The Ties That Bind

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

     "Dad?"

Kasden's mind stopped working, then it went into overdrive; was this his imagination? Was his father really here? How did he know that Kasden worked here? Was it possible that one of his deepest desires was about to become reality? The boy stood as if glued to the floor.

The man, hearing the boy's surprised exclamation, quickly ran over to his son and pulled him into a tight embrace.

     "Oh God, it really is you!" The man exclaimed, his eyes filling with tears as he hadn't seen his son in over 14 years. "I have missed you so much; I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you when you needed me the most. I didn't know, Kasden, if I had, I would have gone and gotten you right away. I've waited so long for the moment when I could see you again."

The combination of the unexpected words and the tight hug unleashed more emotions from the boy who had thought he had no more to give. He started crying himself. 'God, I'm becoming a real crybaby', he thought to himself, which did nothing to ease the tightness in his chest.

It felt so good to be held with such warmth by his father; memories he'd thought long forgotten flooded through his mind as he clung to the man. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so much happiness; if he wasn't careful his heart was going to burst - he was sure of it. He glanced over to the counter and saw that even Stacey was crying as she witnessed the happy reunion.

"Hi dad," was about the only thing he could think to say as the man released him from the hug and led him over to the table.

Looking at the man sitting across from him, Kasden had to agree with Lennox, he was almost the exact image of his father, except his father was now an older version. The resemblance between the two men was uncanny. Anyone seeing them together would know they were related.

Feeling so much love coming from someone who was basically a stranger left Kasden speechless yet again. He felt a huge smile spread across his face when it became obvious that this reunion would go quite differently than his reunion with his mother. This was something he'd wanted for a long, long time. There were many people in his life who loved him unconditionally, but none of them were his parent. He realized how much he had wanted to experience the love of a parent; especially since his mother had rejected him.

Wiping more tears from his eyes, Kasden was finding it difficult to grasp how much happiness he was feeling. He couldn't take his eyes off his father's face, which was split in a grin as wide as his own. Though his eyes were also flowing, it was clear that he was pleased to be reunited with his son.

"You don't know how much I've missed you, Kas. Ever since the divorce when I was given the restraining order to keep us apart, I've thought about you, and missed you every day."

"I don't know how much you know about the divorce, and how bitter it was there at the end. Your mother wouldn't explain anything; she just insisted on a divorce and then used her connections to ensure that we were kept apart."

"I don't know too much about it to be honest." Kasden told his father. "It was only recently that I found out that the divorce was the reason you left. Mom's son Lennox was the one who told me about it, and the restraining order. After you left, I didn't know what to think, I guess I thought that maybe you'd abandoned us. Alex told me that wasn't the case, and lately I've been thinking about trying to find you, but I was afraid you wouldn't want to see me."

"I will always want to see you, Kasden. Always. In fact, it was Alex who told me you worked here. He gave me your phone number when I went to talk to him at his office after I read those articles, but you weren't answering my calls, so I called him to find out where I could find you. He said you probably didn't answer because you received a lot of unwanted calls from reporters."