Second Chances
© Amazon Writer 2012
*Author's Note* I have been working on this story on and off for the past ten years or so. I have tweaked and re-tweaked it I don't know how many times. I hoping to one day be able to have it acceptable for publication. The title "Second Chances" is a working title, I have yet to find something more original, so if any one of you readers has any ideas, I am open to suggestions as the story progresses.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story, I do hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to let me know what you think – if you loved it or hated it.
*Disclaimers* Any resemblance to actual persons (live or dead) and/or places is purely coincidental.
Danielle O'Grady glanced around the lecture room, amused at some of the expressions on her Anthropology 100 students' faces as they concentrated on their exams. Looking down at her wristwatch she noted the time to be 4:30 on the dot. "All right everyone, time's up. Pencils down please. Pass your answer sheets and your test booklets to the right. Two piles, please!"
Groans were heard as pencils were laid down and papers were shuffled to the right.
"What are all these groans for? Didn't anyone study?" Professor O'Grady frowned. "I sure as hell hope so, considering you've known about this test for three weeks. All right, get out of here! I'll see you on Thursday."
The tall woman sighed as she trekked up the right hand side of the lecture hall gathering the exams as she went. When she reached the top of the steps she paused to place the exams in her briefcase and pull her car keys out of the hip pocket of her jeans. As she walked out into the warm September sunshine she slipped on her dark sunglasses over her bright blue eyes. She hit the button on her key-tag deactivating the alarm system on her 1998 Toyota Rav4.
"Hi Mom!" A little voice chirped from the front room of the big house.
"Hey baby." Dani smiled as she walked over to where her daughter sat on the floor watching cartoons. She grabbed her child off the floor and swung her around in a circle. "C'mere you!"
"Mommy!" Lexi shrieked.
Dani set the little girl back on her feet. "Were you good for Gramma and Grampa today?"
"Mom!"
"Just checking," Dani laughed. "Why don't you get your things together and put your sneakers on, okay? We're heading home as soon as I talk with Gramma and Grampa."
"Okay, if I have to." The little girl sighed, trudging over to the front door where she had left her shoes.
Dani rolled her eyes at her daughter's dramatics and headed out to the kitchen where she knew she'd find her mother. "Hey Ma."
"Hi dear, how did your day go?"
"It went." Dani sighed as she snatched a carrot stick from the pile on the counter, narrowly escaping getting her hand slapped. She grinned as she watched her mother waggle a finger at her.
"YOU! You're just as bad as the kids are, you know that?" Diane scolded, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Yeah, but you wouldn't have me any other way." Dani replied cheekily.
The older woman rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Sometimes I wonder about you, child."
Just then the back door opened and Dani's father, Nate, walked in. "Hey Runt."
"Hey Dad," Dani smiled as she hugged her father. "How are ya?"
The older man grinned as he let go of his second born, "Gettin' old. What about you?"
"Gettin' old too." Dani laughed.
"Dani, my girl, you're just kitten yet!" Her father laughed as he washed his hands at the sink.
A few moments later, Lexi who ran in to hug her grandfather. "Hi Grampa!"
"Hey there Darlin'!" Nate swung his granddaughter up into his arms. "Boy, oh boy! You're gettin' so big."
"Grampa!" Lexi giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're silly."
Dani watched her father play with his granddaughter and felt very fortunate that he was still here to enjoy his grandchildren. It hadn't been too long ago when her father had ended up in the hospital with a serious heart attack. It was then that her older brother, Mark, had convinced their parents to move back home in Camden, New York. Dani had followed three months later when she had received an offer of Professorship at Camden University.
Dani shook her head in amusement. "All right you two, it's time for us to be going now. Say goodbye Lex."
"Goodbye Lex." Lexi giggled again as Nate put her down.
The mother rolled her eyes, wondering just whom was teaching her daughter to be a smart ass. "Okay wise-guy, grab your backpack and head out to the car." She shook her head as Lexi dragged her feet out the front door, and then turned to her parents. "Thanks for watching her Mom."
