FULL CIRCLE
Chapter 69
"It took time to find a parking space," John McCabe said as he approached his family.
"Hi, Dad," Miles told him.
"Daddy!" Mikayla explained as she slid off Miles' lap to have her father pick her up.
He took a seat next to Miles still holding his daughter. "I'd like you to come back again to visit."
"I'm not sure I can manage," his son replied.
"You come see me?" Mikayla asked.
"Yeah, Kid. I'll come see you," Miles replied, taking her on his lap again.
"Don't make empty promises, Miles. She's too young to understand," John McCabe told him.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say, "Like you never did?". But he kept silent, not wanting to start an argument with his father. Not in such a public place and not after they'd been seeming to get
along so well. Reaching out to ruffle Mikayla's hair, he finally said, "When I can get time off for a vacation, I'll come back for a visit."
"Promise?" the little girl asked.
"Promise," Miles answered.
Natalie approached with two cups of coffee in her hands. "Miles, I just saw that our flight has been delayed at least an hour," she said, handing him one of the cups.
"Thanks," he said. "Dad, I want you to Meet Dr. Natalie Durant. She's a colleague of mine at the N.I.H. Nat, this is my father John McCabe."
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Durant," Mr. McCabe said politely and held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. McCabe," Natalie replied as she shook it.
"Any sign of Eva yet?" Miles asked.
"No. But knowing her, she'll rush in at the last minute.," Natalie answered.
"Since the flight has been delayed, you really don't have to wait around here if you don't want to," Miles told his father.
"We'll wait here for awhile anyway. I doubt Mikayla would want it any other way," John McCabe answered. He looked down at his daughter who was looking very content on Miles' lap.
Natalie had been as Eva arrived, followed by a dejected looking BJ. "Might as well take a seat. Our flight has been delayed," she told the younger woman.
"How long?" Eva asked.
"About an hour," Natalie replied.
"I'll buy you some coffee," BJ was telling Eva as they headed for the counter.
"Sounds good," she replied. "BJ, I'll try and get back for a visit next time I have some time off."
"You just can't pass up my world famous spaghetti," he joked.
"That. And other things," she replied with a smile.
"Oh,yeah. I'm a very talented guy," he told her, fishing in his pocket for his wallet.
"You certainly are. Too bad I can't stick around and take advantage of your talents," Eva said wistfully.
"Maybe I can come see you this time," BJ told her.
They found seats in an out of the way spot . Eva sipped her coffee and stared at her teammates. "I wonder who the little girl is with Miles?" she said thoughtfully.
"And I bet you're going to find out. I'm assuming that you're speaking about the younger man. Since the little girl looks a lot like him, she's either a relative or a daughter."
Eva shook her head. "I can't imagine Miles with a kid. She's got to be either a sister or a cousin. I wonder why he never mentioned her."
Finally their flight was called. Miles stood up, reaching for his bag. "That's us. I'll call you sometime," he told his father.
Rachelle impulsively pulled him into a hug. "Don't forget you're always welcome here," she told him.
"I won't forget," he replied, stepping out of the embrace. "It was nice to meet you, Rachelle."
"You too, Miles. Now have a safe flight."
"I'll see you sometime, I promise," Miles told Mikayla before he turned and started for the boarding gate.
Natalie caught up to her teammate and asked, "Glad to be heading home, Smiles?"
He shot her a look and spoke quietly. "Let's just keep this between you and me. Because I have the feeling that if Frank ever finds out, he'll never let me live it down."
"You've got it, Smiles," Natalie said and laughed.
Once on board, Miles stored his bag in the over head compartment. taking a seat next to Natalie, he sat back and waited for the plane to take off, hoping that this flight would be a lot easier than the flight out.
Eva took her seat and stared at the silk rose BJ had presented to her, a wistful expression on her face. Unlike her teammates, she was beginning to wish, she could have stayed in San Francisco a
while longer.