Miles grasps my hand in his and squeezes it as we walk up the porch. His warm hand calms me, and I swing the door open.
“Lucy,” Dad says as he stands up from the barstool.
“Hey, Dad.”
He walks forward and wraps me in a big hug. “I just got back from visiting Willa.”
I nod. “Way overdue.”
“I know. I’m going to do my best to repair that. I want to be in her life. Yours too.”
“Well, it’s about damn time.”
He releases me and stares into my eyes, looking exactly like the man I relied on so heavily during high school. “Get me that student loan info.”
My jaw drops. “What?—”
“I want all login information and the history of payments. Now. You should never have been burdened with something like that, and I’m fixing it.”
I glance over my shoulder at Miles, who’s leaning against the kitchen island, his arms folded across his chest.
I wonder what he’s thinking as he watches us. I told him everything. And now he’s watching my dad try to make amends. At least I think that’s what he’s doing. It’s hard to tell at the moment.
“Dad, I can handle it.”
“I know you can, but you shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t have buried myself in work. I shouldn’t have distanced myself from Willa.”
I nod slowly. He’s accepting what he did wrong…So maybe this is genuine. My dad has never been manipulative, so I don’t think he’s trying to control the situation. I think he’s truly upset about the how we were treated.
“Willa and I have already had a long talk this morning. She told me that you had to move in with a roommate.”
My heart skips a beat as I realize I’m standing in front of my dad…with my husband. Not my roommate.
Dad finally turns to Miles. “Thank you for being there for her. Even when I wasn’t.”
Miles is uncharacteristically stoic. “Lucy is easy to care about. Of course I would be there for her. I will always be there for her.”
Dad rears back as though Miles slapped him in the face. Yet I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for him. And Miles just said he would always be there for me. I’d like to unpack that little sentence, but I have to focus on one drama-filled conversation at a time.
After clearing his throat, Dad nods and turns back to me. “I’m going to find you a house and take care of those student loans. You won’t have to worry about any of that anymore.”
“I have a full-time job—I can take care of this?—”
Dad shakes his head. “Please. Let me do this.”
I nod slowly, and Dad steps toward me.
“Is it okay to hug you?”
I nod again, feeling like a life-size model of a bobblehead. And then I hug my Dad. This was not on my Bingo card this year. While I’m confused, I’m also tentatively hopeful.
“I love you, Lucy. And I should never have gotten so wrapped up in work that I left you and Willa.” He tactfully leaves off the part where Mom ended up with the majority of custody after the divorce. Something that he didn’t contest. But I guess he’s making an effort.
“Now, I have to run because Willa and I have an afternoon together. But I will be paying everything back that you did for Willa. I should have never left you with that.”
After a lengthy, emotional goodbye, Dad leaves the house, and I’m left with Miles in stunned silence. I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or stare at the wall.
“Want to go for a walk?” Miles asks quietly.
