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What if something’s seriously wrong? With him? Or with mom? My mind races, coming up with a million possibilities in an instant.
“Yeah, everything’s good,” he says, patting my hand. “Great, actually.” And then he chuckles under his breath and takes another sip of his drink.
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you drunk?”
He glares at me. “No, Bishop. I’m not sitting out here drunk in the middle of the night. And nothing is wrong, either.” He shakes his head. “I just… Did you know your mother and I are going to celebrate our 40th anniversary in March? Forty. Years. Of marriage.”
I wait, knowing there’s probably more.
A beat later, he speaks again.
“God, we’re lucky.”
“That’s what you’re sitting out here thinking about in the middle of the night? How happy you are?”
My dad chuckles again. “Yeah. I am. You know, we were your age when we got married. 22 seems so young to get married now, I’m sure, but forty years ago, we were actually on the older side in comparison to most of our friends.”
I take another bite of my cereal. “Why’s that?”
He hums. “Because your mother wasn’t sure she wanted to marry me.”
My mouth freezes mid-chew, my eyes returning to where my dad is now taking another sip of his drink. When it doesn’t seem like he’s planning to say anything else, I elbow him in the bicep.
“And?”
“Well…obviously she changed her mind.”
Rolling my eyes, I swallow my bite then level him with a glare. “You know what I mean. How have I not ever known this? I thought you guys were like…high school sweethearts.”
He nods. “We were. Until we weren’t.”
“You broke up!?” I ask, my voice getting louder as surprise rolls through me. “How am I just finding this out?”
“I’m actually not sure. I feel like your siblings all know this story.”
My parents have always been the ideal couple, the people who have the relationship everybody wants. It’s so wonderful it’s nauseating, so the idea that there was a time when their relationship almost never became what it is today? It feels like it’s just not possible.
“Well…what happened?”
“Your mom was upset because she thought I was choosing to stay with her by default. That’s what she called it. Told me there might be other girls out there I’d love more if I wasn’t stuck in a small town. And then…” He starts laughing. “She said she didn’t want me to pick her just because she was the only option.”
I watch him continue to chuckle, trying to understand why the hell he’s laughing.
“And that’s funny to you?”
He gives me a No shit look. “Of course it’s funny, Bishop. It’s funny because your mom was the only option, but not in the way she assumed. She was it for me because there couldn’t be another person on this earth who fit me better than she did.” He turns in his chair so he’s facing me head on. “I could visit the farthest corners of the earth, and I’d never find someone who completes me like she does, who makes me the best version of me. Never.”
I blink a few times, surprised, though not by what he’s said; my dad has always been adamant that my mom is his dream girl. He never fails to tell her how much he loves her, in the moment, as he feels it. It’s pretty amazing to watch considering all the train-wreck relationships that are out there.
I’m surprised because…I know how that feels. It’s how I felt about Gabi. I was so sure we were it, forever.
And then when it got too hard, I gave up. I let Gabi’s slow withdrawal be enough for me to throw in the towel when I should have done whatever my dad did and fought for her.
“So, what did you do?” I ask, curious. “How do you prove to someone they’re the one for you if they’re pushing you away?”
At my question, my dad’s expression softens. I don’t doubt he understands where my question is really coming from.
“You asking for the story or for the advice?”
