Page 58 of After the Red Carpet
He put his hand on her cheek and gave her a gentle kiss. “I’ll be here for anything you need. From the bottom of my heart, I hope it goes the way you want it to. You deserve only good things, Ella. I love you.”
ELLA WALKED THROUGH THE RESTAURANTdoor, the chime ringing in her ears as her pulse quickened. She immediately spotted her father sitting in a booth by the window, nervously running his hand through his dyed brown hair. Her heart continued to race as she approached, and he rose to greet her.
“Hi. Wow,” he said, doing a double take. “You look so much like your mother in person, even more than in photos.”
“Hi,” she said. “I’m not sure what to do, or even what to call you.”
He put one hand on her shoulder and gave her an awkward peck on the cheek. They sat down opposite each other. “Call me Bruce,” he said.
A waitress came over and asked, “Can I get you something to drink, honey?”
“An orange juice, please,” Ella replied.
“Coffee for me, black,” Bruce added. He turned to Ella and said, “It’s hard to know where to begin.”
“Why did you leave?” He looked at her blankly, as if totally unprepared for the question. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to blurt that out, but . . .”
“Carmen and I . . .”
“My mother.”
“Yes. Your mother and I ended our relationship. She’s a very seductive woman. I didn’t know what hit me when we met. The affair came out of left field. It was a fiery relationship from the start. Lust. Passion. Eventually, that faded. Plus . . .” He got quiet as the waitress delivered their drinks.
“Are you two ready to order?” the waitress asked.
“We need some time, please,” Ella replied. She looked at Bruce. “You were saying.”
“The relationship just naturally fizzled with Carmen, your mother. Plus, I was married. I needed to try to make it work with my wife.”
“But why did you leaveme?” she asked.
He squirmed a bit before saying, “You had your mother. My wife and kids needed me.”
Her eyes fell to her lap and she leaned back in her seat, away from him. “I was your kid too,” she mumbled.
“Yes, but you know what I mean. I had never lived with you. You didn’t depend on me, like my family did.”
Ella took a sip of her juice to buy a moment to gather her thoughts. “How many kids do you have?”
“Two. My daughter is five years older than you, and my son is—well, he’s just about your age.”
“So, you were . . .”
“Sleeping with my wife when I was seeing your mother. It was complicated. We’re all grown-ups. I’m sure you can understand.”
She shook her head as if trying to make sense of what she was hearing. “You said you have two kids. I guess that’s how you think about it, but you have three. You have me too.”
“Yes, of course. But you know what I mean. Two kids I raised.”
“Do they know about me? Do they know they have a half sister?”
Bruce sighed. “My wife never found out about the affair with your mother, so . . .”
“I see,” she said.
“Would you like to see pictures of them?” he asked. Ella nodded, and he scrolled through his cell phone before handing it to her. “That’s my daughter with her husband and their two kids. The next one is my son. Still a bachelor.”
She slid the phone back to him. “So, you have grandkids.”
