Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
Touch part 5
Disclaimer: Absolutely not true. Just a fun little fantasy inspired by but in no way meant to represent the true actions/feelings of any person(s) mentioned within
"There Goes My Life"
As performed by Kenny Chesney
All he could think about was I'm too young for this.
Got my whole life ahead.
Hell I'm just a kid myself.
How'm I gonna raise one?
All he could see were his dreams goin' up in smoke…
“Pretty girl.” Adam said, peering over Ceili’s shoulder to look at the picture she was holding. She jumped, having been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard him approach. She smiled weakly at his compliment and slid the picture back into the envelope with the letter which she had just received. It was beat all to hell, having chased her around for nearly a month before finally reaching her.
“Is that you, when you were a kid?” He asked as he fell into their routine, slipping out of his clothes and onto the massage table.
“No. No she’s… just a girl I know.” She told him, chewing on her fingernails absently.
“Are you feeling all right today?” He asked, his head tilted to one side as he looked at her seriously. Her head snapped back up, her eyes meeting his, a bit too round to hide her lie.
“Fine.” She told him, turning and going to the bathroom to wash her hands before starting his massage. “The show was great, by the way. I’m really glad I finally got to make it to one.” She told him when she emerged.
“Thanks. Larry told me you weren’t really a fan.” He teased as he climbed onto the table.
“That shithead.” She mumbled affectionately, and Adam chuckled.
“You guys seem to really be getting on well.” He said, testing the waters for what he wanted to say next. She merely agreed with a ‘mmm-hmm’ so he went on. “He’s a terribly loyal guy, that one. He hangs on, once he’s attached. Not always good at showing it, but still.”
“Are you trying to convince me? Or is there something else you wanted to say?” She asked, working the knots out of the muscles in his shoulders.
“Just saying that he’s been hurt, in the past. Wanted to make sure…”
“My intentions are pure, Father Adam. May I have permission to continue dating him?” She replied playfully. He chuckled, but she could almost feel the relief as his tense shoulders began to relax. The fact that the four of these men were so devoted to each other was enough to convince her of the goodness in their hearts. She’d never been warned not to hurt a man before, she thought with a little smile.
**You’ve got to tell him** her conscience piped up, making her heart sink. How could she tell him about her secrets now? After they'd spent so long talking already, and she had avoided the subjects of marriage and children?
Then again, how could she not? Especially after the letter she’d just received. Ember knew she was adopted. It wasn’t clear how she’d found out, but when she’d confronted her parents about it they had told her about Ceili. She’d given them permission to do so a long time ago, but had honestly not been prepared.
She had received Ember’s school pictures every year of her life, along with two or three updates a year from Laura Andreson. She’d not been there in person when Ember took her first steps or rode her two wheeler for the first time, nor had she been there when she had her heart broken at the Jr. high school dance. Still, she had lived each of those moments through the words written by the kind woman who had taken her in as her own child.
Now Ember wanted to meet Ceili. The words had cut through her like a sword slicing her in half. It was a crossroads in her life, and Ceili had a history of choosing the wrong path. She was happy with her job, she was falling in love with a man unlike any she’d ever known, and now she faced the questions she had dreaded for so long. Questions from her daughter. Hard questions.
Her head told her she should just tell Larry the truth, it was not too late. Her heart froze in fear as she imagined the look on his face. She knew what it felt like to receive his cold shoulder, and now that she knew how wonderful it felt to be in his good graces, she could not bear the thought of having him turn away again.
She was jarred from her thoughts when the door swung open behind her and he entered, stopping short as he saw Adam was still on the table. His silver eyes flashed with something unrecognizable briefly. Was that jealousy? Ceili looked up at the clock and realized she’d been so lost in her musings that she’d gone over on time. Adam was so relaxed he was almost asleep, having lost track of the time as well.
“Hey. Am I early?” Larry asked, leaning his shoulders back against the wall, his hips nearly a foot further out he slouched so much. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders drawn up tightly.
