Evening Promises

Thirty-two.

It feels like an eternity since I last spoke to my father, though it's been just under two months. Part of me harbors resentment for his absence, while another part is consumed with curiosity about where he's been. He was always there—always the man I admired—so for him to vanish so abruptly, something significant must have happened. Tonight, I hope to uncover the truth.

My mom had told me she'd be staying at my aunt's for a few days, but I guess 'a few' turned into just one. She said Bruno would be looked after but never explained why she was leaving the comfort of her own home. Now I understand. Dad is back, and I doubt she wanted to face him.

I sat on the edge of the couch, my heart pounding in my chest. I'd rehearsed this conversation countless times on the ride over, but now that my father was sitting in front of me, the words I had practiced seemed to vanish. I took a slow breath, staring at him as he sat there, looking almost defeated.

"Dad," I began, my voice trembling. "You've been gone for weeks. You left without a word, no real explanation. You said it was for business, but I know that's not the truth. Why did you disappear?"

He shifted in his seat, refusing to meet my eyes, staring at the floor like it held all the answers. "Avery, it's complicated," he muttered. "Your mother and I... we've been having issues, and I needed time to think. I didn't want to burden you with all of that."

I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to snap back. Mocking him would have been easy, but that wasn't what I needed right now. "You didn't just leave Mom," I said, my voice low but tight with emotion. "You left me. And you left Ash."

His silence felt like a slap. I continued, feeling the anger bubbling up, "You wanted to protect me from your problems, but you ended up making things worse by pretending I didn't exist. Every time I reached out, every time I called—you ignored me. Mom was fine, Ash was fine, but what about me? Do you have any idea what it felt like to be abandoned by my father?"

The words burned on the way out, and I could see from his face they hurt just as much to hear.

"Avery, I didn't mean to hurt you. I turned off my phone when I left... I thought you were grown enough now to handle it better."

But no matter how old you get, a daughter never takes her father's absence lightly. I had even considered reporting him missing, but Mom talked me out of it. It was clear she knew what he was up to, and for some reason, she wanted me to give him space. If it hadn't been for her, I would've created my own story in my head and let that bitterness consume me.

He let out a long, weary sigh. "I thought I was protecting you by keeping you out of it. I didn't realize how much my absence would hurt you. Avery, I'm so sorry. That was never my intention."

I wiped away the tears that had slipped down my face, shaking my head. "I don't need protection, Dad. I need honesty. From now on, no more hiding things, no more lies. Can you promise me that?"

Finally, he lifted his eyes to meet mine, his voice barely above a whisper. "Okay," he said. "No more secrets."

He hesitated before continuing, "Your mother and I... we had problems. There was infidelity, and it broke us. I left to think things through, to understand what went wrong on my end. I've always loved your mother, more than anything but we grew apart, I wanted to make things work but your mother had other plans and I don't blame her, she deserves to move on. I never meant to shut you out, but I didn't know how to face you with all of this."

The weight of his words hung in the air, and I felt a mix of anger and sadness. "I wish you had told me," I whispered. "I'm your daughter and regardless of what the two of you are going through I love you guys."