To The Altar Wedding Week - Tuesday
Chapter 18 Father Figures
"Where are you?" Shane asked.
"Patagonia dear." Artis responded like it should be perfectly obvious. Shane grinned at her response still amazed at how the free-wheeling wanderer could possibly be related to Norman.
Oliver & Norman had just left for their tuxedo fittings and Rita for her dress fitting as Shane answered the phone. Ecstatic she had finally reached Artis she put the wheels in motion for her surprise. Shane finished talking to Artis and returned to the car to leave for the Kelser Farm. When she arrived, she was delighted to see both Joe & Bill were still there. "Perfect. How do you feel about building one more wedding gift?" Shane asked.
Joe & Bill looked at each other. "Sure."
"Great!" Shane said excitedly. She told them about Rita struggling to find Norman's grandmother in time for the wedding and that she'd managed to track Artis down through a contact at the Brown Palace. Explaining she wanted to surprise Norman and Rita at the bachelor party, she went through her idea for an exploding cake. They sat down to design a large cake with a robotic stand that could pop her laptop out of the cake with Artis on a remote video call.
Joe & Bill immediately got on board with the idea making suggestions as they went through design ideas. Surprisingly, Bill had most of what they needed for the base of the cake around the barn after the renovations. Joe and Shane ran out to get the rest of what they needed at the craft and hardware store. Seeing Shane pick out hardware and electronic parts without a second thought Joe asked, "How is it that you know so much about building this type of project?"
"Oh, I was on the robotics team in high school." Shane said absently trying to find the right size part as she was digging in a bin, "Found it."
"I thought you debated in high school?" Joe asked curious about the woman with which his son had become completely enthralled.
"I did both." Shane said now looking through remote transmitters & receivers.
"Did you ever sleep?" Joe asked only slightly joking.
Shane laughed, "I had some diverse interests. My mom encouraged me to channel my arguing skills into an activity that might help obtain scholarship money for college and I was good at debating. I think she secretly hoped if I spent my time arguing at school, I wouldn't have any left for home. Unfortunately, it didn't take her long to realize I just excelled and got better the longer I debated."
"So, I've heard." Joe said thoughtfully. "From Oliver."
Shane shook her head ruefully, "He does not like losing. I didn't realize how competitive he was until we started dating. Don't get me wrong I like winning as much as the next person, but I really enjoyed the technical and programming aspects of being on the robotics team. It's where I started acquiring my hacking skills." She stopped for a moment to explain, "There's something exhilarating about solving puzzles, putting together the random information you have and breaking through to get the rest of the information you need." She finished picking up what they needed, "I think we're ready to go."
Joe grinned at her casually talking about illegally hacking into places and knowing how his strait-laced son probably reacted on a regular basis, "This is going to be fun." Shane assumed he meant the project they were working on, but Joe was going to enjoy watching Shane and Oliver navigate their relationship every bit as much. He thought Oliver needed Shane to loosen him up just as much as Shane needed Oliver to remind her when to color inside the lines.
When they got back to the barn, Shane started building the robotic portions while Joe and Bill finished building the case and wheeled base. As they were working, Bill gestured towards Shane putting the electronic parts together in the corner of the barn like some type of mad electrical scientist, "She's sure something else. I can see why Oliver fell for her."
Joe nodded in acknowledgement. "She's uniquely talented, intelligent, nice, beautiful, and fiercely protective about those she cares about. What's there not to like? They're quite different but Oliver and her work well together. If he ever gets around to it, I'll be fortunate to have her as a daughter-in-law."
"Still no movement on that front, huh?" Bill asked sympathetically.
"Baby steps here and there." Joe replied sighing.
When Shane finished, they assembled everything going through a couple trial runs. Once they were sure it worked Shane gave them high fives, "We make a great team!" She grinned at the men double checking everything while loading it up to transport. "Thanks for your help."
Joe leaned over to give her a hug. "No problem. Since you're taking Rita out, we'll get everything there the night of the bachelor party."
On the drive home from the farm, Shane had a smile on her face looking forward to surprising Norman and Rita. She'd thoroughly enjoyed putting the project together with Joe and Bill. Remembering Joe and Bill double checking everything as they'd finished loading their project, she thought that must have been what it was like for other kids having a dad to do school projects with when they were kids. While she'd forgiven her father for leaving, there were still regrets and missed opportunities that she would never have since she'd lost him. Helping with Norman and Rita's wedding made her realize if the time ever came, she wouldn't have anybody to walk her down the aisle.
The radio had been playing in the background and she'd been only half listening. As she heard Kelly Clarkson's Piece by Piece start playing, she shook her head thinking what a coincidence. Then she heard Oliver's voice in her head, "Coincidence is the middle name of the almighty." Leaning over she turned it up listening closer.
And all I remember is your back
Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past
I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you
Begged you to want me, but you didn't want to
But piece by piece, he collected me up
Off the ground, where you abandoned things, yeah
Piece by piece, he filled the holes that you burned in me
At six years old and you know
He never walks away
He never asks for money
He takes care of me
He loves me
Piece by piece, he restored my faith
That a man can be kind and a father could stay
And all of your words fall flat
I made something of myself and now you wanna come back
But your love, it isn't free, it has to be earned
Back then I didn't have anything you needed, so I was worthless
But piece by piece, he collected me up
Off the ground, where you abandoned things, yeah
Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me
At six years old and you know
He never walks away
He never asks for money
He takes care of me
'Cause he loves me
Piece by piece, he restored my faith
That a man can be kind and a father could stay
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece, I fell far from the tree
I will never leave her like you left me
And she will never have to wonder her worth
Because unlike you, I'm gonna put her first and you know
He'll never walk away
He'll never break her heart
He'll take care of things, he'll love her
Piece by piece, he restored my faith
That a man can be kind and the father should be great
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
As the song ended, Shane turned the radio off. Thinking over the course of the time she'd known Oliver, Norman, and Rita, she'd had her pieces picked up and put back together. The love and friendship that had developed between the four had gone a long way towards gluing the pieces back together that she hadn't even realized had been so badly torn apart by the time she moved to Denver. Their time together had shown her that faith and miracles weren't just fairy tales. Her belief in people, family, and God had been restored over time. She took a moment to give thanks that she'd finally found her place.
Watching Joe with Oliver had shown her what a father could be. That fatherly love could involve a parent that never gave up never walked away. Her thoughts turned to what a great father Oliver could be given who he was and the example he'd had set for him.
By the time she pulled up to her house, she'd found a peace she hadn't had before. She'd found a renewed resolve to trust the timing with Oliver. Remembering that there were infinite ways to say, 'I love you' without actually saying it. Sitting on the swing before going into the house she could almost hear Oliver say, "I mean what I say when I say it." She could wait until he was ready to say it.