“No, I’m late.” She admitted, rousing Adam from his doze and informing him of the same. She excused herself, locking herself in the bathroom and away from Larry’s piercing eyes. **C’mon, get yourself together!** she told herself in the mirror. When she emerged, Adam was dressed again and the men stood there chatting away.
“Hey, I was just telling Larry about that picture.” Adam said, and Ceili closed her eyes.
**Ok, God, I get the message!** she prayed quietly.
“Can I see?” Larry asked, and Ceili handed him not only the photo but the entire envelope, letter and all. He withdrew the picture and let out a low whistle. “Who is she?”
“My daughter.” Ceili told him quietly, and both men looked up at her as if she’d started speaking in tongues. She chewed nervously on her lower lip.
“There’s no way! You are not old enough to have a daughter this age.” Adam objected, looking at the picture again. “How old is she? Fifteen?”
“She was thirteen in that. Her fourteenth birthday was yesterday.”
“Fourteen? You couldn’t have been more than sixteen when you had her then.”
“I was fifteen.” She said, practically choking on the words. Larry’s eyes grew dark with concern, a sudden understanding dawning on him as he recalled the revelation she’d made the night before. He ran a hand over his face, rubbing his mouth and nose as he often did when he was nervous.
“Well, she’s beautiful.” Adam told her, feeling very awkward as the tension in the room built.
“Thank you.” Ceili replied graciously. Adam bid them good-bye and hurried to escape the weight of the unusual situation. It was obvious they needed to talk, and he was less than necessary.
“I gave her up for adoption.” Ceili told Larry as he continued to stare at the photo.
“She looks just like you.” He told her.
“No, she’s so beautiful. She’s much prettier than I am.” Ceili said, moving to stand beside him and look at the photo of the young girl with the strawberry blonde hair and big blue eyes.
“She wants to be a musician.” She informed him.
“No shit?”
“No shit.” Ceili laughed. “She’s determined, I guess. Obsessed, Laura calls it. Laura and Dan are the couple who adopted her.”
“She looks happy.” He told her, draping a big arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Ceili. It must’ve been so hard for you.” He said, and she could see the sympathy in his eyes was genuine. She’d never had someone express so much concern for her, even when it was all fresh. Her parents had been embarrassed by it all and avoided the subject. She hated to risk losing the moment, but before she could talk herself out of it, she spoke, deciding it was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Better when done quickly and gotten over with.
“She wants to meet me.” She told him, hardly believing the words even as she spoke them.
“She knows?”
“That’s what this letter was about.” She informed him.
“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine what she must be feeling. Fourteen years old and trying to understand why the woman who gave birth to her is a stranger.”
“You say she wants to be a musician? Why don’t we send her tickets? She can see backstage, maybe even come up on stage.” He offered.
“That’s sweet, but I don’t want to buy her love.”
“What do you think will upset her more; thinking you’re trying to buy her with this or if she finds out you worked with us and never gave her the chance to come and have a peek at the life she thinks she wants to lead someday?” He asked. Ceili blinked up at him.
It made sense. Her heart soared at the possibility. This would be the opportunity of a lifetime for Ember, and it would take the focus off the awkward questions for a bit.
More than that, she was giddy with relief. Not only had he not reacted with fear or judgement, but he wanted to help her. If she hadn’t been in love with him before, she knew she was in deep now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly.
“Thank you.” She whispered, resting her cheek against his as she held him. His arms tightened around her, and she wondered if he wasn’t a dream.
*****************************************************************
The others had been just as eager to welcome Ceili’s daughter, and so she had phoned the Andresons immediately and extended the invitation. When they reached Chicago, Ceili was more nervous than she’d ever been. Laura wanted to surprise Ember, and Ceili had agreed to the plan. She was to be told that they had won a contest, granting them tickets to the show and backstage passes. That way if Ceili decided she could not handle telling her, she could back out. Her heart was up in her throat, choking her with anxiety as she waited.
