Dad the Hero

When he came to me with his arms out, I was too shocked to step away from him. I'd wanted love from this man my whole life but not the false kind. Of course, I was nervous that he'd hurt me again.

However, as he embraced me, the hug felt different than usual. There was calmness in his body, the way he was breathing was metered, and his arms were not strained or tight. As we stepped back from one another I watched him curiously.

It made me feel... good.

"I just wanted to tell you that I bought all the casinos around here. You're out of business, Rusty," said my dad.

"Nonsense, you parasite. You couldn't begin–"

The woman with auburn-red hair beside my dad whipped out a thick document and began to read the different contracts concerning the casinos my father now owned. It sounded legitimate to me.

"I'd hand you the paperwork but, well, you seem indisposed," Dad taunted Rusty. Normally, I'd think this kind of behavior was off-putting but right now, I liked it.

Go Dad! 

I'd never seen my dad more confident and while I didn't want to burst his bubble, I knew buying the thing he was most addicted was a horrible idea. I'd keep it to myself, until things unfolded, however.

"You look worried, honey but don't be. These casinos aren't for me to own. In fact, once we're through here, I'm hitting the road to Mexico and living comfortably on the coast."

"What do you mean not yours to own?"

Rusty's phone began to ring in his pocket which promptly caught our attention.

Bram took it upon himself to wrangle it out of Rusty's coat pocket, despite Rusty's verbal and physical protests.

"Looks like your biggest casino is on the phone. I'll just turn it on speaker."

Bram hit the accept button.

"Rusty? This is Nell over at the Flamingo. Listen, we've had to change some management around and, well, I wanted to do this in person, but you've been out of town." There was a purposeful pause. "We've changed hands, is what I'm saying. In fact, all of Nevada and several nation-wide casinos are no longer yours. We had no choice."

Rusty's face was twisted in anger. It didn't help matters that his crew's phones began ringing. I watched them answer their cells, furrow their eyebrows, have an impromptu meeting, then quickly disperse.

As the sleek black vehicles began to pull away, I looked at Rusty wondering what he was thinking. Was he completely alone now?

"Just who bought you out? I'm a millionaire. Nobody makes more money for you than me!"

"The casinos have been put in the names of Alex and Bram Darling. It's no longer up to us and frankly, we don't want to deny them. They did save the human race, after all," Nell said with an exasperated exhalation and hung up.

My eyes widened as I looked at my father. He nodded to me letting me know it was true. I felt anxious at the thought of running those kinds of establishments.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of staff who can run them for you. You won't need to physically be there," my dad assured me.

Rusty's scowl became fiercer as he fought against the restraints once more.

Tiffany piped in, "Oh, by the way, I called over to my friends at the DA's office. It turns out the charge against Bram has magically disappeared. Imagine that!" She threw her hands up, feigning innocence. "However, they do have many charges against you which they will be serving–"

As if they were on cue, several police cars came up the drive. They got out, vigilant with guns drawn but Len, Jan, Rachel and Sammy rushed in and gave them the scoop. The cops looked over at us and relaxed.

Without hesitation, Bram freed Rusty and teleported him over behind one of the cars, discreetly enough not to be noticed. I listened intently to Bram speaking.

"Go on, Dad. You always valued infamy," he paused with a snide chuckle. "Don't say I never did anything for you." Then, he pushed Rusty into the view of the police.

"You're no son of mine!" Rusty shouted, but his angry outburst only served to put the police on edge. They swooped in immediately.

Rusty was promptly cuffed and put in the back of a car, just like any other perpetrator. We watched the spectacle of Rusty as he peered out the back window. Not only was he angry but he seemed smaller, somehow.

It felt satisfying.

I turned to my dad and hugged him again.

"Thanks for another hug, honey," he said with a quiet laugh of surprise. "I hope you're happy and don't feel like this is too much."

"I am happy. This is great, but why Dad?" I asked, "Not that I'm not grateful. I just couldn't have anticipated this."

"Honey... well... I never was great at this stuff, but I can admit when I'm wrong," he paused taking a deep breath, "I wasn't there for you, your mother had passed, and your life was always being uprooted. Money can't buy love, but I want you to have these businesses. Live your life happily and stable knowing you'll never have to worry about money again."

"But it has been your dream to own these very casinos," I said.

"That life for me is over. Me and Windy are going to finally enjoy sober life, together."

"Wait, Windy is that you?" I asked feeling pleasantly surprised. "It's so dark."

"Aye, it's me. I let my natural red hair grow out. Probably why you didn't realize," she flashed me a smile. "Good to see you again, Alex."

I smiled with tears in my eyes and nodded as we hugged. I always liked Windy. Bram walked over and introduced himself to my father. They had an impromptu son and father-in-law meeting for a few minutes.

I watched the two of them talk and for once I felt like I was proud that my dad was who he was.

After my dad had been gone for a few weeks, he invited Bram and the family to come down to visit. It was a real honeymoon, where we freely loved one another and indulged in the fun parts of life without fear. Our families bonded and it was a wonderful time.

I even wore my yellow string bikini that Bram loved.

While on vacation we received some calls from Charlie. He told us the abilities we were bestowed were only to a handful of us and needed to be kept quiet. At least, that's what we the Army said. What we really did was up to us, just like everything else finally was.

People needed us and we'd be there. I couldn't deny my ability from the sick people out there.

Other good news on vacation came from Jonah. Tiffany told him before anyone else knew that Rusty went to jail on several charges including intimidation, racketeering, and assault. It was ironic that the charge he tried to put on Bram was what he had been doing all along. Ironic, but not surprising.

Once our perfect vacation was over we decided to head back to Nevada to check things out. We wanted to take a tour of our new businesses and make sure to speak to our staff. It was important those who worked for us were happy.

As we were in our final descent on the flight to Nevada, I watched the lights of the city become clearer. Though they were barely visible their twinkles shined through and I realized something. I realized that, for the first time since I was a little girl, I didn't feel anxious from them.

So many years I'd dreaded coming here, seeing those lights and remembering the horrible times but now I felt at home. In that moment, I knew those lights would never signify failure, heartache, or panic again.

From here on out, they'd signify forgiveness and the ability to believe in the human spirit. They'd mean change and most of all, they'd mean hope. Hope for our new life. Starting now.