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| Chapter 12 Usually Jeff would order a huge breakfast and scarf it down, but not today. He was too nervous on this particular morning to have anything except a Coke. His leg uncontrollably bounced up and down repeatedly as he watched out the window for her. His nervousness grew worse the moment he saw Harley walk into the restaurant. "Hey.", he said standing up as she walked over to the booth where he was sitting. "Hey.", she returned as she sat down. He smiled at her as he returned to his seat. "Can I get you anything?", the waitress asked. "Just coffee.", Harley returned. "Alrighty.", the waitress said and hurried off to get the coffee. "So. What did you want to see me about?", Harley asked Jeff. "I’ve given this a lot of thought. I’ve made my decision.", he said still extremely nervous. "Already?", Harley asked extremely nervous herself. She just knew that he was going to walk away from this by how quickly he had made his decision. Things weren’t going to change. Joey would never know and their life would return to normal. She was a little sad, but relieved at the same time. Jeff nodded, "I wanna do it. I wanna be Joey’s Dad." "What?!", she blurted out as she stared at him in disbelief. The two momentarily halted their conversation as the waitress returned with Harley’s coffee. "Thank you.", Harley told her. The waitress smiled and hurried off once again. "This is not something you can take lightly, Jeff. It’s a big decision….a big responsibility. I think you should think about it some more.", Harley said still amazed at his answer. "What is there to think about?", he asked, "He’s my son, that’s quite obvious. He’s my responsibility, no matter how big of a responsibility it is." "But it’s more than just being responsible for him. It’s about a whole life.", Harley informed him. "I know that, Harley." "Do you? Do you really know what it’s gonna be like?", she pried, "He comes first in everything that I do. A decision about a job, or where to live, or even as little as what I have for dinner is solely decided based on him and what he needs or wants - how something is going to effect him. Are you ready for that? For that kind of commitment?" Her eyes searched his for an answer. She wasn’t convinced that he had thought through his decision. Jeff steadied himself and looked deep into her eyes, "I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life." The sincerity and pure emotion that filled his eyes melted Harley’s soul. It was at that moment that she knew she had made the right decision and so had he. He waited for her to say something. Was she going to blow him off or was she listening to him? Did she hear the sincerity in his voice and see the honesty in his eyes? He hoped so. Harley asked the waitress for the check. "I got it.", Jeff said handing the lady a twenty dollar bill, "Just keep the change." He wanted the waitress to go away, as he waited for Harley’s response. He stared at her as she stood up and grabbed her purse. "Okay.", Harley finally said. "Okay?", he asked making sure that he had heard her right. "Okay.", she repeated but with a smile this time. Jeff stood up and hugged her, "Thank you." He continued to hug her. "Jeff?", she said oddly. "Yeah?" "People are staring.", she informed him. He laughed slightly as he released her from his grip and looked around at the people staring at them. He waved slightly and grabbed Harley’s hand as the two walked quickly outside. "Sorry.", he said noticing that her hand was still in his and suddenly letting it go. She seemed a bit embarrassed that she hadn’t noticed either and smiled at him as her cheeks turned red. "So what do we do now?", Jeff asked. "I guess we need to tell Joey.", she said as her smile quickly faded. "Well, let’s go.", Jeff insisted. "No. I should tell him myself." "I wanna be there too." "This is something that I have to do alone. I’m not sure how he’s going to respond. I don’t know if he’s going to hate me because I’ve kept this from him or what. Joey and I need to do this alone.", she insisted. "I’m sure he won’t hate you." "I really just don’t know what to expect." They stood silent for a moment. "How about you call me after you talk to him and let me know what happened.", Jeff suggested. "Okay." "We’ve got a show, here, in Raleigh tonight, but I’ll be home until around two or three o’clock." Harley and Jeff said their good-byes and nervously went their separate ways. How on earth was she going to break this news to her son? She wasn’t sure, but she had to figure out a way and she had to do it quickly. Last Chapter ..*.. Next Chapter ..*.. Chapter Index ..*.. Home |