybody everywhere had mysteriously disappeared!
Tom recalled the beginning of the dream now, from the moment he’d discovered his family was missing to the wild chase in pursuit of Erin in his stolen Jeep on I-270 to the sudden unwanted appearance of Kyle at his home the next morning. As he recalled the events, he sat in utter fascination of the clarity of everything, how real and vivid it all seemed now instead of being some sort of vague, random recollection.
Somethi ng special in those lethal gas fumes? he thought dryly.
But the ten thousand dollar question was why? Why had he dreamt this absurd dream in the first place? Did it have some purpose? Was it some kind of spiritual sign from the heavens? Or had it simply been a random gas fume-induced, hallucinatory trip from hell?
And why would he even sport the notion that it could have some real purpose in the first place? Dreams basically had no purpose, other than to help relieve stress. That was a scientifically proven fact, wasn’t it?
Tom sat back in his seat and recollected the entire dream from beginning to end, astonished at the fact that he could actually do it. He recalled the drive back from New York to Columbus with Erin and what he had learned about her past: her being an orphan, the foster father who had molested her as a child, her troubled teen life at school and her running off with Kyle to New York City. Tom grew increasingly angry recalling how Kyle had not only emotionally and physically abused the girl but pimped her into doing kiddie porn movies so that he could sell them on the internet. Then he recalled how she had managed her escape from the lowlife prick down the fire escape and made it back to Ohio by the skin of her teeth.
When Tom reached the part when he and Erin had returned to Columbus and discovered a suspicious car parked in his driveway, his heart began to race Donnie Shortridge! Now what in the hell had that been all about?
Tom recalled how he had entered his home and found this strange hillbilly redneck sitting at the kitchen table with a gun pointed at him. Like a blast from the past, this character claimed to have been married to a girl Tom had knocked up and now blamed Tom for his being sent to prison for assaulting his poor wife in a blind rage.
And that he intended to pay Tom back by robbing him blind and then killing him.
How crazy had that been? He hadn’t even known a Donnie Shortridge, much less gone out with his wife Jesus Christ-he had gone out with his wife!
Mindy Conkel!
Mindy Conkel, he did know. And not only had he gone out with her, he had gone to bed with her. Just once.
And that one time had been enough to get her pregnant!
And now suddenly Tom was beginning to understand why he had had this crazy dream. He had felt guilty for blowing off Mindy when she had called him in New York to let him know that she was pregnant with his child. He hadn’t given the news much thought at the time-he had been way too wrapped up in his new life in the Big Apple to give a shit. In a nutshell, he had basically told her “too bad, so sad-”
Wait a minute here!
Erin had shown him a picture Tom recalled the very end of the dream. And like a bolt of lightening from out of nowhere, he was struck with why he had dreamed this dream and what he now had to do about it.
Erin had shown him a photo of her birth mother holding her as an infant before she had been put up for adoption. The woman in the picture had been none other than Mindy Conkel!
Was it really possible that he was Erin’s father? And that was why he had dreamed all of this?
It had to be! As crazy and impossible as it seemed, this whole dream must have occurred so that he would discover he had a child running around in this world that he never knew he had. It was one of those weird, unexplained psychic phenomena like he’d seen on Unsolved Mysteries!
He had to talk to Erin, he resolved. He had to find out if she really was his daughter.
On impulse, he fired up the engine and pulled away from the curb. He circled the block and headed back toward the supermarket, trying to decide what he was going to say once he approached Erin with this. He realized it wasn’t going to be easy. “Hi again, Erin. I was just driving home with my groceries and started wondering if perhaps you are my daughter. I know it sounds a little weird, but you see, I had this dream yesterday and I-”
Tom laughed out loud. Yeah, right-she’s going to think I’m a blithering idiot!
As he drove through the intersection at Dublin Granville Road, Tom realized he would have to ease gracefully into this when he spoke to the girl. Maybe just start up a casual conversation and then ask if he could perhaps up meet with her when she got off work-that he had a couple of questions to ask her.
And of course she would look at him oddly, no doubt wondering why this strange man old enough to be her father was basically asking her out on an impromptu date Frick it! he sighed. This would be more difficult than he’d thought.
He reached the Jubilee Supermarket parking lot and pulled in. As he searched for a space, he spotted Erin getting into her car at the far end of the lot. She was probably just getting off work and heading home.
Tom glanced at the clock in the dash: 4:05. That had to be it.
He pulled into a spot and watched Erin start up her car and back out of the parking space. He waited until she drove past him and stopped at the exit before pulling out behind her. She turned left and was stuck at a red light on High Street. Tom pulled out and stopped behind her at the intersection.
