Chapter Nine

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Lance had no idea he was tired enough to have fallen asleep right there in his place on the couch until he was startled awake the next morning by an extremely loud banging on his front door.

The bang was so loud it shook the entire wall of the house, and he immediately opened his eyes and shot up, a pain shooting through his neck.

“Ahhhhh,” he said, grabbing the muscles and giving them a twist to try to relieve the pain.

The bang came even louder, which made him open his eyes wider.

“Lansten!” a loud male voice came from behind the door. “Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!”

He sighed, recognizing the voice.

“You've gotta be kidding me,” he said to himself as he stood off the couch, various joints in his body crackling after sleeping in an unnatural position, and headed toward the door.

The minute he opened it, Justin and Chris stood in front of him.

“Finally,” Justin said with a smile. “We thought you were having trouble finding a hiding place for the hooker.”

Lance glanced over at Chris, who shook his head apologetically.

“I couldn't stop him,” he said.

“Justin, what the hell are you doing here?” Lance asked, letting both of them inside and closing the door behind them. He glanced at his clock. “Christ, it's seven in the morning.”

“No rest for the weary, my friend,” Justin said. “I heard about your little...situation.” He smiled. “I'm curious to meet the little snot rocket that sprung from your loins.”

Lance glanced over at Chris.

“Snot rocket?” he asked.

Chris only shrugged.

“Justin, she's asleep,” Lance said, walking away from the door. “Because she's four and it's seven in the morning. Come back in like ten years and a couple of hours.”

“Daddy?”

The tired voice got the attention of all of them, and Lance looked up to see her standing at the top of the stairs again, rubbing her eyes.

“Guess I came at just the right time,” Justin said with a smirk.

“Daddy, I heard banging,” Kayleigh said.

“I'm sorry, baby,” Lance said, walking towards her. “Daddy has idiot friends.”

He scooped her up in his arms, heading towards the kitchen.

“What the hell are you guys doing here so early?” he asked, noticing they followed him into the kitchen.

“Justin has a vacation,” Chris said, and Lance could detect the sarcasm in his voice. “And lucky us – he decided to stay a couple days in Orlando.”

“Yeah, well, you know,” Justin said, immediately going for Lance's refrigerator. “This is my home away from home. And I figured you guys missed me.”

“Newsflash,” Lance said, walking over and grabbing the carton of orange juice from Justin's hand. “Not so much.”

“What's going on here?” Justin asked. “Mel said the exact same thing.”

“Could it be because you woke her up at six in the morning and tried to lift up her shirt when you saw she wasn't wearing a bra?” Chris asked.

“I was just going for a hug,” Justin said with a smirk. “She moved the wrong way. Total misunderstanding.”

“Sure, Justin,” Chris said.

“I wish I had time to visit guys,” Lance said. “But I've got a lot to do before work. I have to shower and get dressed and get Kayleigh fed and dressed and off to daycare...”

“We can feed the munchkin,” Justin said.

“Daddy, who's that man?” Kayleigh asked, looking at Justin as Lance sat a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal in front of her at the table.

“Nobody, baby, eat your breakfast,” he responded. “No, Justin. I've got a routine. I can handle it. Why don't you and Chris run off and find somebody else to annoy, okay?”

“You're going to keep me from my precious little niece like that?” Justin said.

“You're kidding me, right?” Lance asked, stopping a moment to pour himself coffee. “Ten days ago you didn't know she existed. Ten days ago, I didn't know she existed. Now you're trying to guilt-trip me for not introducing you when we're already running late for work and school?”

“Actually,” Justin said. “I just think it's hilarious that you of all people are now tied down by this routine and you're running around like a beheaded chicken because we disturbed it.”

“Thanks,” Lance said sarcastically as he leaned against the counter.

Just as he had lifted the coffee mug to his lips, he heard another knock on the door.

“You're kidding!” he yelled. Then he turned to look at Justin. “Who did you pay to come bug me even more?”

Justin's mouth dropped. “It wasn't me!”

“As much as I'd hate to defend Justin after all he's done this morning,” Chris said, “it's just me and him. Whoever's at the door isn't here with us.”

Lance groaned, setting his mug down. “Kayleigh, eat. Chris, just...handle Justin the best you can.”

He left the three of them in the kitchen and walked through the living room. Opening the door, he was expecting to see one of his neighbors coming to complain about the noise Justin had caused that morning – but he was surprised to see Rayne standing at his door.

“Miss Parker,” he said, his eyes opening in shock.

“Lance, it's early, I know,” she said. “I hope I didn't wake you up.”

“Uh...no, you didn't,” he said.

“I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time.”

“Chaotic maybe,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Mind if I come in for a few moments?”

He waved her in with his hand, shutting the door behind her.

“I came to say that I'm sorry for yesterday,” she said. “For the way I acted towards you. It wasn't fair to get angry at you for something your friend said and Kayleigh just happened to pick up. And I think I may have...slightly overreacted about the situation.”

