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“Is this it?”
You spoke to yourself and smiled softly as you gazed out of the window of your car. The clubhouse was much bigger than you had imagined, the whole lot having both the clubhouse and the garage within. The line of bikes out in front of the clubhouse answered the question.
“Yep, this is it.”
Turning the key in the ignition and shutting off the vehicle, you ran your suddenly clammy palms over the thighs of your jeans. The last months and months of research had finally led to this moment. All this time, you’ve only had his name and nothing else to go by. No pictures, no address. Only his name and the will to finally know your father. You had jumped through hoops, searching every database the you had access to just to find dead end after dead end. Except for the last one. The database search flagged in Stockton jail. Finally, you had a link.
Happy Lowman. Inmate #827493. Charming, CA.
He had been released for sometime now but still. It was a lead. After searching for a while more and filling in blank spaces, you were now standing in front of the place you believed your father to be. You wondered what he looked like. Did you look like him? Were there similarities? The ache in your chest had you stepping out of your car quickly and slinging your bag over your shoulder, your hands shaking by your sides in nerves. Time felt like it was in slow motion as you walked over to the garage, knowing better than to try and approach the clubhouse first. An older gentleman with salt and pepper hair, scars spread across his cheeks looked up from the hood of a car he was working on, a warm smile gracing his face. He grabbed a towel from the hood and wiped his hands as he walked towards you.
“Hello darlin’. Are you waiting for your car?”
You smiled softly and shook your head, laughing nervously.
“Uh, actually no. I’m here to see someone? I was wondering if you could tell me if he was here.”
The mans smile faltered slightly but he still held a friendly vibe. You didn’t miss his eyes looking you over though, searching for some sort of badge or identification. He relaxed slightly when he didn’t see one but you could still feel the tension and chose to speak before he got the wrong idea.
“My uh…my mom…I think someone here is my dad…”
After you said it, you became how aware of how crazy and out there you sounded, but the man’s sigh and nod made you feel as though you couldn’t have been the first one.
“Aye, maybe one of us is.”
He laughed dryly before whistling.
“Who do you think it is?”
Without skipping a beat, you answered him. It was easy, considering you’ve dreamed of this name since you were small.
“It’s uh, Happy. Lowman.”
Chibs ran a hand over his face and waved his hand for you to follow him.
“I’ll bring you to him but if he doesn’t know you, you’re outta here lass.”
“Yes sir.”
Your politeness soothed him a bit and he lead you closer to the garage where other employees were working. He pointed you towards someone who had a shaved head but you couldn’t see his face. It was buried under the hood of a corvette. The older man called out his name and suddenly it hit you that you hadn’t though about what would happen if he denied it. Or what if he just flat out didn’t want to deal with you. You didn’t really have time to think out it though as he stood up straight and turned to face you, his brown eyes locking with yours. You could see it immediately, the resemblance. It was almost like looking into a mirror while still having subtle differences from your mom. She had been right though, you were a spitting image of him. He’d have to be a fool to deny you his child when you looked almost like his clone. But the smile that etched itself into his hardened face told you that that wouldn’t be the case.
His cheeks stung at the stretch of his grin, tossing down a wrench that he held down onto the garage floor as his eyes looked you over, recognizing you immediately. How you weren’t sure, but it didn’t dim the flutter you felt in your heart though. He jogged over to you quickly but stopped abruptly as he came to stand in front of you. You could see his arms itching by his sides and you took it upon yourself to throw yourself into him.
“Dad.”
It didn’t take long for his arms to encircle you as well, holding you tightly to his body.
“Hi babygirl.”
You weren’t sure how long you stood there hugging but when you did pull away, you saw the garage empty, the older man who’d introduced you assumedly giving the two of you your space. Happy held you away from him at arm’s length and smiled again before pulling his wallet up from the chain it was attached to at his side and opening it. It was safe to say you were shocked when he pulled out a picture of you.
“You were four months only here. Just a little thing.”
“You kept this?”
Happy nodded, squeezing your hand.
“I have a couple but I keep this one with me.”
“Why this one?”
He cleared his throat and swallowed around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat.
“I took this one myself. Before I left.”
He cleared his throat again, already knowing what question was hanging over your head.
“I didn’t want to leave baby, I had to. It was better for you, and your mom. If you found me then you must’ve found something from my record so you already know I ain’t exactly clean. We just wanted what was best for you and back then that just wasn’t…me.”
You could hear the pain in his voice and shook your head a smile on your face.
“I know. I understand. I’m not upset about that, not anymore. I get it as I got older. All I ask is that we can start over. Spend time together, make up for lost time over a beer.”
He smiled along with you and started pulling you to into the clubhouse.
“Sounds like a plan baby girl. Except I’ll be having the beer and you can have a soda. Don’t act like I don’t know you’re 19.”
A snort left you as you chuckled.
“Already on Dad mode I see.”