Tears sprung to her eyes the moment she saw her in the flesh, her heart aching to hold the baby girl she had only had in her arms once before. She was practically a woman already. Had it really been so long? The girl’s eyes were wide as she looked around the place in awe. One of the security guards had taken charge of her and Laura, leading them back to the green room where Ceili waited.
Her hair was straight and long, fine strands of coppery blonde which fell in her face. Ceili fought the urge to brush it out of her eyes for her. She was as tall as Ceili was, with the willowy figure of an active youth. She wore a white spaghetti-strap tank top which had the words ‘just another scary Pleba girl’ written across the front, a pair of well worn jeans and had silver rings on almost every finger. Around her neck was a slender gold chain from which a guitar pick dangled, and her ears had been pierced numerous times as well.
Ceili had never been so daring as a girl, though some small part of her had longed to be. It made her happy to see her daughter living the teenage life she had not.
“Ember?” She asked, her voice catching in her throat. She coughed to clear it and tried again. “Ember Andreson?” She asked, greeting her with a handshake. She was reluctant to let go of her, but managed to, somehow. “I’m Ceili. How are you?”
“I’m good.” Ember replied with a grin. She wiggled excitedly, sort of dancing in excited anticipation. “I’m so hyper! I can’t believe this!” she practically squealed, unable to maintain her cool.
“Pretty exciting.” Ceili agreed, smiling over Ember’s shoulder at Laura. “So you’re a big fan?” she asked, and Ember’s eyes widened dramatically and she nodded.
“Oh, yeah. See my shirt?” She asked, pointing down to the curious message. “It’s from… Oh my God!” She started to explain her shirt but couldn’t contain herself when Bono and Edge entered the room. Her face went white and Ceili was a little frightened, thinking the girl might actually faint.
She turned back to Ceili and told her in a conspiratorial whisper “Bono is even hotter in person!” Ceili choked on a laugh, simply nodding and smiling. The men came over and greeted the girl, all of them knowing by now, the full story behind the reunion, including the fact that the girl did not yet know who Ceili was.
Ember grabbed on to Bono and clung to him as if he were the long lost relative, telling him at a million-words-per-minute how much she loved and admired him. He laughed out loud and hugged her, patted her on the back and eventually managed to extricate himself from her hold. He smiled at her, that smile which had claimed millions of hearts and told her she was making Edge jealous. She blushed furiously, and it was so much like looking at a younger version of Ceili it was undeniable.
Larry and Adam strolled into the room and she got all giddy again, as only a fourteen year old girl can. She professed her love for Larry, making him smile that shy, sweet smile. When she asked if she could kiss him, he actually blushed as he looked up at Ceili, his eyes pleading with her to help him out of an awkward situation.
“Ember.” Laura said, reading the signals between them. “Leave him alone, sweetie. Come on over here and sit down.” The girl looked absolutely horrified to have her mother telling her what to do, so Ceili stepped in and took the heat of the girls glare.
“Yeah, let’s have a seat. I wanted to talk to you about something.” She told her, and the girl reigned in her temper slightly. She moved over to sit on the couch beside Ceili who sighed and wondered where to start.
“Do you know who I am?” She asked finally, and the girl blinked at her as if she had just asked her if she had eyes or something equally obvious.
“Yeah, you’re Larry’s girlfriend. I’ve seen the pictures of you guys on the internet.” She said, taking Ceili by surprise.
“Pictures?”
“Yeah, on the Harley and holding hands outside one of the concerts, stuff like that.” The girl informed her as if telling her the sky were blue. It was old news to her. “I was so jealous when I saw that one of you kissing!” She admitted on a whisper, hiding her face behind her hand so only Ceili would hear.
“Uh… ok. Well, yeah. I guess that’s true. We’ve gone out a few times. But that wasn’t really what I meant.” She said, rubbing the back of her neck and trying to form a more direct method.
