Brad's Life

"See you Tuesday, Sweetheart, and I won't forget."

I was on cloud nine. My dad walked up to me and said, "That's her, isn't it, Brad."

"How could you tell dad? Was it that obvious? Did I act stupid or something?"

Sue came up to Dad and me. "Brad, it was obvious, but in a good way. We're all family and we know you. You haven't seemed this happy in a very long time. If you play your cards right, you will luck out here."

"What do you mean, luck out? Did Angel say something to you?" I asked.

"No, she didn't have to. I saw it in her eyes. Don't blow it, brother. If you do as much as hurt her feelings, I'll put you in the hospital myself. Take it easy and it will all turn out just fine. Believe me, little Sara is a big bonus. Trust in fate, Brad. It will work out for you."

Dad looked over at Sue, then back over at me. I knew he was going to say something. "Brad, listen to your big sister. She knows what she's talking about. She was always the smarter of you two." He walked away laughing.

The next day I went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner. I guess I showed up there a lot for a guy on his own. I even owned a nice house, or was at least paying on it. A three bedroom ranch with an attached garage. I used one of the rooms to store and work on computers at home, another for my office, and of course the third as a master bedroom with my king size bed. My parents did say what a nice young lady Angel was and her little Sara was precious. They didn't push it any further than that which made it more comfortable for me.

Chapter 4

After dinner I went home. I couldn't wait till Tuesday, I had to talk to Angel. I called the house and little Sara answered the phone.

"Hello."

"Hi, Sara, how are you honey? This is Uncle Brad."

"Hi, Uncle Brad. We're going out to eat with you Tuesday."

"Yes, we are, Honey. Is mommy home?"

"Yeah, she's talking to Uncle Barry."

I was struck. I couldn't talk. Uncle Barry? God, no, this can't be happening. I knew it was too good to be true. I was getting ready to hang up the phone, when I heard a voice.

"Hello, Brad, are you there? Are you okay?" It was Angel.

"Yes, I'm here. I couldn't wait to talk to you, so I thought I would call." I know my voice probably sounded dejected. "Sara said you had company."

"Barry is hardly company. He's my brother. He and his wife live in the same apartment building as me and Sara."

"Wife? Barry's married?" I asked.

"What's gotten into you, Brad? Are you okay? Yes, my brother Barry has been happily married for, going on ten years. He's one of the doctors at the clinic. Are you sure you're okay?

"I am now. I just wanted to talk to you or see you."

"Brad, I thought we were going to take it slow?"

"We are, but we're allowed to talk to each other, aren't we? If you're not doing anything I'll rent a video and we can watch it and have popcorn or something." I could hear her laughing lightly over the phone.

"Okay, you win again. Pick up something Sara will like and come over about six o'clock."

Now I was smiling. "Okay, six it is. Do you have the popcorn?"

"Yes, dear, we have popcorn." She laughed.

I stopped by the video shop to get the movies. I couldn't decide. I didn't know that much about kid's movies. There was a little girl with her mother looking at the rentals.

"Excuse me, but I need a movie for a little girl. Which ones do you like?"

She, handed me a disk of Narnia, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. "Is that enough?" the little girl asked. "They're my favorites."

"That's plenty. Thank you so much. You probably made a little girl very happy." I didn't tell her she helped out a middle aged man also. I didn't know which one to take, so I took them all.

I drove over to Angel's apartment. It was a really nice looking place. I had to be buzzed up. I pushed the buzzer and heard Angel say, "Who is it?"

"An old man looking for company and popcorn," I answered.

I went to their door and Sara was standing there waiting for me.

"What movie did you get, Uncle Brad?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure which one to get so I got all of these. There should be something there you like."

She couldn't really read but she recognized the pictures on the cases. She was smiling at all of them. I guess I did good. Angel walked in the room and saw Sara looking at all the movies.

"My God, Brad, it will take all night to watch all of them." She realized what she had said and we both started laughing.

Angel told Sara, "Sara, we are only going to watch two of them tonight. You pick out which two you want to watch."

I put the movie Sara chose into the player and Angel went and made two bags of microwave popcorn. She came in and dimmed the light and sat on the couch next to me. Sara sat on the floor in front of us. Damn, this was nice. So much better than being home alone.