“Maybe slightly,” he said with a grin. “But you're forgiven.”

“I think I just...got caught off guard--”

She was about to continue when suddenly, they both heard a crash from the kitchen.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Remember when I said 'chaotic'?” he asked.

He started walking off toward the kitchen with her following quickly behind him. He wasn't surprised to see Justin standing near the counter, with broken glass at his feet.

“Daddy! Uncle Justin broke a glass!” Kayleigh said.

“You know, kid, nobody likes a tattletale,” Justin said.

“You're in trooooouble,” she responded, chewing her Fruit Loops with an open mouth.

Lance sighed, putting his hand up to his head a moment.

“Kayleigh, chew with your mouth closed, please,” he said. “Justin, go home.”

“It was all her fault,” Justin said, pointing at Kayleigh.

Kayleigh turned halfway in her seat, narrowing her eyebrows at him.

“I see you've got your hands full this morning,” Rayne said.

“I'm not sure who's worse, the big one,” Lance said, pointing at Justin, “or the little one. Actually, no – I'm positive the big one is the worst.”

“Exactly how many children do you have that you don't know about?” she joked. “I mean, they seem to just show up at the door...”

“Ha, ha,” Lance said. “Justin, this is Rayne Parker, Kayleigh's daycare teacher. Rayne, this is Justin.”

“Timberlake,” she said. “Oh, I know him. Who doesn't?”

“That was a compliment, right?” Justin asked.

“You know, when my students break something in class, I make them clean it up and I take away one of their stars,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Lance and Chris couldn't help but smirk.

“That doesn't sound quite as kinky as I'd hoped for but hey, whatever lights your fire, baby,” Justin said with a coy smile.

“Clean it up,” she said, not cracking a smile, her tone authoritative.

Justin backed off, despite still having a grin on his face, and bent down to start picking shards of glass off the floor.

“Kayleigh, honey,” she said, “do your daddy a favor and go get dressed. How would you like it if I took you to school today?”

“Yeah!” Kayleigh said, her spoon landing in her bowl and jumping up out of her seat.

“Are you sure that isn't too much trouble?” Lance asked, stepping out of the way as Kayleigh ran between the two of them.

“I'm going that way anyway, aren't I?” she asked with a smile. “It's the least I can do, for the way I acted yesterday. It looks like you have your hands full here, so it would be a help.”

“Are you looking to get out of the profession of teaching and into full-time nannying?” Chris asked.

“No,” Rayne said, shaking her head. “Why? Do you have kids that need one?”

“No, but I'm sure he could use someone to keep him in line,” he said, leaning his head towards Justin.

“Bite me, Pineapple Head,” Justin said, picking up the last shard of glass and putting it in his hand.

Rayne laughed and turned her head towards Lance. “So it really was like this all those years. I thought the antics were just for show.”

“No,” Lance responded. “It was all real. All eight mind-numbing, IQ-dropping years of it.”

“Before I head out with Kayleigh, I was wondering,” she said. “Do you think...maybe you'd like to come with me to take her to the park later tonight? Around 5:30?”

He paused as the room went quiet.

“You know, she can get out, play, get some exercise,” Rayne said. “You and I can talk. Nothing big.”

“Uh...yeah,” Lance said. “That'd be great, actually.”

“If you want, her and I can go after I get off at five. You can just meet us there after work, if that's okay.”

“Yeah, that'd be fine,” he said.

“Great,” she said, smiling. “I look forward to it.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said, returning the smile.

“I suppose I should see if she's ready to go,” Rayne said. “Her room's just upstairs?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Up the stairs, second door to the right, just next to the bathroom. It's the one that looks like a tornado hit it. You can't miss it.”

“Okay,” she said with a chuckle as she walked out of the kitchen, disappearing behind the door frame.

Lance slowly turned to see Chris and Justin both staring at him.

“I think I just got asked out on a date,” he said, keeping his voice low.

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It was fifteen-to-six before Lance finally pulled into one of the parking spaces at the park. He walked through the grass to the sandy pit surrounded by benches, where dozens of kids were already running around through the playground equipment. He saw her sitting at the bench and smiled as she looked at him.

“Sorry I'm late,” he said, his hands in the pockets of his duster coat. “Work hung me up for a bit – minor blow-up.”

“It's okay,” she said with a smile. “I knew you'd make it eventually.”

He looked behind him at the children on the playground, and after only a few seconds he spotted Kayleigh – clad in her puffy pink coat, climbing on the bars of the jungle gym.

“She's having a blast,” Rayne said, smiling as she looked toward Kayleigh. “It's almost as if she's never seen a playground before.”

“I hate to admit that I haven't gotten a chance to take her to do anything like this yet,” he said as he sat down next to her on the bench. “I got all of this sprung on me so fast. I think my head is still spinning.”

“Actually, I was thinking of her mother,” Rayne said, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets. “She says her mom never took her to a park before.”

