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I was working on my laptop in my old bedroom, the one Muse and I were using for the time being. For the actual wedding night, I would take her somewhere else. It would be strange to spend our honeymoon in my parents’ house. I would have flown Muse off to a beautiful place, but since she was so late in her pregnancy, getting her around was nearly impossible.
A knock sounded on the door. “Can I come in?” Father’s deep voice penetrated the solid wood of the door.
“You never used to ask when I was a kid.”
He opened the door, a slight grin on his face. “You didn’t have any rights as a kid.” His ripped arms stretched the sleeves of his t-shirt. He carried himself like a king, even when no one was watching. He lowered himself into the chair across the room and leaned back, resting one ankle on the opposite knee. He seemed happy I was there, sharing the house with him and my mother once again, but there was a definite sadness in his eyes.
I knew the cause of his sorrow. “She’ll come around.”
He lifted his gaze and met mine. Heartbeats passed, but he didn’t blink. It was strange to see him without a glass in his hand. Mama probably cut him off. I’d never seen my father drunk, but then again, maybe he was always drunk and I’ve never seen him sober. “You think so?”
I gave a slight nod. “She’s the strongest woman I know…but don’t tell her I said that.”
My father would normally crack a smile, but this time, he didn’t. “She is.”
“She just needs more time.”
“How was she when you saw her?”
She looked like a ghost. Her olive skin wasn’t as dark as it usually was. She didn’t wear makeup, and her eyes didn’t shine with that inner brightness. “Defeated. But her good qualities are still there. She seemed genuinely happy that Muse and I…I mean Sapphire…are getting married. The old Vanessa is still in there…just buried deep under her sorrow.” I shut my laptop and gave my father my full attention.
“That’s what you call her?” he asked. “Muse?”
I gave a slight nod.
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile before it fell down again. “I can’t remember the last time I addressed your mother by her first name. Sometimes I forget what it is.”
“Same here.”
We sat in silence for a while, my father’s hands coming together in his lap. His gaze moved to the open window, the view of the vineyards endless. He was always composed and rigid, but right now, he seemed particularly stiff. “It was a hard decision. It was hard because I knew how much it would hurt her. I know she loves him…and I think he loves her. But I had to do the right thing. I’m not going to be around forever, and I want to die peacefully, to know my only daughter is with a man who will do a better job taking care of her than I ever did. That’s all I want. Maybe it’s selfish…but it’s what I need.”
I wasn’t a father just yet, but I felt the same way about my baby. Whether it was a boy or a girl, it didn’t matter. It would be nice to know they had someone else to take care of them if I weren’t around. “What changed your mind?”
My father’s gaze turned back to me, and he held my look for a long time. After a slight shake of his head, he cleared his throat. “Doesn’t matter. He’s not right for her.”
I knew he was hiding something from me, but I didn’t press him on it. “I think you made the right decision. When our hatred runs so deep, it’s unlikely the Barsettis will ever accept someone like him. Maybe Vanessa loves him, but she can love someone else.”
My father closed his eyes for a brief moment and nodded. “I hope so.”
“But I do hate her misery. I’ve never seen her this low.”
“Neither have I. I stopped by her gallery to see her last week…she can barely look at me.” He took a deep breath, his features tightening in obvious pain. “I know I need to be patient, but having my only daughter hate me is killing me. I can barely sleep.” His eyes shifted away, the pain coating his entire expression.
My father was such a strong man that I’d never pitied him. He never allowed anything to bother him. If he carried any pain, he hid it from everyone. But now his sorrow was so deep he couldn’t hide it. He wore it on his sleeve, showed it in his face. “She doesn’t hate you, Father. I know she doesn’t.”
He wouldn’t look at me.
“If she did, she wouldn’t still be here. She would have run off with him and turned her back on all of us. But she didn’t. We’re the most important thing in the world to her. She needed your approval to be with him, and when she didn’t get it, she let him go. She loves you more than she’ll ever love a man.”
