What a surprise!

It was not long after my epiphany of life that I received news that Mother was going to have us visit her for a weekend. I didn't take that seriously, but still I looked forward to the possibility that we might spend some time together. As the week came to a close, it seemed that indeed, I would be spending the weekend with my brothers at Mother's apartment. I packed a light bag and when the taxi arrived to pick me up I told Mindy that I would see her on Sunday night. I wondered what Mother had planned for us. Looking into the back seat of the taxi, I saw that my brothers, Kenny and George had already been picked up. Kenny greeted my with a huge smile of joy and welcome, and George was his usual taciturn self. Mother was still at the apartment, waiting for us, and we began the long ride into Atlanta for the weekend.
Mother's apartment was in downtown Atlanta. It was on the 19th floor of a high-rise complex that was modern and new. As you got off the elevator, the door to the apartment was down the hall to the left. The boys and I arrived to exit the taxi into a blustery wind that whistled between the tall buildings of the downtown area. My hair was tossed and my clothes plastered to my body, as I tried to keep a good grip on my suitcase. Gripping Kenny's hand, we ran into the building between large glass doors that led to a marble covered floor and gleaming brass door handles. The lobby was lighted brightly with artwork on the walls and a guard seated at a front desk. He seemed to know who we were, as he motioned us to go ahead onto the elevator. It was a quick, quite ride that whispered past 18 floors straight up to the 19th floor. A bell softly dinged as the door opened to the hallway that would take us to Mother's apartment. I was wrangling Kenny and his suitcase through the elevator door and was not paying much attention to Mother's door. I heard a gasp from George, and glanced around to see what he was looking at. In confusion, I saw a man standing in the doorway to Mother's apartment. He was dressed casually, with a light colored polo shirt, grey pants and wore glasses. His hair was an auburn color, cut short with a slight wave on top. He stood there, rather tentatively and for a second, I wondered who he was. Then, I saw it. The slight turning of his head to the left to better see due to a severe vision problem in the left eye, let me know without a doubt who this man was. I screamed, "Daddy"!
I dropped everything and ran to him. In the seconds it took to reach my father, many things occurred to me. Although I knew that this was indeed my father, he had changed so very much. I was taller than he was! He was much smaller than I remembered, I suppose because he had lost so much weight in prison. I was not afraid of him, indeed I was so overjoyed to see him. Most of all, I was proud that I was so grown up and mature. In the past months that I had been writing to him, he became more of a friend than a father. I had not seen him in at least 5 years, but as soon as I wrapped my arms around his neck, he was daddy once again to me. I didn't have time for the fear that always accompanied my presence with Dad- thank God for that. I was just too surprised that he was actually right in front of me. George was babbling around us too, but Kenny did not really know who his father was. Kenny had been very small when our parents divorced, and Dad did not come around very much after that. In that moment, my fear or aversion did not come to fore, for a moment it was just me and the man that was my father. As I threw myself on him in a crushing embrace, he grunted with surprise and embraced me back. Then, drawing slightly away, still embracing me, he observed me with a tender expression. "Can this be my little Jodie? Is it possible that she has become so beautiful? I can't believe it is really you!" he exclaimed. The whole space in time was unreal, but of course it was real and finally, once again, we were father and daughter. My father. Right here in front of me. It seemed that my life was full of surprises and rewards- one after the other. Later, after visiting for some time, Dad said he had to leave, but would return when he could. He lived near Dallas and was working for a newpaper there. I did not know it at the time, but he also had been living with a woman and her children. He had a whole other family. I would learn of this later. I didn't even know how long he had been released from prison, I knew it had been for some short while, as he had been going to visit us at the home. He had a whole other life, with other people in it, a life that did not include me or my brothers. As I mentioned, I did not know of this other life- I only knew that he was back in mine if for only a little while.