76 comments/ 20650 views/ 42 favorites Reconnecting the Dots Pt. 01 By: Kaje1234 I've been a reader on this sight for close to a year now. Not too long ago I finally decided to create a profile. After a while I thought I'd like to give writing a try again. I used to love to write when I was in High School, but haven't really written anything in close to 15 years. So here's my attempt at getting back into the writing game. Whether I'll continue after this story is yet to been seen. As for this story, it could probably go in any number of categories, but I finally decided to post it in the Loving Wives section. As for my writing, I hope it's up to par. I'm more into plot driven stories, and while this is Literotica, I find I'm drawn to stories where sex isn't the main focus. Don't get me wrong though, there are some great stroke stories on this site. So, just to let everybody know, there is no sex in this story. I hope you enjoy Part 1 of this story. Thanks -Jake- (and yes I used my name as the main characters name) ***** "Hey boss." "Morning," replied Jake. "So when did noon become mornin?" chuckled Garrett checking his watch. Jake grinned back. This was their daily ritual. Since Jake owned the place, he never came in at 10:00 when Garrett, his long time manager, opened to let the rest of the staff in so they could start prepping for the lunch rush that started at 11:30. Jake usually waltzed in at around noon and Garrett always busted his balls. Not only was Jake his boss, but he considered Garrett a dear friend. Their wives were very close and they trusted each other like brothers. "Did the food order come in yet?" asked Jake. "Yeah. Truck came about an hour ago," replied Garrett. "Good. Did you remember to make sure the meat was good this time. Fuckers gave us meat that was ready to expire last delivery," reminded Jake. "It's kosher," answered Garrett with a smug grin. He'd been working for Jake for close to ten years now, first as a bartender and then manager, and had yet to forget to do something Jake had told him to do. Most of the time Garrett didn't need to be told. He just did it. And Jake knew it yet still tried to catch him. Jake smirked back. "I'll get you one of these days asshole. That'll wipe that smug little grin off your face." Garrett just chuckled but then his face turned serious for a second. "Oh, I wanted to ask you," interjected Garrett. "Would you and your band play Saturday night instead of Friday night? Cause, Benny Rodriguez and his car club want to have their monthly get together here on Friday night. That made Jake's eyebrows raise. "But don't they usually hold it at Stibbins?" he asked, naming another Bar and Grill in town. "They do," replied Garrett excitedly. "But apparently they want a change, and when he asked, I couldn't turn him down. It's good business. Those guys like to drink man." 'They sure did', Jake thought to himself. He'd been trying to get Benny's car club to come to his place for years, but they always turned him down. And now... "Wait!" Jake blurted. "You booked them already. So why ask me if it was ok?" He smirked. He already knew the answer to his question but this was part of the game they played, so he waited for Garrett to answer. Garrett chuckled and was about to answer, when he was interrupted by one of the servers coming over to ask one of the million questions he had to answer on a daily basis. Most of the time the questions were ridiculous, like "what's in a martini?", but as anybody who has ever worked in the food service world knows, there are no stupid questions. Jake smirked again and let Garrett get back to work. As the owner of The Bacon Bar and Grill, Jake didn't usually deal with the day to day operations. Garrett and his other manager Karen were more than capable. His role was more of a supervisory role. He was the captain of the ship and made sure everybody, including Garrett and Karen, did his or her job correctly. Oh, and to play music. That was one of the perks of owning your own Bar and Grill. His band always had a place to play. Jake glanced around his bar and took in everything with a practiced eye. The lunch rush was in full swing and the place was packed. It wasn't a huge place, a fourteen seat bar and twenty five tables, but it was all his. Watching his staff move like a well oiled machine made his chest swell with pride. It took him many years to get where he was now. He was happy. He owned his own business, was married to the love of his life and had two kids (well step kids) that he adored. Life couldn't be any better. That wasn't always the case though. "Yo Jake!" somebody yelled from across the room snapping him from his reverie. Jake turned around and saw Casper Jones, the drummer of his band, sitting at a table with a few of his work buddies. Jake turned and walked across the room towards Casper but half way through he glanced to his immediate right and made eye contact with a girl, maybe 18 or 19, who was sitting alone. A sense of deja vu washed over him and he paused for a brief second holding eye contact with the girl. But just as quick as it came, the feeling disappeared. Shaking his head, Jake broke eye contact and continued on to the impatient Casper. "What the fuck man! What's this bullshit with movin the gig to Saturday?" blurted Casper as Jake approached the table. A few people at the surrounding tables turned towards the outburst but continued on with their business a few seconds later. Nothing out of the ordinary in a place like this. Jake shook his head and chuckled. Casper was the wild one of the band. The only guy still un-married and probably never would. A different girl on his arm every night of the week was the norm. Yet he was a kick ass drummer, was a fun to be around, and was loyal to his friends. "Garrett already told you, didn't he." It was a statement, not a question. "Yeah. What gives man?" asked Casper. "What...?" chuckled Jake. "Screw up your pussy schedule for the week?" Casper took on a shocked expression for a moment, then burst out laughing. Jake and the rest of the guys at the table joined in. "Can't get nothin by you Jake," Casper said through his mirth. "You're one predictable mother fucker Casper," chortled Jake. "We all know the only reason you're in the band is for the pussy." That sent the entire table into even greater hysterics. "Well, who can blame me," Casper added once his laughter subsided. "Chicks love drummers. But by changin to Saturday you're screwin up my game man. I'm gonna have to drop the honey I was supposed to be with that night." "Why?" asked Shawn, one of Casper's work buddies. "What do you mean why?" Casper blurted out with an incredulous look on his face. After looking around the table to see nobody had any idea why, he said, "The chick I was supposed to be with on Friday night told me she would blow me in my van before the gig. And now she won't be able to." That sent everyone