Topic: A Reunion Long Overdue

Dakota Steele

Date: 2008-11-26 21:59 EST
Dakota was sitting in a rather smallish diner, waiting on his usual lunch date.

And no, it wasn't Jade.

Ever since his twin sister Aiyana had returned to Rhy'Din, they had made it a weekly habit to meet up for lunch. Every Wednesday was their day to have lunch together, and it was always here at the same diner. They always took this chance to chat about what was going on in both of their lives, reminisce about things they did as kids, and just talk about whatever else was on their minds on that particular day. It was sort of their way of making up for the seventeen years that they spent without seeing each other once.

Today, Aiyana had made other plans, and didn't bother to tell her brother about it. She knew he had a VERY good chance of not taking it well, and with all the stress that he'd been going through with trying to plan this wedding with Jade, goodness knows he was liable to snap at any moment.

Make no mistake, he was VERY excited about marrying Jade. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind and his heart that she was the woman for him. He simply hated the process of planning the wedding itself, and it was compounded by the fact that he was making himself keep his mouth shut. He knew how much this wedding meant to her, and he was going to do everything within his power to make it as special for her as possible. And one of the best things he could do to keep her happy and to keep her stress level down was for him to keep his bitching to a minimum.

So here he sat, waiting for his sister. He didn't wear his black cowboy hat much these days, favoring instead a black New Orleans Saints hat that he always wore backwards. He LOVED the New Orleans Saints, and had for as long as he could remember. The Saints (and now Aiyana) were all he had to remind him of home. He wore his usual hat, a black Radio Rhy'Din t-shirt, jeans with massive holes ripped in both knees, and his favorite boots, along with a small silver cross necklace.

Aiyana was about twenty minutes late by now, and Dakota was about to lose his patience with her. She may not have been able to get off work. Not everybody had the schedule he had. He worked from 6 to 10 AM, and he was done, unless there was the occasional promotional appearance for him to do.

He was just about to get up and leave without bothering to order any lunch for himself, when the door swung open, and in she came. She was pretty as usual, wearing straight legged dark denim jeans, a black turtleneck, a turquoise velvet jacket, black boots, and several pieces of turquoise Native American jewelry hung around her neck.

But judging from the way she held the door open after she walked in, she was either being courteous to the person who was walking in behind her, or she was bringing someone with her today.

Indeed, someone walked in behind Aiyana, and together, the two of them slowly headed towards the table where Dakota was sitting.

There was no way to describe the expression on Dakota's face as he realized who that was walking alongside his sister. As soon as he recognized the person, he silently spoke to himself, trying to keep his best poker face on, REFUSING to show the absolute shock he was feeling inside.

"My God, Aiyana........why did you do this....?"

Dakota Steele

Date: 2008-11-26 22:24 EST
Aiyana approached the table where her brother sat, along with the person who came into the diner with her, and there was an awkward silence from all three of them for a few moments. Dakota's eyes shot from Aiyana to the person with her, and back to Aiyana again. For his part, the still unnamed person's brown eyes were brimming with tears. He was an older gentleman, probably in his mid 60's, and he stood around 6 feet, 3 inches. He wore a black cowboy hat over a head of hair that was graying and thinning. The lines in his face and his hands showed that this was a man who had lived the life of a working man.

The silence continued until Aiyana took it upon herself to FINALLY break the ice.

"If one of y'all don't say somethin', I'm fixin' to start cryin' an' causin' a scene, an' embarrass the hell outta both of you."

Finally, Dakota swallowed his pride, stood to his feet, and extended his hand towards the man he hadn't seen in many, many years. This was the man who Dakota had violently brawled with the last time he saw him. This was the man who Dakota truly believed he would never see again.

"S'been a while, dad..."

For his part, Joseph Steele ignored the hand offered to him, and he wrapped his arms around his long-lost son, pulling him in for a tearful embrace. The elder Steele was sobbing, and it was more than Aiyana could take. In her eyes, her daddy was the toughest man in the world, and watching his shoulders literally shake as he sobbed while hugging his son was enough to cause her to break down crying as well.

As for Dakota, his face was buried in his dad's shoulder, and he was trying SO damn hard not to cry. But hearing his dad and his sister both weeping, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

The rest of the patrons in the diner had to be curious as to what this big emotional scene was all about, but none of the Steele's gave a damn how much of a scene they were causing right now.

Seconds passed before the embrace was released, and Aiyana knew this was her cue to let them be. Dakota and Joseph sat themselves down at the table, and Aiyana hugged her dad around his neck, kissing him on the side of his head.

"I love you, daddy. See the both of y'all in a lil while, alright?"

There they sat awkwardly, both of them unsure what to say to the other. What exactly DO you say after all these years?

Dakota Steele

Date: 2008-11-26 22:48 EST
The waitress took their drink orders. They both ordered a beer, like a father and son ought to, and calmly waited for their drinks to arrive.

FINALLY, Dakota thought of something to say, noticing that someone was missing.

"Where's mama at...?"

Joseph offered his son a soft smile as their drinks arrived, and replied in a tone that left no doubt that these two were father and son.

"She's at your house, son. S'a helluva woman you're 'bout to marry."

Now THAT one knocked Dakota for a loop. His eyes nearly popped out of his head and he almost choked on his beer the second he heard that.

"Hold on....you and mama have already been to my house? Y'all already met Jade....?"

"An' Claira too.....she's a sweetheart..."

"When the hell was someone gon' tell me that y'all were here in Rhy'Din???"

"We've been plannin' this for a while, Shikoba. When your sister fin'lly came to get us this week, we talked for a long time 'bout how we should do this, as far as you were concerned. None of us knew how you were gonna react to seein' your mama an' me. We decided that the best way to do it, was for me n' you to meet first. Me n' you are the ones who acted like idiots in front of your mama an' sister all those years ago, so I figured me n' you were the ones who needed to make our peace. I didn't want your mama to see it if things didn't go well today."

What in the world could Dakota say to that? He didn't even cringe when his father called him by his birth name, something that he absolutely despised. All he could do was nod as he drank his beer.

Well, there WAS something that needed to be said, and it was years overdue.

"Dad......you was just talkin' bout the last time we saw each other.....I'm so sorry......I shoulda..."

And Joseph immediately cut him off with a wave of his hand, not even letting him finish what he had to say.

"Son, it was so long ago. It DOES NOT matter. You have no idea how many nights me an' your mama have wondered where you were, what happened to you, if you were okay. Hell, I made a LOT of mistakes while we were raisin' you and your sister...maybe I coulda.."

"Hell, cut it out, dad.....y'all was the best parents me and Aiyana coulda ever asked for, an' I'm the one who was bound an' determined to be the bad seed of our family. Ain't nothin' y'all coulda done that woulda got me off the road I was on."

And that's how it went for the next hour or so between Dakota and his father, Joseph. They continued to apologize for their mistakes, apologize for the years they lost, and talk about the memories that they had from back home in Natchez. As the conversation carried on, something came across Dakota's mind that he knew he absolutely HAD to ask.

"Dad.....as you know, me and Jade are fixin' to get married on December 21st.."

"That's what I hear, son..."

"I really ain't got no best man yet....and I.....I would be honored.....dad, I would be honored as HELL.....if you'd be willin' to stand up there with me, an' be my best man..."

The old man's eyes began watering up again, and he was fighting to keep himself from breaking down once more. He simply grinned as he choked out his response.

"I...It'd be the greatest honor of my life..."