AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Richard nodded toward a group of cushioned chairs that overlooked the grand staircase and the ballroom. “Do you want to take a seat for a sec? I know you’re needed for the big event soon. Thanks for letting me steal some Amanda time.”
“Mom’s freaking out,” Amanda joked.
“I imagine she is. That’s Susan Sheridan for you.” He sounded sad about it, and not for the first time, Amanda wondered how much Richard regretted the divorce. At one time, Richard and Susan had been thick as thieves— and he just didn’t have that same history with Penelope, even if he did really love her.
As Amanda assembled herself on the cushioned chair, her father on the one opposite, he smiled sincerely and said, “That dress is really something. You look stunning, honey.”
Amanda blushed. “I feel a little bit silly. All eyes will be on me all day long. It’s funny. I normally don’t like all that attention.”
“You deserve the attention today,” Richard told her as he leafed through his breast pocket to remove a small jewelry box, which he passed to Amanda, sheepish.
“What is this?” Amanda asked, slowly removing the top to find an ornate locket in the shape of a heart. It looked vintage, perhaps from fifty to one hundred years ago. She drew it from the soft interior and held it aloft, peering curiously at her father.
“Open it,” Richard beamed.
Amanda nodded and unclipped the opening so that the hinge swung open. Within the locket were two photographs, one on either side of the heart. The one on the left could have been Amanda Harris herself, as the smile, the hair, and even the expression were the exact same. Only the coloring of the photograph told a different story.
“It’s Mom,” Amanda breathed, captivated by the image of her mother so many years ago— perhaps at Amanda’s age.
On the right side of the locket was a photograph of Richard as a young man, as well. He was handsome and intelligent looking, the man who’d easily swept Susan Sheridan off her feet. The faces of the photographs were angled so that they seemed to be looking at one another across the locket. Amanda’s head spun with confusion.
“I’ve never seen this before,” she said.
Richard nodded. “I think your mother and I both forgot about it. I found it behind one of the armoires when I moved it to repaint the bedroom wall.” He swallowed again, then added, “Penelope wasn’t exactly pleased to have it in the house.”
Amanda’s heart thumped violently.What did it mean that her father wanted to give her this?But before she could muster the strength to speak, she heard a burst of footsteps down the hallway. The sound was almost violent and much louder than anything else in the hotel. Amanda popped up, her hand closed around the locket, and peered down the hall to see none other than Sandra! Sandra had stepped out of the elevator or the stairwell and was now running full blast down the hallway. Suddenly, she reached Room 222, stabbed her key through the knob, and tore through the door, out of sight.
“Huh,” Amanda said with a shrug, her thoughts racing. Sandra had looked disheveled, her hair out of its normal bun and her uniform wrinkled. It didn’t seem normal to Amanda that Sandra would be able to go in and out of guestrooms, either, especially when she was pretty sure that the hotel was fully-booked that weekend.Did Sandra know someone staying at the hotel? Was her boyfriend staying there? Was that the reason for the wrinkled clothing?Then again, given the chaos at the hotel, Sandra probably didn’t have time to whip in and out of a lover’s room.
What was it Sandra had said about her boyfriend?The last thing Amanda remembered was Sandra saying just how smitten she was with him. Amanda had felt, at the time, that Sandra had spoken about him as though they were teenagers— but in a naive way, not in a romantic way.
“What was that?” Richard asked.
“This friend of mine works here,” Amanda said as she sat back down, returning her attention to the locket. “From what I can tell from her and Kelli’s panic levels, this weekend has been very difficult for them.”
“First week of the hotel jitters,” Richard said.
“I hope they get the kinks worked out soon.”
Richard was quiet, his eyes still on the locket. He obviously wanted Amanda to say something— something that told him how important the locket still was, even so many years after they’d filled it with photographs. Even so many years after Susan and Richard had signed the divorce papers and decided to get on with their lives without one another.
Amanda’s eyes filled with tears, which she quickly blinked away. She hadn’t thought to bring Kleenex with her.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say,” Amanda breathed because it was true. The sight of these photographs, during a time when her parents had been in love, had stirred her soul.
“I just wanted to tell you that…” Richard stalled, peering out across the grand staircase. “I still remember how powerful that love was. And that it was the greatest gift of my life because it gave me you and Jake. Nothing will take away my memory of that time.”
Amanda nodded, thinking she understood. Her father needed her to carry on this legacy, to know that his love for Susan Sheridan had been something special, something he shouldn’t have thrown away so carelessly.
“Life goes on,” Richard said simply. “And I’m just so glad that your life with Sam will start here, with me in the crowd.”
Amanda leaned forward. “Dad? Can I ask you something?”
Richard nodded.
“Are you happy now? After everything that happened?”
Richard dropped her gaze, as though he wasn’t sure what he wanted to reveal. “I’m happy, honey,” he told her finally. “I’m really happy. I’ve found a new purpose. I’m a new and exhausted father. And life goes on.”