at the table except Casper into hysterics for the third time. Casper's expression stayed the same. "So, why can't she come on Saturday night?" asked Shawn through his laughter. "Yeah Casper," Jake prodded, knowing Casper's answer was going to be one for the ages. "It seems pretty simple to me. Just have them switch nights." "Because Cindy, my Friday night girl..." "Ms. Blowjob?" interrupted a smirking Shawn. "Yeah," Casper answered ignoring the renewed laughter at the table. "Cindy said she'd only blow me before I play because I'll be too sweaty afterwards." Out of all the answers they expected, that one was the furthest from anybody's mind. Hell, it wasn't even on some of their minds. And what made it the most shocking of all was the seriousness in which Casper said it. Nobody made a peep for a few seconds until all hell broke loose. Shawn fell over onto the floor because he was laughing so hard, his other buddy Carl was hunched over gasping for breath, and Jake stumbled backwards, bumping into the table behind him, causing the guy seated there to drop his glass spilling it everywhere. Jake was laughing so hard he was unable to speak and do damage control, however, the ever reliable Garrett was there within moments fanning the flames while the bus boy cleaned the mess up. Once Jake got control of his laughter he apologized to the man and offered to comp his meal which thankfully soothed the man's ruffled feathers. Jake returned his attention back to Casper and his friends to catch Shawn saying, "Casper what the hell does that have to do with anything? You're not making any sense man." Jake chuckled to himself. That was exactly the same question he was going to ask. "How am I not makin sense?" Casper asked with a confused look on his face. "What I think Shawn here is getting at Casper is you should invite this Cindy girl to the gig on Saturday night, while getting your Saturday night girl to hang out on Friday," concluded Carl. He sounded like a father explaining something complicated to his son. Casper thought for a moment, then realization hit. "Oh. That could work," he said with a smile. Jake just shook his head. 'The mind of a pussy hound' he thought. 'Thinking with his little head instead of his big head'. "I have to get back to work fellas," Jake chortled looking at the three guys. And then with a mock serious tone he asked, "Do me a favor Shawn and Carl?" "Sure man," Shawn replied while Carl nodded. "Make sure Casper boy over hear knows that today is Wednesday and Saturday is three days from now, not two." He turned and walked away. From over his shoulder he heard Shawn and Carl's laughter start up again and Casper say, "I know the days of the week asshole." Jake chuckled to himself. Walking back towards the kitchen he couldn't help but think how much he liked Casper. The guy only had one thing on his mind but damn he was entertaining. ----- As the lunch rush eventually died down, Jake found himself sitting down at an empty table going over the dreaded books. He was trying to find a way to lower the cost on a few of the more expensive items when he got the funny feeling he was being watched. He looked up, and still seated at the same table was the same girl. She was looking directly at him and when their eyes met he got hit with another strong wave of deja vu. He found it odd that this same girl had been sitting at the same table for almost two hours. And why was she looking at him like that? And why did she seem so familiar? This was the second time he made eye contact with her and was overwhelmed with a sense of deja vu. But just like before, the sensation quickly went away. He decided to get to the bottom of this. He took in her appearance. It was tough to judge with her sitting down, but she looked to be around 5'5" to 5'7". Straight shoulder length brown hair, which was a bit messy at the moment. Brown eyes with olive skin. A little on the skinnier side but not skeletal. She had on a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans that looked in need of washing. Otherwise, she was quite attractive for a girl of 18 or 19 if you're into that type of thing. At 38, he definitely wasn't. After looking at her for a few seconds longer he looked back down at the table not seeing the books lying in front of him. He was searching the furthest reaches of his mind to see if he could remember who this girl was. He could have sworn he'd seen her before. "Boss." "Huh," shot Jake, startled out of his reverie. He turned his head to see Garrett standing there with the printouts of the daily sales. Most food establishment owners usually waited until the end of the day to check on their totals, but Jake liked to do it multiple times a day. It was a good barometer to see how they were doing as a business and if things needed to change. "Looks like we did better than expected. We're up about 10% from what we projected," Garrett stated proudly. Since he was the day manager, when business did well during lunch, it reflected well on him. Same for Karen if the dinner numbers were up too. However, Jake learned long ago, that if the numbers were down, it was all his fault. Funny how that works. "Good," replied Jake a bit distractedly glancing over at the girl again. "So, when do I get my raise?" asked Garrett with a bit of mirth in his voice. Jake knew that would be Garrett's response. It always was when the numbers were up. He looked back at Garrett to see that smug grin on his face. Jake grinned in returned. "So what your saying is that when the numbers go up you should get a raise? Is that right?" Garrett smirked, "Well yeah." "OK, so if that's the case, then when the numbers are down do I get to dock your pay?" "Nope. You know it doesn't work like that," Garrett said in mock scolding tones. "Oh yeah, why's that?" replied a still grinning Jake. "Double standards boss. Didn't you know that?" Which caused them both to burst out laughing. They both knew Jake payed Garrett extremely well and this was just part of their ongoing game. "Seriously though," interjected Jake once his laughter died down. "That's great news. And I was just going through the books," Jake said, pointing down at the papers in front of him, "and our profit margins have improved on a bunch of items. Our food cost is also back where it should be. But there's always room for improvement." Garrett sat down and grabbed the papers in front of Jake and started perusing them himself. "Yeah. I see what you mean," he responded after a few moments. "It also looks like our over pourin problem has been solved," pointing to a column of figures. "Yeah. And don't you dare take credit for that," Jake mockingly scolded. "That's all Karen's doing." "What me? Take credit for someone else's work. Never," chuckled Garrett which also caused Jake to laugh. "All right smart ass," interrupted Jake. "Is the kitchen starting prep for dinner?" "No, they're having a good ole fashion