Chapter 5: Amy

The Monahans' house in Santa Clara was a typical middle class home with a front lawn and a backyard, a one-car garage, and a driveway. It was on the small side, but perfectly all right for a family of three.

Jack Monahan was a living stereotype for an Irish cop. With his short, grey hair, his piercing blue eyes, and his tall, lean body he could have easily played the "captain" in any crime show. He received Luke at the front door and looked him over pointedly.

Luke had decided to go casual. Nothing fancy, just sand-colored dockers and a light-blue shirt. The stainless steel Rolex Blue Oyster was an old one he had found in a pawn shop, and it showed the decades of use. He had left his fancy cell phone at home not wanting to appear as a show-off, and the car he had left standing at the curb was a late model Volkswagen Passat. Nothing too fancy in other words.

Jack Monahan ended the inspection and offered his hand.

"Katie says you want to do right by her and Amy?"

Luke took the hand and shook it.

"I'll try my best, Mr. Monahan. The whole situation is mostly my fault, so it's for me to fix as best I can."

"I should probably thank you for smoothing things over for Katie with her boss."

"And I should thank you for not shooting me on sight," Luke answered feeling the need to get past the niceties.

"Yes, that too," Jack Monahan grinned. "Come in!"

Luke met Katie's mother next, a petite brunette with large green eyes and smile lines around them. She, too, shook his hand and even offered a smile.

"Oh, my! Katie could've done worse," she chuckled. Then she sobered. "Luke – may I call you Luke? – it was good to hear that you did not dump our Katie on purpose. I'll not lie: when I heard how Katie beat you up I was elated. Finally you got your deserves. Now she tells us that you are willing to own up on your actions?"

"As best I can, Mrs. Monahan. I screwed up badly back then, but I never intended to dump her. She was..." he blushed crimson. "Let's just say when I left her that morning I was crazy about her."

"I hope you are past such illegal activities now?"

"I hope so, too. I am a VP and shareholder at ImaXX, an imaging software company over in San Jose. I'm very respectable these days."

"All right. Enough of this. You want to meet Amy, and she's in the backyard with Kate. Let me show you the way." She led the way through the living room and to a patio door. "Katie! Luke is here!"

Kate was sitting on a recliner and she rose quickly. "Hey, Luke. You look better with every day."

The grin told him that she was teasing him to ease the mood. He debated with himself whether to answer in kind, but he held back. She was taken. She had a fiancé. He had messed up her life enough. She could do without his clumsy flirting.

"My neighbors recognize me again," he said instead. He looked around. Amy was busy in a far corner of the backyard. "I brought something for her. It's still in my car. I wasn't sure if it's not too early."

"Let's wait until later," Katie answered. "I told her about you being her father."

"How did she take it?"

"Surprisingly well. She said you're funny. She'll be disappointed to see that the funny part is already fading."

"Hey, you sucker-punched me."

"I guess I did. Should I call her over?"

"She looks busy. Maybe I'll just go over and see what she's doing?"

He found her watching a black beetle that was crawling along a low branch. She looked up when his shadow appeared at her side. Again, Luke was mesmerized by her eyes. This time, Amy seemed to be just as captivated. They spent minutes just looking at each other before a big smile showed on her face.