"Anytime Dani, you know that." Diane said as she hugged her daughter.
Dani stood in the kitchen slicing an apple when the front door banged open. She smiled as Lexi ran into the apartment.
"Mommy?"
"Hey there Sweetpea!" Dani greeted warmly, wrapping her arms around her child. "How was your day at school?"
"It was okay." Lexi replied as she squirmed in her mother's hold.
"Well, I'm happy you had a good day today sweetheart." Dani smiled and hugged her daughter tightly. "Why don't you go put your backpack in your room while I finish making your snack?"
"Okay." Lexi scampered off to do as she was told. Dani shook her head, she had hoped that Lexi would make some new friends here but maybe it was a little too soon. Give her time, Dani.
Lexi immediately reappeared in the small living room, "What did you do today, Mom?"
"Well, Gramma and I went shopping, and then I went to my office at the college for a little while."
Lexi wrinkled her nose. "Gee, sounds like fun."
Dani frowned. "Be nice."
"Sorry."
"Uh huh, I'll bet you are." Dani growled playfully and reached for her daughter. "C'mere you!"
Lexi laughed and begged her mother to stop tickling her. "I'll be good!"
"Better be." Dani warned playfully. "Or the tickle monster is coming back."
That evening Dani found a box buried in her closet that she hadn't opened in several years. With a sad smile she carried it across the room and gently placed it on the bed. When she lifted off the cover she was greeted with a most precious sight, a picture of herself and her childhood friend at a neighborhood barbeque the summer after their junior year of high school. In it Dani had her arms wrapped around her friend's waist and they were gently kissing. Dani smiled at the memory, "Oh Brie! I wonder where you are now."
She spent the next few minutes staring off into space, remembering her best friend and high school sweetheart. After a while she shook her head to clear away the bittersweet memories. With a chuckle, she pulled the next picture out of the box. This one showed the two of them, still locked in the embrace, wearing a look of shock on their faces as they had just been caught kissing.
As she went through the box she found a tiny white cast, now gray with age. "I can't believe this is still intact. It's gotta be almost twenty years old!"
It was late when Dani finished going through the items in the box and then packing them away once more with care. She vowed then and there, that she would do everything she could to find her beloved friend. Even if it was just to say hello.
One afternoon Lexi came home from school wreathed in smiles, excited to tell her mother all about her day, hardly stopping to take a breath. "And guess what, Mom?"
"What?"
"I made a new friend today." Lexi smiled happily.
Dani knew how difficult it was for her young daughter to make friends at school. The little girl was very shy and often quiet. "That's great! I'm proud of you. What's your new friend's name?"
Lexi smiled at her mother's praise. "Angel."
"I'm so happy that you found a friend, Sweetpea. How did you meet?"
"Well, ya see? I forgotted my lunch money, but I didn't know it 'til lunchtime. Then Angel came over to the table I was sittin' at an' asked me if I wanted t' share her lunch."
"That was very nice of her to share with you." Dani smiled. "I'm sorry you forgot your lunch money, but next time call me. Okay?"
"Okay." Lexi agreed as she finished her snack of apple slices and peanut butter. "I'm gonna go play now."
"What about homework?"
"It's Friday, Mom. Remember, no homework Fridays?"
"Oh how silly of me!
As the next few weeks of school went by Dani began to notice a change in her young daughter. Lexi was coming home smiling and would tell her all about what she and her friend did together during recess and lunch. She was pleasantly surprised when Lexi came home one afternoon, begging for permission to have a sleep over.
Despite being pleased at her normally reserved daughter's request, and although she did not want to curtail Lexi's excitement, Dani had to insist that Lexi follow the rules about having a sleep over. "What's got happen before I say 'yes'?"
Lexi rolled her eyes, "Ya gotta meet the parents."
Dani nodded, "That's right. Why?"
"Safety first. Ya don't want me stayin' over at someone's house if ya don't know my friend's parents." Lexi sighed.
