Fiction: The New Guy

David stared at the doorway where Caroline had just disappeared, though his mind was full of a vague buzzing. He had a daughter?

He searched his memories, turning them over and exposing them to the light.  Caroline had shown up that night in Memphis, just before he left the country. David could still see her tear-stained face, her lower lip trembling. He had expected her to beg him to stay, to cry, anything. Instead, she had thanked him for the loan that saved her farm, and then walked away.

Had she been carrying his daughter then? 

A wave of anger snaked over David's skin. Why hadn't Caroline told him? She could have called! Or emailed. Hell, even a good old fashioned handwritten letter would have done the trick. Anything. He would have come right away, would have done his duty. He would have met his responsibilities.

...And he was lying. All the anger drained away, and David put his head in his hands.

Back then, if Caroline had told him that she was pregnant, he would have run very fast and very far. He would have hit the road and never looked back, considering himself lucky to have dodged the responsibility.  He even remembered telling her, one summer night long ago, that he never wanted to settle down, that he wanted to spend his days doing as he pleased, with nothing to hold him back.

That was who he was.

"I'm not that man anymore," David whispered to the sunny bedroom, and the curtains waved gently in the direction of the door.

"Coming?" Caroline smiled at him from the doorway, mentioning him to follow. He stood up, made sure his jeans were buttoned, and pulled his t-shirt over his head. He wondered what kind of person his little girl was.

Time to find out.