Kane Ch. 01

"I know but I don't want to get into her pants, at least not now; I want to talk to her." Kane replied as he watched Carla. He noticed that only one of the two women from before was with her and wondered where the other one was.

"Then do it and good luck."

Carla felt an itch on the nape of her neck and looked around, Dina saying something distracted her.

Kane walked around the back of the room making his way to the front of the room. He got the attention of the emcee and made his request.

"Ladies and gentleman, we have a man here who wants to sing to a very special lady that he says he hasn't seen in five years-ok dude you're up."

Carla stopped mid sentence when she heard Kane's voice. She looked up and saw him looking directly at her; tears sprang to her eyes as she jumped up and ran out of the room. She had no desire to see the man with whom she had acted no better than a common whore. Dina followed her out confused as to what was happening.

"Carla..."

"Take me home now." she said crying.

"Carla, what happened?" Dina asked concerned.

"Take me home now or I start walking!"

"Ok, let's go."

Kane saw the moment Carla recognized him, he watched as she ran from the room followed by her friend. What did he think would happen? That she would come running into his arms? He finished the song and ran from the stage.

"George?"

"I just saw her leave, we can still catch her."

Ian was already in bed when Carla got home, she was tempted to wake him just so he could distract her with his many questions about the universe. Dina tried to find out what had upset her so much but Carla had refused to answer, how was she going to explain that the man on stage was Ian's father? She showered and changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She tossed and turned before finally crying herself to sleep.

Kane stood across the street from the small but well kept house, at least she wasn't married and for that he was grateful; it would have complicated things. George stood next to him.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked.

Kane nodded and vanished into what appeared to be the living room, he glanced around taking in the laptop on the coffee table with a stack of papers sitting next to it. Then he saw several photographs of Carla with a child, had she married and the man left her? Or was the child a relative? He wondered as he took a closer look. The breath went out of him as he looked at the picture, he recognized the eyes-they were like his. Guilt drove him to his knees, not only did he leave Carla alone and unprotected, he had left his child as well. A child! He had fathered a child and he... Kane vanished from the house, he had to think.

"Kane? What happened?" George asked.

Kane couldn't speak; he looked at George with tear filled eyes.

"George." he said when he could speak.

"I left her alone....she had my child and I fucking left her alone!"

"What? Kane are you sure? Maybe it's the child of a friend or relative."

"No, he's not... his eyes are like mine."

Carla woke up thinking that she had heard something, she listened for several minutes and then relaxed, she fell back to sleep with thoughts of Ian's father on her mind.

When Carla woke up, Ian was already awake and on his laptop. She fixed them a quick breakfast and gave him his assignments for the morning; she had taken Ian out of daycare after she landed a job teaching online English classes. She didn't particularly enjoy it but it paid the bills and allowed her to stay at home with Ian. While Ian did his schoolwork, she checked the e-mails that had come in overnight from her students and replied to those that needed a response. After that she graded several essays and emailed the grades to the author along with any comments. By the time she was finished with half of them, it was time for lunch.

Carla made each of them a plate containing a sandwich, carrot sticks and a few baked potato chips along with a glass of milk for Ian and water for her. As they ate Ian chattered about this and that but mostly about the universe, he loved looking at the stars at night and could point out the major constellations something that Carla had never been able to do simply because it wasn't something that she cared about.

"Mama? Why are you so sad today?" Ian asked.

The question caught her off guard.

"What? I'm alright, I was just thinking." she replied.

Ian gave her what she called the "I don't believe you" look and finished his lunch.

"Hey, why don't we take the afternoon off and go to a movie?" she asked.

Ian gave her a surprised but delighted look.

"A movie? Can I have popcorn and soda?"

Carla laughed, this is what she needed.

"Yes to the popcorn, we'll see about the soda." she replied already knowing that he would get it.

Kane lay on his bed, a bed that he had shared with so many women that he lost track and came to a decision, he would sell this house and buy another one. He didn't want Carla to sleep in a bed that he had shared with another woman, that he hadn't made love to them was immaterial, he had sex with them. He mentally ran through the list of his houses in his head, there were three others that he needed to sell and George would have first dibs. He thought about Carla and what she must have gone through and how frightened and alone she must have felt. He wondered how she explained the pregnancy; he wondered what she named their son. Fortunately, he looked well and happy with no thanks to him he thought grimly.

Tonight he would go to her and hope that she would at least hear him out but whatever happened, he was never leaving them again. As he closed his eyes, another thought hit him, the boy was vampire and without the guidance of an adult male, he would grow up to be dangerous, he had to convince her to at least interact with the boy.

Ian loved the movie and was thrilled when he was able to have a soda with his popcorn.

"Thank you mama!" he exclaimed as they waited for their refreshments.

A woman standing nearby was watching with interest.

"So well mannered and he's absolutely adorable, he's going to be a heartbreaker if he isn't already." the woman said.

Carla smiled politely and hurried Ian along. Ian did have his father's good looks Carla admitted to herself and he would probably be just as tall. She wondered how she could remember so many details about the man given that they weren't even together for more than a half hour. She chalked it up to one of the mysteries of life and settled in to watch the movie.

Kane was up early unable to rest, he called George and told him that he had first dibs on any of the houses that he would email him about.

"I need to make a fresh start so could you do me a favor? Search the website and see what's posted. I prefer new and email me the list. Thanks."

Ian wasn't hungry for dinner since he filled up on popcorn at the movie theater, Carla set him up for his bath leaving the bathroom door open in case he needed something and she could check on him. Ian was four when he decided that he no longer needed help with his baths or getting ready for bed, it was a bitter/sweet moment for Carla. Her baby was growing up and she so wasn't ready for that but he was also showing that he would be a capable adult.

After his bath, Ian settled in his bed to read, he was a voracious reader reading far above his age group.

"Not too late alright?" Carla asked as she kissed his damp hair.

Ian gave Carla a look that she couldn't identify, impatience? Then she could have sworn that she saw his eyes flash. When she looked again, they were their normal shade of blue; it was the light she decided as she closed the door behind her.

"Mama?" Ian called.

Carla opened the door and peeked in.

"I love you." Ian said softly before going back to his book.

"I love you too." she replied as she once again closed the door.

Kane anxiously waited for dark. His stomach churned with nervousness, what in the hell was he going to say to her? "Hi honey I'm back?" whispering a silent prayer for help, Kane walked across the street, up the steps to Carla's house and knocked.