Chapter 2

"Hi" she said looking up from her Barbies from where she was playing with them on the living room floor.

He couldn't speak for a moment as his eyes connected with what he imagined his mother's face looked like as a child, as he always imagined his child with Lily looked like. The dark locks curled halfway down her back and spilled forward over her shoulders as she played, the dark eyes penetrated deep into his soul and the smile made his world light up. "Hi there, what are you doing?"

"Playing, I know I'm getting too old for Barbies, but…"

"Nah," he said sitting down "you're never too old for make-believe."

She smiled at him and continued to study him

"What?" he asked giving her a smile and like all females those dimples put her at ease

"Nothing" she said shaking her head and mirroring his dimples on her own face "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to play. My dad would always try so hard, but boys and dolls, never do mix." Then there a smaller smile within her previous smile, the hint of a memory shown upon her face, "He was a great tea party guy though."

"What happened to your dad?"

"He died, just like my mom. He was on business and his car went off the road, my mom died of a broken heart, she loved him so much, he was her world, he always had been, she used to say she didn't start living until he was in her world." She shook her head and blinked to release the tears that had formed in her eyes and quickly wiped them away "I'm never going to love anyone so much I'd rather die than be without them," She gave a quick smile, "but I promised Grandpa I would love."

"There isn't much reason to living without love."

"My grandpa said that too." She shook her head and then patted down her Barbie dolls hair, looking up at him she smiled once more, "Do you want to see them?"

"Who?"

"My parents"

He nodded, expecting her to bring a photo album instead she walked over to the large tv, she turned it and pushed in a tape.

Suddenly Ric was before him in a way Sonny had never seen before and had only seen glimpses of with Elizabeth. He was smiling and his eyes showed something Sonny hadn't seen before, they showed Ric happy and truly alive. "Aww come on, you know I hate being on that thing."

"Yet you love shoving it in our faces" A woman's voice said teasingly from behind the camera.

"Who wouldn't want to capture those beautiful faces on film?"

He moves forward to grab her, but she runs off and for the first time Sonny sees that they are on a boat. She turns back and captures him laughing.

"Kay Jules, what would you like me to do?"

"Hmmm" she pretends to ponder "Gimme a dance"

His eyes change, into a more teasing, seductive ones "For that I need you" he says as he extend his hands.

Shaking the camera she laughs, "Nuh uh mister. I want this on film"

"Well I need a partner" he pretends to look baffled then suddenly scoops up an even younger version of the young girl sitting next to Sonny.

She squeals "Ahh Daddy" and suddenly Ric is waltzing with his daughter in his arms. "Mommy tell him this isn't what you meant."

"Well what does she mean?" Ric says looking deep into his daughter's eyes.

"The Macarena" she says suddenly smiling even brighter

"Shall we do it for her?" He says placing his daughter down.

She nods and they began to sing it together (missing most of the words) accompanied by Julia's laughter. Ric kept looking over at his daughter copying her moves and his smile never left. They did it once and as they reached the end of it for the second time. Ric turned his butt to the camera and shook it so ridiculously that camera woman doubled over in laughter as did his dance partner.

Sam hit pause but continued to look at the screen, frozen on it was an image of Ric hugging her as she laughed. "My dad's favorite place was the boat. He hated being trapped inside. He loved the garden too or playing soccer or softball with me. He said that growing up most of his nannies kept him in his rooms because it was easier for them. He had one stepmother who tried getting in good with my grandpa and claimed she wanted to be a real mom to him, he was only 5 so my grandpa got rid if his nanny who had been with my dad since he was a baby. One day my grandpa came home early and found her asleep, so he went looking for my dad. He found him in the attic, she tried to say that he had locked himself in there, but the key was on the outside. Grandpa said he must have been in there for hours, my dad finally told him years later that she would do it all the time, but he thought that's what mothers do because he had never had one before."

She grew quiet and Sonny struggled for words to say "I bet you and your mom made up for all of that, didn't you?"

"My dad used to say that too." She turned and looked into his eyes. "I had this dream once that my dad came home. I saw him walking up the pathway from my window and ran downstairs to him. The door opened and the man standing there wasn't my dad. I could see it in his eyes. Everything in him was dead, he wasn't my dad, my dad was happy, my dad had so much love in him for everything. He wouldn't get angry, he always full of laughter and kisses and hugs. He said that there was too much beauty in this world for him to not be happy. That man wasn't my dad."

"Your dad loved you very much"

"He still does, and I still love him, just like I love my mom"

"You're a very smart little girl"

She smiles once more "I know"

"You know we haven't been properly introduced"

"I know who you are"

He smiles "Oh do you really? Who am I?"

"You're Michael"

He's stunned for a moment "How did you know that?"

"When my dad found out his mom was alive he went looking for her, he was only like 10, but my dad was smart."

"Like his daughter"

She nods "She told him that she had to do what was best for him. She sent you out for ice cream with him and told you to stay with him until his dad came."

Sonny vaguely remembered something about that, he remembered a little scrawny kid telling all of these totally cheesy jokes, he also remembered what it felt like to just be out of the house and acting like a normal kid. "Did he hate me?" He wondered if he should ask a little kid a question like that, but he had no one else to ask.

She smiled and she had this knowing smile, full of wisdom beyond her years "No," she shook her head "He thought you were really cool, he said you listened to him. He wasn't angry with you. He had his dad; you had your mom and that was all either of you had. He said he understood that sometimes things can't be perfect. We don't live in a perfect world."

"Samatha" her aunt said walking into the room "Karate practice" she says looking at the clock on the wall. "I'm sorry" she says turning to Sonny

"No it's okay, I understand" He turned his attention back to Sam as he stood up "It was very nice meeting you Samantha" he said extending a hand

She laughed at him and allowed him to encompass her small hand within his. "It was very nice meeting you too Michael." She almost turned away, but then she stopped and asked him a question she already knew the answer to, "I'm not going to see you again, am I?"

He shook his head "One time deal."

Looking down at her was like looking down upon his mother, "In that case" she said with a smile "Let me do something my dad couldn't do." She hugged him, she hugged him tightly and Sonny knew not only was she doing something her father could never do, she was saying good-bye to her father. He hugged her back and when she stopped she looked up and said "Good-bye Uncle Mike" with those dimples that Sonny knew would stop everyman's heart that would ever look at her.

"Good-bye Sam"

With that she left the room and Sonny left the house.