The Promise Of Hope

Prologue

Early August 2018...

Keeley Hope Taylor...

The movie was over and I was hungry. I haven't had a thing since breakfast and my stomach grumbled angrily. It was definitely time for lunch. I put the movie away and kissed the picture of my family on the coffee table just as I always do and went to look for Daddy. I remembered him telling me something a few minutes before, but I wasn't paying attention and forgot. I mean Simba was telling Scar to leave Pride Rock and there was the big battle, so it was hard to pay attention to anything else, really.

I went to the kitchen, but Daddy wasn't there. I ran upstairs, but he wasn't in the studio or in his bedroom. I looked all over the house, but he was nowhere to be found. I opened the front door and there he was.

"Daddy! There you are, I was looking everywhere for you!" I cried and ran down to meet him on the sidewalk.

I grabbed his hand and noticed that he was talking to a man who held the SOLD sign from the house next door. The man was tall and really pretty, even though he was older, and had the kindest eyes. He looked kind of sad at first, but then he looked at me and smiled. It was a very nice smile, though not as beautiful as Daddy's and not as cheerful as Da's smile had been. When this man smiled, the way he sort of rolled in his lips a little, it looked mischievous, like he was thinking of a joke the whole time, but in a fun way, not in a mean one.

"Hello! Are you our new neighbor? How do you do?" I asked.

He smiled again, but wider this time and I realized that I liked his smile very much. Then Daddy told me that this man was indeed our new neighbor and an old friend of his from Pittsburgh, a magical place in the United States where Daddy grew up. While I was looking at Daddy's old friend Mr. Kinney, Daddy was introducing me to him. I liked his name – Mr. Brian Kinney. It sounded Irish, like my Da's name was Irish, like my Da's mom is Irish and like some of the people I met when we visited my grandparents in Dublin.

"Keeley is Irish, Mr. Kinney. It means 'brave warrior'!" I don't know why, but I just had to tell him I had an Irish name too. Then I realized that my first name and his last name sounded similar and I thought it was kind of funny. I think he thought it was funny too because he smiled again and asked,

"Does it? And are you?" I saw him look at Daddy and, suddenly, Daddy smiled like he used to a long time ago, like he was really, really happy. I've missed that smile so very much, almost as much as I missed my Da.

"Yes, sir!" I answered, "Absolutely!" I hoped that it would make Daddy happy and it did, it really did, because he smiled even wider, his eyes were sparkling like Christmas lights and then he laughed.

"Well, with me as her father, she'd have to be." Daddy said.

I didn't understand exactly what he meant, but I think it was kind of a joke because then Mr. Kinney laughed too and it was a really, really happy sound. Mr. Kinney looked older than Daddy and even older than my Da was before he died, but when he laughed he looked really young and kind of reminded me of Da a little, him being so tall and dark haired.

I looked at them laughing and thought that they must have been really good friends, though I've never ever met or heard of Mr. Kinney before. But then, Daddy hardly ever talks about Pittsburgh.

I've never been to Pittsburgh, though I've always wanted to go. Grandma Jen told me lots of stories from when Daddy was a little boy and I've always wanted to see everything she talked about. Da grew up in London, so I've seen all the places where he grew up. I've even been to Ireland, where Grandma Niamh was born, though she only lived there as a very little girl before moving to London. Grandpa Paul and Grandma Niamh moved to Dublin when I was three because of Grandpa Paul's work and ever since then we've been spending three weeks there in the summer.

Grandpa Paul was English and grew up in London, so I've been everywhere that my Da and all his relatives had ever been, but I've only been to the United States once. We all went to one of Daddy's art shows in New York a few months before Da died. I loved New York – it was so big, so exciting, so busy, so loud and a little bit scary. Unfortunately, Daddy only lived there for a year and not as a little boy, so it didn't feel like his place at all. Every time I asked Daddy to take me to Pittsburgh, he always said "someday" and it always seemed like he didn't like talking about his home town. Everything I know about Daddy as a little boy or even when he got older came from Grandma Jen, Aunt Molly and Auntie Daphne, who's his best friend in the entire world. They are the ones who told me about a magical place called Pittsburgh that I've always wanted to visit so very much.

