Chapter Four

The next afternoon, Keely found her father waiting for her when she got home from school. This time, however, she was ready for him. Mandy and Phil had both filled her in on their rather heated conversations with Jeff and now she had something to say to him.

"Keely, we need to talk," he said when she reached the house.

"Yeah, we do."

They sat across from each other at the kitchen table.

"Keely," Jeff started, "I want you to know that my leaving twelve years ago had nothing to with you. I never meant to hurt you. I was just confused, and I didn't know how to handle things. My life wasn't going the way I wanted it to so I just...left. I realized a long time ago what I a big mistake I'd made by not being involved in your life but I had no idea how to fix it. I figured you'd hate me."

Keely took a deep breath. "I don't want to hate you, Dad. I want you in my life, but you're going to have to realize that I'm not five anymore, I'm all grown up. I have a life, a great life and you can't just show up and try to change things. If you want to be in my life you're going to have to learn to accept the people that already in it. That means Mom and Phil."

"Keely--"

She cut him off. "No, Dad, you need to hear this. Mom and Phil are always going to be my life so you're going to have to learn to get along with them. Mom has done a spectacular job of raising me by herself. She works so hard and has never been anything but loving and supportive.

"As for Phil, he and I are a package deal. You get one of us, you get the other. There's not a whole lot you can do to split us up. Phil's here to stay, no matter how much you threaten him. I think you figured that much out from your talk with him yesterday."

"I guess I was a little hard on him."

"A little? From what Phil told me, it sounds like you were auditioning for a Lifetime movie with all the drama you caused."

"I know. And I am sorry, Keely. I was trying to look out for you. I just went a little overboard."

"I'm big girl, Dad, I can look out for myself."

"I know, Keely, your mother made that perfectly clear. I think that's what scares me the most. You're all grown up and I have no idea who you are."

Keely didn't know what to say and a long silence followed. Keely finally decided it was time to change the subject and ask the question she'd been dying to ask since her father had first shown up on her porch. "Where have you been all these years, Dad?"

Jeff seemed grateful for the change of subject. "Boston."

"Wow. Boston. Red Sox. Harvard. Tea parties. Matt Damon." Keely realized she was rambling. "So what are you doing in California?"

"Well, that's actually the whole reason for my visit. I'm moving back to Pickford."

"Really? You're moving back?"

"Yeah. Well, actually, I'm almost all moved in already. Anyway, I got transfered to an ad agency out here so I decided to move back to my hometown."

"Wow." As Keely was trying to sort out her feelings about this turn of events, Jeff divulged a piece of information that made her head spin.

"That's not all," he said, "I, uh, I got remarried."

"I have a stepmom?" Keely wasn't sure how she felt about this either.

"Yeah. Linda. And a stepsister."

"A stepsister?" The more Jeff talked, it seemed, the more foggy the whole situation became in Keely's mind.

"Yup. Amber. She's year younger than you."

"Golly...a stepsister..."

"There's more."

Keely looked at him in absolute disbelief, not knowing if she could take anymore. She wondered what else there could possibly be. Was her father about to go all Princess Diaries on her and tell her she was set to inherit the throne to some obscure European principality?

Jeff's news wasn't quite so royal. although it left Keely as thunderstruck as if she had been named the new princess of Genovia. "You also have a half brother and half sister."

"I have a..." Keely let her voice trail off. Her shock had momentarily overtaken all functions of her brain.

"Hey, how about you come over for dinner on Friday? The house should be all put together by then."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Keely. Everyone would be happy to meet you." Jeff read the uncertainty in her face and said, "Tell you what, you can even bring Phil, if it would make you feel better." He still wasn't sure how he felt about Phil but he figured Keely might be more apt to come if she had someone she trusted with her.

Keely considered this. She was curious about her father's new family and having Phil there would ensure she would have someone on her side.

"Okay," she agreed. "We'll be there."

"Great." He glanced at his watch. "I've got to run. See you on Friday."

He left, leaving Keely sitting there trying desperately to sort through the hundreds of thoughts running through her mind and failing miserably. She finally decided she wasn't going to figure anything out alone, so she called Phil.

Within minutes, Phil was ringing her doorbell. Keely opened the door, pulled him inside and threw her arms around him.

"Whoa! Is everything okay, Keel?" Phil asked, hugging her.

She let go of him. "He has a whole other family, Phil. Without me."