“Oh my God!” The girl breathed as if she were looking at Ceili for the first time. She shook her head slightly and looked over at her adoptive mother, her blue eyes full of questions. “Is… Are you…?”
“I’m your mother.” Ceili confirmed and the girl sank back in her seat like a deflated balloon, staring ahead absently. Ceili bit her lip and waited patiently for the girl to think things through, to let the information sink in. Ember’s eyes flashed with concern as something occurred to her.
“Oh no! No, no, no! Please, please don’t tell me that one of these guys is my father!” she exclaimed, “Oh, please tell me I haven’t had impure thoughts about my father!” and just about everyone burst out into a fit of shocked laughter. The girl was far bolder than Ceili had ever been, that much was certain.
“No, no. I just got this job a couple of months ago. I didn’t know any of them back then.” Ceili reassured the girl as the laughter died down a bit. They stared at each other for a long time in silence, before Ember finally reached out and wrapped her arms around her mother for the very first time.
“You did this for me?” she asked. “You set this up?”
“Laura; I mean, your mom, told me you were a musician. Wanted to be a rocker or whatever.” Ceili told her, closing her eyes and smoothing the girls hair down against her back as she hugged her.
“I have so many questions.” Ember told her, sitting back away from her, releasing her from the tight hug. “I can’t even think right now.” She said, obviously overwhelmed by everything.
“I’m going to leave all of my contact information with Laura, and we will talk. I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Tonight is more of a present. You enjoy the show. Make sure you get something autographed before these guys take the stage, ok?” She told her, wiping a tear out of the corner of her eye. Ember nodded, stunned silent, which was saying a lot for her.
Ceili drew in a shaky breath and patted her on the leg before standing and moving toward Laura, who greeted her with a hug of her own. This was a moment that had been simmering for so many years, neither one of them could quite believe it was happening. Bono plopped down on the couch beside Ember casually and started asking her questions, taking the tension of the moment away by making her smile. He, and the others, were determined to make this night a memory which she could not help but cherish.
Disclaimer: Absolutely not true. Just a fun little fantasy inspired by but in no way meant to represent the true actions/feelings of any person(s) mentioned within
"There Goes My Life"
As performed by Kenny Chesney
All he could think about was I'm too young for this.
Got my whole life ahead.
Hell I'm just a kid myself.
How'm I gonna raise one?
All he could see were his dreams goin' up in smoke…
“Pretty girl.” Adam said, peering over Ceili’s shoulder to look at the picture she was holding. She jumped, having been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard him approach. She smiled weakly at his compliment and slid the picture back into the envelope with the letter which she had just received. It was beat all to hell, having chased her around for nearly a month before finally reaching her.
“Is that you, when you were a kid?” He asked as he fell into their routine, slipping out of his clothes and onto the massage table.
“No. No she’s… just a girl I know.” She told him, chewing on her fingernails absently.
“Are you feeling all right today?” He asked, his head tilted to one side as he looked at her seriously. Her head snapped back up, her eyes meeting his, a bit too round to hide her lie.
“Fine.” She told him, turning and going to the bathroom to wash her hands before starting his massage. “The show was great, by the way. I’m really glad I finally got to make it to one.” She told him when she emerged.
“Thanks. Larry told me you weren’t really a fan.” He teased as he climbed onto the table.
“That shithead.” She mumbled affectionately, and Adam chuckled.
“You guys seem to really be getting on well.” He said, testing the waters for what he wanted to say next. She merely agreed with a ‘mmm-hmm’ so he went on. “He’s a terribly loyal guy, that one. He hangs on, once he’s attached. Not always good at showing it, but still.”
“Are you trying to convince me? Or is there something else you wanted to say?” She asked, working the knots out of the muscles in his shoulders.
“Just saying that he’s been hurt, in the past. Wanted to make sure…”
“My intentions are pure, Father Adam. May I have permission to continue dating him?” She replied playfully. He chuckled, but she could almost feel the relief as his tense shoulders began to relax. The fact that the four of these men were so devoted to each other was enough to convince her of the goodness in their hearts. She’d never been warned not to hurt a man before, she thought with a little smile.
