Somewhere along the way, the three of them stopped at a gas station. Michelle wandered mindlessly out of the car, sitting on the edge of the sidewalk and watching the beautiful Eastern sun setting. She sighed, pushing wavy tresses out her face.

"Mind if I join you?" said a voice behind her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing her father leaning comfortably against the brick building, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"Do I really have a choice?" she retorted bitterly. He grinned.

"You wanted to meet me, right? Here I am." She turned away from him in disgust; his insensitivity was bugging the shit out of her. She would've told him to fuck off, but she had the feeling he wouldn't even if she asked him to.

"I didn't leave immediately, you know," he said. She didn't respond, so he continued. "I just about lost my shit when your mom said she was pregnant, but I stayed until you were about two."

"Why did you leave, then?" she asked nonchalantly. Max sighed as he sat down next to her.

"It's kinda complicated…"

"The hooker in Jersey?" she said cynically, though he could've sworn a grin played at her lips. He chuckled a little.

"The hooker in Jersey…" he repeated, and she couldn't tell whether he was reaffirming her statement or not. She decided to expand further on the subject to get more out of him.

"I understand. Why raise a family when you can have one night stands with women you don't even know the names of?"

"Hey, hey, hey, that wasn't the only reason. Actually, I think your mother wanted me out, but she knew she couldn't take care of you alone. The whole hooker thing…well, it wasn't something I planned on doing, it just sorta happened. Crazy shit happens when you're hammered out of your mind and high as a kite." He glanced somewhat nostalgically up at the sky, shaking his head and grinning (something Michelle noticed he did a lot.) He put out his cigarette, then directed his attention back to her.

"You look so much like your mom," he said, gently putting two hands to her face so that he could get a good look at her. He smiled as she looked at him, lightly stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "There's definitely some of me in you, but damn…"

She let him touch her; truthfully, his warm, rough hands against her face felt strangely comforting. Finally, he brought his hands down and stood up, brushing the gritty bits of dirt off of his jeans.

"Better head back to the car before she starts wondering where we are…" he said. He offered Michelle his hand, which she took after a moment of hesitation. After helping his daughter up, the two of them walked back towards the car. He dug through his pockets for another cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.

Rose was waiting for them somewhat impatiently, leaning against the car. When she saw them, she straightened herself out.

"There you are. Look, I don't feel like driving all night, so we're stopping at motel along the way."

Michelle was going to ask where they would be dropping Max off at, if anywhere, but at the same time she really didn't want to know. They got back into the car, drove for a couple more hours, then stopped at little motel, still in middle of nowhere.

By the time they got a room, it was very late and Michelle fell asleep before she hit the bed. Because it would be a bit awkward for the two exes to share a bed, Rose shared a bed with her daughter while Max bunked alone.

Michelle didn't sleep well at all, mostly falling in and out of an unconscious daze. Sometime early that morning, she heard the rumblings of someone hurriedly getting out of bed. She cracked an eye open, but couldn't see much more than a fast-moving blur running about the room.

"Michelle?" her father said somewhere above her. Her eyes instantly flew shut, pretending to be asleep. He put a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

"Michelle?" he said again. She didn't respond. He sighed loudly, placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then left her vicinity. She wasn't sure where he went; she could've sworn she heard the front door being cautiously closed, but she assumed he had gone out for a cigarette break or to get breakfast in the lobby. Thinking no more of it, she managed to drift off.

She woke a couple hours later, sunlight peeking through the thick, dirty windows. She yawned and sat up in the bed, stretching a little. When she noticed no one lie in the bed next to her, she glanced around and found her mother staring out the window, a small note in her hand.

As she got up and walked over to Rose, Michelle noticed the clearly exasperated look on her face.

"Where's…where is he?" she asked. Ms. Lennon sighed, and gestured to the note.

"See for yourself," she said as Michelle took the note. It read, in his untidy scrawl:

Caught a ride with a trucker heading towards Carolina.

Thanks, Rosie!

Max

"Carolina? Why the hell would he want to go to Carolina?" Rose muttered irritably, taking the note from her daughter's hand and throwing it in the trash. Michelle leaned against the window ledge as her mother straightened out the sheets on the bed.

"Why'd you date him, Mom? I mean, he's not exactly your type," she inquired with a touch of a smirk.

"That's probably the reason I dated him. The only type I had dated in high school were straight-A quarterbacks heading off to an Ivy League. Dependable, but boring. Your father, on the other hand, was not in least responsible; he must have forgotten dinners out at least five or six times a year. But he was strange and unique and different. And he'd date anything if it was attractive enough. He probably still would."

"He was adventurous; foolish, but wise in a strange sort of way. He seemed to know everything about…everything. Not much caught him off guard…except for that stupid war…" her mother trailed off, inaudibly to her daughter. Michelle absently twisted wavy strands of hair around her finger as she continued her inquisitions.

"Why didn't you tell me about him, and don't just say because I didn't feel like telling you. I want an answer," she demanded firmly, staring at her mother with blazing blue eyes. Rose stopped her bed-making and sighed.

"I wish I could give you a straight reason; I know that what's you want to hear. It was a number of things. In the beginning, I had the crazy notion he might show up again. I was sure when I bailed him out the first time he'd come back with me. But he left a note just like he did this morning.."

"Then those hopes failed, and…well, I didn't want you to think he left because of you. Even I don't know the exact reason why he left…did he tell you?"

Michelle hesitated, but figured it would be best if her mother did not know. She shook her head. "No, he didn't tell me anything," she lied slickly.

"He probably can't even remember…but never mind that…" Ms. Lennon came up to her daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. "You were right…I didn't appreciate the snappish attitude, but I understand why you were so frustrated…you did deserve to know, and…I'm sorry."

Michelle suppressed the urge to give her mother a dubious look. Rarely did she ever apologize to her daughter for anything. She felt her actions were always rational or she had good reason for everything she did. But she only nodded, giving her mom a little smile. Ms. Lennon returned it and gave her daughter a light kiss on the cheek.

"We'd better head home, I've got to work tomorrow," she said with a bit of a groan. They gathered up what little they had, checked out of the room, then hit the road.

As Michelle watched the strange rows of cornfields slowly disappear into the familiar sites and sounds of the urban towns, she thought back over the last couple days. She'd met her dad. That fact was still hard to get over. He wasn't exactly what she expected, but everything at least made some sort of sense. She still couldn't figure out how her mother had been so crazy for him that she had willingly carried his child. Or perhaps it wasn't willingly. And she didn't understand why her mother hadn't at least gone looking for him. These unanswered questions swirled in her head as they finally came back into the NYC suburb, and she couldn't help but wonder what shenanigans her father was getting into over in Carolina.

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