Divergent UNIVERSITY ✅

chapter 40

I own my ideas, but I don't own the characters. Just in case you weren't sure.Chapter 40When Zeke finally arrives at Bud's house, Tris, Four, Uriah, and Marlene are waiting for him. Marlene pulls him into a hug."Where have you been?""Just driving.""We were worried about you," Tris says wrapping her arms around him. "How are you doing?""I'm fine. I guess I came to the realization that she was right. We haven't been right for a long time. I guess one of us finally had to be brave and admit it.""It's cool," Four says. "We've got lots to do. You are welcome to stay here. Bud and Natalie have already offered. You can have the entire man-cave to yourself if you want it.""I think that would be great. Something about going back to that apartment doesn't sound good to me.""Well just so you know, we are in full wedding mode here," Tris says."That's okay, anything to get my mind off of her. Besides, weddings mean single girls," Zeke smiles. It's a forced smile, he knows he isn't going to get over Shauna that quickly, but he also knows that he has to try to move on with his life.~oOo~Tris walks down the boardwalk in her beautiful strapless plum tea length bride's maid dress. Her hair is swept to the side, cascading in ringlets down her right shoulder. And for the first time she is wearing heels because she promised her mother and Marlene that she would at least wear them for the ceremony.Four stands behind Bud and is mesmerized by the beautiful creature approaching them at the end of the pier that overlooks the water. He and Bud are dressed in similar suits with different colored ties. Bud is wearing a silver tie while Four's is plum.Bud smiles at this beautiful young woman standing before him. He wishes that he could tell her the truth about herself, but he and Natalie decided a long time ago that it was best that they didn't. But now, the way things are, he wants to tell her now more than ever. He wants her to know why Andrew behaves the way he does with her and why he treats Caleb differently. He wants her to know why she has always been closer to him than the man that calls himself her father.Tris joins Karlene, one of Natalie's friends, and turns toward the end of the pier where her mother will appear.The music changes as the sun sets in the horizon, Natalie begins her walk toward her new future. Her gown is simple yet elegant. She decided that she didn't want any shade of white or cream, so she is wearing a strapless silver and black full length dress.When Bud sees his bride, his is overcome by joy and hopefulness. He has been waiting almost twenty-five years to make this woman his wife. He has been the patient, loving, faithful friend that she has needed him to be over the years. He even allowed her to set him up on dates so that she would believe that he was moving on, but he never did. For twenty-five years he was her friend, her partner, her confidant, and the best role model he could be for Caleb and the best father figure he could be for Tris. And today with Caleb and Four standing behind him and Tris standing across from him, this woman will finally become his.When Natalie sees Bud standing there waiting for her, she knows that this is what she has been waiting her whole life for. Andrew never looked at her the way that Bud does. Bud is more than her lover; he is her best friend, her partner, her rock. He has been by her side no matter what and never once faltered in his love and devotion for her. He always had faith that one day he would he her husband. Every time she and the kids went to him after a fight with Andrew, he would tell her that some day she would walk away from Andrew and walk right into his arms. And that no matter how long it took, he would be waiting. Today, his prediction comes true. Today is the day that he becomes her husband and all of that love will finally be able to be known the world over.As she approaches, she looks between Bud and Tris and the realization that Tris deserves to know the truth hits her. She's not sure how someone hasn't seen it and figured it out yet. When they are together, there is no denying that Bud is her father. She resembles him more than Natalie. She has his eyes, nose and smile, and every time Tris looks at her, she sees the man that she took comfort in all those years ago. The man that in spite of desperately wanting a family of his own, took a backseat and allowed Natalie to lie to Andrew and everyone about who Tris' father really was.Andrew figured it out before Tris was even born and resented Natalie for it. Their relationship had been bad even then, but he threatened to take everything that Natalie and Bud had worked for in their shop if she left him. So they continued their charade for another twenty years before Natalie finally presented him with the divorce. And now as she looks between her new husband and her beautiful daughter, she knows that she must tell Tris the truth.The ceremony begins with the preacher saying a few words about true love and how it always finds you, no matter how long it takes. He talks about love and devotion, and the patience to wait for it to present itself. He reads a passage from the bible, Corinthians 