When the light changed, she turned left onto High Street and drove south several blocks before turning into a gas station and pulling up to a pump. Tom also turned into the station but parked beside the mini mart. He looked at his rearview mirror and saw Erin get out, swipe her credit card through the machine and reach for the pump handle.
As he sat there, Tom wondered if it was such a good idea following her like this. He almost felt like he was stalking her. After all, he was a virtual stranger and when he approached her, she was going to feel intimidated if not downright threatened by him. Perhaps he should wait until he could speak to her at the supermarket another day.
Erin placed the pump handle back into its slot and got into her car. Tom backed out and followed her. She continued south on High until she entered Clintonville and took a right onto a street just north of North Broadway. Tom followed behind, trying to keep as much distance between the cars as possible.
Erin drove another block or so, then pulled into the driveway of a gray two-story house. Tom recalled that she had lived in an apartment building in Worthington in his dream. This was a house large enough for an average sized family to live in.
He pulled up to the curb a couple of houses before Erin’s and parked. He watched her as she got out of the car and headed for the front porch.
It was now or never, he thought.
He jumped out and walked swiftly toward her.
“Hey Erin!” he shouted.
She glanced back at him. At first it looked as if she was going to ignore him as she continued up the steps to the porch. But she came to a halt on the porch and turned around.
As Tom drew closer, she stared at him with a confused look on her face and said, “Hi. What do you want?”
Tom caught up to her and smiled idiotically. “Um, I just wanted to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind. It will just take a minute.”
Erin eyed him suspiciously and Tom could tell that she was more than a little put off.
“About what?” she said.
“Well, it’s difficult to say, really. Is there any chance I could buy you a soft drink or a coffee somewhere so we could talk? I’m afraid it may take a while to explain.”
Erin suddenly lightened up a bit and smiled. “Okay, I guess that would be all right. Let me just run inside to let my brother know I’m home then we can go.”
“Great. I’ll just wait here.”
Tom stood by as she unlocked the door and went inside. When he realized that the teenager lived in this house with her family, he questioned how in the world he could ever fathom that she was his long lost daughter. He considered the absurdity of it all and was about to abandon the whole thing before he made an utter fool of himself when Erin suddenly came out the door.
“Let’s go,” she said sweetly, joining him at the bottom of the porch stairs. “Where are we going?”
Tom said, “How does Starbucks sound?”
“Awesome-I’m in the mood for a great big cafe mocha!”
“You’ve got it.”
Tom led the way to Peg’s car, held the door open for Erin, went over to the driver’s side and got in. He started the engine, noticing out of the corner of his eye that she was staring at him.
“I feel sort of weird doing this,” she confessed.
Tom fastened his seat belt. “I don’t blame you at all for that. I realize this must seem very odd, but I want to assure you that I my intentions are good. If it would make you feel more comfortable, we could just talk here in the car or on your porch,” he added.
She chuckled. “Oh, no-I would much rather be treated to Starbucks! And I’m not afraid of going with you, Mr. Grayson. My brother told me he’s seen you at Capital and that you teach there.”
“Smart girl-you had him case me out while I was waiting, didn’t you?”
“Yeah-one can never be too careful nowadays,” she said with a knowing grin.
Tom pulled out and headed back toward High Street. As he tried to think of a good way to lead into what he wanted to say, Erin cleared the way for him.
“Aren’t you the man they found unconscious in the supermarket parking lot yesterday afternoon?”
“Yes I am, as a matter of fact. I was overcome by gas fumes and carbon monoxide.”
“Wow, I thought you were the same guy when I saw you earlier at the store, but I wasn’t sure. I sort of doubted it since it seemed unlikely that you would be out of the hospital so soon. You looked awfully bad when they pulled you out and wheeled you into the ambulance.”
“You were there when they did that?”
“I watched from the store. It was snowing really hard so I couldn’t see what was going on very well. One of the customers came in who had seen everything and said you looked like you were dead!”
“Thank god they were off on that call!”
“So are you going to be alright? I mean, was there any permanent damage or anything from the fumes?” Erin asked.
“No, I’m going to be fine. Just as crazy as I’ve always been, so they tell me.”
“I’ll bet that was scary.”
“Oh, it was very scary. I was fortunate that someone found me when they did. Otherwise, that customer would have been dead right.”
Erin fell silent as Tom pulled into the Starbucks on North High Street.
“Actually, the whole experience was scary for other reasons, too,” Tom said.
“What do you mean?”
I’ll tell you when we get inside.”
Tom bought them both a cafe mocha and led the way to a table.
“This is really good-thanks,” Erin said after taking a sip of her espresso-laced hot cocoa.
“You are more than welcome.”
“Okay, so tell me what you meant a minute ago.”
