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“So, what is it you want from us?” Her father looks serious, but his words are kind and caring. Her mother’s face is soft as well.
Even if Faye has a strained relationship with her family, and even if she says she doesn’t care what they think, I know their approval means more than she’ll ever admit. While Faye’s opinion is the only one that matters, if I don’t make things right with her parents, there’s no hope for any future with her.
I take a deep breath. This is what I came here to do, and I don’t want to screw it up.
“I love your daughter,” I say.
They sit quietly, but I notice Maureen reach for Jack’s hand.
“I want you to know that I’m going to work hard every day for the rest of my life to be good enough for her.”
“I see,” Jack says, sitting a little straighter.
“I know being a twenty-two-year-old retired hockey player probably isn’t what most parents want for their daughter. I also know that your daughter is smart and strong and capable of making her own decisions. But also, that family is important to her. And I can’t ask her to take a chance on me if…” I scrub a hand down my face, steeling my voice. “If her family won’t.”
They share a glance, and Faye’s mother purses her lips together as they form a little smile that makes her father smile back.
“Just love her,” Mr. Benington says with a weighty glance.
I frown and cock my head.
“That’s all that matters. Faye knows what she wants. If she wants you, then just love our daughter the way she deserves to be loved. That’s what makes you worthy.”
I sigh, choking on a wave of emotion I didn’t expect: a mixture of relief and joy and pure, unadulterated fear.
“Thank you,” I say, pressing my hand against my chest. “I’ll never stop.”
He nods, resolute, but it’s Mrs. Benington who rises first, wrapping her tiny arms around me in a hug that feels so much bigger than seems possible.
For the first time in weeks, I feel hopeful.
57
faye
“I can’t believeyou’re leaving this house. It’s so cute!” Edie hadn’t stopped fussing over the house since she and Darwin had arrived. They came, ostensibly, to help me with the move. But they also booked an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle for next week that will run over Thanksgiving.
She runs her fingers over the craftsman molding around the window frame in my bedroom while Darwin and Aly debate the proper apple with which to make an apple pie—loudly—from the kitchen. Occasionally, Lex interjects. I could have warned her that Darwin’s ancestors claim to have invented apple pie, but it was sort of more fun watching them go to the mat for Honeycrisp versus Mackintosh apples.
“You can walk to so much,” she says, watching a black-capped junco eat birdseed from the feeder on my window. Beyond, the soggy green yard is covered in brown and golden leaves.
“It’s a great neighborhood,” I say, hooking a gold hoop through my earlobe.
“Happy Faye day!” Ivan crows from the door.
Edie’s face splits into the widest grin and she and Dar waste no time bonding with the little hellion. My eyes go big as Sarah fills the doorframe beyond him.
“What are you doing here?”
“We wouldn’t miss your going away party for anything,” Sarah says, giving me a tighter hug than usual, as if she knows this might be the last time we see each other. When she breaks the hug, she doesn’t let go.
“I just want you to know,” she says, her voice soft and maternal. “We are always here for you. Regardless of where you and Zeke are or where you end up—I will not lose you. So do not think that anything, even an amazing grant for your doctoral program, will stop me from expecting you at Thanksgiving dinner.”
I smirk and give her another hug. And just like that, I know that I will always have Sarah in my corner, no matter what.
“Where’s Rachel?” I ask, stepping back.
Sarah tilts her head. “She’s having a tough time, but I think she’s making friends.”
