Chapter 2

The Return (II)

Cain stood leaning against the thick trunk of a tree at the entrance of a local park, appearing out of place in more ways than one, surrounded by numerous families streaming in and out. Quite a few glanced at him askew, though he largely ignored it, fiddling with his phone as he waited patiently.

With the spring on its last legs, the weather had slowly begun to warm, with temperatures in the seventies, hot enough for the summer clothes he was wearing. As it was the Saturday, the park was populated more so than usual, as well as the lining of cafes and pubs on the opposite side, with outer gardens already being sported by the most.

The clock ticked almost twelve when he saw them approaching; Lana wore a simple, cute one-piece white dress with a wide, straw hat to shield her from the sun and a pair of pink sunglasses. She’d inherited his hair, though hers was far more golden and pleasant to look at. A pair of flower-inspired sandals shielded her feet, her steps quick and short, appropriate for a nine-year-old.

Holding her hand and desperately trying to match her pace was Emma. He felt something inside of him sting as his eyes landed on the two; though for them it’s only been a week since they last saw the waste that he was, for him... it’s been twenty years. He had to do his best not to choke on his own emotions, especially so when his and Emma’s eyes locked gazes.

She was truly beautiful, he mused, once again wondering how he managed to get her to marry him even for the short stint of a few years. Long, black hair framed a beautiful, slightly tanned face and a pair of sapphire-blue eyes. She was tall, over six feet, and slender as she was a gym nut in more ways than one. She, too, wore a hat to shield her from the sun, though less excitedly so than Lana.

“... yo,” she greeted him, quickly squirming by his side into the shade of the tree. “Why the hell is it this hot?”

“Should I ask the Lord Almighty? Or just send a letter?” Cain pushed back the surge of emotions and replied with a grin.

“Suck it,” she rolled her eyes at him. “You sure you’re okay with watching her for a few hours? I could have asked Jenny to do it. You know she adores her.”

“However much she adores her,” Cain said, glancing at Lana whose eyes were quickly glued to the nearby ice-cream stand. “I adore her at least a hundred times as much.”

“... alright,” Emma shrugged, glancing at her watch. “Well, you know the drill. Easy on the sugar, don’t make any sex jokes, keep it PG-13, and see you in a few hours.”

“Hey, hey,” he stopped her before she turned to leave. “You got a sec to talk?”

“... uh, sure? About what?” she quizzed as the two pulled a few feet away from Lana, though still near enough to keep an eye out on her.

“... this is gonna sound bad,” Cain groaned, scratching his head. “But, uh... I’ll be moving in a few weeks.”

“Moving? Where? You found a better place? That’s great!”

“... uh, yeah,” feeling the awkwardness building up, he quickly got the point before her enthusiasm made it worse. “I’m moving, uh... I’m moving to L.A., Em’.”

“...” she blankly stared at him, as though expecting him to follow it up with a ‘gotchya!’, but seeing as he never did, her expression slowly darkened. “L.A.?! Fuckin’ L.A., C’?! Are you out of your mind?!” she muffled her voice as much as she could as to prevent Lana from hearing the two. “What the fuck are you going to do in L.A.?! Start in gay porn movies?”

“Not a bad career choice--”

“C’!” she interrupted him harshly, causing him to sigh.

“Come on, Em’,” he said. “It’s not permanent -- just for a few months. A buddy of mine started a company over there and they’re looking for someone to move stuff around. The pay’s decent and they’ll provide the housing for my stay.”

“...”

“I swear, it’s only for a few months!” he exclaimed, noting the doubt in her eyes. “Just to earn some extra cash!”

“... for all your faults,” she said. “At the very least... you stayed, Cain. No matter what happened between us, you stayed for Lana. What the fuck are you doing now? She already thinks her dad doesn't love her seeing how little time you spend with her... the hell do you think she's going to feel her once I tell her that the daddy is moving half the fucking country away?! You're going to break her heart, C'!" Ugh, shut up woman! I barely managed to repress that reality, and now you go and bring it back up again!

“... I’ll tell her...”

“Damn right you will!!” she said. “If you thought for a second I’d be the one to break her heart--”

“... what else am I supposed to do, Em’?” Cain interrupted. “I’ve no future here. I don’t know what will happen in L.A., but at least it’s a chance. And, if nothing does happen, I’ll get some money at least.”

