“It’s hard to do that,” his father said.
“I know. That’s why I’m here. She’s not thrilled, but I know what I feel. This isn’t a passing thing. And maybe by coming to you now, it will prove it to her too. Sometimes I think she is almost waiting for me to say it’s run its course. If I weren’t serious I wouldn’t be here.”
His mother smiled, his father’s head went side to side. He was getting there. Slowly.
“What is the next step?” his father asked.
“I’d like her to come to dinner at some point. Here or on the island. During the week, we don’t see much of each other.”
His mother rolled her eyes. “You see her daily.”
“I meant on a personal level. We can separate the two well. Good enough no one has thought of it.”
“Is that true?” his mother asked his dad. “You hear the talk. Has it come up at all? Have you looked at them and thought it was more?”
“No. Not once. There is more chatter that she’s young and maybe she is related to Norris.”
“Oh really. Why haven’t you said anything?”
“Because it was this week and it’s going to come out at some point. It’s not anything I’d be concerned about and didn’t think you would be. If I’d known you two had a thing, I would have.”
“Which just proves we are good at departmentalizing it.”
“You are. I’ll give you that. People finding out Norris is her father is something they are going to have to address. Most won’t or don’t talk to Norris anyway.”
Ethan sighed. “But they might say shit about Nora and I don’t want that. She has to stand up for herself.”
“And that could label her as a bitch,” his mother said. “Norris is an acquired taste that most don’t even attempt to discover. Stand with her.”
“With reason,” he said. “She’s nothing like her father. Hell, she told me he gave her a hard time about keeping her head down and not messing up after the first time with that report. It wasn’t her fault. And I wouldn’t let her handle anything alone. I’ll step in if I need to.”
“Not step in,” his mother said. “Be supportive. Know the difference.”
“It wasn’t really her fault,” his father said. “But not a big deal either way.”
“What am I missing?” his mother asked. He filled his mother in. “Sounds more like she was professional and the way I would have handled it. Coming to you would have sounded like an excuse. She owned up to not catching it.”
“I know. We moved on. But Norris doesn’t want it reflecting on him. He told me if things didn’t work out, he’d prefer not to be caught up in it.”
His mother crossed her arms. “What an asshole.”
Ethan laughed at her frustrated stance. “Exactly. There is a lot in their past. I know it, but she hasn’t said it all. She came here to work on their relationship because her mother remarried and moved to Montreal. That’s the short version. The long version is my guess. I think she just wants some kind of acceptance in her life. She’s out to prove something.”
“What’s she out to prove?” his father asked. “I hope it’s not that she can land a man her father could boast about.”
He forced a laugh. “If she wasn’t working for me, maybe I’d think that, but remember, she knew who I was and left. If he found out now in this situation, I’m positive he’d give her a hard time. She’s out to prove that she’s strong enough to not need anyone and can do it on her own, but compassionate enough to give her father another shot for them to have some kind of relationship.”
“You can appreciate the second one, but I’m not so sure you like the first,” his mother said smirking. “You’re used to doing everything in a relationship.”
“Yeah,” he said drily. “And it’s not sitting well with me she’s not so fond of it.”
“Sounds like a you problem,” his father said. “So good luck there. To me, that’s a point in her favor. But I’m going on record I’m not thrilled with this news.”
“We can tell,” his mother said. “But we are glad you told us. Right, Mitchell?”
“Of course. And your mother is going to drill it into my head how much it means because you did. I get it. I need a few days to wrap my head around it, but I’m glad you told us.”
He’d never keep something like this from them. The last thing he wanted to worry about was his father’s reaction if he were blindsided.
