Page 3 of Royal Fling
“Luke, are you okay?” Leo asked, one hand on my shoulder, the other hand picking up my phone and taking a peak. “Holy shit. Youfoundher?”
My eyes stung and before I realized I burst into tears when Leo took me in his arms and held me tight right there.
“I found her,” I mumbled over and over again.
I’d been looking for my birth parents for so long that I’d started to lose hope of ever finding them.
But it happened.
I found her.
I had no idea how long I was crying in Leo’s arms, but when we pulled apart, I felt this weight lift off my shoulders and this flutter in my chest at the promise of meeting her.
Leo held my phone and read the details to me. Good thing because I didn’t think I could hold myself together long enough to read it myself.
“She lives in London,” he said. “Do you want me to message her? I can fly you out there if you want. You can stay at my place. What do you want to do, sweetie?”
What did I want to do? I wanted to meet her. I wanted to meet my birth parents and finally reconnect with a part of me I’d never been able to.
“I… I want to do it,” I said with uncertainty, then with a lot more confidence, “I’ll do it.”
The next few days went by in a hurry, and I was in this weird limbo between happiness and disbelief.
Thankfully, I had my family to help me take care of things so when I left the house that Friday, I was somewhat holding myself together.
The closer we got to the airport, the more real this whole thing was becoming and the more anxious I got.
“Luke,” my dad called from the driver seat.
I shook my head clear and looked at him.
He turned to look out the window, and I realized we were already at the airport in Newport News.
“Right,” I said and opened the door to get out.
My dad joined me at the trunk, pulling my suitcase out and handing it to me.
“Have you got your passport?”
I nodded, taking out my travel wallet.
“Have you got your ticket?”
I nodded again and lifted my phone toward him where my e-ticket was stored.
“Got Leo’s keys?”
I patted my backpack’s pocket where Leo’s house keys were stored, along with the alarm code.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” Dad asked, and I finally looked up at him.
He was getting on in age at sixty-two, but his brown eyes were still shining with his paternal love, and his wrinkles deepened with worry that he would never share with me.
He hadn’t always been a great father, especially after mom passed away, but in his own way, he’d always been there for me. For all of us, really. And I knew he worried that he’d lose me to my birth parents even though I’d reassured him—all of them—that they were my family no matter what.
The only reason I wanted to find my parents was because I wanted to connect with my roots.
“I’ll be fine, Dad. I need to do this alone.”I think.