"Exactly!" Dani smiled at Lexi's antics. "Now isn't 'Parent's Night' coming up at school?"
Lexi brightened, "Yeah!"
"Well, if your friend's mom and dad are there, I'll talk to them and see what we can do. Okay?"
"But Angel's in a different class! And she's in third grade, not fourth!"
"We will figure it out, I promise."
Lexi smiled and nodded.
"Good! Now why don't you go do your homework while I fix supper?"
"All right, if I gotta."
Dani watched her daughter's dramatic antics as she dragged herself off to complete her homework and shook her head, smiling. As she set about getting supper going, she noticed the flashing red dot on the answering machine. She hit the button to play the messages as she walked by, the first one was a hang up, and the second one was a sales rep trying to sell her some gadget or another. Both of these she deleted, it was the third one that caught her off guard.
"Hi, this is Jaime Griffin. I'm looking for DJ O'Grady…"
Dani didn't even bother to listen to the rest of the message; she just grabbed the phone and dialed the number that the woman on the machine had given. All thoughts of dinner slipped from her mind as she waited nervously for her call to be answered.
"Hello? Griffin residence." A young boy answered.
"Hi, may I speak to Jaime please?"
"Just a minute." There were sounds of voices and movements in the background as she waited to hear her longtime friends' voice.
"Hello?"
"Jaime? It's DJ."
"Oh my God! I can't believe it, wow! How the hell are ya, girl?!"
Dani smiled, "I'm doing well, thanks. Yourself?"
"Much better now, my friend. I heard you were back in town and I just HAD to call you."
"Oh yeah? Well I'm glad you did. It's really great to hear your voice!"
The two went on talking for the better part of an hour. Dani had settled into the comfortable couch, not realizing how much time had passed until Lexi came wandering into the room wanting to know when dinner was going to be ready. She held out her hand for Lexi to take and helped her up onto the couch to sit beside her as she finished up her conversation.
"Listen, DJ, we're having a party here on Saturday. Why don't you come? It would be fun."
"What kind of party?" Dani frowned, hoping that she'd be able to take Lexi with her.
"Oh you know, fire up the grill one last time, have a few drinks, play a few games with and without the kids. That kind of party."
"Gotcha," Dani nodded. "We'll be there."
"We? Who's we?"
Dani smiled down at her daughter. "Yeah, me and my little girl."
"Great! Can't wait to meet her, betcha she looks just like you!"
"That she does. What time should we be there?"
"Well, give me your email address and I will email you all the details."
"Okay, it's DO'Grady ."
"Got it! Can't wait to see you, DJ. We've missed you."
"Yeah, I've missed you guys too. Take care and we'll see you Saturday."
"Come on Lex, we're gonna be late!" Dani called from the living room. When she received no response she headed down the short hallway to her daughter's room. "Lexi? Did ya hear me? We're gonna be late if we don't hurry."
"Sorry Mom but I can't find my sneakers." Came the muffled reply as the little girl searched under her bed.
"Lexi, baby, it's gonna be a really warm day. Why don't you wear your sandals?" Dani asked, picking up the mentioned shoes from the floor.
"Okay." Lexi replied as she stood up from the floor. "Ya got my jeans an' Tigger shirt for later, right?"
"Sure do!" Dani smiled as she handed her daughter the sandals. "Okay, hurry up. I want you to go potty before we leave."
"Don't gotta go."
Dani rolled her eyes she knew this argument well, "Well just try, all right? It's a long drive to Jaime's house."
"Oh all right." Lexi sighed as she walked out of her room, resigned to humoring her mother.
"Thank you." Dani called after her, and followed her out of the room chuckling at her daughter's antics.
Forty-five minutes later Dani pulled into the Griffin's driveway. She smiled over at Lexi, "Ready Sweetpea?"
"Mom, I'm stuck again!" Lexi groaned, looking up at her mother.
