Chapter 6
2350words
The sun pierced Luke’s eyes. He turned his backwards cap frontwards, to block his face from it, and continued trimming shrubbery. His thoughts wandered towards his daughter, as they had all day. After work, he would finally meet her for the first time. He’d been looking forward to it since the day she was born.
A voice behind him made him stop, and turn off the machine. Luke turned around to see Waylon Barstow in the flesh. He forced himself to smile. “Good afternoon.”
Waylon didn’t return it. “I need you to do something for me.”
“Right now?”
“No, next week.”
Luke furrowed his brow. Why not wait until next week to ask him then? Or was he being sarcastic? That was likely the case, but he wanted to be extra certain. “So, you do mean right now? Right?”
“Of course I mean right now!”
“What is it?” Luke set down the trimmer, avoiding his harsh gaze. In doing so, he spotted a frog on the ground. His favorite animal. He wondered if his daughter liked frogs, or if she was afraid of them. He’d be able to ask her later, after all this time of trying to get custody. God, he couldn’t wait to learn all about her. What she liked, and didn’t like. If she was more like him, or like her mother. He didn’t even know what she looked like.
“Well?!” Waylon’s raised voice drew Luke’s attention back onto him. “Can you do that for me?”
So deep in his thoughts, Luke hadn’t taken in a word Waylon said. He wanted to ask him to repeat everything, but gave him a slight nod instead.
“Good. They’re on the back porch. Now move!”
Luke went straight to the back porch for clues as to what Waylon had asked of him. There was a large, wooden deck, a patio table with four chairs, and an awning. On the deck, were several containers of rose bushes in bloom. They all looked as though Waylon had just purchased them. Perhaps he simply wanted Luke to plant them. That made sense.
Now, where would Waylon want him to plant them? He wandered the spacious backyard. But there was no space for new rose bushes. Was he supposed to dig up old plants, and replace them?
There was a line of old rose bushes up against the fence. They were slightly withered, but a good watering should bring them back to life. Rich people were idiots though. Luke wouldn’t be surprised if Waylon wanted him to replace them.
So that’s what he did.
Sebastian put on a button-up shirt and black slacks, because his father told him to dress up. Apparently, it would make women admire him more. Waylon even let him borrow some of his aftershave. Personally, Sebastian felt as though the smell would do a better job at repelling women.
After combing his hair, Sebastian went downstairs. He saw his father in the backyard, yelling at one of the gardeners. On closer inspection, he recognized the gardener as Luke Lindberg. Like Sebastian, the town shunned him for his past. They'd never really talked, but Sebastian understood and sympathized with him.
Sebastian opened the sliding glass door to step outside. Waylon turned around at the sound.
“We’re going to be a bit delayed,” Waylon said to Sebastian. “Since this idiot can’t follow simple instructions.”
“What happened?” Sebastian dared to ask.
“Instead of clipping a few roses off of these new rose bushes I bought, he decided to dig out perfectly good rose bushes, and put the new ones in their place.”
“Where else did you want me to plant them?” Luke asked.
“I didn’t want you planting them at all! I just wanted a few fresh roses to give to Sebastian, to give to girls.”
“Won’t you need them planted eventually?” Sebastian asked.
“Not here, I don’t. I was going to bring them to our cabin next weekend. Have them planted there.” Waylon glared at Luke. “So much for that!”
“Where’s the old ones?” Sebastian asked. “Maybe you could plant those ones there.”
Waylon turned to Luke. “Do you think you could put the old roses into the containers the new ones came in? After clipping a few fresh roses for me?
Luke nodded and left.
Waylon slumped in the nearest chair, rubbing his temples. “Why are blue collar workers so damn stupid?”
Luke raced home to his cabin in the woods after a long day at work. Normally he’d be done by 2:30. Depending on how well-maintained a yard was, he could get most houses finished in less than two hours. A place Waylon’s size, worked on weekly, should have taken him 3 hours at most. But Waylon shouting at him had delayed him.
