Read In Search of Sam for Free Online Page B

get to Barriere and actually arrive half an hour early. I find a table for two near a window, where I can see my car and also the restaurant entrance. When the waitress comes, I order herbal tea and a muffin. Then I wait.
    The restaurant is humming. The parking lot is too — vehicles and people criss-crossing non-stop as if they were weaving a giant tapestry. It’s a wonder there aren’t some fender benders.
    I watch for Arlo. Though I have no idea what I should be looking for, I’m pretty sure he won’t be driving any of the semis that pull in. They park on the fringes of the lot, creating a corral around the smaller vehicles. I expect the drivers to be as big as their trucks, burly and unshaven with ball caps and tattoos, but mostly they look like regular guys. The only distinguishing feature they share is that they all look tired.
    I check my watch: ten o’clock on the nose. And for no other reason than that, I decide the guy half-running, half-limping across the highway must be Arlo. When he steps inside the restaurant and starts scoping the place out, I’m sure of it. He might be looking for a vacant table, but I don’t think so.
    I raise my arm and wave. He zeroes in on me and something like recognition flickers in his eyes. Then he heads in my direction.
    Along the way he calls to one of the waitresses and points to the table where I’m sitting. “A double-double, Shirley, when you’ve got a second.”
    She nods. “Sure thing, Arlo. I’ll be right with ya.”
    Before he reaches me he gets waylaid by another patron, so he and the coffee arrive at the same time. He slips the waitress a couple of bills and gestures to my muffin and tea as well as his coffee.
    Shirley bobs her head and leaves.
    â€œYou didn’t need to do that,” I say. “I could’ve paid.”
    â€œI’m sure you could’ve,” Arlo replies, matter-of-fact, just like Sam. I can see why they were friends.
    â€œThank you,” I say.
    He nods.
    I stick out my hand. “I’m Dani.”
    â€œArlo,” he says and shakes my hand. “How was your drive?”
    â€œGood,” I answer. “I got here faster than I thought I would.”
    He chuckles. “Does that mean you had to wait for the restaurant to open?”
    I roll my eyes. “I wasn’t that early.”
    There’s silence as we both search our brains for what to say next.
    â€œI guess I’m a bit of a surprise,” I offer finally. “I don’t think Sam told anyone he had a daughter.”
    He slurps his coffee. “Not me. That’s for sure.”
    â€œWell, don’t feel too bad,” I say. “I didn’t know either until this past summer.”
    He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. The expression on his face is a mix of skepticism and curiosity. Carry on. I’m listening , it says.
    â€œIt was an agreement between Sam and my mother,” I tell him. “They’d already split up when my mother realized she was pregnant. Sam wanted me to have a proper family, and he thought if he stayed in the picture, that wouldn’t happen. So my mom married somebody else, and when I was born everybody thought that guy was my father. Until last summer, I did too, even though he and my mom split up when I was five, and he hasn’t been a big part of my life since then.”
    Arlo nods like he understands, but I don’t see how he can.
    â€œEven though my mom had promised not to tell me about Sam, she kept in touch with him the whole time I was growing up. She made sure he knew about me. I just didn’t know about him . Then he got cancer, and when he realized he wasn’t going to beat it, he decided he wanted to see me. He still didn’t want me to know who he was, though. Anyway, when my mother remarried last summer, I went to stay with him.”
    Arlo looks puzzled.
    â€œMom said Sam was my uncle, and