Chapter XII: The Father Who Ran
Mike looked at the older man before promptly slamming the door in his face. His heart was hammering in his chest. His wife was going to be home within the hour and along with her, his mother and who was standing on the front porch, but the man who his wife had never known, never cared about and would probably be extremely angry with once she found out who he was. The doorbell rang again, and Mike leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.
"Dude," John asked, as he came to stand in front of Mike, "Why are you on the floor? And who was at the door?" Mike looked up at his wife's best friend and just shook his head.
"Her father," he answered honestly, causing John's eyebrows to almost immediately join his hairline, "He-he just showed up at the door. I-I can't let him in here. I know Rayleigh, you know Rayleigh and we both know that she'll want nothing to do with him. Thirty-three years…" John slid down the wall and sat next to Mike as they both thought about the man that had just been at the door. Both Adam and Rayleigh had been very vocal about never wanting to meet their fathers. They wanted nothing to do with the men that walked out on them and their mother.
"What do I do," Mike asked, "If I tell her, her father showed up at the house, the same day that my mother comes to visit, she'll have a mental breakdown and if I don't tell her that he showed up the same day that mother came to visit, I'll be in the dog house for the next six months."
"Yeah, well, you could always smooth things over by telling her that you slammed the door in his face," John said, "Look, I was there the first time he tried to contact her-"
"He's done this before?"
"Back before you were part of the company," John said, "It was mostly just letters and shit. She read one before throwing all of the others away not sparing a glance, she doesn't like talking about it, she likes to think it never happened. Mike, you know how she feels about that man, she wants nothing to do with him."
"Yeah I know," Mike replied, "But, do I even tell her that he KNOWS where we live?"
"I think that would be a good idea," John said, "You're home how many days out of the week usually?"
"Three to four."
"Yeah, well, it would be your luck that he would show up on a day when you're working and then proceeds to tell your wife that you knew," John said, patting Mike's knee, "And you might want to make sure that he's not standing out there when she gets back and according to Phil, who is texting April, it won't be long." Mike sighed and got to his feet opening the front door once more.
"Look," he said, looking at the older man who was still standing at his front door, "I don't know how you got this address, but Rayleigh, she, she wants nothing to do with you-"
"Please, I just need to talk to her," the older man said, "I just need her to know that I'm sorry. I was afraid. I didn't know if I was going to be a good father. I have enough issues as it is, taking care of a ten year old that wasn't mine was easy, but a baby, man I was not ready for that."
"And walking out on them makes up for the fact that YOU weren't ready," Mike argued, "I can name five men, who have been better fathers to my wife than you ever were, so I'm going to ask you nicely to get off my property before I call the police." The older man held his hands up in surrender.
"Okay, okay," he said, taking a few steps back, "Just-just let her know I-I want to talk to her. She can reach me at this number." The older man handed Mike a card before getting into his car and driving away. Mike looked down at the card and fiddled with it for a second. Rayleigh was very adamant that she never wanted to know that man; that she thought of Adam, Jay, Hunter, Shawn and Vince as better father figures, but still Mike looked down at the card, her father had handed to her.
"Mike," Rayleigh called, as she pulled up in front of him, "Why are you standing in the middle of the front door? Did Mizfit get out again?" Mike looked down at his wife, as she looked up at him with her big blue eyes. He smiled at her, while chucking the card into a waiting recycling bin.
"No, uh, I just couldn't wait to see you," he said, pulling her close to him, "You know I don't like being apart from you very long. I spend almost every day with those guys, I just want to spend time with my wife."
"Well, if you wanted to spend some time with me, why did you invite your mother to stay with us a week before the consultation," Rayleigh said, patting her husband's cheek before walking into the house, the girls following behind her. Mike looked towards the recycling bin, where the card had landed face up right on top of all the pizza boxes from last night.
Inside, Jon went running to the door to pick Beth up off her feet causing all of the women to smile and coo at how adorable the soon-to-be couple was.
"Isn't that just adorable," Nikki said, as she walked by the pair to sit on John's lap, "Why don't you do that for me?"
"I just bought you, your dream apartment," John joked, "Don't I get a little reprieve?" Nikki looked up at the ceiling while scratching her chin in thought before shaking her head no.
"Why would I let that happen?"
John jokingly growled at the twin, before pulling her closer to him, and plants his lips on hers, causing the entire group to laugh, and completely forget about Jon and Beth, who were sneaking upstairs to have a very important conversation.
The large group continued to share light conversation before Mike finally turned to his wife, and pulled her into the kitchen. April, Nikki and Brie all looked at the rest of the men curiously to only get a shrug in response.
