Page 100 of Damien
His eyes never leave Julia as Vanessa clears her throat. She suddenly looks unsure of herself as she starts, “Um… Jules? This is… um… a friend of mine from high school. His name is Zach.” Then she turns to Zach who’s doing all he can to keep his face free from emotion.
Unknowingly, Julia turns to greet her biological father in the way she would any friend of hers. “Hi! Did you know an octopus has nine brains? Can you believe each tentacle has a mini brain in it? Isn’t that crazy?” Then Julia turns to me, “Dame just took me to see this man who told us all about it. You missed out on so much fun, Momma.”
“I’m sure I did,” Vanessa agrees.
Zach’s stoic expression cracks as well as his voice, as he says his daughter’s name. “Julia… it’s so nice to finally meet you. Your mom’s been telling me a lot about you.”
Julia scrutinizes Zach the way she would anyone new in her life, then smiles. “You have a lot of tattoos. What does that one say?” she asks innocently, and my heart drops through my stomach.
“April twenty-third,” Zach admits quietly.
Julia’s eyes widen as she asks, “Really?”
Zach’s eyes blink rapidly as he nods once, but his lips press in a straight line, as if he’s holding back from saying more.
Julia misses this as she rushes out, “That’s my birthday.”
“It’s a special day for me, too,” Zach admits quietly as he keeps his eyes trained on her.
I have zero doubt this is a coincidence.
When I look to Vanessa, her eyes are wide, and the pit in my stomach churns as a sense of déjà vu hits me. Ohmigod, it feels like Amber all over again. He may have been absent for the last few years, but he hasn’t forgotten Julia—or Vanessa for that matter—with a tattoo like that. Clearly, they still mean something to him.
Julia smiles innocently. “That’s cool. Momma says I can only have the fake kind of tattoos. But yours are real, right?”
This earns a genuine laugh and a smile that looks just like Julia’s. “These are real, all right. Most of them have to do with something from the Navy, but a few are personal, too.”
True to form, Jules begins to pepper Zach with questions. “What’s the Navy?”
“It’s a branch of the military. You know—the men and women who protect our country?” Vanessa intervenes.
“I start kindergarten next year. Did you know Momma then?”
Chuckling, Zach’s posture relaxes. “No… I didn’t meet your mom until high school. But just lookin’ at you, I’m sure you’re gonna grow up just like her.”
Julia rolls her eyes. “Unks says I’m her mini-me.”
“How is Vince?” Zach asks Vanessa.
“He’s good. He attends Columbia River University with me and is vacationing this week in New York City,” Vanessa answers.
Zach nods and quietly asks, “Are you still pursuing nursing?”
Apparently, he wasn’t just a one-night stand. He genuinely cared about her at some point.
Vanessa nods. “I’ll graduate next year.”
“That’s great.” Zach nods. “You always knew what you wanted and never let anything get in your way.”
For some reason, Vanessa finds this funny. “Nope. My family wouldn’t let me, even if I tried.”
“Yeah. I never thought they would,” Zach agrees then turns his attention to me.
Vanessa quickly blurts out, “Geez, where are my manners?” With an apologetic smile, she says, “Zach, this is Damien.”
Zach stands to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you, Damien.”
The verdict’s still out whether this is a good thing, so I just nod an acknowledgement.