A social worker was supposed to arrive with his daughter at 3:30. It was 3:38 when Luke pulled up. There was an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. Luke winced. At least his father was home, but Luke wanted, no, needed, to be there to greet them when they arrived. Too late for that.
Luke walked through the front door, which opened into the family room. His father, Clay, stood in front of a woman with a suitcase and a little girl wearing an over-sized backpack. Skye! Luke’s chest swelled up. Finally, after all these years, she was his.
Skye picked at the front of her pink dress as she stared at the dingy, beige wall. Her hair was brown, like Luke’s, but wavy, like Hazel’s. His throat tightened at the memory of his late girlfriend. He should have been there when Hazel gave birth. Unfortunately, he was in a jail cell, she died from childbirth, and Skye was all that was left.
The woman coughed. Luke moved his gaze towards her. Allison was her name. She had shown up at his door the previous week to inspect the house. To make sure it was suitable for a child to live in.
“Sorry I’m late.” Luke gave her a smile. “I got held up at work.”
“Clearly.” Allison rubbed the bottom of her nose as she eyed Luke’s dirt-covered outfit.
Luke realized he probably reeked of sweat. His clothes were also covered in dirt, as were his shoes. Should he excuse himself to go change? He didn’t want to keep her waiting any longer. Then again, he expected her to leave in a few minutes. What was the point?
“I was about to introduce your father to Skye.” Allison turned to Skye, and softened her voice. “Skye, this is your grandpa, and your dad.”
Skye gave no indication she heard Allison’s words, and continued to stare at the wall.
“Skye,” Allison said louder. No reaction.
“Does she have hearing problems?” Clay asked.
“No. She’s just shy. I’ve never heard her talk, but I’ve been told she can.”
Luke nodded. He could handle a shy kid.
“I should warn you again," Allison said. "Past relatives and foster parents had problems with her. She never does what she’s told. She screams and cries for no reason. She’s a picky eater, and wets the bed...”
“So basically, a normal kid,” Clay said. “Luke was the same at her age.”
“Like father like daughter,” Luke added with a chuckle in a poor attempt to fit into the conversation.
“Uh-huh. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Allison put her hand on Skye’s shoulder, and Skye looked up at her. “Do you want to give me a hug goodbye?”
Skye answered by stroking the wall with her fingers.
Allison sighed, and turned back to Luke and Clay. “I’ll check in with you in a month, to see how Skye’s doing.”
After exchanging goodbyes, Allison walked out the door. Leaving Luke and Clay alone with Skye.
“I’ll put her suitcase in her room.” Clay picked up the suitcase Allison had left behind, and walked away.
Luke squatted to Skye’s height, feeling slightly breathless. Finally, after all these years. “Hey, Skye. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time.”
Skye picked at the front of her dress again, and looked at him with her mother’s eyes.
“What do you want to do?” Luke asked.
His question was met with silence and more dress picking, but at least she looked at him instead of the wall.
“Do you want a snack?”
“Do you want to play?”
No answer.
“Do you want to see your room?”
More silence. The lightness in Luke's chest grew heavy. He stood up. “I really need a shower. Maybe while I’m doing that, you can decide what you want to do.
Sebastian found himself inside a clothing store with his father.
“This place will be crawling with women,” Waylon had said earlier.
And there were a lot of women. Most of them older than Sebastian, and some accompanied by a man, but Waylon was right.
“Now, all you have to do is find a pretty one, walk up to her, and start talking.”
“Isn’t that rude?” Sebastian wouldn’t like it if someone tried striking up a relationship with him while he was shopping.
Waylon let out an exasperated sigh. “This is why you’ve never had a girlfriend. Men do this all the time, and it works. You’ll see.”
“Okay.” Filled with doubts, Sebastian wandered the store alongside his father. It wasn’t long before he spotted a lone girl his age, flipping through shirts.
Waylon noticed her as well. “Perfect. You still got those roses hiding in your pocket?”
