God, I’m being so weird, but I don’t really know what to say right now.
Dad doesn’t seem to notice, or he simply doesn’t care, because he replies, “Well then let’s getcha home, yeah?”
I nod and let him lead me to pick up my luggage and then out of the airport to his car.
As he drives away from the airport, he fills the silence with excited chatter.
“You can’t know how excited we all are to have you here. Brigid and Keira have been beside themselves preparing for your arrival. They’ve gone all out decorating the house for Christmas and Keira has planned all sorts of things for us all to do while you're here. She wants us to go to the Christmas Market near where we live, wants to take you to all her favorite places in the city, and even though it’s quite touristy, we’ll have to make a trip to the Guiness Brewery… ”
I sit back and let him talk, listing off more places my half-sister wants to take me. I’m a little surprised by how eager he makes her sound to meet me. I’ve only ever seen pictures of his new family. We’ve never met in person before because I never had any interest in coming to Ireland. The few times Dad and I saw each other when I was younger, he’d always come to visit me, but he stopped when I made it obvious I didn’t want to see him. I guess I thought an eighteen year old wouldn’t be all that interested in hanging out with an older sibling who’s a virtual stranger to her.
Dad suddenly changes the subject and asks, “How is work going? Did the articles you were working on turn out well?”
I furrow my brow and stare at him, stunned.
“How… how did you know about that?” I stammer. We hadn’t spoken in months before I called him from Mom’s house, and I never said anything about work during that conversation.
He shoots me a little grin. “Of course I know about it. Your mother may have left it to the two of us to build a relationship, but she’s never stopped updating me on your life. You're my daughter, Rylee and I have always loved you. I’m just sorry it’s taken us so long to get here.”
I sink back into my seat, totally caught off guard. Damn… all this time, I didn’t think he cared what was going on with me. Didn’t think he knew anything significant about me, really.
I don’t know what to say.
“Are you tired or hungry?” Dad asks, pulling me from my wandering thoughts.
“Uh… I am a little hungry,” I admit. “I slept most of the flight, so I’m not tired.”
“How about you and I stop to get something to eat?”
“Sure. That sounds good.”
A few minutes later, he pulls up to a little pub and parks. We get out of the car and go inside and sit at a table near the bar. Dad recommends the sausage coddle and gets us waters. Once our food is brought out, Dad lets out a deep breath and meets my gaze.
“All right, it’s time to get the hard stuff out of the way.”
I gulp, my stomach twisting. “Okay.”
He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before beginning.
“I’m sorry I missed so much time with you. I promise that I’ve always been, and will continue to always be there for you, but I want to make more of an effort to be an active part of your life.”
I give him a small smile. “I think I’d like that too, Dad.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” His gaze drops for a moment before he continues. “I’ve talked to your mom, and she’s worried about your drinking.”
The change in subject catches me off guard. “Oh… she told you that?”
He nods. “We think it might be good for you to consider going to a support group a couple times while you’re here, just to see if that’s something that will help you.”
Fuck. If my parents are able to join forces like this because they’re so worried about my drinking, then maybe I do have a bigger problem than I thought. I can’t deny that my drinking has caused me a lot of issues… especially with Zander from the moment we met.
“I’ll think about it,” I tell him.
He smiles, his eyes shimmering with sudden tears. “Thank you, sweetheart. That’s all I ask.”
I pick at my food for several moments before I ask the question that’s been burning in the back of my mind for years.
“Why’d you leave?” I look back up to meet his gaze. “After you and Mom split up, why did you come back here instead of staying close to us?”