“Yeah, the one you’ll spend on getting wasted like a fucking idiot,” she said. “Why the hell are we even having this discussion? It’s your life, C’. Do with it whatever the hell you will. But if Lana doesn’t want to see you ever again, don’t come crying to me about it. I won’t be the mender anymore. Not with this.”

“...” and, with that, she left, storming away. Cain could have sworn to see the corners of her eyes grow slightly wet, but shook his head as that wasn’t Emma’s style.

Sighing, he spun around and faced Lana who was looking at him quizzically, though with a certain distance between the two. Scratching his head, he walked over and crouched in front of her, smiling.

“Hey, princess. What do you say about a bowl of strawberry-chocolate ice-cream, huh?”

“... mom will be angry...” Lana replied bashfully, though was unable to hide the desire in her eyes.

"Eh, she'll be angry with me," Cain shrugged. "Not the first time, you know? This one time," he added, standing up and grabbing her hand as the two walked over to the stand. "She got so mad at me she cooked me beans for dinner for a whole month! A whole month!"

“No way!” she exclaimed. “I hate beans! I’d never eat them for a whole month, nuh-uh...”

“That’s what I told her!” Cain nodded. “Hey man, one strawberry-chocolate and one vanilla.”

“Coming right up!” a slightly elderly man behind the counter smiled faintly as he started pooling two bowls together while Cain faced Lana.

“But then she shoved a spoonful of beans into my mouth,” he added. “And daddy’s kind of weak to being fed... and, well, he ended up eating only beans for dinner for a whole month. But your mom felt so bad that she would pack my breakfast full of meat and good stuff just to make up for it.”

“... he he,” the little girl giggled lightly. “Yes. If we have only veggies for dinner... she always packs my school lunch with all my favorites...”

“... she’s great, ain’t she?” Cain said, grabbing the two bowls and walking over to the nearby table, helping Lana sit down. “So, tell me, how’s school treating ya’?”

“... it’s fun,” the girl exclaimed, too impatient to dive into the ice-cream, but still holding back. “Uh...”

“Dig in, don’t worry about it,” he chuckled, patting her head as the look in Lana’s eyes rekindled. “That’s good. School’s supposed to be fun.”

“... w-what about you, dad?” she asked shyly, glancing at him. “How... how are you?”

“Me? Oh, you know, just overburdened by this immense thing in my chest.”

“E-eh!? What’s wrong?!” she asked, worried.

“It’s bad, firefly,” he said, doing his best to maintain a straight face. “I feel like it just might explode!”

“W-what is it?! Tell me!”

“It’s all this love I have for you... it just wants to explode...” the worried expression died down immediately, replaced by a deadpan look that could cut through the solid concrete.

“... uwaa, that was lame...”

“... oi, don’t make fun of my love,” Cain chuckled, taking a swipe of the ice-cream in his bowl. “If you loved me as much as I love you, you’d know...”

“...” she rolled her eyes at him, expertly avoiding the bait and causing him to chuckle bitterly.

“... how’s the ice-cream?” he asked.

“Good,” she nodded.

“... good.” he nodded, hesitating. Ugh, be a man and take it head-on, dude! You’ve lived through a bullet bursting your spleen, you can handle a kid giving you a murderous look! Be strong, Cain! Strong! “Firefly, I’ve some news for you.”

“...” she glanced at him inquisitively, remaining silent.

“Daddy... will be going away for a few months,” he said. “For work.”

“... going where?” Lana asked, her hands trembling temporarily, though she did her best to hide it.

“... L.A.”

“...” her expression dropped noticeably, causing his heart to stir in pain.

“Just for a few months, okay?” he quickly added, grabbing her hand. “And, once I’m back, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, okay? You said you wanted to go SeaWorld, right? We’ll go to SeaWorld! We’ll go there twice, okay?”

“... okay.” she replied listlessly, appearing to be disinterested even in the ice-cream in front of her.

“... Lana--”

“It’s okay, dad,” she interrupted him. “I get it.”

“...” of course, she didn’t get it. Cain saw it, in her eyes, the disappointment, the pain, the anger. He remembered the last life he had with her, how quickly he wanted these days to pass because he thought she despised him, and because he himself thought she was what was holding him back. Once again, he found himself hating the man he used to be. “Firefly,” he said in a low tone, lowering his head further and pressing it against her forehead, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “I know it’s gonna sound lame, and I know you’ll wanna knock a few of my already broken teeth out... but... I love you so, so much. And it breaks my heart that I won’t be able to spend time with you, just like this, for a while.”