Sebastian did. Several stuck out of his pants pocket, partly concealed by his jacket.
“Good. Introduce yourself. Give her a few compliments. Let her talk about herself. Then, give her a rose along with your number.”
“Are you sure this will work?”
“It worked on your mother.” Waylon gave him a slight push in the girl’s direction.
Sebastian walked over to the girl, still going through shirts. “Hey.”
The girl barely glanced at him. “Hi.”
“I’m Sebastian.” He held out his hand.
“Bea.” The girl ignored his hand, and walked over to a different rack.
Sebastian followed, struggling to think of a compliment. There weren’t any features on her he found particularly attractive. Her shirt was plain, but blue. Blue was Sebastian’s favorite color. “I like your shirt. It’s a pretty shade of blue.”
“Do you come here often?”
“No.” Her voice was curt. She refused to look at him as she continued her search of a new shirt.
Sebastian might have poor social skills, but even he could tell the girl wanted nothing to do with him. He was about to call it quits, and look for someone else, when his father came up behind the girl. Waylon pointed to his pocket.
It would be a terrible idea. Sebastian gave a slight shake of the head. Waylon nodded and mouthed, “Do it!”
Wincing, Sebastian pulled a rose out of his pocket. “I got this rose for you.”
Bea took one look at it, turned around, and speed-walked out of the area.
“That was awful!” Waylon snarled at him. “You weren’t even trying.”
“She wasn’t interested.”
“Come on. Maybe you’ll have better luck a second time. There’s one, right there.” Waylon jerked his head towards a woman across the aisle, who held up a denim skirt.
Sebastian walked over to her, and introduced himself. “Your hair is pretty.”
The girl turned away from him. “I have a boyfriend.”
Sebastian walked back over to his father. “She said she has a boyfriend.”
“I bet she’s making that up. Sometimes they do that. It’s their way of saying they want you to try harder. Go talk to her again.”
“I’m not talking to her again.”
“Fine.” There were no other potential girlfriends nearby, so Waylon and Sebastian walked through the store. Waylon stopped right next to the underwear section. “There.”
Surrounded by racks upon racks of bras, stood a young woman.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I’m not going in that section!”
“Don’t be such a coward. Go!” Waylon pushed him, roughly this time.
Sebastian made his way towards the woman, trying to pretend he wasn’t walking through a sea of women’s undergarments.
For a third time, Sebastian introduced himself. Instead of throwing out a compliment, he tried a different approach. “I’m trying to find something for my mom. Can you help?”
The woman raised an eyebrow. “You’re trying to find underwear for your mom?”
Sebastian chewed his lip. It did sound weird.
“Actually…” The woman rubbed her chin, gaze focused on Sebastian. “I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
“I’ve never seen you.”
“What did you say your name was again?”
“Sebastian.”
Her eyes wandered across the aisle, where Waylon stood. “Oh God, you’re that pervert who made out with a man. And now you’re looking for women’s underwear for ‘your mom?’ I bet it’s actually for yourself, isn’t it?” The woman backed away from him, nose wrinkled. “Get away from here, you sick freak!”
Sebastian had no problem doing just that. He hurried over to his father. “She recognized me.”
“You’re really difficult, you know that.”
They continued walking, but all other women were either too old, or had a man with them. Soon they reached the men’s section, where Sebastian finally found someone he was truly interested in. A man his age. Not as attractive as Axel, but Sebastian wouldn’t mind taking him home.
I’m supposed to be normal, he thought, tearing his eyes away from the man. Why couldn’t he be attracted to any of the women instead?
“We won’t be finding any women here.” Waylon glared at Sebastian. “Let’s go around.”
Sebastian swallowed, hoping his father hadn’t noticed his interest in the man. Knowing his luck, he probably had. He turned around, and followed his father back through rows of women’s clothes.
Right then, a security guard showed up, accompanied by Bea. “That’s him! That’s the guy who kept harassing me, and two other girls!”