"Maybe Mr. Kinney knows more stories about Daddy when he lived in Pittsburgh?" I thought and that idea got me really excited. "Maybe he can tell me lots of new things."

Then my stomach rumbled really loudly and that made Daddy and Mr. Kinney laugh out loud again. Normally, I would have been embarrassed, but this time I was actually happy that it happened and that it was time for lunch.

"Mr. Kinney, would you like to have lunch with us?" I asked as politely as possible. I wanted to make Daddy proud and make a good impression on his old friend. "We are having sandwiches, crisps and apple slices for dessert." I told him hopefully. He looked really surprised and uncertain, then he looked at Daddy with one eyebrow raised like a question mark. Daddy suddenly stopped smiling and looked kind of uncertain too.

"If you are worried about making another sandwich, Daddy, don't worry, cause I'll help you. I'll even share my crisps, if we don't have enough." I said eagerly and made Daddy smile again, which made me really happy. "You can even make coffee, if you want, Daddy. See, Mr. Kinney, Daddy and I usually have tea together, but I know he likes coffee so much better. But since I am not old enough to drink it, he always drinks tea instead. But, if we have a guest, he won't feel bad about not drinking tea with me and the two of you can have coffee."

"So, what you are saying is that if I come to lunch and have sandwiches, apple slices and - what were they? - crisps, your Daddy will be able to have coffee without feeling bad? So, I'll be doing you a favor then?" Mr. Kinney said smiling, then he rolled his lips again in that funny way, like he was thinking of a joke or something.

"Yes! Exactly!" I said, waiting anxiously for his reply. I really hoped he'd come to lunch and tell me more stories about Daddy in Pittsburgh.

"Well, Sunshine?" he said and I was really confused because I thought he was talking to me, but he was actually looking at Daddy.

"You are welcome to join us for lunch, Brian. It seems Keeley is determined to feed you and ply you with coffee." He answered and smiled again.

"OK, then." Mr. Kinney said and looked at me again. "I will gladly accept your kind invitation, Miss Taylor. Thank you." He said really formally, like I was a real lady, though he was smiling his crazy smile again. I knew he thought that I was funny, but for some reason I was sure he wasn't making fun of me or being mean at all. Then he winked wickedly and said, "But since I am doing you a favor, you have to do one for me too."

"What kind of a favor?" I asked curiously.

"You have to stop calling me Mr. Kinney. It makes me feel about a hundred years old and makes me think of my ol..." but then he suddenly stopped and after a brief sigh continued, "I would prefer it if you called me Brian, as a favor to me."

I looked at Daddy and he had a strange expression on his face, but then it was gone, he smiled a little and nodded his approval. My dads always taught me to be polite, especially to older people and especially when meeting someone new for the very first time. They usually didn't allow me to call their friends or co-workers by their first name, unless they were a part of our family, so I was surprised when Daddy agreed. I thought it would be weird to call someone as old as Mr. Kinney Brian, but then I remembered that he was an old friend of Daddy's from Pittsburgh and our new neighbor to boot, so it wasn't as if he was a total stranger.

I looked at Daddy and at Mr. Kinn...Brian, but they weren't moving for some reason. They just kept standing there on the sidewalk, looking at each other and smiling. My stomach rumbled again and reminded me how hungry I was. So, I let go of Daddy's hand, walked up to Mr. Kinn... I mean, Brian and grabbed his hand. Mr. K... I mean, Brian, was surprised and his his hand tightened over mine right away. He had a large hand, larger than Daddy's and larger than Da's, but it was thin, with what grandma Jen would call elegant fingers. His hand was also very, very warm and strong, but kind of soft too. I liked his hand, so I smiled at his still surprised face, tugged his arm in the direction of our house and said,

"Come on, Mr. Brian...I mean, Brian. I am really, really hungry, we should eat!"

Disclaimer: All belongs to CowLip and Showtime! No infringement intended.

A/N: Here's he prologue to the sequel to "Persistence of Memory". Please do let me know what you think, my gentle readers! Thank you!