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She’d been willing to give them time, too. He’d panicked at the thought. Why?
“I think it’s a very mature decision on her part,” his father said. “She never had a chance to be a kid. She’s never had a chance to sit and think because she was too busy seizing every opportunity she could get. She’s been sprinting all her life.”
“She talked to you about this?”
His father nodded. “Yes, we had a good conversation at the festival. I know I’ve told you this before, but I like her a lot. I think she’s a good match for you.”
“I get a sense of peace when I’m around her. Like we didn’t just meet. Like we’ve known each other for a long time.” It had been an easy relationship until they’d fought.
“Yes, that’s what I thought,” his dad replied. “And that’s a good reason to pursue a relationship, but I think she’s the one who can push you. I think she’s the one who can get you out of the rut you’re in. You’ve spent years now worried about me, taking care of me. You’ve done it for so long, it scares you to think about it being over.”
“That’s not the reason I’m scared of it being over.” The words felt choked in his throat.
His father leaned toward him. “I’m going to tell you a secret, Major. I know I’ve always told you that the best day of my life was when you were born, but that was a lie. There was another day, a day from which all my joy and pain and happiness and heartache flowed. A day I wouldn’t take back for anything.”
“Your wedding day.”
“Yes. It’s funny because I thought I knew what love meant that day. I stood there as a twenty-four-year-old kid, and she was so pretty. I married her because she was beautiful and kind, and I didn’t know how much she would change who I was. The love I felt for her that day was shallow in the face of how I felt when I held her as she died. Logically I know she wasn’t beautiful that day. Cancer had ravaged her, but she was so lovely. She was half of my soul. Loving her, getting to truly know who she was deep inside . . . son, that’s what makes life meaningful. You don’t have to have some grand purpose. And I don’t care what people will tell you. It doesn’t have to be one man and one woman. I don’t think it even has to involve sex. Love is the important thing. Love is everything. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t think it’s a weak thing that can’t handle adversity.”
“She thinks I don’t trust her to know her own mind. She doesn’t know how much I want her to be here with me, but beyond that, I want her to be happy.”
“And you’re worried you can’t make her happy.”
“She’s had the whole world. She’s had what most people only dream of.”
“Well, now she wants you. Maybe instead of having the whole world looking at her, she wants to be the whole world for the people she loves. Some people have big dreams. Some people need the world at their feet. Most of us build these small worlds where we’re loved, where we love. There is nothing wrong with an ordinary life, and I think you’ll find there’s also no such thing. It’s all different. Every story unfolds in its own way. Don’t think yours has to play out like the ones around you.”
“I guess deep down I was worried that I couldn’t be enough for her, that I don’t have anything real to offer her. But I do. I can support her. I can love her for who she is even if she’s not sure who that is right now.” He could give her more. He could stop pretending he didn’t need help and treat her like the partner she should be. She wasn’t some pretty thing to look at. She was strong. He should have learned that from the moment they’d met. There was no need to save Brynn from herself. She didn’t need a knight in shining armor. She needed a hand to hold, a mind to bounce ideas off of, a soul to share her own with.
“Now you are talking sense, son.” His father sat back with a sigh.
Major let a moment pass, the silence sitting peacefully between them. His father had put it plainly to him. Time was a gift, but time didn’t stop. “Is it time for me to let go?”
His father’s hand came out, patting Major’s. “It’s time for you to ask me the question. You haven’t, you know. Not directly. I’ve been okay with it because I’ve always known in the end you would make the right decision.”
