Lost and Found Husband

He said, “After we graduated, we pursued similar career paths. Me as a teacher and her as a youth counselor.”

“You had a lot in common.”

“Right from the start.”

The breeze blew a little harder, fluttering the fringe on her shawl.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“I think the air feels good.” Being in his presence made her warm. She was wildly attracted to him: his tall, dark appearance, his cautious mannerisms. She especially liked the way he looked at her when he wasn’t aware that she was stealing glances at him. She could only imagine how he used to look at his wife. She’d never known anyone who’d seemed to be that much in love. Eric was so deep and intense, so different from Dana. She’d seen how strongly the tragic artwork at the gallery had affected him. It was odd, too, how this date was playing out, with them ending up at the same beach as where he’d gotten married.

“Are you hungry for dessert?” he asked, his voice cutting into her thoughts. “Or do you want a cup of coffee or a soda or anything?”

“I wouldn’t mind having a milkshake. Chocolate always does the trick for me.”

“I think the soda fountain place is getting ready to close. But I’ll hurry and nab you one.”

He left her standing at the rail with her shawl billowing and her mind on his wedding. She was also thinking about her own life and the part of her future that mattered most to her family.

When he returned with her milkshake, she thanked him, took a sip and said, “I want to get married and have kids someday. I promised my mom that I would never repeat our family history.”

“What history?”

“Of unwed mothers. My mom was a single mother and so was her mother. It’s not a very romantic legacy. Women raising children by themselves.”

He frowned. “Why weren’t the dads involved?”

“I was the product of a one-night stand so I have no idea who my father is. That was the only time Mom had ever done anything like that, and she’s ashamed of her behavior, even until this day.” Dana drank more of her milkshake, taking comfort in the chocolate. “She loves me and she’s been a good parent, but there was still shame attached to my birth.”

“I’m sorry.”

“My grandmother’s story is worse. She slept with a married man and that’s how she got pregnant with my mom. She had a reputation for being a loose woman in her day, but it wasn’t true. He’d seduced her into believing that he would leave his wife for her, and she paid the ultimate price when he spurned her afterward and refused to claim the baby. So you can see why they’re pinning their hopes on me to have children the legitimate way. Mom calls their experiences sins of the past.”

“I don’t think there’s anything sinful about having babies.”

“Me, neither. But I still don’t want to be an unwed mother. It would crush my family. Actually, it would probably crush me, too. I felt tainted as a kid, and I’d never want my child to feel that way.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. He reached out as if he meant to stroke her cheek, but he lowered his hand before contact was made. After a moment of silence, he added, “My daughter’s birth parents weren’t married. They were only sixteen when she was born.”

Confused, Dana blinked. “Her birth parents?”

“We adopted Kaley.”

She couldn’t hide her surprise. “All this time I thought she was yours.”

“She is mine.”

Dana apologized for the gaffe. “I didn’t mean it that way. It just wasn’t what I expected to hear.”

“That’s okay. There’s no way you could have known,” he quietly explained. “Corrine was adopted, so when we discovered that she couldn’t conceive, we turned to adoption, too. Only Corrine wanted an open adoption for our baby because hers had been closed and she always felt a sense of loss not knowing who her birth parents were.”

“So Kaley’s adoption was open?”

“No. It didn’t work out that way. But Corrine encouraged Kaley to search for her birth parents if she ever felt the need. And recently, she did. Kaley found her birth mother, and soon after that, she met her birth father.”

“Wow.” Intrigued, Dana tilted her head. “How did that go?”

“Remarkably well. For everyone. Not only did they embrace Kaley and welcome her into their lives, they got back together. They’re getting married this summer. Kaley is going to be the maid of honor and I was asked to be the best man.”

“That’s a beautiful story.” Homey, romantic. “Things don’t usually happen that way.” Or she assumed they didn’t. All she knew was her own fatherless family. “I used to wonder about my dad when I was kid. Sometimes I still do. But I could never search for him. The only thing my mom knew about him was his first name. John. Can you imagine me trying to hunt him down?”

“That would be next to impossible, unless your mom was able to remember anything else about him that might lead you in his direction.”

“She doesn’t like to talk about him, and there’s no point in putting her through that or making her relive what she considers her shame. Of course I compensated by becoming a bohemian.” She flapped her fringe and made him smile. She shared her milkshake with him, too.

He drank from the straw and handed it back to her. “Where did you grow up?”

“You’re going to laugh when I tell you.”

“Why would I laugh?”

“Freedom, Ohio.”

As predicted, he laughed. “You’re from a town called Freedom?”

“Yep. The girl who’s determined to be free. Actually, there are lots of Freedoms scattered throughout the States, but mine just happens to be in Ohio.”

“When did you move to California?”

“After I graduated from high school.” She glanced at the ocean again. The waves were getting bigger. “When I was about twelve, we came to Southern California for a vacation. I made up my mind then that I was going to live here someday.”

“Is your mom still in Ohio?”

She nodded. “My grandmother, too. Neither of them ever got married. They’ll probably go nuts when I get engaged.”

He smiled. “The bohemian bride.”

“Marriage is going to be the only traditional thing I’ll probably ever do.” They shared the last of her shake, and she got tingly putting her mouth where his had been.

“I’m glad I went on this date,” he said.

The tingly feeling went off the charts. “It’s not over yet. You still have to kiss me at my front door.”

“That’s pretty much all I’ve been thinking about.”

Her, too. “The buildup is exciting.”

“I hope I don’t let you down.”