4:11 Finding Her, Flying Away

   "Dad..." Chase said to me. We where standing along the banks of a river located in the center of Bridgeport Park. It was hidden by pine and felt quite scenic; it was probably the most nature-y I'd been in my life. I was holding a fishing pole, trying to successfully cast it into the water. Luckily, I was not a nature man living in the country. I would have failed horribly; it would have been absolutely hilarious to everyone else and humiliating for myself.
   "Yes, Chase?" I glanced at him, hoping while my eyes where averted from the water a fish would take the bait.
   "I need to ask you something. We do." He tilted his head to Steven, since his hands where firmly on the fishing pole.
   "Of course."
   "Okay..." He took a breath, winding up his line and placing the pole beside his feet. "We want to travel the world when we graduate."
   "Travel- I mean, I'd ask Holly. What about college? It isn't the worst thing..."
   "No college. Neither of us have anything higher than a three grade point average anyway." Steven inputted.
    "No college?"
    "You didn't go." Steven pointed out, again.
    "I didn't need to. You grandmother did and your grandfather. Both of your greats earned degrees...and it was a different time for your great-greats."
    "We don't need to, either." Chase answered.
    "Okay...you get your college fund. That's it. After that, you're on your own."
    "Deal! We really want to find her." Steven excitedly clapped, dropping his pole.
    "Who? Find who?"  I asked. Clearly I was missing something and I disliked it.
    "We're going to find mom." Chase said.
    "WHAT?!" I screamed. A yank on the line sent my pole flying into the water. Mom? Calina Rice? The girl who abandoned them almost exactly eighteen years ago, tomorrow? "No. Defiantly not."
     "Why not? We'll be adults and graduated a week ago. We have every right to. We will do it." Chase replied. They where going to...find Calina? No. I couldn't let her meet them. She missed out. Besides, I didn't even know where she was.
     "Let's just go home." They, in complete anger, headed towards the subway, as I dialed Holly. "We need to talk. Now. Meet me by the fountain in an hour."

In an Hour...

   "What's wrong?" She ran up to me, quickly.
   "I...nothing major. Sorry to worry you."
    "It's okay." She leaned forwards, planting a kiss on my lips."I'm sure it's important."
    "The boys want to travel the world." I said in a rush.
    "Chase and Steven? I'm sure it would be  great experience."
    "They want to find her."
    "Find her?" Confusion painted itself upon her face. I hoped she would slowly figure out who I meant, so I could refrain from saying her name. Holly could barely talk about Hunter and Blake, I could barely talk about...her. Their mother. C- I avoided the word. "Her? Their...oh gaw." She looked upset; like somehow she failed by this happening. "Calina." The words, a solemn whisper, escaped her lips without a chance for her to stop the dreaded thing, completely unaware of their agony.
     "Should we let them?"  I asked, knowing she would be on my side.
     "Yes." Her head bobbed in agreement.
     "What?!" I glanced at her. SUrely I was mishearing. "Yes?"
     "Yes." She repeated the syllables, slowly. "Parker, I love you. I love them, I love everyone in our family. But....they're adults. Clearly they need to find their real mother."
     "You're their mother- you raised them with me. You made the cake for birthdays and painted finger paints with them. You helped with school projects and brought in homemade cakes and lasagnas and pasta salads for potlucks."
     "But I wasn't the one at their birth. She was. That's all they want. To meet her. They'll go either way. Let them go knowing you support them."
     "You don't want to be at their birth..." I sighed, thinking over my choice. "It was a mess."
     "I'm sure it was."
     "Just...what if they never come home?"
     "They will. They need freedom."
     "Holly, I love you."
     "I love you."
     "Really. Without you I probably wouldn't have let them go."
     "You're-" She burst into smiles. "That's great!"

  As I stood in the crowd, cheering for the new graduates I smiled. Hunter, Blake, and Trevor where eighteen. They threw the caps in the air; a sign of freedom. My children where adults. All of them. The ran down the stage, hugging us, hugging themselves, hugging my Mom and Dad who had quietly came back for the ceremony. Maverick had escaped the prison and currently was being looked  for. I had survived five children.Five children had survived me. I remembered the day I told Steven and Chase they could go off, as I kissed Holly. Three more children who would want to go off on their own. i knew the answer, this time. Yes.