Grayson

"I want to meet him, and he needs to meet me as his father, I've missed out enough in his life.  Jesus, he's already nine years old!"

"I'm sorry, Grayson."

"You're fucking sorry?  Are you shitting me, Mary Ellen?  How can you be sorry when you probably would never have told me!"  I snapped.

"Grayson, I need you to calm down, people are watching."  She said in a hushed tone.

"Oh, worried about bad press?  Worried that the world will know Jacob exists?  What do you do on parent-teacher days?  Send a fucking nanny?"

I grow more and more angry as I look at her beautiful face.

"Don't you ever question the relationship I have with my son!"  She is getting mad too.  Good, it serves her right.

"I swear if you refer to him as your son again, I'm fucking screaming it out loud.  He's our son, and when I gave him to you I loved you.  How could you?"  I asked.

I felt like a jackass, because I'm crying like a fucking child.

"Come on, let's go somewhere more private."  She pulled on my arm, and I reluctantly got up. 

"I don't know why, it's not like I'll stop hating you at this moment."  I said.

"You've had too much to drink, and you deserve better than having everyone stare at a grown man crying."  She whispered and looked around.

"Your compassion is next to no other." 

"Come on."  She pulled on my arm, and before I knew it I was sitting in a fucking limousine. Must be nice to be so rich that you can't even drive yourself places. I'm so angry, all I want to do is scream.

"We can't fix the past, but we can fix the future for Jacob.  I agree, it's time for him to know you, but you have to pull yourself together.  He's coming to Hawaii with me this summer, so you have two weeks to compose yourself.  You can spend the summer with us, but I won't allow him to ever go to that hell hole you call home."  She said.

"You mean the hell hole where more than half the town showed up to fix your house? The same people who donated money and time to you?" I asked.

"The same town that all saw me laying under you while I lost my virginity and we created our son?  Yeah, that town.  Also, the town where my alcoholic mother still lives in that fucking house."  She yelled at me this time.

"I built our house, Mary Ellen.  I may not have your money or fame, but it's a damn nice house.  It's my home and I'm his father, he will visit his father at a place he can call home.  He has grandparents, great-grandparents, and an aunt and uncle.  He deserves to know his family, and I'm a lawyer Mary Ellen, I'll take you to court if that's what it takes." I threatened.

I am struggling because I've never felt this kind of anger and hatred. Not even toward Kathryn or Gabe.

I saw a tear and how dare she act like she's hurt? She left me!

"I want to meet him properly tomorrow morning, then we are going to spend the day together.  We can tell him together, and I'll be there at 10 am.  Oh, and there's no reason for your fucking ,pansy ass boyfriend to be around.  What's your address?" 

"I'll come here and meet you."  She was crying.

"I want to see how my son lives, what's your fucking address, Mary Ellen?"

She shook her head. 

"What are you hiding?"  I asked.

"He lives with us, and I can't make him leave his home." She said.

I pulled out my phone and handed it to her.  "Your address, I'm not playing with you, Mary Ellen."

She typed it in and I grabbed my phone, before exiting and slamming the door shut.

I went straight to my room and grabbed the most expensive beer ever made out of the refrigerator.  I looked out the window at the vast city and daydreamed about her back in Indiana. 

She's even more beautiful now, but I don't know if I'll ever get past this with her. I have a son.  Holy fucking shit, I have a son who's probably missed out on baseball and football.  The poor kid probably doesn't even know what a carborator is, or the sound of a sweet engine. 

I imagine his father figure takes him to plays and exposes him to art, not anything that's a damn life skill.

There's no denying that the child is mine, and she knew it. He looks exactly like me as a kid. 

I turned and walked toward my bathroom, when I felt my phone in my pocket.  I pulled it out and stared at it for a minute before I dialed.

"Dad?  Do you have time to talk or is it too late?"

The next day.

I woke up the next morning and canceled my meetings. I'm nervous to tell Jacob who I am.  It's amazing how much my life has changed in a matter of 24 hours. 

I arrived in L.A. as just Allison's boyfriend, and I'll go home as Jacobs dad.  I'm not even Daddy, I missed that stage.

I followed the GPS to the address Mary Ellen gave me, and of course I'm not surprised.  It's a beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills, absolutely ridiculous.

I was allowed in, and I parked my car right in front of the disgustingly huge house. This is Preston's home I'm sure.  The Mary Ellen I knew was simple, and in no way materialistic.  I got out of my car and walked to the door and stood there for a moment before I rang the doorbell, a middle-aged woman answered. 

"I'm Grayson Edwards, to see Mary Ellen Helms." 

"Yes sir, she is in the middle of a shoot, but will be with you shortly."  She walked me inside. "You can watch from here. Could I offer you a drink, sir?"  She asked.

"No, thank you."

All I could do was try to stay composed when she came into view.  She's got flashes of light all over her as she poses. She's stunning, to say the least.  It's so hard to believe she's that same needy girl from years ago. I also can't believe she's the mother of my child, hell, that I even have a child.

Okay, maybe I've softened up a tad since last night after I talked to Dad, he usually has the right words I need to hear.

Holy shit, she's beautiful.

"My mom's the most beautiful girl in the world isn't she?" 

I looked down and saw Jacob standing with his arms crossed just like me.

"You ain't kidding,"  I responded.