Tom hesitated a moment before beginning. It was so strange sitting there with this girl! The feeling of deja vu was both surreal and overwhelming as he flashed back to the times that he and she had sat together just like this, in the Jeep, in his house, at the Waldorf Astoria, sharing their thoughts and fears, running for their lives in a lonely, frightening world.
“I warn you, this is going to sound really strange.”
“Okay.”
“Well, while I was unconscious in the Jeep, I apparently had a dream-a very long dream. And you were in it.”
Erin gazed at him with a combination of shock and fascination as Tom proceeded to recount the dream in its entirety. When he was finished, he explained to Erin that he had asked to speak to her because he wanted to be absolutely certain that she couldn’t possibly be his daughter, as crazy and far out as that may sound.
When she replied to this, Erin stared at him with eyes that expressed great compassion.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Why are you sorry?”
“That I’m not your daughter.”
Her blunt, unexpected comment hurt Tom more than he could easily conceal from the girl. Although he hadn’t really expected her to be his daughter, he hadn’t given himself time to prepare for the reality of the fact.
“How can you be so sure?” he asked weakly, his voice nearly cracking.
“I just know I’m not. First of all, my last name isn’t Myers, it’s Landry. But since this was just a dream, my last name could probably have been anything. But you will see that I am obviously my father’s daughter once you take a look at this.”
She opened her purse, took out her wallet and showed him the first picture on the top. Tom realized what she meant when he saw the tall smiling man in the Landry family portrait, who no doubt was her father. She was a spitting image of him.
Tom forced a laugh. “I see what you mean. Your brother resembles your dad quite a bit, too.”
“Yes, he does. My mom is always joking that she is on the short end of the gene pool when it comes to her kids.”
Tom gazed at Erin’s mother in the portrait and had to agree. She was blonde, blue-eyed and very short, quite unlike her husband and children.
So Erin Landry wasn’t his daughter after all. No real surprise there, so why was he so damn disappointed?
Partly, because he was now back to wondering why he had had the dream in the first place. And partly because deep down inside he wanted her to be his daughter.
He wondered why that was so but couldn’t come up with an answer. Not now, anyway.
“You look sad, Mr. Grayson. I’m sorry this didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to.”
The girl’s insight was remarkable, Tom thought. She seemed able to read him like a book.
Just as Erin Myers had…
“I’m okay, Erin. And I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to present you with this rather strange situation.”
“No problem. I have enjoyed talking to you, Mr. Grayson.”
“Please, call me Tom.”
“Okay, Tom. If I tell you something, will you promise me that you won’t get mad?”
“Of course. I couldn’t possibly get angry at you.”
“Well, I sort of have a theory on why you had your dream, if you’d like to hear it.”
“I’d love to.”
“Well, it’s sort of obvious why the girl in your dream looked like me, since I was the last girl you saw before you went back to your car yesterday. You also no doubt saw my name tag, so you gave her my name.”
“That’s a fair enough theory,” Tom agreed.
“You said that this Mindy woman had called to tell you she was pregnant, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And in your dream, you realized that Erin could have been the child that Mindy had been pregnant with after you saw the picture of the two of them together.”
Tom nodded.
“Well, Erin had been an orphan and apparently had had a pretty horrible life, it sounds like. I think you wanted Erin to be your daughter in the dream so you could finally be assured that your child was alive and safe, now that you had found her. “
Tom wasn’t sure what she was getting at. “You sort of lost me there.”
“I’m not sure how to put this,” she said, hesitating a moment. Her eyes looked past Tom then refocused on him. “Maybe after all of these years you felt sort of guilty about this child you never knew and if Erin had ended up not being your daughter, that meant that your child could possibly be, uh, gone forever.”
Now he knew what she was driving at.
And he realized that this young girl had just hit the nail on the head.
Because now that he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Erin Landry wasn’t his daughter in real life, he had no idea what had ever happened to the child Mindy Conkel had given birth to. And since Donnie Shortridge had been only a figment of his imagination, he couldn’t even be certain that the child had been put up for adoption He was going to have to find out what had ever happened to his child. For all he knew, his child could still be living in Smithtown, Ohio.
Tom said, “Your theory is quite sound, Erin.”
She blushed. “Well, I’ve sort of always wanted to be a psychologist. In fact, I’m majoring in psych at Ohio State.”
“I think you’ve made the right career choice.”
“I hope so-thanks for your encouragement.”
Tom glanced at his watch. “I’ve kept you long enough. I am so grateful to you for letting me unload all of this on you. You’ve been most kind and helpful, Erin.”
“No problem. And thanks for the treat.”
“It’s the least I could do. Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
They arose from the table and left the coffee shop. When Tom pulled into Erin’s driveway to drop her off, she leaned over and gave him a heartfelt hug. Then she faced him with her expressive brown eyes and said softly, “I hope you find her.”
“Thanks, Erin. So do I.”