Chapter 15

Derek was at his wit's end but he knew that if he was going to win Rachel over, he would have to be very patient and determined. He knew if the roles were reversed, he would probably get a restraining order to keep Rachel away, but since she hadn’t done that, it means there was still a tiny bit of hope that she might forgive him and let him see Zoe.

Whenever he thought about the child, his heart swelled with a warm, fuzzy feeling that he couldn’t quite describe. He would have thought that knowing that he had a child would send him running for the hills, but the opposite was his reaction. He yearned to see his child, he wanted to touch her and hold her and be sure that she was real, and not just a figment of his imagination. He had never understood why Jonah and his wife were madly in love with their children whom he had thought to be noisy and all over the place, but now he knew. Now he understood the feeling of being a parent – he had reproduced a part of himself with Rachel. That thought was utterly mind-blowing, he had to sit down for a moment to ponder on it.

His phone rang and a smile spread across his face when he saw the caller ID. “Hi, Jonah. You’re just the man I wanted to talk to.”

“Yeah? How so?” Asked Jonah. “And where are you, by the way?”

“In Atlanta.”

“Oh, you still there? When are you returning to New York? Have you seen the child?”

“Slow down, Jo,” said Derek, with a laugh. “No, I haven’t seen the child, and I don’t know when I’ll be back in New York.”

“Uh…”

“Look, I’m going to stay here for as long as it takes for Rachel to forgive me and let me see Zoe. I can’t go back to New York without accomplishing my mission first.”

“Wow… this is serious,” said Jonah soberly. “So what happens to your work? Are your companies going to run on autopilot until you return?”

Derek chuckled. “I don’t have to be in New York to run my empire. I can do that from anywhere in the world, you know that.”

“Ok then. So it’s ‘mission get-Rachel-to-forgive-you-and-let-you-see-Zoe,’ right?”

“I guess that just about sums it up,” said Derek with a smile.

“All right, man. Danielle and I will be praying for you.”

“Thanks, dude,” he said and ended the call.

He hadn’t actually thought about extending his stay in Atlanta, but now that he thought about it, it was the sanest thing to do. Flying back to New York now would only reinforce Rachel’s stance about how uncaring he was. He needed to redeem his image before Rachel and then earn his place in Zoe’s life.

********

As she’d expected, Derek showed up at her doorstep again for the third day in a row, and this time around, she let him into her apartment. Zoe was in her room taking a nap, while Rob and Taylor were in the kitchen making decorations in preparation for their niece's birthday party the next day.

“Thank you for inviting me in,” said Derek solemnly.

“Yeah,” she said and gestured toward the men in the kitchen, “That’s Rob, my brother and that’s Taylor, his boyfriend.”

“Hi,” the guys said in unison.

“Hi,” replied Derek with a small wave. He wasn’t sure if the guys would shake hands with him if he walked to the kitchen to greet them, so he opted to stay where he was until the atmosphere grew warmer with less animosity. He could feel the men shooting barbs at him with their eyes and he couldn’t blame them for that. He’d been a jerk to Rachel and he deserved the cold reception he was now getting from the people who loved and cared for her.

“Sit down,” said Rachel, before she settled on one of the couches. “Now that you finally have my attention, please keep your speech brief and straight to the point. As you can see, we are very busy here.

“Thanks,” said Derek and he quickly sat down before she changed her mind. “Are you planning a party?”

“Yes. So, let’s hear it,” she said flatly.

Derek exhaled. “I had prepared and rehearsed a long windy speech about how sorry I am and all that, but I don’t think any of that is what you want to hear right now, so I’ll just say this; I am genuinely and deeply sorry for how I spoke to you the last time we met. My behavior was abhorrable and I am ashamed for treating you that way. I apologize for not believing you when you told me you were pregnant, and I apologize for not being there for you all through the pregnancy. Please, forgive me, Rachel. I am ready to take on my responsibility as Zoe’s father and I promise to do everything I can to help you raise her into a great person.”

“Great speech,” said Rachel dryly. “Now, you can leave.”

“Oh, come on, Raych. That was beautiful,” said Taylor in a whiny voice.