"Mike," Rayleigh asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"I-I-I need t-t-to tell you something," Mike confessed, "And I don't really know how you're going to take it and I just need you to think of the baby and-and-and…"
"Mike," Rayleigh called, "Just tell me what's wrong? It's not like you're having an affair-oh my god, you're having an aff-"
"No, no, no," Mike said, grabbing his wife and pulling her as close to him as possible, "I would never. You are absolutely enough for me, baby. But, I still have to tell you something."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fi-"
"Your father was here," Mike said, and Rayleigh went completely silent.
"I don't have a father," she whispered, "He ran out on me remembered."
"I know, I know," Mike said, leading his wife to sit down on his lap, "But, your father-"
"Hmph."
"He showed up here, not fifteen minutes before you were supposed to get back," Mike explained, "He wanted to talk to you, but I told him that you wanted nothing to do with him. Ray, I would never make you face that man, not when I know how you feel about him."
"I don't feel anything about him," Rayleigh said, "How am I supposed to feel something about a person I don't even know." Mike took that response as a sign that the conversation was over. Rayleigh didn't want to talk about her father, much less remember she had one. To Rayleigh, her father was just anonymous donor and that was the end of it.
Beth watched as Jon became very interested with his surroundings. She never knew a man who was more interested in what a candle smelled like, like Jon was at that particular moment. The conversation that he so desperately wanted to have this morning could seemingly wait at the moment, so he could figure out what scent the candle was.
"Jon," she started, "We don't have to talk if you don't want to talk. I mean, if you want to forget that last night even hap-"
"No," Jon interrupted, "Why would I want to do a thing like that?"
"Because you seem much more interested in what that candle smells like then you do at the topic of trying to figure out exactly what we are to one another," Beth said, sitting on the bed crossed legged. Jon looked at her placing the candle back down on the dresser. He looked out the window to see as a few of the Mizanin's neighbours walked by, enjoying the beautiful sunshine.
"Beth, I'm not good at this," Jon admitted, "I'm the kind of guy that usually just takes a quick fuck over a relationship, but, but when it comes to you, I don't want that."
"Then, what do you want, Jon," Beth asked, "Talk to me."
"I want what the happy couple downstairs has," Jon confessed, "I want to, I want to be able to surprise you with something as little as coming home early like Mike does for Rayleigh. I want to complain about how much shoe space you take up, but given the chance the throw them all away, I wouldn't even dream about it. I want to have a dog and a home and everything I didn't have when I was a kid. I want to-" Beth grabbed Jon by the back of his neck and pulled his face towards hers. Never had she imagined everything that he had said, and even though it was not the most romantic thing in the world, it made her fill with joy and happiness. This amazing man in front of her, wanted her not just for a few weeks or months, he wanted to build a lifetime with her.
"If I knew that was the reaction I was going to get," Jon panted, "I would have told you this months ago." Beth stilled at Jon's confession, looking at him with wide eyes. Months?
"M-m-months ago," she stuttered, "How long were you feeling this way?" Jon suddenly became very interested in the carpet at his feet. He couldn't believe he had just told her that.
"Jon?"
"You know when Punk and the Shield first started feuding, and you were in the midst of 'trying' to get him and Daniel to take you seriously," Jon asked, still looking down at the carpet. Beth gasped. He had felt like this about her for that long.
"Jon," she whispered, "I had no idea."
"Yeah," he answered, scratching the back of his head, "Well, I'm not the kind of guy that wears my heart on my sleeve." Beth chuckled and raked her manicure nails through his blonde hair, that had it not been for the importance of the conversation, Jon's eyes would have rolled into the back of his head and he would have had Beth on her back in no time flat. But, what he did do was gather the small Diva into his arms and prepared himself to kiss her senseless. Beth grabbed Jon's forearm.
"Jon," she whispered, "We still have to talk, we need to figure out exactly what we are."
"There's nothing more to talk about," Jon said, causing Beth's eyes to suddenly fall to floor, "I've waited too long for this and I'm going to hold onto you for as long as you'll have me." And with those final words, Jon pulled her towards him and swallowed her response as his lips met hers.
"Well, Laura, you know how endless a kitchen remodel can be," Rayleigh said, as she felt John, Jon and Phil eyes on her as she spoke to her mother-in-law, who had finally arrived, "I never want to go through that again."
"Yes, well, it's all worth it when it's done," Laura commented, sipping at her wine, "When will it be finished?" Nikki, April and Beth all looked at their significant others with wide eyes, as Rayleigh mentally cursed not being able to drink wine for this particular visit.
"It is finished, Ma," Mike said, handing his wife a glass of water, hoping that if she had something in her hand, she wouldn't throw a right hook at his mother.