circle jerk back there," Garrett said sarcastically. "Good. Then you can go join them. Now get the hell out of here before I give you some real work to do." A still grinning Garrett stood up and went about his business as Jake's attention went back to the mystery girl. This time when he looked at her, she wasn't looking back. This gave him an opportunity to study her more closely without it becoming too awkward. She definitely looked familiar. Why couldn't he place her? It was driving him nuts. Suddenly she looked up again and caught him staring. When their eyes met, Jake could see the nervousness in them. That was strange. Jake didn't know what to make of it. A few more seconds passed and he made a decision. He was going to go talk to her. He stood up and headed in her direction. Their eyes were still locked, and when she finally came to the realization he was coming over, her nervousness turned into sheer terror. This startled Jake for a moment. He didn't want to intimidate the girl. Yes, he was a pretty big guy at 6'2" and 220 lbs, and had a few tattoos, but he had a kind face and gentle demeanor. But he was resigned to finally put this mystery to rest, so he continued on towards her table. "Excuse me young lady," Jake started politely once he'd reached her table. "Do you mind if I join you?" She didn't say anything at first. It seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. After a few awkward moments she nodded slightly. "Thanks," he replied sitting down. "I'm Jake by the way. What's your name?" She just stared right at him and once again he could tell she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. After another few awkward moments Jake came to the realization that if he wanted to get any answers out of this girl he'd have to lead the entire conversation. Since she hadn't answered him yet and it didn't seem like she would, he carried on trying to solve this mystery. Still looking her in the eyes he asked, "Are you from around here?" She hesitated for the moment, then shook her head. 'Ok', he thought. 'Not from around here'. He'd have to dig a bit deeper. "Do I know your parents?" was his next question. This question seemed to shock her because her eyes bulged and her bottom lip trembled, which caused Jake to immediately back off for a second. She was obviously sensitive about the subject of her parents. Time to change tactics. With a sincere smile Jake said, "Listen, I'm sorry if I upset you. That wasn't my intention. Have you eaten yet? I haven't and was wondering if you would join me for lunch?" Once again, refusing to answer with words, she gave a slight nod. Jake gave her a reassuring smile in return, then turned and called over Sophie, one of the servers. "What's up boss?" the red headed server asked when she arrived at the table. "My friend and I are hungry. Do me a favor and order me the buffalo chicken bacon sandwich, hold the fries. And my friend here would like...?" he paused looking at the girl. He did this for two reasons; the obvious being to get her order, but the other less obvious reason being to get her to talk at last. He was starting to think she was a mute. "Um..." she hesitantly answered after a few moments, "I'll have a burger if that's ok?" 'Well at least I know she's not a mute', was Jake's first thought. But his second thought was she seemed apprehensive. 'Another clue. Her apprehension goes deeper than he originally thought,' he mused to himself. "How about the bacon cheese burger?" Sophie continued. "It's amazing. Ask boss man over here," indicating Jake with a nod of her chin. Jake chuckled. "It is. There's a reason why this place is called the Bacon Bar and Grill. Everything has bacon on it or in it. And if I say so myself, our bacon is the best around." Jake's mirth caused Sophie to laugh, and for the first time the girl cracked something that resembled a smirk, which made Jake pause for a second. 'There was something about that smirk,' he mused. 'Where had he seen it before?' "Ok. I'll have that," the girl concluded. "Anything to drink?" was Sophie's next question. Jake looked over at the girl indicating she should go first this time. He really wanted to get her out of her shell and get to the bottom of this mystery. She glanced his way with a questioning look until she realized he was waiting for her to order first. She appeared shocked for a moment, but then her expression changed. That smirk was back but bigger this time, as if to say she knew what he was doing. She was onto his game. That caused him to chuckle which she returned in kind. And then it hit him. That chuckle. He'd heard that chuckle a thousand times before but many years ago. But it wasn't the chuckle of this girl sitting in front of him, it was the chuckle of his bitch of an ex-wife that fucked his life up so completely he almost didn't recover. He looked up into the girls eyes, eyes so very much like his own, and then realized who was sitting in front of him. His heart started beating rapidly, his face flushed, his hands got clammy, tears formed in his eyes... 'It can't be, It can't be,' kept repeating over and over in his head. He didn't know how long he sat there, but it was Sophie who snapped him out of his reverie. "You ok boss? It looks like you've just seen a ghost." Her tone was one of concern. He broke eye contact with the girl and glanced over to Sophie. "Give us a moment please Soph," voice cracking. She gave a quick nod and hurried off with the look of concern still on her face. Jake shifted his attention back to the girl and when their tear filled eyes met again, he saw that she knew he had figured it out. He cleared his throat. "Ash...Ashley," Jake whispered in a quavering voice. "Is that you?" All she could do was nod her head. She was trying to hold back her tears, but the dam eventually broke and they came pouring down her cheeks. Reconnecting the Dots Pt. 01 Jake was in shock. He too failed to keep his tears in check. They flowed freely at that moment, but he didn't care. He was actually in the presence of Ashley, his little girl. No, not little girl anymore, young woman, but now that he knew who she was, he could see hints of the little girl who had been stolen from him when she was only 3 years old. He couldn't believe it. He had so much to say. He dreamed of this moment for years and rehearsed this conversation in his head a million times, but now that it was here, he was speechless. But he knew he had to say something. Tears still pouring down his cheeks, he blurted the first thing that came to mind, "I... I... can't believe it's you." She just stared back at him drinking in his appearance. She also looked at a loss for words. The silence stretched on while tears continued to fall on both their faces. Jake decided to break the silence again. "It's so good to see you. You... you have no idea how long I've dreamed of this moment." Her expression changed immediately when