Sara asked for something to drink, and Angel got up to get her some juice. She asked me if I wanted anything and I told her a soda would be fine. She gave Sara hers and set mine on the end table. She sat back down only this time she sat closer to me. I was like a kid on his first date wondering what to do. I reached over and gently took Angel's hand in mine and held it. She didn't pull away; in fact, she squeezed my hand. I brought her hand up to my mouth and kissed it, then I laid our hand on our thighs which were touching.

I looked at her and she was looking back at me. "Angel, I can't tell you the last time I felt like this. If I do something wrong, please tell me. I don't want to lose you."

I couldn't believe what happened next. Angel leaned over and gently kissed me on the lips. Sweet, soft, and sensuous, just the one time. I again kissed her hand. I wasn't going to push it.

After the first movie, we took a break. Sara showed me her room, and Angel showed me the rest of the apartment. Sara showed me her goldfish. She said she wanted a puppy but they weren't allowed them in the apartment, so her mom got her a goldfish.

"What's you fish's name?"

"Goldie," Sara answered.

Well, that made sense. I looked back at Angel and she was laughing again. God, she was so beautiful and I loved to see her smile. Angel told Sara to get her pajamas on before we watched the second movie. She said she knew Sara would probably fall asleep and she was right. Sara had fallen asleep. I picked her up and carried her into her bedroom and laid her on the bed. I kissed her on the forehead, then Angel covered her and kissed her also. I felt like I belonged. God, I hope I wasn't dreaming.

Angel and I went back into the living room and I turned off the movie.

"You better leave, Brad, before something happens."

I took her in my arms and kissed her the same way we kissed earlier. We were standing there kissing for the third time when Angel said, "Please, Brad, you better go. I'll see you Tuesday."

We kissed one more time and we both put our feelings and emotions into it. Then I left the apartment. I couldn't believe how I felt. It seemed so right. I went home and dreamed about Angel.

On Tuesday, I stopped by and picked up Angel and Sara. A beautiful woman with a beautiful daughter. I wish I knew more about their past. Was she ever married? Everyone says that Sara's dad had died. No one has said that Angel's husband died. I felt it was too early in our relationship to ask. Hopefully, she would tell me as life went on.

We had another great time together. Just the three of us. Little Sara talked and talked to me, like she knew me forever. She asked if we could watch some more of the movies after we got done eating. Angel looked at me and I told her I had them for five days and we would have to return them by Thursday.

"Okay, Sara, but only one movie tonight. You have to choose which one you want to watch. Brad has to take them back to the store."

I spoke up, "Angel, we could watch one tonight and the other one tomorrow night. That way we won't have to miss one."

"Yeah, Mommy, yeah, let's do that," replied Sara.

Angel looked at me. She knew I just pulled a fast one over on her. "Sara, Uncle Brad might not be able to come over tomorrow."

I quickly spoke, "I'm free tomorrow and I can bring a pizza with me. We can eat it while we watch the movie."

"I like pizza, Uncle Brad," replied Sara.

"Okay, guys, we'll watch one movie tonight and one tomorrow, but no more the rest of the week." She said it sternly but we all knew she wasn't mad.

"I love you, Mommy," replied Sara.

"I love you, too, Mom." I smiled. It was funny me saying that. I was serious. I could count on one hand the number of times in my life that I said I love you to a woman.

We kissed goodnight each time I stopped by. It was becoming almost automatic. I tried to take Angel and Sara somewhere most every weekend. I called her during the week at least twice. I was falling in love. If anyone told me I would fall in love this quick, I would have laughed at them. No sex, no feeling her up, even though I was dying to. I was taking it slow. It was no longer a game. I wanted this woman. We still haven't talked about Sara's father. Every time I would mention it, she would tell me she wasn't ready to talk about it. It kind of hurt me, that she didn't trust me enough to talk about it, or maybe there was more to it. I wanted to know, but not at a cost of losing her.

Chapter 5

I stopped by her apartment to see her. Her mother had taken Sara somewhere and wouldn't be back for a good hour or two.

We'd been dating for over three months now. I asked Angel if I could take her out dancing and to a dinner. Sue and her husband agreed to go with us if she wanted to go.

"Brad, I'm scared. I'm falling in love with you and it's scaring me. I haven't been with a man in nearly five years. Since I became pregnant with Sara."