"Who? I think you need to start at the beginning and fill in the gaps for me."

He took her hand lead her to the living room where he sat her down on the sofa.

"Okay, take it from the top."

"My dad got remarried. He has a wife and kids, and a whole happy life without me. How come he had to go have those kids when he had me all along?" Phil didn't have an answer for her and, as it turned out, she didn't want one. "I guess that's the real reason he ignored me for twelve years. He was too busy with the kids he actually wanted to bother with me. I guess I just wasn't good enough for him."

"Don't say that Keely, you know it's not true." She didn't reply but continued to stare angrily at the carpet. "Look at me Keel." She looked up at him. "You are smart and talented and beautiful and if your dad can't see that, it's his fault not yours. It's his loss, really, missing all those years with you."

When Keely still didn't say anything, Phil said, "Look, Keel, I know you don't want to hear this, but I think you need put aside whatever negative feelings you have towards your dad and be happy for him. Yes, it wasn't right of him to walk out on you and yes, it wasn't very thoughtful of him to spring all of this on you at once but if he's happy with his new family, you should be happy for him."

Keely stared at him for a long moment, wondering how he how he always knew exactly what to do and marveling at his unique ability to approach every situation calmly and objectively. He was right, of course, and the more she thought about it, the more what he said made sense.

"You're right, Phil. He's my dad and if he's happy, I should be happy for him." Keely still wasn't sure how she would go about accomplishing this, but she was going to try her best. "By the way, my dad wants us to come to dinner on Friday night and meet his family."

"That's--" Phil started but then realized what she'd said. "Wait, us? Us who?"

"Me and you."

Phil suddenly thought he knew what it must have been like to be Harry Potter facing down that Hungarian Horntail, only Phil didn't know any magic and future technology was useless against dragons...and his girlfriend's 21st century father.

When Keely saw the look on his face she said, "I know you'd probably rather spend your Friday night with anyone but my father, but I need you there, Phil. I can't do this alone."

Phil sighed. He knew he had to go. He had never failed to be there for Keely when she needed him and he wasn't about to start. "Yeah, I'll be there. But you owe me big time."

"I think I can handle that." Keely smiled then leaned in and gave him a long kiss.

A few minutes later, they were still kissing and just as things were getting good, Phil remember he had some where to be.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I've got to take off," Phil said. Keely gave him a quizzical look and he clarified. "My dad caught a cold and thinks he's dying so I'm covering for him at the hardware store."

"Oh, okay."

"Trust me, Keel, I'd much rather be here, making out with you."

She laughed and walked him to the door, where he gave her one last kiss.

When Phil came home a few hours later, Barb greeted him when he walked in the back door.

"Hi, sweetie, how was the hardware store?"

"Slow," Phil answered, sitting down at the counter. "I had time to finish all my homework and watch Curtis build a pyramid out of cans of varnish. How's Dad?"

"Better, but from the way he's acting you'd think he'd come down with the plague instead of a common 21st century cold."

Phil rolled his eyes. "Dad always was a drama queen."

Barb didn't reply but instead studied her son for a moment. He had his elbows on the counter and was holding his head in his hands. "You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders, Phil. What's wrong?"

He looked up at her. "It's Keely."

"Did you two have a fight?"

Phil shook his head. "No, we're fine. It's this thing with her dad. It's got her so confused and hurt. I want to fix it but I just don't know what to do."

"There's not really anything you can do," Barb said. "This is something Keely has to figure out for herself, Phil. But I know Keely, she's a strong girl. She'll make it through."

"I know. I just hate seeing her like this and knowing there wasn't anything I could have done to protect her."

Barb patted his arm. "Honey, I know you don't want Keely to get hurt but there are going to be times like this where you're not going to be able to do anything about it. That's just life, Phil, and its part of being in a relationship. All you can really do is be there to listen to her, give her a shoulder to cry on, and love her."

He smiled. "All things I'm good at."

Barb smiled as she watched him head up the stairs. She was incredibly proud of her son. She knew he cared about Keely more than even himself, and that he would do anything for her. She was often amazed at the strength of their relationship and the depth of their dedication to each other and she was happy Phil had found someone he could share such an intense love with.

A/n: I don't know why I enjoy writing Barb so much but I keep coming back to her for scenes like this. The funny thing is, that scene wasn't planned, it just sort of wrote itself. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon and as of right now, I think it's going to the last.

--Sam