Page 156 of Heartbreak & Cupcakes
He must have. How else would he have gotten the ring?
“I gotta be around to see my grandbaby grow up.”
I hugged my father as tears again fell down my face. I couldn’t believe that this was actually my life. I had a successful business that I loved. I was going to marry the man of my dreams and was pregnant with our baby. I had a daughter who I loved as if she was my own. And now my father was going to live here.
“Congratulations, Pumpkin.” Mrs. G hugged my neck tightly.
I wondered if my dad would pick up on the fact that Mrs. G also called me Pumpkin. She’d started calling me that since I moved into the condo. But when I glanced over to see his reaction, I couldn’t quite read what his reaction was.
His face had gone white as a sheet. It was as if he’d seen a ghost. He wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Mrs. G. “Dad?”
Mrs. G stepped back and when I was going to introduce them, her jaw fell open. “Tommy?”
Tommy? I’d never heard anyone call my dad Tommy.
“Jojo?”
Jojo?
“You two know each other?” I asked, looking between my dad and Mrs. G then up at Alex.
I could see from Alex’s expression he had no idea what was going on.
“It’s been…” my dad’s voice trailed off.
“Over forty years…” Mrs. G finished, and I noticed that her eyes were glistening with unshed tears and there was a flush on her cheeks.
Over forty years?I knew that my dad had lived in Los Angeles in his twenties. I wondered if he’d known her then.
“How do you two know each other?” Alex repeated the same question I’d had.
“Oh we, um, used to…well.” The flush on Mrs. G’s cheeks deepened.
“We worked in similar fields.”
“Law enforcement?” I’d thought that Mrs. G had been a teacher.
“Oh no, I was a…waitress.” Mrs. G quickly responded.
I looked at my dad. “You worked in food service?”
My dad didn’t like to talk about his life. He’d told me a little bit about his childhood. His dad was a bricklayer, his mom worked at a grocery store. He was an only child. He’d mentioned that he lived in California, but he was even more tight lipped about those years than he was about his childhood or time with my mom.
“Dad, can I talk to you?” I pulled my dad to the side of the room.
“Congratulations, sweetie. The ring looks beautiful… your mother would be so proud.” He had a tear in his eye.
Behind my dad I could see Alex was grilling Mrs. G. Between the two of us we’d get to the bottom of this.
“Thanks. But how do you know Mrs. G?”
“Joanna and I dated.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “And you met at a restaurant?”
I knew this was supposed to be mine and Alex’s moment, but this development needed to be investigated. There was no way that I could enjoy my impromptu engagement party until I got to the bottom of this.
