Marlene

         For the first time in over twelve years, I found myself waiting outside of Le Petite Cafe and was so nervous that I could literally taste it.

         I was starting to regret having come fifteen minutes early, especially since she was probably running late. Eager for some momentary source of amusement, I glanced down at my watch. Sure enough, it was already ten minutes after one o'clock. I should have expected this; she was always late when it mattered. Then again, maybe it didn't matter at all. She'd made it clear that this wasn't really a date.          

         I sighed, wiping sweat off my forehead. This unusually hot June day wasn't doing much to help calm my nerves. I knew that it would be nice and cool inside the cafe, where together we could share iced coffee over whatever it was she wanted to tell me. That is, if she ever got here. Running my fingers through my hair and pacing back and forth in front of the coffee shop, I tried to figure out why I was so anxious. Perhaps it was the uncertainty in her tone of voice that had made me so concerned.

         My romantic future was only just starting to look bright. Over the past couple years I'd gotten to be pretty depressed until Amber decided to intervene, but whether she'd done it out of secret adoration or pure spite was impossible to tell. My sister doesn't help others unless she can get something out of it, although I still have yet to discover what the motive is this time.

         “Okay,” She'd said, frowning at the computer screen, “How can we make you seem appealing?”

         “I don't see how this is going to work,” I protested. “I mean, online dating sites are kind of creepy, don't you think?”

         “I think you're kind of creepy, so what's your point?” She didn't even bother to look at me when she said it. For Amber, tossing insults around was second nature. “Now all we have to do is make you sound attractive. Lucky for you I'm a pretty good liar.”

         “Hey, I'm attractive!” I hissed, jabbing her in the arm.

         “Adam!” She cried. Amber was so easy to annoy. “Do you want me to help you or not?”

         “Preferably not,” I decided. After the way things had ended with Melissa, what was the point in trying anymore?

         “Good. All the more reason to set up your profile.”

         I watched helplessly as Amber typed out, but not without difficulty, a description of me as she thought would make a woman want to meet me. “A man in his mid-thirties with an athletic build, dark red hair, pearly-cream complexion, and eyes like roughly cut emerald gems.” I frowned, finding her interpretation to be somewhat idealistic, but Amber's mind was made up.

         “If your lucky,” Amber added while waiting for a web page to load, “Then maybe your first blind date will be stupider than your ex-wife was.”

         “Melissa wasn't stupid,” I said. “People change.” Though I couldn't help but shudder at the memory of how messy things had ultimately become between us.

         “Well, whatever.” Amber scowled. “I hated her, and now you're divorced. Look who knows best.”

         After we'd set up my profile on the site, I was matched with a woman who lived in the area who was a “tall, slender beauty in her mid-thirties” with a “pale complexion and dark, wild hair.” Intrigued by the description, I figured I had nothing more to lose.

         My blind date and I arranged to meet a week later at a fancy Italian restaurant. Naturally, I showed up way too early, which I'm starting to realize I tend to do when I'm nervous. Ten minutes after the time we agreed upon, my blind date finally arrived, and I still remember how shocked I was when I realized that I knew this woman. The “tall, slender beauty” was Jenna McCullough, my former high school sweetheart!

         Jenna had hardly changed since the last time I saw her. Her long, dark hair was tied back into one braid now instead of two, and she was taller and thinner than I remembered. She still didn't know how to dress, judging by her long flowery skirt that cut off at the knee and a powder blue blouse that was more appropriate for a librarian than for a woman on a bind date. Those familiarly large, black eyes caught my gaze, and while she now wore glasses and her features had matured some, she still had the same old face. In fact, I'll bet it was her distinctive appearance that enabled me to spot her effortlessly.

         “Hello,” She said in that deep, husky voice of hers, “Nice to meet--”

         “Jenna, it's me, Adam!” She stiffened, her big, glassy eyes taking me in. “Remember? We went to school together.”

         “Adam Pence?” She seemed to remember after all. “Is it really you?”

         “Sure is!” I couldn't believe it. “How ironic is this?”

         “Very!” Jenna replied, though a little too loudly. “Even the internet thinks we're compatible!” I laughed; Jenna was still as awkward in conversation as I had remembered.

         We spent that first date catching up and learning about how the other had spent these past few years. I told her about my mechanic shop and how I had recently gotten divorced. Jenna later admitted that she had been engaged for awhile, but her fiancee had passed away before they could be wed.

         “Jenna, I'm so sorry,” I'd said, realizing that no matter how bad you think you've got it, there's always someone else who's worse off.

         “Its okay, I'm better now,” She forced a smile. “Besides, my kids are still here to cheer me up.” Jenna then told me about her two daughters, Marlene and Madeline.

         “Wow Jenna, I can't picture you with kids,” I shook my head in disbelief.

         “Yes, kids,” she said, biting her lip thoughtfully. “Did you and your wife-I mean, ex-wife, ever start a family?”

         “No,” I said solemnly, “Although we did talk about it. Then our jobs got in the way, and then so many other obstacles seemed to pop up, until ultimately we began to drift apart.” I sighed. Jenna hasn't asked about Melissa since.

         We chatted for hours, finally wrapping up that first date (if its even appropriate to call it that) in good spirits. Jenna and I went out together a few more times, but I could see that she was holding back.

         “You know,” I said to Jenna last week while in a Japanese restaurant, “I'm fine with taking things slowly, considering our past relationships. But lately I've been under the impression that there's something bothering you. Is there?”

         Jenna clammed up, an obvious sign that there was. “I'm different now,” she finally said, poking a California roll with her chopstick.

