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“Okay.” I smile for real this time because I like the sound of that. He just wants to get to know me which is a real miracle. I am happy to show who I am and I’m sure all will be fine. I don’t think there is any reason he will hate me. Fingers crossed at any rate. “That sounds good. We can talk about whatever you want.”
The coffee comes my way and we settle in to a nice easy-going conversation. I find myself drawn to this man; I like him a lot already. I think that if things go the way that I want them too then we will be good friends. As long as I treat his daughter well, of course, which I always intend to do. If she always me to.Chapter 16 – MillieI feel silly as I cower at the top of the stairs, listening in to the conversation between my father and Lance, like a child hearing parents arguing and wondering if they’re going to get divorced. It’s crazy, and my dad maybe shouldn’t have agreed to lie for me… or maybe not lie, but not let him know directly that I’m here either… yet he’ll do anything for me. Since it’s always been me and him, for as long as I can remember, he’s very protective of me. Even more so considering everything that I’ve been through in my adult life.
But now as my fingers curl the banister planks, it’s hard for me to stay still. It’s a challenge to keep away from Lance but if I don’t do this then I will never be able to hear what he’s got to say when I’m not around. My father won’t be able to get a true impression of him either, and since he spotted the red flags with Dante a long time ago, I need his real judgement. I need to know if I’m making the right move. Especially with so much at stake.
“So, you always knew that you wanted to act?” my dad asks jovially. “That’s good. Nice to hear. Someone with direct ambitions. I never had that myself. I never knew exactly what I wanted to do. Then I just sort of fell in to being a plumber. I mean, it did me fine, don’t get me wrong, especially when I had to work my hours around raising Millie alone, but I never decided entirely want I wanted to be.”
“I always knew that was what I wanted to do.” Lance’s tone is chocolaty smooth. I nearly melt where I am. “I always loved it and it just felt like a calling for me. I’m lucky really. With five brothers, not all of whom knew what they wanted to immediately do either, I’ve seen how hard it can be to find a path.”
“That’s what worries me about Millie.” As Dad muses this, I wonder if he’s forgotten that I’m actually here listening to this right now. He might be so in his role that he doesn’t remember I’m listening in. “She was always like me, drifting a little bit. Good at everything but she never showed any specific desire. I thought it would come through. I always assumed it would until Dante came along and took her off track.”
My fingers become weak, their grip loosening a little on the banister. I didn’t know that my father felt that way about me. About my lack of ambition. It’s just something that I haven’t ever had time to think about…
Well, that’s not exactly true. I always wanted to do something creative and life changing, I just wasn’t sure what specifically. I didn’t think it mattered either. Not enough to be worrying. But now that Dad says it, he’s right, isn’t he? I did get sucked up in Dante, I just did whatever I could to get by, I haven’t ever thought in more detail about my future. Then the job at The Scarlet Longue was just a place to hide away. I didn’t think further than that. But perhaps now I can. I can plan for a future somehow, in some way, to make me really happy.
“I don’t think you need to worry about Millie,” Lance does his best to reassure my father. “She is head strong. She might have been knocked off track by this man, but there is plenty of time for her to work things out.”
“You talk about her like you know her inside and out, Lance. Like you know her better than I do…”
“Oh no, I would never say that,” he shoots back immediately. “I have just been close with her for the last eighteen months. Although not close enough for her to share this secret with.” My father mumbles something incoherently. “But I’ve observed her, and I’ve seen that she has a deep inner strength. She has a power inside of her that’s unlike I’ve ever seen from another person. She’s a truly wonderful woman.”
