“That must be your dad’s car,” I say, noting the not too shabby looking foreign car parked in the driveway.
“Well, let’s get this over and done with.”
Jacinta takes a deep breath, grappling with her emotions right up until we’re at the front door which promptly swings wide open.
Adelle I know, but I have to do a quick double-take as a hand is thrust into mine.
“Kyle? Mike Matthews, pleasure. Pleasure to meet you,” the man says, his eyes widening at my size which I get a lot.
But it’s surely me who he has at a disadvantage.
And it isn’t long before he embraces his daughter warmly that Jacinta promptly bursts into tears, which is understandable. Her mom seems…
Different.
Almost, dare I say it? Happy.
She looks genuinely happy for the first time I’ve seen her so far.
But Mike, Jacinta’s dad is just so…
Old is the only word for it.
“I think we’d all feel better if we sat down,” Adelle chimes in, helping Jacinta and her dad through to the lounge, leaving me with a puzzled expression.
Both her parents seem surprised to see me with Jacinta, and I think even Jacinta’s a little taken aback by her dad’s appearance.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with older people. And god knows I’m no spring chicken.
But the guy must be in his sixties, maybe older.
Both Adelle and I keep our emotions in check while Jacinta and her dad reconnect after so long.
Feeling like a bit of a third wheel, I seize the chance to let Adelle know about the redevelopment plans.
“I’ve changed my mind about the redevelopment details,” I tell her in a low voice, watching her brows raise with interest.
“Not going ahead with it?” she asks knowingly. Almost wanting to hear me say that.
“Oh no. It’s gonna happen, but we’ll be looking to keep the small town feel. Hopefully bring a few more original residents back to Cherry,” I remark, casting my gaze towards the man I assume Adelle is still in love with.
If the look in her eyes is anything to go by, it wasn’t just her daughter who had a happy evening, nor the only one to have found the love of her life.
Even if it is for the second time around.
Adelle’s face seems to soften as she looks at me and then at her daughter.
Both Mike and Jacinta make for the kitchen to get coffee, but it’s clear they need a father-daughter talk in private, which is okay with me.
I can still see my girl from where I’m sitting.
“I suppose you want some answers?” Adelle mutters, and then taking a deep breath, explains at least one thing to me.
“I knew where Jacinta was, Kyle. I just didn’t want to admit to myself that she’d found something I thought I’d lost…”
My brows furrow in question.
“Before Mike came home, I thought I’d lost Jacinta to you for good. On top of that, it was you and all your redevelopment talk… Scared the shit outta me. Made me think I’d have no job or a place to live either, as well as losing Jacinta. And all in the same day,” she exclaims.
“But… Mike did come back?” I venture to say. “And not just to see if he could get in on a real estate development,” I add, seeing the answer written all over Adelle’s face.
“He fell in love with a younger girl too… All those years ago. Me. Then Jacinta came along and things were great for a while,” she explains, not having to lower her voice for Jacinta’s sake anymore.
Her dad is obviously explaining the same thing to her as we speak.
“What happened then?” I ask her. “Why’d he take off and stay gone for so long. Was it just a money thing?”
It’s the question I’d rather ask Mike myself, but Adelle seems more than qualified to answer on his behalf.
“Fear of what we’d think of him. Fear of what the town would think,” she says firmly. Matter of fact.
“A week away turned into a month and after another six months it was just…”
“Too awkward,” I suggest and we both nod.
But fifteen years? Jesus.
“Mike was never totally broke. Only for a while,” she continues.
“He made a deal with the Figaro group, old business friends of his. They loaned him money when nobody else would. The same people who bought him out to try and help him in the first place…”
“So the house is Mike’s, Jacinta’s fathers?” I ask, just wanting to clear that up.
Adelle nods.
“Her schooling too, he paid for that. And here I was thinking that the Figaro group were just really nice people letting me live here and work in their diner. Thinking that Jacinta’s college fund was a scholarship,” she says, sighing and glancing toward the kitchen.
Smiling when Jacinta and her dad reappear.
A tray of coffee and cake for all of us.