         “Different? How so?”

         “I mean, what if things are really over between us? What if you don't like this new, adult Jenna? I'm not the girl you remember anymore.” I did my best to reassure her, but the date ended on an awkward note. I didn't hear from Jenna again until yesterday. I could tell just by our phone conversation that there was something she wanted me to know, but no matter how many times I poked and prodded, she refused to tell me outright.

         Now here I am, waiting outside of Le Petite Cafe because of a phone call, and Jenna is officially twenty minutes late for our “date-that-isn't-really-a-date,” to use her words.

         I was about to go inside the cafe and buy a bottle of ice cold water when I heard Jenna shouting to me from as far away as down the street.

         “Adam!” She said between gasps, “Sorry I'm late!” I was flooded with relief at the sight of her. No wonder she'd specified that this wasn't a date--Jenna had brought her girls along.

         And what cute little girls they were, too! The older one held her mother's hand tightly, hiding behind Jenna the moment they approached. The other girl, who looked to be about two years old, was  shy as well, burying her face in Jenna's shoulder.

         “No, it's okay,” I smiled, “Shall we go inside? You must be thirsty. Drinks on me!” I gestured towards the door, but Jenna hesitated.

         “What's the matter?” I asked, but Jenna didn't answer me.

         “Marlene,” she said, sounding more abrupt than she probably intended, “This is Mr. Pence. Come and say hello.” Jenna tried to force the older of the two girls out from behind her, but Marlene wouldn't budge.

         “Hey there, Marlene,” I crouched down to her level, holding out my hand, “Nice to meet you.” Long and thin, Marlene had her mother's build as well as the same unruly curls, except hers came in a fiery shade of red. Behind all that hair and black, thickly-rimmed glasses, however, was a different face. Sure, she had Jenna's thin mouth and small, angled nose, but her eyes were not as large and round. Instead, they were small and inquisitive. When she peered up at me with those eyes, I smiled, likening them to roughly cut emerald gems.

         Then a thought struck me and I felt my heart fly right up into my mouth. I stood, trying to catch Jenna's gaze, but she was focused intently on Madeline, using her fingers to comb through the child's thick, chestnut curls. Madeline looked up at me too; all three of them had the same small lips, but Madeline's eyes were the same color as her mother's. Jenna had said she'd been engaged and had two daughters, but I'd just assumed...

         “Jenna,” I asked, my voice quivering, “How old is Marlene?”

         Jenna didn't have to say it out loud because the answer was already written across her face. “She's eleven.” Eleven years old. Was it possible then that--

         “Mr. Pence?” Marlene spoke, interrupting my train of thought, “May I ask you a question?”

         “Sure, what is it?”

         “Are you my real daddy?”

         I looked over at Jenna, and suddenly the invisible barrier that had separated her from the rest of us came crashing down. “Yes Marlene. Yes he is.” I could not believe what I was hearing.

         “Jenna! We have a daughter??” I cried, “Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

         “I wanted to, I really did!” A tear rolled down Jenna's cheek. “But I was afraid of what you'd say. When we split up, you told me that you needed some time to discover yourself. I didn't want to hold you back.”

         “You still could have said something about it!” She made me sound so insensitive!

         “I know, I know!” She said, “And I regret it. A few years ago I almost did tell you! But then I heard you were getting married, and I couldn't bring myself to...” Jenna was sobbing heavily now, and I started to feel guilty, realizing how much different the situation was for her. “If you don't ever want to see me again, I understand. I just felt it was time to start being honest with you.”

         I embraced her.“Thank you, Jenna, for finding the courage.” I didn't just mean the courage to reveal the truth to me, but also for having the courage to raise our daughter all on her own. Our daughter. “I wish you had told me, but what's done is done. Just know that I don't hate you Jenna. Truly, I don't.”

         I led the three of them inside and into the air conditioning. I was literally shaking now and could really use that cup of coffee. Together we sat, and as the four of us at last enjoyed our refreshments, Jenna did her best to help me get caught up on the first eleven years of Marlene's life that I had missed. Luckily it didn't take long for Marlene to grow more comfortable around me, and I listened carefully as she told me intimate things about herself, such as how her favorite color was green and that she was afraid of the dark. We spent hours together like that, though honestly I felt that time was standing still. It wasn't until my cell phone rang that I would remember what day it was.

         “Adam, where are you?” Amber's voice hissed at me through the receiver, “I've been waiting forever for you to get home!”

         “You won't believe what just happened to me, Amber,” I began, but, as always, whatever Amber had to say was far more important.

         “God, Adam! How could you forget?”

         “Forget what?”

         “We were supposed to go present shopping, you moron. It's Father's Day, and you know Mom expects us to get Dad something nice.”

         “Wait-did you just say it's Father's Day?”

         “Are you really that stupid?” Amber shrieked, “God! What planet are you even living on?”

         I smiled over at Jenna and the girls, who were engrossed in a colorful-looking picture book, as Amber continued criticizing me in my ear. What reason did I have to remember? Its not like Melissa and I ever got around to starting that family.

         “Hello? Are you still there?” Amber had just realized that I wasn't listening and was growing impatient.

         “Yeah, I'll be over in a little while,” I said. “I'm in the middle of my own Father's Day gift and I'll come as soon as I can.”

         “What? What are you--” I hung up on Amber before she could finish. I knew she'd be mad at me, but Amber could wait. I mean, its not every day a man finds out he has a daughter, and what are the odds he'd meet her on Father's Day, no less?