"Angel, you know I'm crazy about you. I have been since the day I met you. I know you know that. Besides, I know you've talked with Sue. She must have told you all about me being a playboy and vowing never to get married. I am no longer that man. I'm a man that fell in love with the nicest woman on God's green earth. I love you, Angel, and I would never do anything to hurt you. I want to be with you, Angel."

She began to cry. I don't know why she was crying. I put my arms around her and held her tight. She felt so soft. I kept my arms around her with her head on my shoulder. I hated seeing her cry; it was tearing me apart.

"Angel, what did I say or do to make you cry? Please share your grief and trust me," I asked.

"Brad, there is something about me that very few people know. It's a dark secret that only my mom and dad know. My brother doesn't even know."

"What is it? Angel, you can trust in me."

"Brad, I'm not falling in love with you."

"What? But you just said you were a minute ago."

"I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you ever since you brought over the movies. That is why I kissed you the first time. That's when I felt it. The mystical miss of the heart beat."

"What is it, Angel? Share it with me. I know everything will be alright."

"Brad, promise me that after I tell you this deep dark secret that you will never tell anyone. Not your sister, your mom or your dad. Promise me on all their lives that you will never mention it after today."

"I promise, Honey, I promise till the day I die, I will never reveal your secret. After you tell me, it will be our secret. Never to be mentioned again."

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Angel told me her secret:

"Brad, I have to tell you the whole story if we are to be together. I can't hold this secret from you. Please don't interrupt me; I have to get it all out. It's taken me three months to get up the courage to tell you. I hope I don't lose you over it.

"It all began when I was in high school. I was popular and dated a lot. When I started college in Michigan I was a virgin. I thought I loved this one guy and, after we dated for a year, I gave up my virginity to him. "We dated until I was a senior in college. He found a new girlfriend and I went on with my life. I continued dating but the sex did not go beyond the feeling up and so on - no oral, no penetration. I guess I was what everyone in college called a tease, or a goody two shoes. I wasn't a tease. I was just trying to be polite and nice to everyone. Just because a girl talks to a guy doesn't make her a tease.

"I graduated with honors, along with one of my girlfriends, Sidney. We double dated and always watched each other's back. She knew I wasn't a virgin and I knew she wasn't one either. Neither of us had a boyfriend at graduation time.

"There was a big party planned for all the seniors. It was going to be held at the Ramada Inn. We knew there would be a lot of drinking and partying, so we got a room to share for the night. That way we wouldn't have to drive or have to depend on someone to get us home. We wanted to play it safe.

"The party started and we were having a good time. We danced with anyone who asked. We knew we were getting drunk, but that's what we expected to do. It was our graduation party, we wanted to have fun. We earned it.

"The next morning we - Sidney and me - woke up in our room. We were hurting, down below. We knew we had sex but had no idea with who or how many. I have no memory of any of it. I just woke up a total mess. I staggered into the shower to get rid of the filth. It was fine for the outside of my body but my stomach still ached. When I came out of the shower, Sidney took hers. When she came out of the shower, we held each other and cried.

"Should we call the police? Were we drugged? Were we raped, maybe both? We didn't know. If we called the police, who would we blame? We didn't know who or even how many. All we knew was that it hurt. It may be a good thing we have no recollection. If we did, we would have killed the bastards. We decided not to report it. School was over and we would be heading home in two days. Of course I came back to Ohio and Sidney was from Indiana.

"I remember Sidney saying 'Good thing we're on contraceptives.' She was but I never told her that I wasn't. It was a hard two days for us. We didn't trust any guy we talked to. Each time we would say goodbye to someone, we wondered if he might have been one of them. What should have been a couple of our happiest days turned out to be the worst because of our not knowing.

"I had this job waiting for me at the clinic. As you know, my brother Barry was a doctor there already. It made me a shoe-in for the nursing position. I started working the following week. It helped me get my mind off of the rape. I call it rape, because I didn't give willingly of myself. I know myself too well to think I would have jumped into a group scene.

"I missed my first period and it bothered me a little. When I missed my second one, I was scared. The only people I could talk to were my parents. I told them the whole story about the rape. We sat and cried together. Now, we had to decide what to do about the pregnancy.

