What Now

22. Piece of Cake

I stood in the back of the art gallery while I watched Lydia's Professor describe her work. I resisted the urge to get closer and admire her work. I could see her standing at the front, and I wasn't ready to reveal myself quite yet.
I also saw that she was standing next to her mother, Maria.

I saw Maria for the first time in nearly twenty years two days ago. It was by total chance that she caught my eye. I was coming out of a coffee shop when I saw her emerge from a restaurant with Lydia and another woman. I stood frozen in place for a moment, and I could have sworn that she had seen me. She had glanced in my direction and, once I was able to get over the shock, I quickly blended in with the crowd.

I wanted to go about this the right way, and if someone saw me before I wanted them to, it could blow this whole thing out of proportion. Like tonight, for example. I arrived here around the same time Lydia and Maria had, but I waited until the gallery was nearly full of people to make sure I wasn't seen.

After that, I kept to the shadows. I watched as Lydia nervously mingled with fellow students. She was clearly uncomfortable, which made me uncomfortable. When I saw that same guy who came with Michael to see me in prison, I instantly made the connection. He and Lydia were together. I knew I wasn't a good father, and I definitely didn't deserve to have her as a daughter, but I didn't feel like anyone deserved her.

When I saw her painting of a little girl at the park, it helped me see a little glimpse of just how horrible Tahlia and I made her life when she was young. At the time, I was so bitter and angry that I couldn't be with Maria, that I took it out on Lydia. I also took it out on Tahlia. The night that I nearly killed her was permanently seared into my brain. Lydia did the right thing by having me arrested. I deserved that and more for what I had done.

"Sir?"

My head shot to the right when I heard an unknown female voice. A petite blond woman was holding out a napkin to me with a concerned expression on her face.

"What?" I snapped; growing frustrated that she interrupted my train of thought.

Her eyes widened. She was clearly taken aback by my angry tone. "Your nose..."

Fuck. I took the napkin and placed it under my nose. "Thanks." I was getting tired of these fucking nosebleeds. But that's what happened when you had a brain tumor. When I got the news about my unfortunate diagnosis, I couldn't help but think it was 'just desserts'. You know, karma rearing its ugly head. After I got over the initial shock that I only had a handful of months to live, I came to accept my fate. It was the least I deserved after the pain I've inflicted to others, especially Lydia, before I was in prison.

Even though I knew it was an impossibility, I wanted to try to fix my relationship with Lydia. I knew I could have also reached out to Michael and Alex, but they didn't suffer nearly as much as their sister. What I had done...was unforgivable. I've come to accept the fact that everything she had suffered in her life fell on my shoulders.

Which is why I was planning on buying one of these paintings. I knew she wouldn't accept money from me, let alone my company, maybe this was one way I could help her. After I got released, there were a few assets I cashed in to get some money in my pocket. I planned on everything going to her, but I also planned on sending some to Michael and Alex.

When the professor started bidding off her painting of the little girl in the park, it got my attention. I wanted to make sure I have been the highest, so I waited until you were people made an offer. When a young woman almost won the painting for bidding one thousand dollars, made a bid of my own.

"Two thousand."

I noticed Lydia turn around and glance in my direction. As her eyes ran over the crowd, I knew that she couldn't see me. But she definitely heard me. Since she still thought I was rotting away in a prison cell, she probably had a hard time believing it was my voice that she heard.