those words left his lips. Now she was angry. "Oh, you dreamed of this, did you?" she hurled at him with indignation. "Then why didn't you ever come for me?' That question caught him off guard. Surely she knew the truth? He looked into her eyes to see if there was any indication she was lying to him. There wasn't. All he could do was shake his head and sigh resignedly. This wasn't going to be fun. But, he should have known. His ex-wife would have skewed things in her favor like she always did. Sighing again he needed to decide where to start. But to do that he needed to know what she knew, or more importantly, what she thought she knew. "Ashley. Sweetheart," Jake started. "It seems that we have a lot to talk about. But I want to make one thing clear," he continued gently, "I never in a million years would have willingly given you up." Ashley glared at him suspiciously. It was very clear now she had been lied to her entire life. "I don't get it. What's that supposed to mean?" she shot back in confusion. Jake sighed. "It would be better if you told me what you were told. Then we can go from there." She glared right back at him, a look her mother used to give him, sending chills down his spine. 'God she looks so much like her mother', he mused. 'Hopefully she doesn't have her personality'. Now that he knew her identity, he couldn't believe it took him that long to recognize who she was. "Fine," she conceded, "Where do you want me to start?" "Tell me what you've been told about me." "I was told that you molested me, beat mom, then tried to kidnap me. So mom turned to Kevin for help and he suggested that she file for divorce and demand full custody of me." It was obvious by her tone she didn't truly believe it all. Or rather, she was questioning everything she'd been told and was trying to connect the dots to things that didn't make sense anymore. Jake found this interesting and was more than willing to help her reconnect those dots, but he had to tread carefully. It was for the same reason he didn't stand up and grab her in a giant bear hug, which he so desperately wanted to do. She was in a fragile state and making the wrong move now could be catastrophic. She'd come to see him for a different reason than she was letting on, that much was obvious by the state of her wardrobe and hair. He wasn't going to blow it. Looking her in the eye, he responded gently, "Sweetheart, from the way you're acting, it seems you don't truly believe everything you just said." He paused for a moment gauging her reaction. He was right to do so. It seemed she didn't think she was being so transparent. Her eyes widened and her cheeks colored. He needed to do damage control. "Ashley Sweetheart," he continued, "you're right to doubt all that stuff. It's all lies..." he paused again thinking back to what she just said, "well almost all lies," he corrected. "Kevin did suggest that your mom file for divorce and request full custody. But that's about it." At that moment the food and drinks arrived. "Excuse me boss, sorry for the interruption. Don't mind me," stammered Sophie. She put the plates and glasses down and hurried away not wanting to interrupt what she knew to be an important conversation. Jake looked down at his food and realized he had lost his appetite. However, when he glanced across the table at Ashley he saw her eyeing her burger. He could tell she was starving. That made him pause for a second. The messy hair, the less than clean clothes, and now the hunger in her eyes. Things were starting to add up and he didn't like where they were going. His little girl's situation was not good. Something was going on, and he was going to make sure he got to the bottom of it. "Why don't we put the talking on hold and eat," Jake offered. "We can finish this conversation after. I'm starving," he lied. Ashley nodded, gave a small smile of appreciation and tucked in with gusto. But something didn't make sense to Jake. She'd been in the restaurant for over two hours now. Surely she had eaten earlier. But the way she was eating now didn't support that. There was only one way to find out without embarrassing her. "You know what," Jake announced as if remembering something important, "I have to check on something in the back. I'll be right back. You going to be ok? Ashley just nodded, mouth too full to answer with words. Jake walked towards the kitchen area where he found Sophie talking to Garrett and Joel, another server. When they noticed his approach, they stopped and stared at him for a moment. "What's going on man?" Garret asked with concern breaking the silence. "Everything ok?" "Yeah, I guess so," Jake shrugged. "Look," Jake forged on, interrupting Sophie who had just opened her mouth to speak, "I don't have much time for the full story. That girl," he said pointing over his shoulder, "is my daughter Ashley who I haven't seen in 13 years." Garrett, Sophie's and Joel's jaws dropped in astonishment. Especially Garrett. He knew the whole story of Jake's ex-wife. Sophie knew some. Garrett opened his mouth to speak, but Jake put his hand up halting the interruption. "I don't have time for chit chat, but I have a question for Sophie. Did she order any food earlier?" nodding towards Ashley. "Not much boss," she answered. "Just an order of fries and a water." "What's this all about Jake?" asked Garrett with a confused expression. But Jake wasn't listening. 'An order of fries and a water', he mused. Fries were the cheapest item on the menu and water was free. With this bit of information, Jake was sure his hunch was correct. And it was breaking his heart. "Earth to Jake," interrupted Garrett. "Huh," Jake snapped out of his reverie. He looked over at Garrett. "What'd you say man?" "Nothing," Garrett chuckled. "You were lost there for a moment." Jake sighed. "Yeah. I have a lot on my mind all of a sudden. Listen," he said changing the subject, "I'm most likely going to be leaving early today, so can you brief Karen for me when she gets in?" he asked glancing at Garrett. "Done," Garrett nodded. "Thanks," replied Jake turning around to walk away. "If I don't see you before I leave, I'll see you tomorrow." "No problem boss." "Oh. Sophie," Jake paused looking over his shoulder. "Yeah boss." "Can you bring a vanilla bacon sunday over to Ashley please?" He didn't wait for an answer. He turned around and continued on towards his daughter. She was finishing up the last of her burger by the time he arrived back at her table. 