13:"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Love never fails... and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love but the greatest of these is love."When the ceremony is over they go to the beach where their dinner and celebration will begin. Caleb and Karlene and Tris and Four enter the area and take their places at the head table. Next Natalie and Bud arrive to a standing ovation. "Please join me in congratulating Mr. and Mrs. Willard Reed," the DJ announces.Bud and Natalie make their way to the dance floor and begin to dance to the song that they had agreed upon, 'Time in a Bottle' by Jim Croce.As they dance, Bud sings to her, "I've looked around enough to know you're the one I want to go through time with."Natalie smiles at the man in front of her as he sings to her while they dance. She kisses him at the end of the song and they retire to their table so that they can begin dinner.Following dinner, the DJ announces that Natalie and Bud will be dancing with Tris and Caleb. Natalie and Bud lead them out onto the dance floor as the song begins, 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts. They dance to the song as everyone watches. Natalie smiles at the son dancing with her and he holds onto his mother."Mom, are you happy?" Caleb asks her."Yes Caleb, I am. Why do you ask?""You're different is all. You always seemed so determined to be happy, but never really seemed like you were. Now you just seem happy, like you aren't trying, you just are.""Caleb, I loved your father. But that love wasn't enough. Sometimes you can love someone even when you aren't right for each other," Natalie explains."I'm happy you have found happiness mom," Caleb says to her as he hugs his mother tightly.Natalie smiles at her son and then looks over at her daughter. Her eyes are sparkling as she dances with Bud and Bud looks like he is on top of the world. Suddenly the decision to keep things hidden and to lie about her father seems so wrong. She has resolved to tell Tris the truth, to allow her the father daughter relationship that she stole from her all of those years ago.At the end of the song, the four of them return to their table but Natalie takes Bud's hand and leads him away."Nat, where are we going?" he asks as they move away from everyone to a more private part of the beach."We need to talk for a minute," she says vaguely.Bud suddenly worries that something has happened and she is regretting marrying him or something. This fear begins to overcome him before Natalie turns and smiles at him."Bud, I wanted to apologize to you. I took something from you all those years ago. I always knew it was wrong, but once the decision was made, I didn't know how to go back and change it.""Natalie, what are you talking about?""Beatrice, I took her from you and didn't allow you to have the relationship that you both deserved. She has grown up thinking that her father doesn't love her like he should. But her father does love her and she deserves to know how much you love her.""Are you saying you want to tell her the truth?""Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. She deserves to know that the man that did everything for her that has always been there for her, taken care of her is her real father. Not the man that has never treated her quite right.""Natalie, this could break her heart. This could cause her to hate us both for lying to her. Is that worth the risk? I know she loves me and that is enough...""No Bud, it's not enough. She deserves to understand why Andrew has been so distant from her throughout her life. She deserves to know that her father didn't desert her like she thought."Bud nods at her, "When?""I say we tell her now. I can't wait anymore. Call Four and have him bring Tris over here with him. I want him to be here also so that he can comfort her."Bud does what she asked of him. When Tris and Four find them, they look confused and worried."Mom, Bud, is everything okay?" Tris asks.Natalie takes Bud's hand in one of hers and Tris' in the other. She looks into her daughter's eyes and sees Bud's staring back at her."Everything is fine Tris. But something hit me today and I can't put off telling you any longer. You see, I've been lying to you, your whole life."Tears start to form in Tris' eyes, she has no idea where this is going but her mother's words terrify her. "What are you talking about?" Tris demands pulling her hand away from her mother. She takes a couple steps back until she runs into a solid mass behind her... Four. He wraps his arms around her as her mother speaks."Tris, you always wondered why your father treated you so differently than Caleb, right?""Yes.""And you always wanted to know why he was never proud of anything that you did and was never supportive...""Mom, what are you getting at?" Tris asks starting to get angry as the tears continue to fall down her cheeks."Tris, there is a reason that Andrew has never been the same with you as Caleb. Andrew isn't your biological father."Tris looks at her mother like she has just sprouted another head. She can't believe what she is hearing. And why now of all times is her mother telling her this? "What are you talking about," Tris whispers almost inaudibly. "If he isn't, then... who?""Tris, honey, it's