A to Z Challenge – D is for Donovan Riley
Name: Donovan Riley
Age: 54 years old
Description: Donovan is tall with wide shoulders and a still strong build, despite the few years he’s been retired from the police force. He’s got thick black hair that’s silvering now and sharp green eyes.
Short Bio: Donovan is the oldest of five children. His sister Shaelyn is about 1.5 years younger than him. His brothers, Devlin and Brannon, were born four and seven years after him. And his baby sister, Maureen, is almost fifteen years younger than him. Donovan always wanted to be a cop, like his father, Conal. And that’s just what he did.
About the same time, he married his high school sweetheart, Chrissa Rian. Shortly after that, their first son, Rian, was born. Their second son, Adrian came along 18 months later. Then came Callum and Donovan’s first daughter, Darcie, over the next five years. Four years after Darcie, Connor was born, and another two years later, came the baby, Doreen.
When Doreen was four, she died in a house fire, and Donovan felt like his heart was extinguished with the flames. The only way he could find to cope, even as his parents took his family into their home, was by drinking the pain away. That went on for a year, until his father pulled him aside and said enough was enough, his family was still here and they still needed him. He started working to heal the cracks in his family after that, but his oldest son was already leaving for college, Callum would disappear for days at a time, when he wasn’t actively getting into trouble, Connor withdrew into his books and drawing. it seemed there was only so much he could do to keep his family together.
And it wasn’t quite enough. Rian moved away after marrying his own sweetheart, Tammy. They only came home a few times a year. Adrian ended up following Donovan’s footsteps onto the police force. Callum fell into drugs. Darcie married her high school boyfriend, David, after getting pregnant just before graduation. And he never had any idea how to reach his youngest son, who continued to be more interesting in books and drawing than anything else.
But, things slowly got better. He now has six grandchildren to spoil. After doing some time in prison, Callum is clean and trying to make a better life for himself. Adrian is happy and ready to settle down with his girlfriend, Kayla.
Snippet:
He nodded at the two figures. James turned back, and Adrian had stopped in the middle of the bridge. He had both of Kayla’s hands in his. “What is he doing?”
“That’s the exact spot where his father begged Chrissa to marry him.”
“That depends on who’s telling the story, brother.” Donovan stepped up behind them. “I didn’t have to do much begging. My charming good looks did most of the work.”
Brannon scoffed at his brother. “You still believe that, Donnie? If I’d been older than thirteen, she totally would have chosen me.”
“You know, Bran, I can still toss you in that pond.”