"I basically had three choices. Abort the pregnancy, have the baby and give it up for adoption, or have the baby and keep it. I'm a nurse and we try to save lives. I decided against abortion. That made it between giving it up for adoption or keeping it. I must have changed my mind a hundred times while I was pregnant with Sara. About the seventh month I told my parents I was going to keep the baby. She - I knew it was a girl by then - was my daughter. No matter who the son-of a-bitch was that left the sperm, she was still my daughter.

"Brad, to this day, I don't regret my decision. We tell people that I got pregnant to a boyfriend in college and that he was killed in an auto accident before we got married. No one knows the true story but Mom and Dad and now you. I'll understand if you have second thoughts about me. I had to tell you the truth if we were to go any further. All I ask is you not tell anyone."

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Needless to say, Angel had tears in her eyes when she finish telling me the story. I know I had to reply. I looked deep into her eyes and said,

"Are you going out to dinner and dancing with me Saturday night?"

She started crying while I reached out and held her ever so close. I put a finger under her chin and pushed up lightly till our lips met. We kissed with a subtle passion. My nerves were on end.

"I love you, Angel. I love you even more now if that is possible. My dad said, 'The main things in a relationship are trust and communication.' I believe we have both of those qualities."

As we were kissing, her door buzzer went off. It was her mother back with Sara. They came up and we all talked about where they had gone. Then Angel asked her mom if she would watch Sara overnight on Saturday.

Her mom looked over at me and I quickly looked away. She looked back at Angel and said, "Overnight, Angel?"

"Yes, Mom, overnight. We're going to the big city for some dinner and dancing."

"Okay, honey, we'll take good care of Sara. Anything for my little girl."

I decided it was time for me to leave. I said my goodbyes to Sara and Angel's mom and gave Angel a quick kiss and told her I would see her Saturday and if she had any questions she should call Sue.

We went out on Saturday night, Sue and Bill, Angel and I. We had a fantastic dinner and then went to the lounge and had a few drinks. That is all of us but Sue. She was only a month or so from having her baby. She drank tea. As far as dancing goes, Angel and I danced every slow dance and a few fast ones. Sue and Bill danced a few slow ones. After a slow number the leader of the band asked for our attention. He said a gentleman had an announcement to make. Angel said she wondered what on earth this was about. We were standing near the stage at the time.

"Excuse me for a second, Honey, I'm on."

"What on earth is going on, Brad?"

I went up and grabbed the microphone.

"Angel, I know we haven't known each other that long. I've been in love with you since the first day we met. I love you with all my heart and soul. My dad told me I would know the right woman by the flutter of my heart. My sister told me I would know when that special woman came along. My Mom said, 'The true matches are made by God.' You told me, 'I believe in fate.' So with the help of all these sayings, and for the true love I have for you, will you marry me?"

Angel was crying. My sister had her arm around Angel. The place was deadly silent waiting for Angel's answer.

"Yes, Brad, I will marry you."

The place exploded with applause and laughter. I jumped down off the stage and went to Angel. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a ring and slipped it on her finger. The crowd cheered again as I took Angel into my arms and kissed her.

We went back to our table and Sue handed Angel her phone. "Call your mom and dad and tell them. They'll probably feel a little better about you not coming home tonight."

Angel called her mom and we could hear her mom scream out with joy through the phone. Angel asked to speak with Sara.

"Hi, Mommy. How come grandma is crying? She said it's because she's so happy."

"Sara, Uncle Brad asked me to marry him tonight and I said yes."

She cheered but probably didn't know why. Then she asked a good question.

"Mommy, if you marry Uncle Brad, will he be my uncle or my daddy?"

I had my ear next to the phone listening to Angel talk to Sara. I took the phone from Angel. "Sara, I'll be your daddy if you let me."

We heard Sara tell her grandma that Brad was going to be her daddy. She was going to have a real daddy. I couldn't help it - I started crying. I was so overcome with emotion. I handed the phone back to Angel who was crying also. She told Sara she would see her tomorrow and she could help her plan our wedding.

After everything calmed down, I had Sue call our mom and dad and tell them the news. We danced a few more dances and then headed up to our room. We said goodnight to Sue and Bill who were a couple of rooms down from us. I opened the door and Angel and I walked in.