me. I'm your biological father," Bud says.Her mouth drops open and Four's arms encircle her tighter. He holds her as the shock of what they are saying hits her. He always thought he saw something in the way that Bud looked at her, and the resemblance was always noticeable to him, but he never questioned.Tris stares in disbelief at the two people standing in front of her. How could this possibly be? Then she thinks about her childhood and growing up. She has always felt closer to Bud than she did to her father. Bud was always there for everything, every baseball, softball, and hockey game. Every school play, concert, and every event, no matter what, he was always there. He kissed her injuries when she was little and held her tight when she woke from bad dreams at the shop. Part of her always wished that he was her father.She looks from her mother to Bud and back again. "You are telling me that Bud is my father? How?""Andrew and I were fighting a lot after Caleb's birth. He was always miserable and he wasn't the man that I had fallen for anymore. We were growing apart. One night after a particularly horrible fight, I packed Caleb up and we went to Bud's house. After I cried and vowed that I was going to leave Andrew, one thing led to another and..."Natalie doesn't continue, she just looks from Bud to Tris. "Anyway. The next day I went home to talk to Andrew and he apologized and convinced me that he would change. He promised that things would get better. I believed that I owed it to him and our marriage to try to fix things. Only I didn't realize that I had gotten pregnant. When I found out I knew immediately that you belonged to Bud. But I didn't tell anyone until Andrew figured it out too. He promised that he would love you the same as Caleb. He said that he wanted to be your father. But I had to tell Bud. I begged him to not pursue the issue. He reluctantly agreed on the grounds that I had to let him be part of your life. He had to be able to a father figure to you, even if you didn't realize it."Tris stands and listens to her mother's explanation, but the only thing she hears is that her father, her real father, wanted her. His love for her mother forced him to agree to something that he didn't want to. He wanted to be her father.So many things make sense to her now. Why she and Caleb look so different. Why she always felt like she didn't quite belong.She stood there and stared at her mother and Bud for a long time. Then the thought occurs to her, he isn't Bud, he is Dad. But can she call him that?"Tris please say something," Natalie pleads with her daughter. "If you are angry, please be angry with me, not Bud. He didn't want things the way they were. He wanted to be your father.""Tris, I love you more than you'll ever know. I don't expect anything different from you. I'm just glad that you finally know," Bud tells her.Tris continues to stand there dumbfounded with tears streaming down her face. She is in such shock, that she doesn't notice it when Four kisses the top of her head. He's trying to support her as best he can."Tris..." Natalie begins."Don't," Tris whispers. "I need time. Why would you do this now? Today?" She takes Four's hand and walks away from her mother and Bud.Tris leads Four away from her parents to a secluded part of the beach. She remains silent as they walk hand in hand in the moonlight. Once they reach the water's edge, she stops and looks at Four."What am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to handle this? They've lied to me.""Tris, I don't know how you are supposed to handle this, but I do know one thing, he loves you. He loves you and your mother so much that he stepped back and allowed your mother to try to make a life with her husband. He didn't like it and he didn't want to, but he did it because he thought it was best for everyone, except for him.""I know, but I'm angry," she says as she paces back and forth in front of Four. "I'm so angry about never knowing. About beating myself up and worrying and being upset because I thought my father didn't love me. I tried to change myself for him, I tried to be everything that he wanted, but I could never make him happy. I never could understand why he doted on Caleb and no matter what I did was never enough. She saw how hard I tried to make him love me, how hard I tried to be what he wanted, but never told me. She could have told me, she could have let me have the father that I needed. Instead I would look at Bud and what he did and desperately wonder why my father couldn't be like him."She shakes her head and tries to clear her thoughts. She is furious for being lied to, but she is also thankful that she doesn't have to try to be what Andrew wants anymore. But when she thinks about Andrew, she thinks about all of the years of tears and frustration and the anger starts to boil in her again.Four stands and watches as she paces and rants. He doesn't say anything, he just listens to what she says. Out of the corner of his eye he sees someone approaching. He turns to see Bud standing nearby, seemingly debating on if he should approach or not. Four nods in his direction to encourage him.Bud comes over to where they are standing. Four smiles at him, "If you'll excuse me."