Whiskey & Vows

T W E N T Y S E V E N

T W E N T Y S E V E N || LITTLE TALKS

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Sitting down and talking to my mother about my father's appearance wasn't the highlight of my year. I thought the worst thing I've said to her was my accidental marriage, but bringing up my father topped the list. Daniel promised to take Andy for the afternoon while we handled my issue. Derek didn't leave my side as I discovered more about my father. He had a whole life that I never knew or thought about...and yet here he is.

We sat quietly in the living room, staring at the business card. My mother stayed tense looking at the card. Derek scratched his jaw, thinking of what to say. The topic of my father has never called for a family meeting, and I hoped this would never happen again.

Derek didn't leave my side. It melted my heart, honestly, that he clung to me so easily. I expected him to be awkward or weird, but he was the right type of support I needed. I didn't like feeling fragile and weak in front of him, but I didn't mind the support.

"I always figured it would be a matter of time before he showed back up." My mother sighed, clicking her tongue. Frowning, I squinted my eyes at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"The man I married...wasn't the same man who left. He was just an intern when I met him." She smiled sadly at the memory. "He was humbled, nervous, and nerdy." She chuckled. "He was everything opposite of a doctor. I knew he was the man for me when I met him at the hospital. Our life was perfect. We got married, we settled into a home...we had you. It was when his career starting spiking that things got...tense. He was never home, or he was absent when he was." My mother shook her head. "We fought a lot and you'd cry. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he left."

"Mom-"

"There were all the signs, you know? He was distant, he was constantly at work, some nights he didn't even stay home. I suspected he had an affair, and I'm probably right." She chuckled painfully. "I was too angry and I learned that we weren't the perfect duo everyone figured us to be."

"Did he try contacting us?" I whispered.

"No," She sighed. "At first, I assumed he'd come back around. Then he sent the divorce papers in the mail and I knew it was real." She mumbled. "The man who approached you...that sounds like my husband. The man he was when he left...he would have ignored you."

"So you think he's changed?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I doubt it. If anything, guilt has chewed him away these years and he wants to wipe his conscious clean." She spat bitterly.

We stared at the business card again, almost memorizing his chicken scratch writing and his fancy title.

"What do I do?" I finally whispered. Derek's eyes softened and he traced the A&D tattoo on his wrist. Tugging his lip in his mouth, he finally looked at me.

"I think you should call him." Derek mumbled. My mom and I whipped our heads at him, surprised at his decision. In any given situation, Derek would threaten him or say I didn't need to be involved in something like that, but he was saying everything I didn't want to hear.

"What?" I gasped.

"Look, I've already said it." He said softly. "I think you should call him. You don't have to have him in your life or get to know him...but it'll give you closure. Not every family is perfect...and you're clearly not going to get that perfect-picture family and that's alright. I think it'll help with other issues if you can demand answers and finally close that part of your past."