~*~*~ TWO YEARS LATER ~*~*~
Richie heard the toot of a horn outside and called to his wife, “Ava’s here, darlin’!” He stepped out the door and into the California sunshine. He grinned as his daughter came running up the driveway, and waved as his ex-wife and her husband pulled away. “Daddy! Today’s the day, right?”
“Well, I don’t know...” Richie said, laughing at his daughter’s pout.
“You PROMISED that when I turned thirteen, you’d take me!”
“Rich,” Jennifer said, standing in the doorway, textbook in hand. She pressed her hand to the small of her back, trying to stretch the kinks out of it. “Don’t tease her.”
“You alright, my love?” Richie asked, concerned.
“We’re just fine,” Jen said. “Your son wants to ride too, I guess,” she said, rubbing her abdomen. “Either that, or he’s tired of doing math homework.”
Ava waved to Jen. “You’re getting HUGE! How’s school?”
Jennifer laughed. “I know I’m getting big your father tells me all the time. Another ten weeks, and you’ll have a little brother to spoil. School’s just fine, though I hope your brother waits until after exams to make his arrival. For now, we’re good; go have fun.”
“You take it easy, young lady,” Richie said. Leaning down to kiss Jen’s abdomen, he added, “and you be good for Mommy; let her finish studying.” He straightened, kissed his wife briefly on the lips, then turned to his daughter, who was practically bouncing with anticipation. “Okay, c’mon, princess. Let’s go.”
Richie led Ava around to the garage. There, tucked in between his BMW and the GMC truck was a beautiful Harley Fatboy: Jennifer’s Harley. He handed his daughter Jen’s jacket, the one with his Who Dares tattoo replicated on the back, and was surprised to see it wasn't as large on her as he thought it would be. He threw his leg over the seat of the bike and ran a hand over the "Hath" that was written in an elegant script across the tank. His wedding ring glinted in the afternoon sun as he traced the name of the woman he loved.
Ava donned her helmet and climbed on the bike behind her father, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Lean the way I lean,” Richie said to her. “You’ll be perfectly safe.”
“I know, I know; you told me a zillion times. Let’s just GO already, Daddy!” an impatient Ava insisted.
With a whoop of laughter, Richie kicked the Harley to life. The engine roared, and they took off down the driveway, waving to Jennifer as they passed.
4 comments:
Okay I have to say I love them both. It's not that I have to have HEA...but lately it seems that everyone is killing off their character...just doesn't feel original..if that makes sense. Your a superb writer and I have enjoyed reading this fiction.
In my defense, I don't read much other fiction, and I killed this character off more than 18 months ago on T's Place. I just got around to getting it all posted recently :)
Thanks for the comments though.
~ Hath
Hath, don't know how you do it, but you ar ea very talented writer. I must admit that the original end had made be cry my heart out. It was so sad, but darn well written. The HEA was good also and that what I needed to cure my broken heart after reading the first ending. Keep writing please.
I did like the happy ending better. The sad ending touched too close to home for me. One of my Best friends died of cancer and her boyfriend and she of 20 plus years had a commitment ceremony about 20 hours before she passed. Great story I could not wait for the next chapter. Kept on saying to myself ok only one more before bed which turned into two or 3. Thank you It was great.
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