He pauses for a second. “I felt sick to my stomach seeing that young man put his hands on you, darling.”
I swallow hard.
“We saw the way Nick left the game and ran up into the stands to defend you,” he says. “We were blown away.”
“You shouldn’t be,” I say. “I told you Nick was amazing. He’s the best guy I know. He would always protect me.”
Nick kisses my cheek and wraps his arm around me.
“I realize that now,” my dad says, his tone laced with regret. “Darling, this past month has been hell for your mother and me without you. I was so stubborn. I was so stupid…” He trails off. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was showing you tough love. But not seeing you or talking to you has been agony. And when I saw you getting attacked, something inside of me snapped…”
He trails off again, his voice breaking. My breath catches. I’ve never heard my dad cry before in my life.
“You’re my only child, Poppy. My perfect little girl. And if anything happened to you, life just wouldn’t be worth living,” he says, his voice shaky.
My throat is tight with the urge to cry. This is the first time my dad has ever spoken like this to me. The first time he’s ever talked about his feelings so openly.
“I knew in that moment that I made the biggest mistake of my life. I made you choose between your family and your boyfriend. I forced you to walk away from your mother and me. What a horrible thing that was to do to you.”
“It was,” I say softly, trying not to cry.
“Nothing in the world is worth losing you, darling. And I don’t care if you go to law school or not. I just want you to be safe and happy.” His voice shakes. “I am so sorry I threatened to cut you off. I’m so sorry I made you choose between us and Nick. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
Tears burn in my eyes. I’m quiet as I process everything my dad is saying. I can’t believe he’s actually apologizing. He sounds so broken, so sad.
Nick squeezes my hand.
“And Nick, I owe you a huge apology for the way I treated you,” Dad says. “I am sorry for the way I spoke to you at Thanksgiving dinner. You didn’t deserve that. I see now what an impressive young man you are. You put everything on the line to protect my daughter.”
I look up at Nick. His mouth is curved in a small smile. Like my dad’s words mean something to him. Like he’s taking all of this to heart.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate you saying that. And I accept your apology.”
My dad lets out a breath like he’s relieved.
“I’m sorry to hear about your suspension,” Dad says.
“I appreciate that,” Nick says. “But it’s okay. I’d do it all over again for Poppy. I’d do anything for your daughter, sir.”
I smile up at him. I wipe my nose and kiss him quietly.
“Poppy, I know you’re so busy with school and all your activities, but would you and Nick like to come by the house for dinner sometime? Your mother and I would love to have you.”
I look at Nick. He smiles and nods.
“We’d love that, Dad,” I say.
“I can’t wait to see you, darling.” The relief in his voice makes my chest go tight. “Your mom wants to talk to you too, Poppy. Would that be okay?”
I say of course. When she gets on the phone, she apologizes for not reaching out to me after I stormed out at Thanksgiving dinner.
“I should have. I should have gone after you and made sure you were okay…” Her voice wobbles. “But I stopped myself because I wanted to support your father. I’ll regret that forever, siding with him over you, darling.”
“I regret making you feel like you had to choose me over our daughter.” Dad sounds like his voice is on the verge of breaking again. “I’m so sorry, Marla.”
I sniffle, heartened by my parents’ apology. Yeah, I’m sad and upset they reacted the way they did. But they’re apologizing. They’re trying hard to make it right. And they’re promising to do better. That’s all I want from them.
“Thank you for your apology, Mom. I won’t lie, it hurt not hearing from you,” I say, sniffling. “But it’s all okay now. I just want us to move forward.”
