my public flogging. The good news was that the walk provided another opportunity for some father/daughter bonding.
As strange as it might sound, we grew much closer during my stint in prison. In the prior years, I’d been too busy with my career, hobnobbing with celebrities, and cheating on her mother. Taylor visited me almost every week, and to prove her Collins family sense of humor, she’d often bring me a gag gift like a Hostess cupcake with a nail file stuck in it like a birthday candle. The guards didn’t always find it as funny as I did.
“Thanks for my Christmas gift, Dad … it’s the best gift ever! At least until you buy me that private jet I’ve had my eye on,” she said with a smile.
I looked at her with surprise, which she read. “Mom didn’t mean to give it away, but the camp called to confirm this week and I answered. I’m so excited to go!”
“Well, now that your grandparents are claiming to be destitute, you’re going to need to get that field hockey scholarship if you want to go to college.”
“Yeah, they’ll probably have to sell their kidneys just to scrape by.”
Or sell mine.
“And Dad,” she flashed me her teenage look of disappointment. “It’s lacrosse camp, not field hockey. You only went to like ten of my games last fall.”
“Lacrosse—that’s what I meant.” The T-shirt she often wore popped into my head. “Chicks with sticks, right?”
“Ewe … when you say it, it sounds like tranny porn.”
You haven’t lived as a parent until you hear your little bundle of joy utter the term ‘tranny porn.’ “Your mom said this camp is the one you really wanted to attend, and it fits perfectly into your winter break from school.”
“The coach from Clemson is going to be instructing there. I really want to impress her … and get that scholarship. That’s where I really want to go.”
“Clemson? I thought Syracuse was your top choice?”
“It was … like last year! Do you ever pay attention?”
I thought it was obvious that I didn’t.
“I’m thinking I wanna go to a warm weather school. And it’s only like a few hours from Grandpa’s place in Hilton Head—he said I can use the place when I’m on break.”
That didn’t sound like a good idea, but I couldn’t quibble with the warm weather part. I took notice that Taylor was shivering, so I removed my suit jacket and placed it over her bare shoulders. If I were a better parent, I would have thought to do it about an acre ago, but I was making progress, and I think she respected that I was giving an honest effort. At least that’s what her smile told me.
We entered the party area, which led me to think that warning signs should be posted, like at the beach when the surf is too rough. The speakers were now blaring “Silent Night.” I could only hope.
“Seeing you in a suit reminds me of way back when we were kids. You were so Don Draper back then, always duded up,” Taylor commented.
Way back … as in a whole four years ago. “I can’t believe how much older you look in that dress. You’re turning into a woman, no matter how much I want to hold you back.”
“Speaking of old, I love how you’re rocking the gray goatee.”
My face still gave off that boyish innocence that was always very effective with juries, and occasionally got me carded at the liquor store. But the recent addition of the gray in the facial hair did make me appear closer to my age of forty-one, closing in on forty-two—maybe it’s a sign that I was finally growing up. The hair on the head was still its natural dishwater blond. I grew it out after my release, after having it cut to the nub while doing my time.
Physically, I came out of prison in the best shape of my life, and for the first time in my life I had visible abs muscles. But after suffering through three years of prison food, I fell off the wagon after my release, and have gained twenty pounds in nine months, most of it in my gut. Luckily, my custom-tailored suit hid it well … along with the bulletproof vest I was wearing.
Kristmas Collins Excerpt (Chapter 3)
Taylor escorted me through the marble foyer into the grand reception hall. When we entered the ballroom, my eyes immediately went to its signature double-staircase at the north end of the room