Carol Steward - Her Kind Of Hero

Luke proceeded to tell his friend about Calli. Tom laughed, making a few good-natured comments. “You haven’t had that look in a long time, bro.”

“Don’t get any ideas.” Luke shone the spotlight behind a trash can, then up a dilapidated fire escape.

“Doesn’t look like I need to. Vanessa’s been nagging me to plan that night out. Thought I got away from dating when I said ‘I do.’ Did you ask Calli?”

“Who said anything about a date?” Though Luke would like nothing more than to ask Calli to dinner, he wasn’t fond of beating his head against brick walls.

“Last week I told you to find a date for dinner and a movie. You did ask her, didn’t you?”

Thinking of Calli’s reaction, he shook his head. “I need to spend some time with Jon. Sorry. Maybe next time.”

“You didn’t get her number, did you?” Tom tossed his head back and began laughing. “You are out of touch with women, Luke. No wonder you’re still single.”

“I have her number. For your information, she’s going to help me teach Bart’s class. Then I’m going to convince her to help with the classes at the high schools.”

“She agreed to work with you, but she won’t go out with you? Did you even get her name?”

His partner knew all of his downfalls. “What do you think I am, a rookie?”

“I don’t have to think, I know. You’re so out of touch with women, you’d have fallen for any lame alibi.”

He thought of the way she’d avoided telling him her name, and hated to admit his friend could be right. Though he didn’t blame Calli—or whatever her name was. He continued the thought aloud. “A single woman can’t be too careful nowadays. There’s a whole lot of kooks in the world. I’m not going to push her.”

“A man of integrity. One of these days, I’ll teach you everything you need to know to find the right woman.”

Throughout their patrol, Luke thought about Calli. He was ready to call the registrar for the self-defense classes, when he remembered where else he had seen her. Why didn’t I see it before? Sassy, short dark hair. Tall and thin. Calli—Calandre. Calli Giovanni. That’s it.

Luke radioed dispatch to end their patrol as Tom shifted the cruiser into park. He was still razzing Luke about letting Calli slip away. Hoping to get Tom off his back, Luke mentioned the blonde in the 4 Runner. Contrary to what he wanted Tom to believe, Luke had just made his own plans, with Calandre, a.k.a. Calli Giovanni. “You have plans for tomorrow?”

Taking the bait, Tom nixed his idea of researching the anonymous caller. “Get a life, Luke. You can’t be married to the job. It’ll kill you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, partner.”

A shrill ring woke Luke before he’d even had a chance to fall into a deep sleep. He moved the phone from one ear to the other and flopped onto his back, listening to his exwife’s whining. At one time he’d have sympathized with her, but not any longer. She’d changed her mind too many times. This time she thought she wanted to take Jon for the summer.

“If you want to see Jon, I don’t have any problem with you coming to visit”

Along with a few remarks meant to upset him, she threatened to contact a lawyer. Now, in addition to the summer, she wanted to petition the courts to let Jon decide whom to live with.

“Nancy, have you forgotten that you signed away your maternal rights twelve years ago? I never had to let you see him at all. It’s been at least six months since you’ve even called. You missed his birthday, Christmas…”

She hung up. Without even asking how her son was doing. Nothing had changed. Luke set the receiver in the cradle and let out a deep breath. Kids do stupid things, Jon. I was a kid once, I know.

An hour later the apartment door clicked closed. Luke heard his son open the fridge, take a glass from the cupboard and close the refrigerator. Luke could imagine Jon chugging down his usual quart of orange juice. Footsteps approached the bedroom and his door creaked open.

“I’m home, Dad. I’m going to shower and go back to bed for a while.”

“You’re home awfully early. Things go okay with Nate?”

Jon grumbled a response and disappeared.

The phone conversation left him wide-awake. Luke got out of bed and pulled his sweats on. Before his son went to sleep, he ran the vacuum, then straightened the rest of the apartment. His mind returned to Nancy’s phone call. At least a million times in the last fourteen years Luke had regretted his carelessness that night. They’d been dating for several months, and with stars in their eyes, one thing had led to another. And before they’d stopped to think about repercussions, they’d become parents.

He walked to the door of Jon’s room and leaned against the doorjamb, watching his son’s peaceful slumber. Luke would always regret his irresponsibility that night, but he had never once regretted having a son or being a father. Not even when his seventeen-year-old wife had walked out of their short-lived marriage, dropping their baby off at Luke’s parents’ house while he was at school. He gave up dreams of the military in order to give Nancy time to grow, adjust and change her mind about leaving the two of them. Two days after Jon’s first birthday, she returned, just long enough to hand Luke the papers giving up her son.

That had been a dark, difficult time in his life, but Luke had found that, as his faith had grown stronger, so had his ability to cope as a single parent.

He wouldn’t back down now, either. He had to think of what Jon had been through. Consider his son’s feelings. His mother’s rejection hurt, though Jon would never admit it.

Luke remembered the day about a month before Jon’s fifth birthday when he first realized his family was different. Sure, they knew other single-parent families, but those kids went back and forth between Mom’s house and Dad’s house. Jon didn’t.

“I want a brother for my birthday.”

Luke had never believed in lying, especially to a child. In fourteen years he’d faced some doozies, but he’d never lied.

Luke stared at the anger and confusion in the five-year-old’s eyes. His own emotions were mirrored on his child’s face. “I can’t give you a brother. I can buy you a present at the store. Would you like a bicycle?”

“No. I told you what I want,” Jon growled. “I want a brother.”

“Come on, Jon, you’ve never seen a brother for sale at the store, have you?” Luke chuckled, groping for some levity. “Do you want a doll? Is that what you mean?”

“ No! I want a baby, just like Nate’s mom had a baby.”

“I see.” He paused to swallow the lump in his throat. “Babies need a mom and a dad.” He wasn’t ready to go into this discussion, but he felt the questions coming. “I’m not married, and it’s best to be married to have a baby. Babies look like a lot of fun, but they’re lots of work, too.”

After Luke told Jon a simplified version of how babies are made, the two embraced. As if he finally understood, Jon’s smile faded. “But I don’t have a mom.”

It hurt to tell his own son that he had a mother who didn’t want to be one. “So we can’t have another baby without someone to be a mom. Someone who wants to be a mom as much as I want to be a dad and you want to be a big brother.”

Even now, Luke still noticed Jon’s interest in babies. Tom and Vanessa and their new twins were great fun for Jon. Every few days, Jon stopped by after school to visit the Davises. It was painfully obvious. His son still wanted the one thing Luke couldn’t give him: a family.

* * *

Calli watched the leader of the gang walk past as she checked Mrs. Polanski’s basket of groceries. Every Saturday afternoon, her neighbor came to check out in her lane.