Rachel glowered at him. “Seriously, Taylor?”

“Thanks, buddy,” said Derek with a raised fist in salute to Taylor.

“It’s good to see that you have a fan here, but it’s going to take more than an eloquent speech for me to believe that you truly deserve a place in my child’s life,” Rachel said to Derek. “I have heard everything you said and as I said before, that was a great speech. Now you can leave.”

“Rachel, please,” Derek appealed to her. “Look, I got Zoe some gifts,” he said and offered her four bags filled to the brim with toys and all sorts of children's paraphernalia.

“Zoe doesn’t need these. She has enough toys,” said Rachel, dismissively.

Derek lowered his arms in defeat. “Ok, can I at least see her?”

“See who? Zoe?”

“Yes.”

Rachel threw back her head and laughed. “You must be joking. You want to see the same child you rejected?”

“I am sorry about that, Rachel. That was very wrong of me and I am sorry. What else do I have to do to prove how sorry I am?”

She heard the anguish in his voice and almost felt sorry for him. “I want you to walk out of here right now and never return. Can you do that?”

Derek shook his head. “No, Rachel. I can’t do that. I know I hurt you very deeply and I deserve this cold treatment from you, but please, don’t deny me the opportunity to see my child. Zoe is my child too, Rachel. Please, give me a chance to correct my mistakes.”

“Mommy,” said Zoe drowsily as she waddled into the living room. When she saw Derek, she blinked a few times, then smiled at him. “Hello,” she said with a little wave.
Derek was speechless when he saw the child. His heart began to hammer furiously in his chest and his nose stung. He hadn’t cried in years, but today, as tears filled his eyes at the sight of his daughter, he didn’t try to blink them away or hide them. Instead, he let them run freely down his chiseled face.

When Zoe saw the tears running down the man’s face, she walked to where he sat and wiped them away with her small hands. “Don’t cry, baby,” she said.

“Thank you,” Derek whispered as he stared into those beautiful blue eyes that were the exact replica of his. He almost couldn’t believe that he had reproduced an actual living, breathing human being. The thought that this little child standing in front of him was a piece of him, blew his mind as nothing else can. No amount of money can buy the feeling he was experiencing right now.

Zoe seemed to sense that the man needed comforting, so she reached out and embraced him. Derek was too overwhelmed with emotion to respond. He looked up at Rachel and saw that she too was crying silently. She nodded her head in approval and Derek tenderly gathered his daughter in his arms, hugging her closely and doing his best not to weep like a baby.

It was such a moving sight that even Rob and Taylor were wiping their eyes and sniffling. There was no doubt in Rachel’s mind that Derek had meant every word he had said earlier about being remorseful for his actions. She could see now that he was truly ready to be Zoe’s father and he loved the child even though he had never met her before.

“Better?” Zoe asked as she ended the embrace.

“Yeah,” replied Derek with a nod and a smile. “Thank you for that.”

“Good,” said Zoe before getting down from her father’s lap. “Mommy, snacks!”

“Go to the kitchen, sweety. Uncle Rob will give you your snack.”

As Zoe ran to the kitchen to get her snack, Rachel turned to face Derek who was now slowly rising to his feet. She could see how shaken he was by his encounter with Zoe.

“What do we tell her?” She asked him.

“I don’t know,” Derek replied honestly. His brain was so fuzzy right now, that he couldn’t think clearly. “I am speechless,” he confessed. “She’s such an amazing kid, Rachel. You’ve done such a great job with her.”

“Thanks,” she said warmly. “I guess we’ll just announce it to her. I don’t think she’ll be shocked though, toddlers don’t really understand that sort of thing, I guess.”

Derek sighed. “I know this might sound silly, but I’m nervous right now.”

Rachel laughed. “Don’t sweat it, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled although she has never asked about her daddy before. As I said, she’s too young to understand that, but now that you are here and she’s about to know who you are…”

“Yes?” Derek prompted when she didn’t finish her sentence.

“She’s going to expect to see you all the time,” she said carefully, hoping that he understood what she was getting at.