Cristina - The Last Star Child

Dinner for Four

Cristina

The entire drive home, I was seconds away from dialing 911. Yet every time I started to dial, I stopped myself. The man in the gray suit said his name was David. David had known my father's lines and made reference to his stories. He also knew about Henry and Hope. This was not a coincidence. David had obviously done his research. There was also his voice, something was familiar about him. Yet, I'd never seen him before today.

It was my father's memory that helped me decide to listen to him. I would give him 30 minutes before Henry and Hope went to bed and read him over dinner. I had always been a good people reader. Perceptive, my father had said. As I heard the two knocks on my door, I set my thoughts aside and slowly opened the door.

"Welcome David. Please come in. Dinner will be ready shortly. The washroom is straight  down the hall." Though he was a stranger, my etiquette training, courtesy of my mother, won out. I would be a gracious host.

"Hello, thank you for seeing me." David smiled as he quietly came in, then he looked around at the room. Searching, or so it appeared. Strange. There was nothing to see. The apartment was small and clean.

Henry and Hope came out of their room before I could ask David any questions. Upon seeing David, they stopped. Henry took his sister's hand and looked at me with a puzzled look. This did not surprise me, outside of Grace and my parents, we never had visitors.

"Henry, Hope, it's okay. This is David. He is helping me with a school assignment tonight, and he'll be joining us for dinner. Please come and say hello." Slowly, both Henry and Hope walked up to David. Before they could say anything, David knelt down to greet them.

"Hello Henry. Hello Hope. I'm David. Thank you for allowing me to join you for dinner tonight." David spoke softly and had a pleasant voice.

"Hi David!" Henry was loud and confident.

"Hello." Hope on the other hand was a bit timid.

Both Henry and Hope shook his hand and then went over to the dinner table. David followed them. I went into the kitchen and pulled out the spaghetti bake from the oven. Carefully, I walked it over to the dinner table and we began eating.

The conversation at dinner was the usual one. Henry and Hope told me about their day at school and the daycare program. Nothing exciting had happened. Surprisingly, David had asked a few questions throughout their stories, showing interest in their five-year old lives. Why? The life of a five-year old did not seem like something that would excite a lot of men.

After dinner, I cleaned up quickly and sent Henry and Hope to play. It was time to find out exactly why David had entered my life and what he knew about my father.

"So David, please sit down and tell me why you are here and how you know my father?"