"Mom? You home? It's me."
"Brooke? Oh my goodness! Sweetheart, look at you. You are so beautiful and so thin. Honey, are you and Peyton eating?"
"We're eating, Mom", Brooke smiled as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, have a seat and let me make you a home cooked meal. I'm so happy to see you but if you had called, I would have had time to whip up all your favorites."
"Don't go to any trouble."
"It's not trouble and you're my daughter for goodness sakes."
There was no use in arguing as Brooke took a seat at the kitchen table while her mother went about cooking. At age 47, Elizabeth Davis was a successful advertising executive who worked out of her sprawling Long Island home. She was plump but overall the years had treated her well. She and Brooke shared the same pretty face, Elizabeth's lined the angelic kindness only a mother could have.
"There you go. Fresh turkey slices, squash, macaroni salad, homemade croissants, mango slices and lemonade. Eat up and enjoy."
Brooke did as she was told with a smile on her face. Just being in her childhood home brought back instant warm memories and was able to wash away the pain and pressure of her current life.
"This is really great, Mom. Thanks."
"You are more than welcome, honey. Now, as excited and happy as I am to see you, do you mind telling me what warrants this out of the blue visit?"
"Maybe I just wanted to come home for a few days. Is that a crime?"
"No but I'd say it's something more hence the sad look in your eyes. Something's wrong. Want to talk about it?"
"How do you know?"
"I gave birth to you, Brooke. I know you, honey like the back of my hand. Mothers always know."
"Mom, I just…I don't know. I've been screwing up lately. Everything is so messed up and I don't know how to fix it. I don't even know if I can."
"Would any of this have anything to do with that Felix character?"
"Some of it…a lot of it, I guess. I don't know. Everyone tried to warn me about him but I didn't really want to listen. Because of him, I made a lot of mistakes."
"It's okay."
"It's not okay, Mom. I'm not okay. I've messed up. I've done some things that you and Daddy wouldn't be proud of. Things I'm not proud of."
"Brooke, we will always be proud of you. You're our daughter, our only child and we love you more than anything. You've made mistakes, but guess what? We all do. It's a part of being human. But you know what? It's all about how we rebound. That's life, honey. You know, someone once said, 'Our greatest glory consists not of never falling but rising every time we fall'. I really believe in that and you should too. I believe in you Brooke…as a daughter and an actress…and a person. You just have to believe in yourself. Whatever it is, I know it seems hard now but you'll get through it."
Brooke closed her eyes and tried not to cry. Those words and that voice was exactly what she wanted and needed to hear. In a few minutes, she already felt a hundred times better.
"Thanks Mom. I really needed that", she hugged her.
"I'm always here for you, sweetie."
"I know and I appreciate it. It helps. Look, I've got some other stuff on my mind. Would you mind if I talked to Daddy about it?"
Elizabeth gave her daughter a knowing smile and kissed her cheek.
"You were always a Daddy's girl, weren't you? Go on up, Brooke. I know he'll be happy to see you."
Brooke walked upstairs to the master bedroom and knocked on the door.
"Daddy, it's me and I'm coming in."
Brooke grinned as she saw her father watching an old tape of her in the Miss Jr. New York beauty pageant
"You know, out of all the contests I was in, that was my favorite. Probably because I won and because that one had the prettiest crown but you know what my favorite memory is? Remember we went dress shopping and we dragged you along kicking and screaming when you really wanted to go off to Maine for the weekend fishing. But I really wanted my Daddy there and you never wanted to disappoint me, did you? So you showed up and walked around with Mom and me for hours while we searched for the perfect gown. And Mom wanted me to have that white one, remember? Oh God, it was hideous! So 1984! To this very day, I still cringe thinking about all the taffeta that had to die to make that thing. Anyway, then I saw the pretty purple silk one. The one that cost way too much money and was probably way too sophisticated for a 15 year old. Mom had a fit but I really wanted it. You convinced her to let me try it on and I came out of the fitting room and I asked you how it looked and you told me I was the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world. I loved that dress so much and I loved you for saying that and for thinking it. You guys bought it for me and I won that year."
Joseph Davis smiled. He remembered just like it was yesterday. Father and daughter quietly watched the tape for a while just enjoying the pageant memories.
"Daddy, I need to tell you something. Lately I've been having a real hard time. I've been making the wrong decisions and for a while, I sort of lost my way. I'm ashamed of my mistakes and I guess that's why I haven't been home in a while. I just couldn't face you and Mom because I couldn't stand to disappoint you. Anyway, I'm finally back on track or at least on my way and now I've got this problem and it's kind of hard because I can't really talk to anyone about it. I talk to Peyton and she's great but I don't think she really understands. I don't blame her, I mean, how could she? I don't know. I guess it's bothering me pretty bad. See, there's this boy and his name is Lucas. He's really cool Daddy. Nothing like Felix and I like him a lot. He wrote this poem for me and it was...I don't know, it really touched me. He's gonna graduate from Wake Forest University down in North Carolina next year and I love how he's so smart and talented, and...beautiful. I know I'm rambling and gushing but he's really great. I don't know but he's something else. We were chatting on line for a while and I really wanted to meet him but every time I brought up the subject, he blew it off. I couldn't take it any longer so I tracked him down and showed up at his school. He's in a wheelchair, Daddy. That's why he didn't want me to see him because he was ashamed. I mean, he's a wonderful guy and I really, really care about him. The whole handicap thing doesn't matter to me. Anyway, he got really pissed off. I guess my little ambush just embarrassed him. I came on too strong and I sort of messed things up…maybe forever. And I don't know how to do deal with that because I care about him so much. But I think I lost him, Daddy."
Brooke's father looked at her with sympathetic eyes and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. Good things happen to good people and good things come to those who wait. Whatever is meant to be will be and sometimes as frustrating it is, you have to have patience. He prayed that his very impatient daughter would learn that someday.
Brooke smiled as she put in another tape. Kicking off her shoes, she relaxed beside her father and just enjoyed the trek back down memory lane. She was with eh one person who had always made her feel safe.
"Yeah, Daddy", she said softly. "I love you, too."
