Chapter 5

I awoke the next day feeling rejuvenated and ready to see Casey. She was coming with us to the B&B parties tonight. I could not wait to see my Wren. I grabbed a bagel from the counter and headed out to Casey’s. I had to get gas in my mom’s car first. As I was pumping gas, I heard a familiar voice say my name.

“Brees Ham! How are you girl?” Cyman said.

“Omgoodness, hey Cy. How the heck are you? I haven’t seen you in three years!” I said, reaching out to hug him with one arm.

“I am doing okay. I was wondering, um, well—How is Casey? She seemed to have left town so quickly after Christmas break our senior year. I felt like it was because I had broken her heart. Man, I was a tool. Have you seen her?” He pleaded.

“Uh. I am actually on my way to her house right now to see her and…” I hesitated.

Cyman didn’t know about Wren. He had no idea that he was a father and that Casey had been keeping her in Japan all of these years. I was against it, but it wasn’t my fight. Casey was adamant about keeping Wren a secret and so I helped her do that. Only my family knew she had Wren. Not even our other friends knew.

“Well can you tell her I said hello? I think about her often. I really screwed that up huh? She was probably the absolute love of my life B. Shoot! I’m sorry, that came out of nowhere,” he said.

“It’s okay Cy. I get it. We are all such different people than we were back then. Are you still at Tulane?” I asked.

He nodded. I could see his solemn expression. He really did miss Casey. I wish she knew. I bet he would love his daughter as much as he loves her.

“Cy, we are all going to New Orleans tonight. You should grab some friends and venture down there. I’m sure Casey would love to see you,” I said, giving him one last hug.

“Yeah, I just might do that,” he said, giving me a squeeze and heading off.

Crap! What did I just do? I should not have told him to come to New Orleans. Casey is going to send me home in a body bag.

When I arrived at Casey’s, I could see Wren in the window. Her little face lit up when she saw me. I ran as fast as I could to open the door and grab that little peanut.

“Oh hi to you too James!” Casey shouted at me, as I snuggled my god daughter.

“I’m sorry. Hi my love,” I said, squeezing her as tightly as I could.

Mrs. Sato came and got Wren for her nap. Case and I went to the kitchen to grab some water.

“So Case. Don’t kill me, but I saw Cyman at the gas station,” I started.

Her brown eyes looked up from her glass and fixed themselves on me.

“And?” She asked.

“Well I may have invited him tonight,” I said, hiding in my t-shirt.

“Are you fucking kidding me James?” She yelled.

“But Case. He was like a lost puppy without you. He even called you the love of his life,” I said.

Her face softened. I saw a small smile start to form in the corners of her mouth.

“Why would he say that? You didn’t tell him about her did you?” She asked.

“No, not at all. He just misses you and felt like he never got a chance to make it up to you. I mean you did leave in January that year. He never stood a chance,” I said.

“I can’t open that door again. He was awful to me. He didn’t choose me. He didn’t choose us,” she said.

“He didn’t have a chance to choose her. You chose for him,” I said, sharply.

Casey had no reason to keep this baby from Cyman. Even if he didn’t want the baby, it was still his decision to make. She knew I hated that more than anything.

“James, we aren’t going to do this again. He isn’t going to know and that is final. I can’t put her or myself through the pain if he decides he doesn’t want her,” she said, halting the conversation.

I kept thinking about how much Wren looked like Cyman. She had his green eyes and his smile. There was no way he would see her and say he didn’t want her. I made plans for the party bus to grab Casey from her house tonight. I promised her that I would call Cyman to tell him not to come, but the number that I had wasn’t in service. I asked Baylen if he could and he did.