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He stopped and slowly turned to me. “If that’s true why aren’t you marrying her?”
Was that what was upsetting him? “Because her father hates me and as long as he does, it’s source of pain for her and I don’t want her to feel stuck with me if she decides she tired of all the bullshit.”
His eyes widened in surprise.
“That’s why I’m here. Until you give your blessing, I can’t marry her.”
“That’s absurd.”
“You only think so because you’re not the one holding her while she cries because her father disapproves of her choice.”
He flinched as if I’d hit him.
“Henry.” I tried to bring my voice down to a calm level. “I feel like there’s something else going on here besides the fact that I slept with your daughter. At one time, you liked me, mentored me, and now…” I took a deep breath. “Your resentment hurts her.”
He simply stared at me.
“Do you know what we plan to name the baby? If it’s a girl, her name will be Olivia.”
Emotion swept across his face at the mention of his deceased wife’s name, but he fought to remain impassive.
“If it’s a boy, it will be Henry, after a man we both love and respect.” I rolled my shoulders of the tension. I was emotionally exhausted and tired of battling a man who clearly wasn’t going to change his mind about me. With all the wind out of my sails, I said, “I’m not asking for me, Henry because I know I don’t deserve it. But for Christ’s sake, try harder for Leah and the baby.”
I walked past him, pulling a club from my bag, and putting my ball on the tee. I stood over the ball and lined up my club.
“You took her from me.”
I looked up at him. “What?”
“She picked you. I resent you for taking her away.”
“I haven’t taken her away. We moved into the same building so she could still be near you.” Maybe he was suffering from early dementia because this just didn’t make any sense.
“If push came to shove, she’d pick you.”
I shook my head. “First, we don’t know that, but if you truly believe that, stop pushing and shoving. Why are you testing her?”
He looked up the fairway as if he was pulling his thoughts together. Finally he turned back to me. “For a long time, it’s just been me and Leah.”
It finally sunk in that he was afraid of losing her. “You were like a son to me and you stole her.”
“Henry, Jesus, do you really think that?” I stared at him for several moments. “I’ve been alone most of my life. Even with Valerie, there wasn’t the same type of connection people think about when they talk about love. When I met you, I finally made a real connection, found a true friend, or I thought I did. I always thought you cared for and respected me.”
He looked down, and I wondered if maybe he wasn’t feeling ashamed.
“With Leah, all that stuff you used to talk to me about that you had with Olivia that I thought was total bullshit, is true. I tried to leave Leah and it nearly fucking killed me, Henry.” I paused until he finally looked up. “I don’t want to take her away from you Henry. What I want is to be a part of your family.”
His expression at first was impassive, and I was ready to give up again.
“Well, fuck, Sebastian.” He blew out a breath like he was trying to hold back his emotion. Then he inhaled. “Olivia or Henry, huh?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“This is difficult. You were my friend.”
“Maybe now you can think of me as a son-in-law instead.”
He stepped up to me, looking me straight in the eyes. “You break her heart and I’ll kill you with a butter knife.”
The tension that had coiled tight in my chest started to loosen. “I’ll deserve it.”
He stared at me for a long moment and then he said, “Come here, son.” He hugged me and it took me a moment to realize what was happening. Once I did, I hugged him back.
He stepped back and cleared his throat. “Maybe now that you don’t have so much guilt, you can play better.”
I laughed that he picked up on why my game and gotten so bad. “Want to put money on it?”
He shook his head. “Nah, you’ll need it to pay for Olivia or Henry’s college.”
It was amazing how much difference a blessing and a week could make. Life with Leah had been so close to perfect except for Henry’s attitude. But since we had our talk during golf, it was like the clouds had lifted and the sun filled my days. The stress and tension in both Leah and me dissipated, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t plagued with a feeling like at any moment something would go wrong.