'Yep, she was definitely hungry', he thought to himself. Sitting down, Jake watched her while she ate, still not fully believing this was Ashley sitting in front of him. He took in the face of his little girl, 'no, not little girl anymore,' he scolded himself, and knew he had to do something for her. He didn't know her full situation, but had seen enough to know he had to do something. She looked up at him and caught him staring causing her to blush. He grinned back. She looked much more content than she did a short while ago. She glanced down at his uneaten sandwich sitting in front of him. "I thought you said you were starving." Jake glanced down to where she was looking. "Oh, don't worry," he replied with a reassuring grin. "Half the time I'm too busy to eat anyway. I'm used to it," he lied. "You still hungry? You can have it if you want?" "No, I'm kinda full. You were right. The burger was good." Jake smiled causing her to grin and blush. "But not too full to enjoy this," interrupted a grinning Sophie, placing the sunday on the table in front of Ashley. Her eyes bulged when she saw the pile of vanilla ice cream, topped with nuts, sprinkles, caramel sauce, and of course bacon. She looked up at a still grinning Sophie, looked down at the sunday, then smiled a smile that made Jake's heart sing. It was the first real genuine smile he'd seen on her face since she was a little girl. Then her smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Um...," started Ashely, "it looks really delicious, but I'm full," she concluded quickly. But by the look in her eyes and by the tone of her voice Jake knew she didn't mean it. Acting on a his earlier hunch, he concluded immediately she was most likely tight for cash and was afraid to voice it. He had to think fast. He didn't want to offend her. Yes, she was his daughter and in an ordinary situation there was absolutely nothing wrong with a father paying for his daughter's meal, but this wasn't an ordinary situation. Sophie picked up on it too and thinking quickly added, "This is for both of you. It's huge. I've never been able to finish one of these on my own." Jake shot Sophie a thankful glance. She was a sharp one. She was observant enough to know what was going on without knowing all the facts. Turning his attention back to Ashley, he saw her staring right at him. When he met her eyes, they narrowed as if to say, 'I know the game you're playing buddy'. Jake stared right back until a slight smirk formed on her face. 'Sophie isn't the only sharp one' he said to himself. They held each others gazes for a moment more. Then breaking eye contact, Jake grabbed a fork since Sophie only brought one spoon, and dug in. Ashley followed a few moments later. "That was freaky," murmured Sophie shaking her head as if to clear it of cobwebs. Jake glanced up with a quizzical expression, mouth too full of ice cream to respond verbally. Sophie glanced back with an amused expression. "You have no idea. Do you?" Jake glanced at Ashley to see if she had any idea what Sophie was talking about. Her expression was just as confused as his own. "That smirk," Sophie chuckled nodding towards Ashley. "It's identical to your's boss." Jake turned to Ashley to find her with a shocked expression to match his own. And then almost at the same moment they both broke into identical grins. "Geez. The grin too!?" Sophie chortled loudly. "You know boss, I can't believe it took you that long to realize who she was," teased Sophie. "Have you seen her eyes?" That caused Jake to laugh outright and Ashley to chuckle, sending another chill down his spine. 'Damn that chuckle sounds so much like my ex' he thought to himself. And then it hit him. Earlier, before he knew Ashley's true identity, he knew he'd seen that smirk somewhere. It just never occurred to him that it was his own. Now it was obvious. She not only had his eyes but also shared a few of his signature facial expressions. Now that he thought back, it was kind of obvious they were related. "Boss?" interrupted a still chuckling Sophie. "Thanks Sophe," said Jake coming back to himself. "We're all good here." Sophie nodded. Looking at Ashley she said, "Well, it was nice to finally meet you Ashley. We've heard lots about you over the years from your dad here." That shocked Ashley. She looked wide eyed back and forth between Sophie and Jake a few times. Finally coming to some conclusion, she nodded slightly and said, "nice to meet you too Sophie." "Hope we'll be seeing you around," Sophie said over her shoulder as she turned to get back to work. Ashley watched Sophie's retreating back for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Jake. His heart dropped when he saw tears glistening in her eyes. He reached over to take her hand. At first she tensed and tried to pull back, but then thought better of it and allowed the contact. "Ashley Sweetheart. Are you alright?" he asked concernedly. Eyes down and in a small voice she asked, "You talked about me?" Jake sighed. The eight hundred pound gorilla was back in the room. The last ten minutes or so were lighthearted, but they both knew they were just stalling the inevitable. Still holding her hand he said, "Ashley Sweetheart. I've never stopped talking or thinking about you." She looked up with tear filled eyes. He could tell she wanted to believe him, but a lifetime of lies had led her to believe that her father was a child molesting, wife beating, low-life. That there was a conflict going on in her head at the moment was obvious. The way she was acting also led him to believe something had happened very recently to make her question everything she'd been told. The dots weren't connecting anymore and she was lost and confused. He was curious to find out what had led to this realization, but he didn't want to push her too hard. He held her tear filled gaze a few moments more, then the dam broke. "Bu..bu...but why would mom lie to me all these years?" Ashley blubbered through her tears. She started shaking as sobs wracked her entire body. Jake didn't think. He stood up and in two short steps he wrapped his daughter in his big strong arms. He was a little surprised she had allowed it, but now that she was there, he wasn't letting go. He just let her cry into his chest, ignoring the stares of the few diners still left over from lunch. "Why?" Ashley's muffled cries rang out over and over again. "Why would she lie to me?" Stroking her back and whispering, "Sh...sh...it's ok sweetheart, let it out," over and over again, Jake soon became overwhelmed with emotion himself. It felt so good to have his little girl in his arms after all these years. Tears filled his eyes. It broke his heart that his little girl was manipulated and lied to by his bitch of an ex. It was unfair to take an innocent little girl and turn her against her father through lies and manipulation. The results of those actions were in the form of a broken and confused young lady who was at this very moment sobbing into his chest. He would do anything to take this pain away, but that wasn't possible. All he could do in this moment was to hold and comfort her. It was the vibrating in his pocket that snapped them back to reality. His phone was ringing and from the specific ring tone, he knew it was his wife. Not wanting this moment to end, he chose to ignore it. "Aren't you going to answer that?" came