“Okay, sounds good. I’ll give you a call, but now I need to head to class.” We both stood up, scooting out the chairs in the cafeteria, and grabbing our bags. “Me too.”
We waved to each other as we headed opposite directions on campus but I stopped to grab my phone out when I heard it ringing. I hadn’t let my phone out of sight in the past week and I was hoping that this was finally it.
“Mrs. O’Neil.”
“Yes, this is she.”
“This is Sherry from Diagnostic Labs, we are calling with the results for the DNA testing we performed on Caleb Rossi and Roy Barnum. We can confirm that Mr. Barnum is not excluded as the biological father of Caleb Rossi.
“This in turn means that Mr. Barnum is the father because the analysis shows that their genetic profiles are compatible with a paternity result. These results have also been reported to Mr. Barnum. Do you have any other questions?”
“Nope,” I answered back quietly. “I think you pretty much summed everything up, thank you.” I sat down in the grass and took a deep breath to try to clear my mind. My suspicions had been confirmed, now Caleb’s whole life was probably going to change and I really wasn’t sure what to do. One man could change everything for good. Well, I better just get this over with.
I scrolled through the contacts on my phone and hit the call button, now or never. The phone rang twice before being answered. “Hi Roy, I’m assuming you have already been contacted…”
Chapter 9
Chase
“I don’t like the guy. At all.” I leaned down to whisper in Leah’s ear and she nudged me sharply in the side with her elbow. “Shush, you just met him. Give him a chance, I don’t like this about as much as you, but it looks like he’s getting along with Caleb pretty well. For now, try to push your judgements aside.”
I glanced over at Caleb who was busy showing Roy all of his favorite games at the arcade I usually took him to. Yesterday, that had been me he had been following around. I had pretty much made his year when we finally took him to pick out a dog.
Caleb had taken an instant liking to a chocolate lab mix and we had taken him home. He even got to pick out the name, Tootsie, which he explained to us was because he looked like a Tootsie Roll. The one thing Leah was happy about was that Tootsie was house broken, which meant less work for her.
I continued to watch Caleb and Roy and laughed when Caleb attempted to play skee-ball. It was pretty obvious to just about everyone that the two of them were father and son. Of course Caleb took an instant liking to Roy, that little guy got along with just about everyone. We still hadn’t explained who Roy actually was to him and I wasn’t sure when Leah was planning to.
Caleb tugged Roy along by the hand back to the booth when he saw the waitress deliver our pizza. “So Roy, tell us exactly how you met Leah’s mom. I know what her type was and you certainly don’t look like it. Are you some motorcycle dude who just dresses up in business suits or what? Because I don’t want to be playing any games here.”
“Chase!” Leah’s hand stopped midair where she was sliding a piece of pizza onto Caleb’s plate, narrowing her eyes and thumping me in the chest. Did she actually think that would hurt or something? “I don’t think that is a very appropriate thing to say.”
“No, it’s all right, Leah.” Roy shook his head and gave me a small smile. “I’m sure Chase has questions since this is the first time we’re meeting and I completely understand. I was on a business trip when I passed through and stopped at the bar Marie worked at. Honestly, the place looked seedy and most definitely wasn’t the kind of place I frequented. A long-term relationship that I had been in just ended and I was down in the dumps.
“Trust me, I’m not one to typically drink but that day sort of called for it. Somehow, I ended up going home with Marie, and well, one thing led to another. I can’t say it was a mistake since this little guy is here now, but it was totally out of behavior for me.”
“Alright, I guess I can accept that. I just want to know what your intentions are. Leah has done an awesome job raising Caleb on her own and now the three of us are a family.”
“I understand that, but I would like to get to know Caleb. I’m not trying to steal him away.” I nodded my head, mulling his words over as we all dug into the pizza. Caleb kept up a constant chatter in between bites, telling Roy all about his school and friends.
By the time we were ready to leave, I knew he would crash as soon as he was buckled into his booster seat. I was sure all of that talking had worn him out.
Leah stayed to talk with Roy a few minutes longer while I buckled Caleb in. “All set, baby?” Leah boosted herself up into the truck and quietly shut the door behind her. Sure enough, Caleb was out.