“... then why do you have to go?” she asked quietly, tearing up.

“... because I love spending time with you so much," he replied. "Dad's gonna change some things. I've... not been good enough for you, or your mom. I've let you both down too many times. I want to change that, okay? I want to become the same superhuman dad that you drew on those pictures when you were a wee-little girl."

“D-dad!! Shut up!! That’s embarrassing!!” she exclaimed angrily, her cheeks flushing red.

“Ha ha ha, no, no it’s not,” he laughed merrily for a moment. “I still have ‘em, you know? All your drawings. I especially like the one where you drew me fighting a bear. I wanna be that guy, princess.”

“... i-it’s okay, dad,” she said in a muffled tone. “You don’t have to... nobody fights bears anymore...”

“... and what a damn shame,” Cain said, grinning. “Wouldn’t it be awesome? Seeing a man take down a bear?” Ah, she’s back to rolling her eyes... that’s a good sign, right?

“... where will you stay?” she quizzed.

“With a buddy of mine,” he replied. “And, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to call you at least eleven billion times a day.”

“...”

“If you keep rolling your eyes so much they’ll escape to the back of your skull.”

“Mom already used that one,” she stuck out her tongue at him. “I asked Mrs. Riley about it and she said it’s impossible!”

“... will you afford me once a day, then? At least?”

“... f-fine...” she caved in with a faint blush.

“Ah, that love in my heart just grew twofold; I really don’t think I can hold it back anymore...”

“...” just as she was about to roll her eyes again, she held back, causing him to grin.

“Come on, finish your ice-cream and let’s go ride some ponies.”

“Wait, really?!! Mom never lets me ride those!!”

“And that’s why she’ll never find you rode one, okay?”

“Okay, okay!!” she nodded quickly.

“If she does, both our asses will be hung up against the sun for a week...”

“Ah, give me a dollar! You said a bad word!”

“No I didn’t.” Cain persisted.

“Y-yes, yes you did!”

“Which one?”

“Asses!”

“Oh, wow, I can’t believe you’d use that sort of language with your dad, Lana,” Cain said, his grin widening as the girl realized she had been played. “I am very disappointed. And, more importantly, you said a bad word and you owe me a dollar. I guess we cancel each other out, huh?”

“... that was unfair...” she mumbled.

“No, that was dad.”

“Ugh...”

“Yes, yes, this is what being dad is all about,” he said. “The princess’ precious smile, and a string of bad jokes, ha ha ha...”

“...” Lana glanced at him under her hat, her expression appearing faintly angry. Yet, beyond it, inside a glimmer of her eye, was happiness. Something... was different about him, she realized. But she didn’t care what, as she found herself having fun. “I... I love you dad...” she cut into his laughter with a mosquito-like soundbite, but Cain picked up on it immediately, his expression enlivening.

“... love you too, firefly.” he said with a mellow smile, causing her cheeks to blush once again.

“... why are you calling me firefly all of a sudden?” she asked as she dove back into her ice-cream.

"... I kept wracking my brain trying to find a perfect nickname for you," he said. "I must have run through a thousand others. Angel, perfect daughter, beautiful, soul-stirring, apple-o'-my-eye--"

“Dad!!”

“... wow, you really do get embarrassed easily... just like mom.” he chuckled lightly.

“... r-really? Mom--mom-- gets embarrassed?!" Lana asked with an incredulous expression.

"Oh, hells yeah," Cain nodded. "I remember shortly after we started seeing each other, we invited her parents over for dinner. Every time I'd say how much I loved her and cared for her to cozy up to grandpa and grandma, she would turn red like crazy and cover her face with her hands, just like this. It was the most adorable thing ever..."

“... that doesn’t sound like mom,” Lana replied doubtfully. “At all...”

“Well, you just don’t know how to poke her angles,” Cain said, chuckling. “Tell you what -- when she comes to pick you up, why don’t you run up to her -- full sprint and all -- jump into her arms and give her a big smooch on the cheek, huh? She’s gonna light up like Christmas lights, I promise you.”

“... I’ll... I’ll try...” she mumbled, lowering her head.

“You done?” he asked, noticing the empty bowl of ice-cream.

“Hm.” she nodded.

“Alright, let’s go ride some ponies, huh?”

“Yes, let’s!”