Ashley's muffled question. "No." It was a simple statement but carried a lot of meaning behind it. What is said was, 'you're the most important thing to me right now. Everything else can wait'. After a few more tear filled moments, Ashley pulled back indicating she wanted to be let go. Jake didn't want to, but right now it wasn't about what he wanted. But before he opened his arms he planted a kiss on the top of her head. That made her pause. She hesitantly looked up with questioning tear filled eyes. Jake stared back. After a few moments she seemed to come to some decision. Instead of pulling back as she originally intended, she reversed course and pulled him in tighter, continuing the hug. "Why did she lie to me?" Ashley's muffled voice was soft but there was a hint of steel in it. This time she really wanted to know the answer. The way she put the question this time though made Jake take notice. At first it was 'why would she lie to me?', as if she didn't fully accept she'd been lied to. But now it was, 'why did she lie to me?' The question took on a whole new meaning with the switch of one little word. Jake knew only the truth would suffice, but the problem was he didn't really know the truth. He had his own thoughts on the matter, but his ex had never given him a clear cut answer as to why she totally destroyed his life. Jake sighed. He'd done a lot of that today. "I'm going to be honest Ashley. I don't really know the answer to that. I've asked myself why she did what she did a million times." Ashley pulled back indicating she wanted to be let go. Opening his arms, she sat down. Returning to his seat, Jake looked down and saw the table had been cleared, including the forgotten ice cream sunday. The only things left where their drinks and a stack of paper napkins that hadn't been there before. He glanced towards the bar and saw Sophie and Joel standing there watching with smiles on their faces. Sophie winked, then turned back to Joel causing Jake to chuckle. "Sophie's really nice," Ashley said. She had seen the exchange. "Yeah she is," Jake agreed. "I'm lucky to have people like her working for me." Jake picked up a napkin and handed it to her. "Thanks." Ashley wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "Can you tell me what happened then?" Ashley asked. "I really need to know?" There was a desperate tone to her voice. Jake nodded. "I'll tell you everything I know. You deserve the truth." He took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat. He knew this was going to be difficult but it had to be done. Steeling himself he began. "Me and your mom met in high school..." "I know that part," interrupted Ashley. "You, mom and Kevin all went to high school together. Mom dated Kevin, but they broke up then you started dating her. You and mom got married after high school, she got pregnant with me," Ashley rambled on. It was as if she was reciting the cliff notes version of everything she'd heard growing up. "It's what happened after that when things stop adding up." Jake nodded. "Did she tell you I was a musician? "Yeah. She said you were a wannabe rock star loser who didn't know when to give up your dreams." Jake chuckled. "Well, except for the loser part, she wasn't wrong there." That made Ashley's eyebrows raise in surprise. Clearing his throat Jake continued. "When we were dating your mother loved that I was a musician. I was in bands from the time I was 14. By the time I was in high school I was in a band that was making some good money playing gigs on the weekends. She came to every show. She was really into it. When we graduated your mom wanted to get married, so we did." "Did you love her?" interrupted Ashley. "With all my heart," answered Jake. "I worshipped the ground she walked on. I wanted to ask her to marry me, but it wasn't the cool thing to do. Adults got married and adults were lame," Jake said with a grin. "But when she was the one to bring it up, I went out and got a ring the next day." Then his face turned serious. "And the thing that didn't make sense back then and still doesn't now was that she loved me too." Ashley scowled at that. "And things were great once we got married," Jake continued. "I was bartending during the week at this club on the beach making good money and playing gigs on the weekend. Your mom was working at a spa answering phones." "What happened then?" Ashely asked bitterly. Jake could see the wheels turning in her head. "How did it all go so wrong?" "I don't know Sweetheart," Jake answered truthfully. "Things were going great. Your mom got pregnant; we were saving up to buy a house," Jake paused with a faraway look in his eyes. Sighing he continued. "Once you were born, things got even better. She was so happy. We both were. Or so I thought." Ashley stared back with a skeptical expression. He could tell she was having a difficult time reconciling his version from the version she'd been told. Reconnecting the Dots Pt. 01 "And then right before your third birthday, it all came crashing down," Jake scowled. "One day I came home to find your mom and Kevin fuc... I mean in bed together," Jake blushed realizing he was being a little too graphic. Ashley ignored his slip. She had a scowl on her face. She didn't like where this was going. "Imagine how shocked I was to find the woman I loved in my bed with that asshole. I never really liked Kevin. We knew each other, but there was always something about him that turned me off. I knew they had dated sophomore year, but she never let on that they were still friendly." Jake paused for a moment trying to find the right words for what he was about to say next. Sighing, he continued. "In hindsight it's probably what I did next, I'm sorry to say, that set off the chain of events that led to this whole mess." Jake paused to gauge her reaction to this bit of information. Her face was blank. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, so he carried on. "I freaked. I grabbed him and beat the crap out of him; broke his nose and a few ribs. And what made the whole thing worse was that your mom was trying to protect him." Jake paused looking down at the table with a pained expression on his face. Even after all these years that memory still hurt. He snapped out of his reverie when he felt Ashley's hand take his own. He looked up to see anger in her eyes. But he knew it wasn't directed at him. He could tell she was angry over how they were both treated by a woman who claimed to have loved them both. Her hand still in his, he grasped it with both of his own hands, raised it to his mouth, and gave it a kiss in thanks. She gave him a small smile in return. Any worry that she had her mother's personality ended right there. Yes, she might have her mother's looks, but she was his daughter. She had a kind heart which was saying something considering who she was raised by. Sighing again Jake trudged on. "I was so angry and