"Okay, hang on." Dani sighed, the buckle on the passenger side got stuck all the time and now she regretted not going back outside to oil it the night before. She reached across the console and pushed the button hard. With a grunt the buckle finally let go. "There you go, baby, all free."
Lexi smiled, "Thanks Mom."
"Anytime," Dani returned the smile and opened her door. "Come on, let's go. Be careful getting out."
A few moments later they were standing on the front step and ringing the doorbell. A woman with curly blond hair opened the door a few moments later. Dani grinned, "Jaime?"
"DJ?"
"The one and only." Dani replied with a grin.
"My god, Girl! Get in here!" Jaime grinned wildly, backing up so that her guests could enter.
As soon as they were and the door was shut, Dani found herself wrapped up in Jaime's arms. She could feel her friend beginning to cry. "Hey, I missed you too."
Jaime pulled back a moment later brushing away her tears, feeling a bit foolish, "Sorry about that."
Dani smiled, "Don't be."
"And who's this?" Jaime smiled down at Lexi, who was standing beside her mother.
Dani beamed with pride and placed a gentle hand on Lexi's head. "Jaime, this is my little girl Lexi. Lex, this is my friend Jaime."
Lexi put her hand out, "Hi Jaime, it's nice to meet you."
"Well hello there, Lexi. It's nice to meet you too!" Jaime grinned the only way a mother could.
"There are lots fun things to do out in the backyard. And all sorts of kids to play with."
"Cool! Can I go out there, Mom? Please?"
"Sure Sweetheart." Dani kissed the top of Lexi's head and set her down. "Have fun."
"My two are out there somewhere." Jaime chuckled and pointed down the hallway, "If you go right through there and into the kitchen, the sliding glass door will lead you out to the backyard."
Lexi smiled, "Thank you!"
"You've got two kids?!"
"Yep. Rugrats from hell!" She joked. "I love 'em anyways. I'll introduce you later. Geoff and his buddy went off to the store to get something. He should be back soon. He's about as excited as I am that you're back."
Dani smiled. "I'm glad to see you too."
Dani was led through the hall into the kitchen and out into the backyard where she could a see a few of the people she had known several years ago standing around talking.
"Can I get you anything to drink? We've got soda, water, wine coolers, beer…"
"Um sure," Dani nodded, "I'll have a beer."
While she was waiting for Jaime to come back with her beer, she heard a voice so familiar that it made her look to see where it was coming from. She glanced to her right and nearly fell to the ground. She stood there staring and didn't notice that Jaime had returned with her drink.
"DJ…Dani?" Jaime chuckled. "Danielle!"
"Huh? What?" Dani shook her head as Jaime laughed again and handed her the beer. "Oh. Thanks. Why didn't you tell me she was gonna be here?"
"Who?"
"You know who!"
Jaime followed Dani's line of vision, "Oh, Brie? I didn't want to tell you because she wasn't sure if she was gonna be able to make it and I didn't want to get your hopes up. She doesn't know you're here either."
"You're a rat, you know that?" Dani growled playfully at her friend. "Excuse me, would ya?"
"But of course, my friend." Jaime smiled.
Tears flooded Dani's eyes as she took in the sight of her beloved friend and walked toward her. With a tremulous smile she called out, "Brie?"
"Dani?!"
Dani stood there, unsure of what to do. Fortunately Brie decided for her and quickly wrapped her arms around Dani's middle. "God, I've missed you Brie-Brie!"
"I've missed you too!" Brie whispered as tears of joy streamed down her face.
The two held onto each other for several minutes, when they finally released their hold Dani smiled at the woman before her. She ran her hand over the short blond hair, "You cut your hair."
Brie nodded, "Do you like it?"
"Absolutely love it!" She beamed.
"I can't believe you're here!" Brie fought back the tears that threatened to fall once more and failed miserably. "I never thought I'd see you again."
"Aw Brie," Dani wiped away the tears as they fell. "Please don't cry; it's okay. I promised you that I'd come back. I never break my promises, especially to you. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to keep this one."
Brie smiled, "How long are you here for?"
"For good!"