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“I wasn’t sure what to say,” I replied. “We didn’t even tell Libby for quite some time.”
“I’m your best friend!” she retorted. “I wouldn’t expect you to just run out and tell his kid that you’re dating, but it’s not like I’m his kid and would get confused if it didn’t work out. I feel like if you were going to tell anyone at all, it would be me.”
“That’s just it,” I told her. “It wasn’t something that we told anyone. It was a secret just between him and me until we were both sure of what we wanted. Then once we decided that, we told Libby, and I told him I was going to tell you when you came for a visit. I would have done it sooner, but I wanted to be face-to-face with you when I did. I don’t know, maybe because you’re my best friend.”
“I get it,” Krissy replied with a sigh. “I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing, I guess. I don’t know. I’m still a little hurt you didn’t tell me earlier though.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just, I don’t know. I felt so strongly about him, and I didn’t want to hear any of the doubts anyone had over the situation. I know there’s going to be some issues with things like my dad being his best friend, or the fact that I’m so much younger than he is. I know there are a lot of couples who have age gaps, but there are still going to be the comments we’ll have to deal with from friends or family who don’t understand.”
“I’ll forgive you for not telling me,” Krissy said. “I don’t know if I would have been entirely accepting of you dating him if you had told me that’s what you were doing.”
“What!” I gasped, surprised she’d claim such a thing after she’d just acted hurt. I would have have trusted her to keep the secret and be happy for me.
“What do you mean, what?” she asked. “Those two reasons you just said aren’t anything to just ignore. I’m not saying that you should take them as truth and not be with him, but you should proceed with caution here.”
“You’re the one who told me to fuck him!” I told her. “If I was doing this just because I was taking your advice, then this would be all your fault! So how can you tell me now that you would have some reservations about it?”
“Because I said you should sleep with him, not that you should date him. It doesn’t take a scientist to see that he’s attractive, and sure, I think you should have your fun if you can get some. That’s not the same thing as dating him! If you’re with him, likewithhim, then you’re going to be a stepmom to Libby and like, you’ll have to tell your dad that you’re now his best friend’s partner. That’s won’t be easy.”
I shrugged. “I thought it would have been a lot easier telling you than it was, too, but look how long it took me to tell you the truth. And that isn’t because I don’t trust you or thought you would tell anyone, it’s just that I didn’t want to risk how I felt about what we were doing.”
“But now what?” Krissy asked. “You know I’m not going to say anything. But, if you told Libby and you told me, and clearly you and Neils are on the same page with dating, then how long are the both of you going to let this go on before you come clean to your dad? I feel like it’s going to be a hard enough pill to swallow considering the relationships between you guys that he’s going to be even angrier if you put off telling him, even if it was to protect his feelings.”
I nodded. “I know. I’ve been thinking about that all the rest of yesterday and through today. It’s part of the reason I wanted to be able to talk to you while we were out here. I wanted to get your advice on how to move forward, and more than that, I wanted to hear what you really think of me and this relationship.”
“I think you should do what makes you happy, and even if your dad doesn’t approve, you’re the one who needs to be happy, not him. And even with that being said, I would suggest you tell him before too long. Maybe even while we are still down here like you did with me. I don’t know your dad well enough to say so, but I would think it would go over better if the two of you sat him down and told him about this together, rather than you having to make the call and telling him that way.”
“I guess I didn’t think of doing that,” I admitted. “I always thought it was going to be either Neils or me who was going to tell him what was going on, but maybe if the two of us were together when we talked to him that would make a difference in how he views this. Knowing Dad the way I do, I don’t know if that difference is going to be in my favor, but it could be worth a shot.”
“You might even be in a place where you have to worry more about damage control than you do about presenting it to him in a way he’s going to be happy about.”
“Damage control,” I grumbled. “Great.”
“It could be worse,” she said. “I know it’s not great right now, but it could be worse. Basically, your dad is going to have to realize and accept that you’re an adult and can make your own decisions. If you don’t see eye to eye about the person you’re dating, that is your business, not his.”
“I don’t see how that’s a good thing,” I said.
“I’m trying to say that you need to go into this with the attitude that you’re the one who makes this decision even if he hates the idea. It’s not up to him to tell you who you can or can’t date. At the same time, I know you don’t want to start a fight with him, so try to make it happen soon, so even if he does get pissed at you over this, you don’t have to tell him that it’s been going on behind his back. That could just make it worse.”
“Why do you have to be so right all the time?” I asked with another groan. “I’ll talk to Neils when we get back tonight and tell him I want us to sit down with Dad together. I’m sure he’ll like the idea better than just one of us having to do the job, and he might want to even do it tonight.”
“Might as well if he’s ready to do it,” she said. “The sooner you get it out there, the more likely your dad is going to appreciate that you saved it to tell him face to face rather than doing it over the phone where you could easily hang up on him if you didn’t like how the conversation was going.”
“Right,” I said with another sigh. “I want to show him that I respect him, but I also want to show him that I’m my own person and can date who I want to date. It feels like the two things contradict themselves, but I feel that I have to do it.”
“I’d offer to be in there with you, but I don’t think that would help much,” she offered.
“No,” I shook my head. “I think this is something that we have to just face and get over with. It’s not ever going to be a comfortable situation, so let’s have it out.”
“Good,” Krissy said. “I’m here for you.”
“Thanks.”
We picked up our pace to catch up with Libby. She was nearly back to the front of our tour and heading toward the exit, and I didn’t want her to try to get on the ferry alone. We had more than enough time to get there before it headed back to Key West, but I was already getting anxious to get back to the house and talk to Neils about this.
“Wait up, Lib!” I shouted, waving to her to make sure she saw us.
She waved back, but seemed impatient as we caught up.
