Page 6 of Born To Be My Baby

"I'm sorry, Mina. He told me he didn't want to have to worry about me while he was building his career. I was able to feed myself, go to the bathroom. Walk. Talk. A baby can't do any of those things. If he couldn't handle a grown woman, he surely wouldn't want a baby."

"But later? When I was older and asked."

"I didn't know anything about him then. Where he was or what he was doing."

Mina stepped forward, so they were nearly toe to toe.

"You knew about Jami Hart. I told you he was with Hart & the Hurricanes! Didn't that jog something in you?"

Her eyes rounded as she stared at Mina's glassy eyes. "No. I'll be honest, I wasn't focusing on that at all. I know it sounds like bullshit, but I didn't. And, if I had, we could have avoided that spectacle downstairs altogether."

Mina raised her hands in front of her and fisted her fingers. All she could say was "Arrrgh!"

She turned and stalked to the door. Twisting the knob, she turned. "You need to come downstairs right this minute. Sammy wants to speak to you and then, somehow, we need to get through this interview. I have hired a camera crew, a sound crew, and we have a gig scheduled at the bar on the beach with Chris Stapleton. We. Are. Going. Through. With. This."

Mina swept herself out the door and left it open. Gloria listened to her footsteps as she stomped down the stairs.

Gloria's thoughts raced, then the thought of Mina and Sean speaking alone propelled her out the door like nothing else could have. She nearly ran down the stairs. As she turned the corner, she saw Mina wiping tears from under her eyes near the door of the sitting room. Her heart ached for this moment in time, added to the other moments in time she'd lied about Mina's father. Or avoided the truth, which was nearly the same thing. She was ashamed of herself. She'd let her anger guide her decisions on Mina's behalf, and that wasn't fair.

She slowly approached Mina. Laying a hand on Mina's shoulder, she whispered, "I love you."

Mina's eyes swept to hers. She stared for a few minutes, then twisted the knob on the door and stepped through it.

Gloria rotated her head on her shoulders, pulled them back, and stepped through the door to face whatever pile of shit was waiting for her. Never in her life did she think this could happen. She'd shielded herself from thinking about any of this because she thought it would never happen.

Flashes of the information Mina had collected on Sammy Fender raced through her mind. Is he married? No. Does he have children? No. What does he do in his spare time? What spare time?

6

Sean walked through the gardens around the BnB. The sun was shining, the flowers were beautiful, the humidity was cloying. Beads of sweat slid down his back and his temples. He was used to sweating while playing. They were under hot lights, in front of big crowds, and working their asses off playing unbelievably fantastic music.

Over all these years, they'd been a stellar cover band. They could sing music from all the greats. It had only been the past two years that they began playing their own music. Interspersed with their cover music, little by little their popularity grew.

Finally, their dreams...at least his and Jami's dreams were coming true. And, now this wrench, in the form of a gorgeous, smart, efficient daughter, entered the scene. How would this change things? In his mind, it didn't have to change his life much. She was obviously a grown woman. But he wanted to know about her. Did she go to college, or did Gloria just give her a job? Did she like what she was doing? What was her favorite color?

Swiping his forehead with the pads of his fingers, he turned toward the front door of the BnB to see if she was ready to talk to him. He sucked in a large gulp of air before twisting the handle on the door. Cool air washed over him as he stepped inside. The tingling of the bell above the door caused the manager to step from the kitchen. He held his hand up in front of him.

"It's just me."

She nodded and stepped back into the kitchen.

His eyes darted to see if anyone was around in any of the rooms. There was a dining room, a living room, a smaller sitting room, and then there was THE room. He didn't know if Gloria or Mina were back in that room or not, but he knew Mina said they'd be down soon, so he'd go sit in there and wait. It would be better if he could speak to Mina alone. Wouldn't it? Maybe he needed Gloria to confirm what he already knew in his gut. He had a daughter, and she'd never told him. That daughter was now about, what? Twenty-five or six? Shit.

He scraped his hands through his dark hair. He had some grays in it, but not that many. He'd gotten his father's genes in the way of hair and coloring. He was grateful for it now.

He twisted the doorknob and stepped into the room. Mina was discussing something with the camera and sound man. They turned when he entered the room.

Mina turned and stared at him. Her eyes then darted to her mom's. He twisted his head to see Gloria standing near the window, staring out at the flowers.

He took in another deep breath and slowly moved toward Gloria.

"I think we need to talk. Do you want to do it in public or in private?" he asked.

She straightened her shoulders, turned woodenly toward him, and said, "I think we should do it in private."

He nodded and stepped back. He held his hand out toward the door. "After you."

She started toward the door, stopped, and looked at Mina.

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