**You’ve got to tell him** her conscience piped up, making her heart sink. How could she tell him about her secrets now? After they'd spent so long talking already, and she had avoided the subjects of marriage and children?
Then again, how could she not? Especially after the letter she’d just received. Ember knew she was adopted. It wasn’t clear how she’d found out, but when she’d confronted her parents about it they had told her about Ceili. She’d given them permission to do so a long time ago, but had honestly not been prepared.
She had received Ember’s school pictures every year of her life, along with two or three updates a year from Laura Andreson. She’d not been there in person when Ember took her first steps or rode her two wheeler for the first time, nor had she been there when she had her heart broken at the Jr. high school dance. Still, she had lived each of those moments through the words written by the kind woman who had taken her in as her own child.
Now Ember wanted to meet Ceili. The words had cut through her like a sword slicing her in half. It was a crossroads in her life, and Ceili had a history of choosing the wrong path. She was happy with her job, she was falling in love with a man unlike any she’d ever known, and now she faced the questions she had dreaded for so long. Questions from her daughter. Hard questions.
Her head told her she should just tell Larry the truth, it was not too late. Her heart froze in fear as she imagined the look on his face. She knew what it felt like to receive his cold shoulder, and now that she knew how wonderful it felt to be in his good graces, she could not bear the thought of having him turn away again.
She was jarred from her thoughts when the door swung open behind her and he entered, stopping short as he saw Adam was still on the table. His silver eyes flashed with something unrecognizable briefly. Was that jealousy? Ceili looked up at the clock and realized she’d been so lost in her musings that she’d gone over on time. Adam was so relaxed he was almost asleep, having lost track of the time as well.
“Hey. Am I early?” Larry asked, leaning his shoulders back against the wall, his hips nearly a foot further out he slouched so much. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders drawn up tightly.
“No, I’m late.” She admitted, rousing Adam from his doze and informing him of the same. She excused herself, locking herself in the bathroom and away from Larry’s piercing eyes. **C’mon, get yourself together!** she told herself in the mirror. When she emerged, Adam was dressed again and the men stood there chatting away.
“Hey, I was just telling Larry about that picture.” Adam said, and Ceili closed her eyes.
**Ok, God, I get the message!** she prayed quietly.
“Can I see?” Larry asked, and Ceili handed him not only the photo but the entire envelope, letter and all. He withdrew the picture and let out a low whistle. “Who is she?”
“My daughter.” Ceili told him quietly, and both men looked up at her as if she’d started speaking in tongues. She chewed nervously on her lower lip.
“There’s no way! You are not old enough to have a daughter this age.” Adam objected, looking at the picture again. “How old is she? Fifteen?”
“She was thirteen in that. Her fourteenth birthday was yesterday.”
“Fourteen? You couldn’t have been more than sixteen when you had her then.”
“I was fifteen.” She said, practically choking on the words. Larry’s eyes grew dark with concern, a sudden understanding dawning on him as he recalled the revelation she’d made the night before. He ran a hand over his face, rubbing his mouth and nose as he often did when he was nervous.
“Well, she’s beautiful.” Adam told her, feeling very awkward as the tension in the room built.
“Thank you.” Ceili replied graciously. Adam bid them good-bye and hurried to escape the weight of the unusual situation. It was obvious they needed to talk, and he was less than necessary.
“I gave her up for adoption.” Ceili told Larry as he continued to stare at the photo.
“She looks just like you.” He told her.
“No, she’s so beautiful. She’s much prettier than I am.” Ceili said, moving to stand beside him and look at the photo of the young girl with the strawberry blonde hair and big blue eyes.
“She wants to be a musician.” She informed him.
“No shit?”
“No shit.” Ceili laughed. “She’s determined, I guess. Obsessed, Laura calls it. Laura and Dan are the couple who adopted her.”
