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“I love you,” I tell her, simple and straight from the heart. She beams back at me.
“I love you, too,” she says, then laughs again. “Now, are you going to put that ring on my finger, or what?”
I chuckle, taking it carefully from the box and sliding it onto her finger. It’s a little loose, but it goes on, at least. We’ll just have to have it taken in a little when we get the chance. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. After all, we’ve got all the cities in the world to choose from to get it adjusted.
“It’s so beautiful,” she coos again, admiring it on her hand. She turns towards the camera then, lifting her hand the opposite way to show it to her Dad.
He looks stunned. Like he doesn’t know what to think. He’s sitting there watching his daughter laugh and smile and cry with happiness, in what must be the happiest moment of her life so far. A moment that every girl dreams of. That every father dreams of for his daughter.
I’m sure he just didn’t dream of it happening with me.
But he doesn’t look angry anymore, which is a definite plus point.
“It’s nice,” he concedes, his voice sounding strangled and choked. Like even that is too much to admit.
“Dad,” Candace says, all seriousness now. She sits back down on the couch, and I join her. “I know this is a lot for you to take in. But look at me. I’m so happy. This is everything I’ve ever wanted – believe me when I say that.”
“I…” Bill pauses, swallows hard. “Sweetie, I do believe you. I just…”
“You don’t trust me to know what I want,” she fills in, and sighs. “You’re still thinking of me like I’m a little girl. But I’m not. Not anymore. I grew up. I became an adult. I know what I want. And it’s Sean.”
Bill is looking down, out of frame. Maybe at his own hands.
“Bill,” I say quietly, taking this moment to try to help out. “I promise you that I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that Candace is happy, and safe, and fulfilled. I mean that. I wouldn’t have fought with you so much earlier if I didn’t care so deeply about her happiness. I will take good care of her. The best.”
I can see him fighting his emotions. There must be so much in his head, especially now as he’s calming down from the initial shock. I’m sure his gut is still against it because every father demands only the best for his daughter – and it’s not likely that anyone would ever be considered good enough for Candace. Even I can accept that. She’s an angel on earth.
But he also knows me, no matter how much he might have protested earlier. He knows that I’m a good man, and a trustworthy one. He must know that out of all the men in the world, he could trust me the most to look after his daughter.
It won’t make it easy for him to accept. But it might make it easier than it would have been otherwise. And seeing how happy she is now – that must go a long way to making things right.
“Alright,” he says, after a long and charged moment. His voice is thick, and his eyes are shining with emotion. He looks like an old dog who’s had his favorite toy taken away by a younger pup. Downcast and dejected. “It looks like there’s nothing I can say to stop this from happening, anyway.”
“There isn’t,” Candace agrees immediately. “But Dad, it would mean so much to me to get your blessing. To have you in our wedding.”
He swallows again. “I don’t know,” he says. “I’m going to have to talk to your mother about this. I’ve got a lot of long and hard thinking to do, and I think it will be best if you come home as soon as you can to talk it over some more. But I don’t want this to get between us, sweetie. So, you come home, and I’ll think about giving you my blessing.”
It’s not the best result we could have hoped for. But it’s good enough.
I check my watch. Candace has missed her flight by a long margin, and I’m about to miss mine, too.
“We’ll get on a flight first thing tomorrow morning,” I promise him. “We’ve missed the boat today, but we’ll get out there. I’ll bring her right to your door.”
I see him hesitate. “Maybe it would be better for her to come on her own.”
“No, Dad,” Candace speaks up before I get the chance to. “We’re together now. We’re going to be married. We come together – and we talk together. That’s how it has to be.”
“Fine,” Bill sighs. He looks at me, and for a second I just see a flash of my old friend. He’s giving me a look I recognize from the business deals we’ve worked on together. A look that says, you better know what you’re doing, because I’m trusting you.
