Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,74

moment before jumping out of the car.

He didn’t want to lose his nerve.

His father was already approaching the door before Tommy could knock and when the older man opened it, his complexion paled dramatically. “Hello, Colonel,” Tommy greeted his father.

“Tommy? Is that you?” The Colonel—once a strong, overbearing presence—had seemed to diminish significantly over the years. He stepped out onto the porch, squinting at his son. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was just in the area.” Years of pent-up anger boiled beneath the surface of Tommy’s calm demeanor. “Thought I’d drop by.”

“I’m Penny.” Suddenly she was there beside him, reaching out to shake the older man’s hand.

“I know exactly who you are.” Tommy was confused. His father had never even met Penny. “I’ve seen you two in the papers. You’re married now, eh?”

“That’s right,” Penny told him. “Tommy and I met in Ravenside.”

“Why don’t you two come on in? I just put some coffee—”

“No, Colonel. We were just passing through.” Penny glared at him.

“Don’t mind him. We would love a cup of coffee.” She smiled warmly at the Colonel, allowing the older man to slip his arm through hers and lead her into the house. Tommy stood outside for a moment, unsure of what was going on.

When he finally joined them inside, Penny was sitting on the couch while his father brought out a pot of coffee. Tommy glanced around the room while the two of the spoke—something about the weather.

And he was stunned to find every single Christmas card he’d sent his father standing on the bookshelf. On the walls were posters from his movies.

For a moment, he wavered, his anger fading just a bit.

What was all of this?

“I’ve been keeping tabs, even if you haven’t.” The Colonel spoke. “Seen every one of those movies in theaters.”

“You hate movies.”

“I didn’t hate yours.” Tommy felt a ball form in his throat almost immediately. “I think you could do something with a little more plot every once and awhile. Believe me, there’s more to life than fights and explosions.”

“He’s actually written something, Colonel Davidson. I think it’s something you might appreciate.”

“Oh yeah?” The older man looked at his son expectantly, but Tommy couldn’t find his voice. He was too thrown by the pictures on the wall.

“It’s about a father, actually. A father who loses the love of his life, and with it, his will to live.”

“That sounds like something I could understand.” When Tommy turned around, he was surprised to find tears glistening in his father’s eyes. “Actually, that sounds a lot like something I should have faced a long time ago.”

The Colonel looked down at the floor.

“I can give you two a minute, if you’d like,” Penny offered.

“No, you can stay, Pen. Whatever he has to say, he can say it in front of you.” He didn’t have to look at her to know she was biting her lip nervously, not wanting to intrude on anything.

“Tommy’s right, dear. You should hear this, too.” The older man took a heavy breath before he began speaking again. “You never had the pleasure of knowing your mother, Tommy. But she was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman in the world. You remind me a lot of her, with your hair and your eyes.

“You have no idea how hard it was for me, looking at you every day. Being reminded of what I had lost. And to make matters worse, I didn’t know how to take care of a baby. I didn’t know anything about parenting. All I knew was the Military.”

“That much was obvious.”

“Tommy,” Penny snapped at him.

“Well, it’s true, Pen. You have no idea how many times I heard that I was never going to amount to anything—”

“You didn’t make things any easier for me, Tommy. Always running around, acting out. I didn’t know how to take it—I had never gone through that phase. I’d always had your mother there.” The older man sighed a very haggard sounding breath. “If I could take it all back, son, I would. I didn’t realize how much I really cared about having you in my life until you were gone.

“It’s tough, losing the love of your life. It’s even harder when it happens twice.”

Tommy looked up at his father, the ball in his throat painful now.

“I didn’t realize how talented you were. You and I are so much alike, I just thought you’d be best suited for the same life I lived.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“I know, I see that now. I saw that years