“She looks happy.” He told her, draping a big arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Ceili. It must’ve been so hard for you.” He said, and she could see the sympathy in his eyes was genuine. She’d never had someone express so much concern for her, even when it was all fresh. Her parents had been embarrassed by it all and avoided the subject. She hated to risk losing the moment, but before she could talk herself out of it, she spoke, deciding it was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Better when done quickly and gotten over with.
“She wants to meet me.” She told him, hardly believing the words even as she spoke them.
“She knows?”
“That’s what this letter was about.” She informed him.
“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine what she must be feeling. Fourteen years old and trying to understand why the woman who gave birth to her is a stranger.”
“You say she wants to be a musician? Why don’t we send her tickets? She can see backstage, maybe even come up on stage.” He offered.
“That’s sweet, but I don’t want to buy her love.”
“What do you think will upset her more; thinking you’re trying to buy her with this or if she finds out you worked with us and never gave her the chance to come and have a peek at the life she thinks she wants to lead someday?” He asked. Ceili blinked up at him.
It made sense. Her heart soared at the possibility. This would be the opportunity of a lifetime for Ember, and it would take the focus off the awkward questions for a bit.
More than that, she was giddy with relief. Not only had he not reacted with fear or judgement, but he wanted to help her. If she hadn’t been in love with him before, she knew she was in deep now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly.
“Thank you.” She whispered, resting her cheek against his as she held him. His arms tightened around her, and she wondered if he wasn’t a dream.
*****************************************************************
The others had been just as eager to welcome Ceili’s daughter, and so she had phoned the Andresons immediately and extended the invitation. When they reached Chicago, Ceili was more nervous than she’d ever been. Laura wanted to surprise Ember, and Ceili had agreed to the plan. She was to be told that they had won a contest, granting them tickets to the show and backstage passes. That way if Ceili decided she could not handle telling her, she could back out. Her heart was up in her throat, choking her with anxiety as she waited.
Tears sprung to her eyes the moment she saw her in the flesh, her heart aching to hold the baby girl she had only had in her arms once before. She was practically a woman already. Had it really been so long? The girl’s eyes were wide as she looked around the place in awe. One of the security guards had taken charge of her and Laura, leading them back to the green room where Ceili waited.
Her hair was straight and long, fine strands of coppery blonde which fell in her face. Ceili fought the urge to brush it out of her eyes for her. She was as tall as Ceili was, with the willowy figure of an active youth. She wore a white spaghetti-strap tank top which had the words ‘just another scary Pleba girl’ written across the front, a pair of well worn jeans and had silver rings on almost every finger. Around her neck was a slender gold chain from which a guitar pick dangled, and her ears had been pierced numerous times as well.
Ceili had never been so daring as a girl, though some small part of her had longed to be. It made her happy to see her daughter living the teenage life she had not.
“Ember?” She asked, her voice catching in her throat. She coughed to clear it and tried again. “Ember Andreson?” She asked, greeting her with a handshake. She was reluctant to let go of her, but managed to, somehow. “I’m Ceili. How are you?”
“I’m good.” Ember replied with a grin. She wiggled excitedly, sort of dancing in excited anticipation. “I’m so hyper! I can’t believe this!” she practically squealed, unable to maintain her cool.
“Pretty exciting.” Ceili agreed, smiling over Ember’s shoulder at Laura. “So you’re a big fan?” she asked, and Ember’s eyes widened dramatically and she nodded.
“Oh, yeah. See my shirt?” She asked, pointing down to the curious message. “It’s from… Oh my God!” She started to explain her shirt but couldn’t contain herself when Bono and Edge entered the room. Her face went white and Ceili was a little frightened, thinking the girl might actually faint.
She turned back to Ceili and told her in a conspiratorial whisper “Bono is even hotter in person!” Ceili choked on a laugh, simply nodding and smiling. The men came over and greeted the girl, all of them knowing by now, the full story behind the reunion, including the fact that the girl did not yet know who Ceili was.