“Not surprised.” He followed suit, stuffing his hands back in his pockets, away from the cool air. “Her mom was young. I met her when I was twenty, height of the band and the fame, she was probably about the same age – maybe nineteen. One night was all it took. She didn't get to go to college like all her friends. She probably had to work two jobs to keep the bills paid; never got a chance to go to a movie, or go on a date, or go out with her friends, much less take Kayleigh out of the house to go to the park.”

“You feel awful, don't you?” she asked.

“I've felt awful since she came home with me,” he admitted. “Where the hell have I been for four years? I've been a deadbeat all this time.”

“You haven't been a deadbeat,” she said. “A deadbeat is someone who knows he has a child and still doesn't take care of her. For the past two weeks, you've done nothing but dedicate your entire life to Kayleigh.”

“It's a little hard to see it that way when your daughter sees you as a complete stranger,” he said, watching Kayleigh push the hair blowing in the wind out of her eyes. “And when she's a complete stranger to you, too.”

They both went quiet as they watched her play with a boy about her age, watching the two of them chase each other, giggling as they played tag with each other.

“Is she your daughter?”

Lance looked up when he heard somebody step up to him and speak, seeing a dark brunette woman looking at him.

“Yeah,” he said.

“That's my son, Jordan, she's playing with,” she said. “She's adorable.”

Lance smiled. “Thanks.”

“You two have a beautiful little girl.”

Rayne looked up. “Oh. Oh, no--”

“Thank you,” Lance interrupted, smiling again at the woman. Rayne was surprised when he reached out an arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. “She's the best thing that's ever happened to us, isn't she honey?”

Rayne smiled at him. “Oh yes, sweetie,” she said. “Being a mother is so...unexpectedly rewarding.”

He smiled and winked before they both looked back at the woman, saying brief, polite goodbyes as she walked off in the opposite direction.

“I take it back,” she said as he looked at her with a huge grin. “Oh, you are smooth.”

He chuckled. “It's better to just let her believe it. The alternative story is too confusing. Besides, it's a compliment, isn't it?”

“To be confused as her mother, or be confused as your other half?” she asked. “Granted, your superior, much better other half...”

“Ouch,” he said. “That hurt.”

She laughed. “I guess you're not so bad, though.”

“Was it really hard trying not to choke when you said that?”

“Yeah,” she said with another laugh.

They let Kayleigh play for a couple of hours at the park while they talked amongst themselves, and finally left just as it was starting to get dark. Instead of going their separate ways, they decided to go grab dinner at the McDonald's not far away, taking only his SUV. Time slipped away from them quickly, and before either of them knew it, he was parked next to her car in the empty, dark park.

“She's wiped out,” Rayne said, looking back at Kayleigh, who had fallen asleep in her booster seat.

“She's also sandy and dirty,” he said, glancing behind him at the dirt tracks across her cheek from playing with the other kids. “I better get her home. There's baths to take, stories to read...”

“Lance, no matter what you think, you're a great dad,” Rayne said, looking over at him in the darkness. “You're doing good for her, even if you haven't been there for the past four years. You're making up for it.”

He leaned his head back in his seat and looked over at her. She didn't say anything, and neither did he. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he didn't want her to reach over and pull the handle to get out of his car.

“This was a good time,” he finally said. “We should do it again.”

“Yeah, we should,” she said quietly. “I think Kayleigh had a lot of fun.”

He mumbled and nodded his head.

“I mean, I had fun, too,” she said, smiling slightly.

He chuckled. “So did I.”

“I guess I should go home,” she said. “I have to be at school early in the morning.”

He watched her hand reach for the door lever and slightly sighed – but her hand gripped it and pulled, stopping halfway.

“Who am I kidding?” she said with a light chuckle. “I don't want to go home yet.”

She released the door lever from her grasp with a hard thud as it retracted, turning in her seat to look at him.

“I like how I feel when I'm with you,” she said.

“I thought you don't get involved with your students' parents,” he said, looking at her.

“I guess I've never met one that made me want to break my own rules,” she said.

He went silent as he watched her lean in slowly towards him. She lifted her hand, pausing a moment before she placed it on his cheek, inches away from him. Instinctively, he reached up and put his hand on hers before leaning in slightly, finally letting his lips fall onto hers.

He reluctantly pulled back after a few seconds, when she pulled away.

“Now I guess I should go home,” she said with a chuckle, winding her fingers through his as she pulled their hands away from his cheek.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked, holding onto her hand, not willing to let go yet.

“Try and stop me,” she said, smiling.

She gave his hand a squeeze, leaning in once more to place her lips against his.

“Good night,” she whispered as she pulled away.

“Good night,” he said, reluctantly letting go of her hand.

She opened the door and stepped out, smiling at him as she closed it behind her. He watched as she took her keys out of her pocket and stepped into her own vehicle, started the ignition, and backed the car up, quickly driving out of the parking lot.

He sighed, leaning up to turn the keys in his own ignition and let the car's ignition come to life. He reached up to grab his seat belt, pausing to smile just before he pulled it across his body.