"Really," Laura asked, "So, all of this is intentional?" Rayleigh chuckled before throwing John a panicked look. She wanted this woman to shut up. She didn't know how much more she could take of Laura Parker's non-constructive criticism.
"It's so nice to see you again, Mrs. Parker," Phil said, coming to stand between the two, "I heard you were in town for Mike's surgery consultation."
"Well, I was hoping for a special occasion like a retirement party for my darling ducky," Laura said, looking pointedly at her son while most of the other guests tried to swallow their laughter at the unfortunate nickname, "But, who am I kidding, I'm not going to live forever."
"That's right Laura," Rayleigh said, beginning to scratch at her forearm, "He's still working, most like injured, can't point that out enough."
"I guess common sense must have taken a wrong turn," Laura said, chuckling. Phil looked at John and Jon with wide eyes, wondering how Rayleigh was able to keep her temper in check. If anyone else had spoken to her like that about her or her husband, Rayleigh would have laid them out flat, but Mike's mother? She was even making him think that he needed a drink.
"Hey, ma," Mike said, "Can you get Bryan and Brie and tell them that we're ready to eat? I'm pretty sure, Sophie's getting hungry."
"Sophie's going to join us for dinner," Laura commented, looking at her son flabbergasted at what he was even suggesting, "At the same table?"
"Yeah," John cut in, helping Rayleigh place a few of the dishes on the table, "We all try and eat at the table, like a family."
"And your guests are sitting with us too," Laura said, looking over at her son and daughter-in-law, "What kind of madness are you raising my precious granddaughter in?" Before anyone could reply, Laura left the room in search for Bryan and Brie, as well as her precious little granddaughter. The occupants of the kitchen all turned to look at Rayleigh and Mike.
"How do you put up with that," Phil said, looking in between Mike and Rayleigh as neither one of them said a word.
"Oh, what, you mean our little back and forth," Rayleigh asked, not looking at him, as she walked around the table, making sure that every setting had a clean fork and knife, "Eh, she just has a sarcastic sense of humor."
"No, Jon and I have sarcastic sense of humors," Phil said, pointing at the lone shield member left in the Mizanin household, "Alright, she, she's mean."
"You just have to laugh it off," Mike explained, making sure all of the plates didn't have a scratch or a speck of dirt on them.
"Or in your wife's case, scratch it off," John said, looking at Rayleigh, who was still scratching her forearm. Rayleigh looked down at her forearm that had become red and blotchy from all the scratching that she was doing.
"It's no big deal," she explained, "I just get hives every once in awhile."
"Like when?"
"You know like Christmas, American Thanksgiving, Mother's day," Rayleigh listed, still scratching her forearm, "It's normal." Phil, John and Jon all looked at her skeptically.
"Ray, that's not normal, I don't even get hives when I talk about my parents," Phil said, taking his seat at the table beside April.
"Ray, it's so obvious," Jon said, taking a seat next to Beth, "All that stuff you're laughing off, you're actually spelling out tiny little red dots on your arms."
"Let me see," John said, grabbing her small forearm in his large hands, "What does this say, oh look at that, help me."
"Oh, look at this one says," Rayleigh said, holding up her other forearm, "Butt out." All of the women chuckled as Laura, Bryan, Brie and Sophie came into the room and took the respective seats at the kitchen table. Dishes were passed around, most of the superstars and Divas taking a fair helping of each of the dishes that Rayleigh had thoughtfully prepared for them, knowing how much they misses having a home cooked meal. Just as everybody was about to dig in, the doorbell rang. Rayleigh looked towards the foyer confused before getting up to answer the door. It was probably Joe or Colby having forgotten something, but as she opened the door Rayleigh came face to face with someone, she never expected to see.
"Hello," she said, looking at the older gentlemen, who seemed awe struck, "Can I help you with something?" The man coughed and gained some composure.
"Uh, yes, um, are you, um, are you Rayleigh Copeland," the older man asked, looking at Rayleigh with a set of eyes that reminded Rayleigh of something that she just couldn't put her finger on.
"May I ask who you are," Rayleigh said, looking at the creepy man that was standing in front of her.
"Um, I, um, I'm, um, I'm your, um, I'm your father," confessed the man, causing Rayleigh's eyes to widen and her jaw to go slack. Suddenly she couldn't move. Her brain stopped working and thirty-three years of anger came bubbling to the top. Rayleigh closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before slamming her front door right in her father's face.
A/N: Whoo! Two chapters in one day.
Let me know what you think and don't forget to vote on who should induct Hot Ray-Leigh into the Hall of Fame.