hurt that I stormed out, grabbed you with some of your clothes, and went to my mom's house." "Where was I when mom and Kevin where...um...in bed?" she suddenly asked with suspicion. "In your crib in your room." Ashley scowled at that. "What happened next?" "I don't really remember," he answered truthfully. "Everything was a blur. But the next day the police showed up and arrested me for assault and battery and suspicion of kidnapping." Jake shivered thinking back to that day. Finding his wife in his bed with another man was bad enough, but being that it was with Kevin made it that much worse. He never suspected a thing. Up until that day, he thought things were great. "That bitch!" Ashley hissed snapping him out of his reverie. Jake shot Ashley a questioning look. She was still lost in her own contemplations. "Ashley?" Jake said trying to get her attention. Snapping back catching his eye, she growled, "She lied to me! She freaking lied to me!" This time it was Jake who reached across the table to grab her hand in comfort. It broke his heart to see the state she was in. "I'm so sorry sweetheart," was all he could think to say. She was angry. He had an idea of what was behind her anger. He knew his ex's version of events from the court documents, and from her reaction it was obvious this was the version she was told. Jake found it amazing how quickly she was accepting his story as the truth. Only a short while ago she was showing some skepticism towards him. But now, he could see the gears turning in her head filling the holes in her memories or rather replacing lies with truth. Slowly but surely the dots were starting to be reconnected. He was still curious though as to what had caused her to question everything she'd been told. He'd have to get her side of the story, but first he had to finish his own. "You ok?" he asked gently still holding her hand. "Do you want to stop for now?" She took a deep breath. "No. I need to know. She lied to me," she stated flatly. "She said that you beat her and threatened to take me away if she told anybody." She paused to gauge his reaction to this. Jake kept his face impassive. It was as he suspected. This was his ex's version. "She told me Kevin found out the truth and tried to help her," she continued. "When you found out she told Kevin, you beat him up and kidnapped me like you had threatened to do." "Yup, that's definitely your mother's version," Jake said with a grimace. "You knew that!?" Ashley asked in surprise. "Yup. Read it the court documents. You can imagine how shocked I was when I read them," Jake stated flatly. "Court documents!? What court documents!? I've never seen any court documents!" blurted a wide eyed Ashley. That question caught him off guard. 'She's never seen any documents? What's that supposed to mean?' he asked himself. Another question to add to the list. Jake sighed again for which seemed like the millionth time that day. "Yes court documents. After I was arrested, your mom, with Kevin's encouragement, filed a bunch of bogus claims. On top of the assault and battery charges, she filed for divorce claiming cruelty. And if that wasn't bad enough she filed to have my parental rights taken away claiming I molested you," Jake concluded tearfully. "How could she do that?" hissed Ashley. "Don't you need proof to make claims like that?" "Well, she had bruises on her." That caused Ashley's eyebrows to raise. Seeing her expression, Jake carried on to ease her suspicion. "I've never been able to verify it, but I think one of two things happened. She either got the bruises when she jumped in trying to help Kevin when I caught them or they were self inflicted to help her claims along." Jake watched Ashley's face for her reaction to his suspicions. Her eyes were narrowed and he could see her mind working as if she was contemplating something. When she didn't say anything he carried on. "As for the molestation claims, you were coached," he stated simply. Now that did shock her. "WHAT!?" she screeched. Her reaction caused him to flinch. He quickly looked around remembering they were in his place of business. Luckily the place was almost empty. They were in that window between lunch and happy hour all food establishment owners hated. He looked back at her and was shocked to see how angry she was. Yes, she had shown some anger during their talk, but now she was pissed. "What do you mean I was coached"? she hissed through clenched teeth. With a sympathetic expression he reached over to hold her hand again. "There's no other way to say it Sweetheart. You were coached," he answered gently. "My mom bailed me out a few days later. I was immediately served divorce papers. There was also an order of protection barring me from going anywhere near you, your mom or the house. I was in such a state of shock that I went directly to the house thinking it had to be a mistake. 'There was no way your mom would do this to me' I said to myself. The claims of spousal abuse were bad enough. But the fact that she claimed I molested you almost killed me." Jake paused to gauge Ashley's reaction. She seemed impatient for him to get on with it, so he continued. "Well, I showed up and all hell broke loose. Kevin was there; your mom started yelling all this nonsense. I wanted to see you but they refused, so I started freaking out and next thing I know the cops are there and I was back in jail. Since I broke the order of protection, I was denied bail and had to sit in jail until my trial date." "But how was I coached?" Ashley interrupted impatiently. She was still angry and wanted answers. "I'm getting there Sweetheart. It's easier if I go through the story this way. Is that ok?" Jake asked gently. He wanted to get through this story as quickly as possible because it still hurt to talk about it. Ashley nodded. "Now where was I?" Jake asked rhetorically. He had to think a moment to get back on track. "Oh right," remembering where he left off. "My lawyer talked me into taking a plea deal. Honestly though, I wasn't really that concerned with the assault charge. I knew I was guilty. I did beat him pretty bad. It was the other charges I was worried about. So I took the deal and was sentenced to six months and had to pay a fine. I was looking at a year in jail, but the judge was sympathetic. Money was tight; your mom and Kevin cleaned me out. Luckily my lawyer agreed to help me out even though I couldn't pay him a lot. Interrupting his story, Ashley asked, "Did you try fighting the divorce?" Jake shook his head. "No. The second she cheated on me the marriage was over. My only concern was you." This caused Ashley to smirk. His smirk. Taking a sip of water, he carried on. "While I was in jail, your mom kept trying to get me to sign the divorce papers. But I refused to sign if she didn't agree to share custody. When I got out, the judge ruled that I could see you under supervision." Jake paused here, he was