“A little surprised?” Dad glares at his wife then turnsthe full force of it to me. “First you hide the fact that you’re injured. Then, we basically have to beg to see you. Now, you hide the fact that you’ve moved inwith your doctor.And thanks to a conversation I can never unhear, the relationship has clearly crossed lines. I don’t know which one of you is taking advantage of the other?—”
“With all due respect,” Nash begins at the same time Mom lets out a plaintive, “Russ…”
“No one is being taken advantage of here,” Nash finishes. “And you don’t get to talk to Lucy like that.”
“She’s my daughter,” Dad snaps. “I’ll talk to her however I damn well want.”
“Not on my property. Not in my earshot.” Nash shrugs nonchalantly, though his eyes are like the sky with a hurricane on the horizon. “And my guess is, not if you ever want to be in a place where you don’t have to beg to see her.”
The silence that falls has weight. I want to grab Nash’s hand and thank him with everything I have, but my father’s jaw is clenched so tight I swear I hear a tooth crack.
“We’re just surprised,” Mom says again, like that will solve it all.
“Surprised or not, Nash has a point. I’m tired of being treated like the world’s biggest disappointment.” I sigh. “I know my life doesn’t look the way you’d like, but it’s not your life. It’s mine.”
For a heartbeat, I consider throwing the tour news in their faces. But not only is it not a sure thing, but I haven’t told Nash, yet. When I do tell him, I want it to bepart of an intellectual discussion, not an emotional explosion because the childish part of me felt the need to throw my dreams around like defense weapons.
Dad inhales slowly and exhales completely. “I’m not sure how you expect me to feel,” he begins, more gently than before, “when your life is so unstable, so lacking security, and now you’re living with some guy who’s clearly too old for you instead of going back to Los Angeles and getting back to work.”
My jaw drops. “So now youwantme to dance?”
“I want you to be okay.” His voice breaks on the last word. “I don’t know how to help you anymore.”
“Help me? How has any of this helped me?”
“Look, Lu…” Dad rubs the back of his neck. “Everything I’ve ever said, ever done, it’s all because I want the best for you.”
I swallow past a lump in my throat that rises unbidden. “What’s best for you isn’t what’s best for me.”
“I’ve been trying to save you from making mistakes.”
“By making me feel like everything I’ve ever done is a mistake?”
“No. By showing you a better way to do things.”
“That’swhat you think you’ve been doing? Because Dad, let me tell you, that is not how it’s felt.”
We stare at each other, years of hurt stretching wide and wounded in the silence between us.
“I love you, Lucy,” Dad finally says, the words brittle and foreign. “I know I don’t say it enough. And I probably don’t show it all that well, either. But I do. I’m sorry if… I’m just… I’m sorry.”
“I love you too, Dad.” I blink fast, fighting the sting. “The only thing I ever wanted was to make you proud.”
“And the only thing I ever wanted was for you to be okay.”
In the span of thirty seconds, my dad said he loved me and apologized and I have no idea what to say. Apparently, neither does Mom… even thoughnowwould be the perfect time to talk about how surprised we all are.
Nash cuts in gently. “We were heading out for ice cream. If Lucy’s open to it—and if things can remain civil—you’re welcome to join us.”
He glances at me, and I give a tiny nod. Ice cream with my parents and the man I might be falling for is a far cry from the flirty fun I had in mind, but I just got more from my dad in five minutes than I have in eight years. Nash turns to Dad who glances at Mom who looks downright ecstatic over the invitation. Like fighters taking a breather between rounds, we peel off to our respective corners—Nash and me in his truck and my parents in their Buick. I sit, mildly stunned by the turn of events as Nash closes the passenger door for me.
“I’m sorry about all this,” I say, as he takes his place in the driver’s seat, the truck engine roaring to life.
“Don’t be.” The look in his eyes says he genuinely means it.
“Thank you for standing up for me.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat. No one deserves to be talked to like that, especially by someone they love. There are better ways of getting your point across.”
