A young blonde hostess led them to a table in the back of the restaurant.
Charles politely pulled out Victoria's chair while Carter did the same for
Abby after she set Joey in the highchair next to her, and Brooklyn climbed
into the chair next to Carter. It didn't take long for everyone to order,
and they found themselves in an awkward silence. Carter was the first to
speak.
"How long have the two of you been together?" He asked trying to break the ice.
"Two years, next month." Charles answered.
"Two years and getting married already; you must really be in love." Carter continued.
"Well, when you get to be our age, time isn't exactly on your side." Victoria stated.
"Victoria, do you have any children?" Abby asked.
"Yes, I have a son and a daughter, about the same age as you and your brother." She explained. "So, how long have you two been married?"
"It'll be four years on Christmas Eve." Abby said, while trying to keep Joey from throwing his toys on the floor.
"Christmas Eve? That's an unusual day to have a wedding." Charles said.
"Yes, yes it was, but it was pretty great." He said smiling at Abby. She smiled back and tucked one of her brown curls behind her ear.
"Sounds lovely," Victoria said. "Abby, you're father tells me you're a nurse."
"Yeah, I've worked in the ER at County for a while now." She explained.
"And John is one of the doctors there." Charles added.
"What about you Charles?" Carter asked.
"I'm retired now, so is Victoria." He began to explain, as Abby watched them.
She felt completely uncomfortable sitting here with her long-lost father and his soon-to-be wife. She tried to push all her anger away for the night, but her words from the day before kept coming back to haunt her. "We were kids, babies, and you left us to take care of our sick mother. Why now? After more than twenty years you just show up and expect me to be a part of your life; a life that hasn't included me for twenty years!" Abby ran her fingers through her curly hair and sighed.
Thank God John was here with her, if he hadn't been she would have never even showed up. She watched him as he listened to Charles, she smiled slightly. "How can he be so comfortable having dinner with two complete strangers?" She asked herself. Abby took a deep breath and tried to relax herself, it wasn't working. "What am I doing here, this is a complete joke." She thought.
"Please excuse me." Abby said as she got up from the table and headed for the bathroom. Carter instinctively followed her.
"Abby, Abby." He called as he tried to catch up with her. He finally caught her in the secluded hallway that led to the bathrooms. "Abby what's wrong?"
She lowered her head and tried to hold back the tears. Carter gently lifted her head so she would look at him. He could tell she was about to cry, but wasn't sure what had gotten her upset. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace; she didn't fight him and wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "John I can't do this." She admitted. "I'm not ready for any of this."
"What?" He asked.
"Letting him back into my life; I've spent the last 4 years trying to build a good life, and I have with you and the kids, but now he's. It's just too much too soon." She lifted her head and they looked each other in the eyes. Carter could see the hurt in them; maybe she was right maybe this was too much too soon. The pain her father had caused her was still affecting her. It wasn't the same as the hurt she experience with Maggie. With Maggie she had learned how to cope, but her father was new territory that she hadn't dealt with.
"How long have the two of you been together?" He asked trying to break the ice.
"Two years, next month." Charles answered.
"Two years and getting married already; you must really be in love." Carter continued.
"Well, when you get to be our age, time isn't exactly on your side." Victoria stated.
"Victoria, do you have any children?" Abby asked.
"Yes, I have a son and a daughter, about the same age as you and your brother." She explained. "So, how long have you two been married?"
"It'll be four years on Christmas Eve." Abby said, while trying to keep Joey from throwing his toys on the floor.
"Christmas Eve? That's an unusual day to have a wedding." Charles said.
"Yes, yes it was, but it was pretty great." He said smiling at Abby. She smiled back and tucked one of her brown curls behind her ear.
"Sounds lovely," Victoria said. "Abby, you're father tells me you're a nurse."
"Yeah, I've worked in the ER at County for a while now." She explained.
"And John is one of the doctors there." Charles added.
"What about you Charles?" Carter asked.
"I'm retired now, so is Victoria." He began to explain, as Abby watched them.
She felt completely uncomfortable sitting here with her long-lost father and his soon-to-be wife. She tried to push all her anger away for the night, but her words from the day before kept coming back to haunt her. "We were kids, babies, and you left us to take care of our sick mother. Why now? After more than twenty years you just show up and expect me to be a part of your life; a life that hasn't included me for twenty years!" Abby ran her fingers through her curly hair and sighed.
Thank God John was here with her, if he hadn't been she would have never even showed up. She watched him as he listened to Charles, she smiled slightly. "How can he be so comfortable having dinner with two complete strangers?" She asked herself. Abby took a deep breath and tried to relax herself, it wasn't working. "What am I doing here, this is a complete joke." She thought.
"Please excuse me." Abby said as she got up from the table and headed for the bathroom. Carter instinctively followed her.
"Abby, Abby." He called as he tried to catch up with her. He finally caught her in the secluded hallway that led to the bathrooms. "Abby what's wrong?"
She lowered her head and tried to hold back the tears. Carter gently lifted her head so she would look at him. He could tell she was about to cry, but wasn't sure what had gotten her upset. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace; she didn't fight him and wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "John I can't do this." She admitted. "I'm not ready for any of this."
"What?" He asked.
"Letting him back into my life; I've spent the last 4 years trying to build a good life, and I have with you and the kids, but now he's. It's just too much too soon." She lifted her head and they looked each other in the eyes. Carter could see the hurt in them; maybe she was right maybe this was too much too soon. The pain her father had caused her was still affecting her. It wasn't the same as the hurt she experience with Maggie. With Maggie she had learned how to cope, but her father was new territory that she hadn't dealt with.