So, my Dad called me after a month. I'm not sure what the hell he wants from me, but he asked to see me. My immediate response was going to be no, but he sounded like he was sorry for how we left things. I agreed to come back home to talk. Although, I can't really call that house my home anymore.
While Lindsey is out, he went to another job interview, I call myself a cab and give the driver the address. I'm starting to feel nervous on the way to see my Dad. I'm not sure why though. What could he possibly say?
Paying for the ride, I get out of the cab and walk to the front door. I don't see Melanie's car, so it's a plus. At least I don't have to face her. I still have the key, so I let myself in and I found the house to be very quiet. I'm guessing Dad's in his home office, so that's where I go.
Knocking on the ajar door first, I open it and see my father at his desk. He seems tired. He hasn't shaved, I can tell that much, his hair is messy, too. If I'm not wrong, he's got a glass of whiskey in one hand.
"Hello." I say, standing in the middle of the room.
"Hi." Dad doesn't move to greet me in any other way. No kiss on the cheek, no hug. "Please, don't stand there." He shows me to take a seat. "Thanks for coming."
"No need to thank me." I shrug, putting my bag in my lap I clasp my hands and wait for him to speak again. I don't have anything to say, there's certainly nothing for me to apologize for.
"You were right." Dad says with a heavy sigh. "The wedding's off."
I wish I could grin right now, but clearly, the truth has affected my Dad in a horrible way, so I don't. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"You're not."
"To be honest, no, I'm not. I didn't want you to find out after the wedding." I tell him truthfully. "Melanie wasn't a good person and she wasn't sincere."
"Apparently not, I'm just not sure, how I didn't see it." Dad rests his elbows on the desk and puts his head in his hands, another heavy breath passing his lips. "You saved me, really."
"We've got to look out for each other. We don't have anyone else."
"I want you to come home, Stevie." He changes the subject again and I remain quiet. I have a pretty good feelings there's one condition. "But you've got to end your so called relationship." And there it is.
"I won't." I tell him straight. "I love Lindsey." Wait, I do? I... I do. "If I only can be your daughter, when dating someone 'right' for me, then I'm fine the way things are." I say, using air quotes.
"What do you see in him? He's on the wrong side of thirty, he doesn't have a job. In what kind of a shit hole do you even live?" I don't want to hear any of this. I get up to my feet, ready to leave, but my Dad rushes to apologize. "I'm sorry. Don't go."
"Well, what do you want from me, Dad?" I sigh. "You don't want me to leave, but you'll only accept me if I break up with Lindsey and I'm not going to do it." I emphasize, laying a hand over my chest. "I know our relationship is not... traditional or whatever you want to call it, but I'm happy with him, don't you get it? I was forced to move out of this mansion by you and move in with him, in a shit hole as you called it and I don't care. I don't need a chef cooking me dinner every night, I don't need five rooms if I only stay in one, I don't need three bathrooms, I don't need a game room, I don't need a pool. I need a person, someone I feel close to, I feel connected to, I'm loved by. To me, that's Lindsey. If you don't approve, if you can't find it inside your heart to accept it, then..." I shrug my shoulders. "Enjoy this massive house. It's not a home, it's an empty, lonely house and so are you, Dad." When I finish, I notice tears in my fathers eyes. I know he feels the same way I do. Even though he's always surrounded by people, he's been lonely ever since Mom died.
"I'm sorry." He says quietly and I look at him sympathetically.
I walk over to him and hug him, holding onto him. "You don't have to be sorry, it's okay. I only wish you could understand me."
"Come home." He asks again, but this time he doesn't add anything else.
"I'm not going to, Dad. It was time for me to grow up anyway." I smile at him weakly, wiping away his tears. It hurts me seeing him like this. "But I'm here for you, always."
He gives a small nod of his head, giving my hand a squeeze. "I love you."
"I love you, too." I echo.
We needed that.