Ember grabbed on to Bono and clung to him as if he were the long lost relative, telling him at a million-words-per-minute how much she loved and admired him. He laughed out loud and hugged her, patted her on the back and eventually managed to extricate himself from her hold. He smiled at her, that smile which had claimed millions of hearts and told her she was making Edge jealous. She blushed furiously, and it was so much like looking at a younger version of Ceili it was undeniable.
Larry and Adam strolled into the room and she got all giddy again, as only a fourteen year old girl can. She professed her love for Larry, making him smile that shy, sweet smile. When she asked if she could kiss him, he actually blushed as he looked up at Ceili, his eyes pleading with her to help him out of an awkward situation.
“Ember.” Laura said, reading the signals between them. “Leave him alone, sweetie. Come on over here and sit down.” The girl looked absolutely horrified to have her mother telling her what to do, so Ceili stepped in and took the heat of the girls glare.
“Yeah, let’s have a seat. I wanted to talk to you about something.” She told her, and the girl reigned in her temper slightly. She moved over to sit on the couch beside Ceili who sighed and wondered where to start.
“Do you know who I am?” She asked finally, and the girl blinked at her as if she had just asked her if she had eyes or something equally obvious.
“Yeah, you’re Larry’s girlfriend. I’ve seen the pictures of you guys on the internet.” She said, taking Ceili by surprise.
“Pictures?”
“Yeah, on the Harley and holding hands outside one of the concerts, stuff like that.” The girl informed her as if telling her the sky were blue. It was old news to her. “I was so jealous when I saw that one of you kissing!” She admitted on a whisper, hiding her face behind her hand so only Ceili would hear.
“Uh… ok. Well, yeah. I guess that’s true. We’ve gone out a few times. But that wasn’t really what I meant.” She said, rubbing the back of her neck and trying to form a more direct method.
“Oh my God!” The girl breathed as if she were looking at Ceili for the first time. She shook her head slightly and looked over at her adoptive mother, her blue eyes full of questions. “Is… Are you…?”
“I’m your mother.” Ceili confirmed and the girl sank back in her seat like a deflated balloon, staring ahead absently. Ceili bit her lip and waited patiently for the girl to think things through, to let the information sink in. Ember’s eyes flashed with concern as something occurred to her.
“Oh no! No, no, no! Please, please don’t tell me that one of these guys is my father!” she exclaimed, “Oh, please tell me I haven’t had impure thoughts about my father!” and just about everyone burst out into a fit of shocked laughter. The girl was far bolder than Ceili had ever been, that much was certain.
“No, no. I just got this job a couple of months ago. I didn’t know any of them back then.” Ceili reassured the girl as the laughter died down a bit. They stared at each other for a long time in silence, before Ember finally reached out and wrapped her arms around her mother for the very first time.
“You did this for me?” she asked. “You set this up?”
“Laura; I mean, your mom, told me you were a musician. Wanted to be a rocker or whatever.” Ceili told her, closing her eyes and smoothing the girls hair down against her back as she hugged her.
“I have so many questions.” Ember told her, sitting back away from her, releasing her from the tight hug. “I can’t even think right now.” She said, obviously overwhelmed by everything.
“I’m going to leave all of my contact information with Laura, and we will talk. I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Tonight is more of a present. You enjoy the show. Make sure you get something autographed before these guys take the stage, ok?” She told her, wiping a tear out of the corner of her eye. Ember nodded, stunned silent, which was saying a lot for her.
Ceili drew in a shaky breath and patted her on the leg before standing and moving toward Laura, who greeted her with a hug of her own. This was a moment that had been simmering for so many years, neither one of them could quite believe it was happening. Bono plopped down on the couch beside Ember casually and started asking her questions, taking the tension of the moment away by making her smile. He, and the others, were determined to make this night a memory which she could not help but cherish.
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More, please!