about to answer the question that had been bugging her. He knew she wasn't going to like it. Taking a deep breath he said in a quavering voice, "You walked in with a social worker, took one look at me, screamed, and then started crying." Ashley was shocked. "Bu...bu...but, I don't remember that?" she spluttered. Jake cleared his throat. "You weren't even 4 years old yet Sweetheart," he said in a comforting tone. But Ashley looked horrified at this revelation. She looked as if she blamed herself for her mother's despicable act. He knew he had to put an end to it immediately. "Ashley please look at me," he said in serious voice. She looked directly at him. "This is not your fault. Do you hear me?" She stared back with tears glistening in her eyes. "But wh...why don't I remember any of this?" she asked dropping her eyes to the table. Jake reached over to take hold of her hand again in comfort. "It's not your fault Ashley," he stated flatly. "Do you hear me? Your mother did this, not you. We're both victims here." She raised her head looking at him. Her bottom lip trembled. After a few moments, she hestitantly nodded, but Jake wasn't sure if she was convinced yet. 'Damn his ex', he thought. "The last memory I have of you is right before we moved," Ashley said changing the subject. "I don't remember much, but there was a red teddy bear. I remember being scared, but not knowing why." Jake sighed. He remembered that day too. "That was right after your fifth birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday," he said with a faraway look in his eyes. 'Probably the worst day out of them all' he mused. Coming back to himself he continued. "After that first meeting where you freaked, the social worker reported your behavior and I was about to lose you for good. But I wasn't giving up that easily, so I had my lawyer request for you to be questioned by an expert. Your mother fought against it, but the judge finally agreed. It was pretty obvious to the expert that you were coached and it said so in her report. But the damage had been done. You were deathly afraid of me." Ashley looked back with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jake let go of her hand, raised his own to her cheek and wiped the tears away. His little girl was upset and he needed to comfort her. "What happened next?" she tentatively asked as if she was afraid of the answer. "Another year and a half of hell," he stated flatly. "We fought back and forth regarding you, money; everything. It was surreal. When I looked at your mother during that period, it was like I was looking at a stranger. She went from a woman who I loved and who loved me to such a vindictive and hateful person." "You don't know what went wrong? asked Ashley almost desperately. It seemed she was having difficulty believing her mother's actions. Jake knew that feeling. "It's obvious Kevin was behind it. Like I said earlier, we kind of knew each other, but there was something about him that turned me off. Up until the day I found them in bed, I never even suspected a thing. I was such an idiot," he said shaking his head. Taking another sip of water, Jake continued with a sad look on his face. "Well, long story short, even though I didn't abuse you, your mother had corrupted you against me so completely that they felt it was in the best interest of the child to give her full custody." "But why!?" Ashley blurted angrily. "That's so unfair!" "Yes it was," Jake agreed. "It sucks, but the mother usually gets custody of the child in these types of cases and you were so terrified of me that they felt it best if I didn't see you anymore. The last time I saw you was the day after your fifth birthday. I brought you a red teddy bear hoping beyond hope for a miracle; someway to get you back. But like I said, the damage had been done. You didn't want to come within ten feet of me." Tears started falling. "A few days later, even though it killed me, I signed the divorce papers finally losing you once and for all." Silence ensued. They both sat with tears running down their cheeks taking in what had just been said. Jake hadn't talked about these events in years. He still thought about them occasionally, but rehashing the whole story brought all of those emotions to the forefront. He'd only ever told two people the entire story. Garrett and his wife; the woman who saved him and brought him back from the abyss. But that was years ago. Thinking of his wife brought a smile to his face. She was going to be as surprised as he was by Ashley's appearance. 'His wife!' he realized. He needed to call her back remembering the missed phone call from before. He glanced over at Ashley. She was staring off into space. "Ashley Sweetheart," Jake said gently trying to get her attention. "Hm," she responded, snapping back from wherever she was. She had a haunted look on her face. "Are you ok?" She just shrugged her shoulders. "I've been trying to fill in the gaps, and you've helped, but it just seems so unfair. Mom lied to me for years and I still don't know why?" Jake sighed. He could empathize. He'd felt that way for years. "I don't know what to tell you Sweetheart. Your mother did what she did, but what matters now is that you're here." Ashley didn't respond right away. This time she was the one trying to gauge his reaction. He had just touched on something they'd been avoiding; the real reason why she was here. If his side of the story was the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room, her side was the five hundred pound gorilla. What did she want? Did she want to stay? Was she moving on after she got the answers she came looking for? What led her to come to seek him out after all this time? Did her mother know where she was? Did she ever receive the letters he sent? The questions were endless. Jake knew what he wanted. But what did she want? He decided to give both of them time to process everything. He knew how difficult it was to have someone who claimed to love you lie to your face. He was lied to by his ex for a short time, but Ashley had been lied to almost her entire life. It must've been ten times worse. "I think it's time we take a break," Jake said. "I know I need one. I have to go to the bathroom and make a phone call. Is that ok with you?" Ashley sighed. "Yeah. I think that's a good idea. I have to use the bathroom too." "Ok, follow me. I'll show you where they are." But they both knew the conversation wasn't finished. They still had a lot to cover, but Jake was a little hesitant to push. She'd just gone through a lot and his protective side wanted to prevent her from experiencing any more pain . But he was curious. He wanted to help, but wouldn't know how until he knew her story. Jake sighed. He and Ashley stood and walked towards the back. They were just taking a well deserved break before they continued trying to reconnect the dots. ***** Stay tuned for Part 2 Thanks -Jake-