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“A situationship.”
“Yes! That! What is that? Someone called in for advice and said they were in a situationship for two years. Two years, Yara! Can you believe that? She said the guy told her he wasn’t ready to commit to just dating. I thought we committed to marriage. I didn’t know we had to commit to just calling someone yours.”
“I think people made all of these different words and levels to dating because they’re trying to protect themselves from getting hurt.”
Daddy huffed and waved it off. “They made a mistake. People build up brick walls, going in wary and expecting the worst, instead of placing gates that are still safe but open up to at least give others a chance to come inside. That’s the problem with your generation. Too many walls, not enough fences.”
“That’s a good point.”
“And don’t get me wrong—some people are dangerous. Some people, like a certain ex-husband I won’t mention, don’t care how they hurt others. That’s where discernment comes in. That’s when you close your gate and bolt lock it. But I like to believe that most people are just looking for love and to be loved in a world that’s forgotten what true love is.”
Matthew Kingsley, always with the words of wisdom. It’s probably where Willow got that trait from.
“It is scary, though,” I countered. “To put your heart on the line.”
“Yes, it is. Especially after you’ve been burned,” he agreed. “But you know what’s even scarier?”
“What’s that?”
“Missing out on the soothing balm that new love can bring. If I stopped believing in love after your biological mother walked out, I would’ve never met your mama. We wouldn’t have Avery or Willow. Could you imagine a world without their hearts?”
“Not for a second.”
“Exactly. So that’s why, even after the burns, we try again. Because love brings miracles we’d never dreamed of.”
My father. The hopeless romantic. Even after all the hardships he’s faced.
“You know, he who we don’t speak of showed up to my house not that long ago,” he mentioned.
“Oh? Why?”
“He wanted me to talk to you and try to convince you to give him another chance. He knows how close we are and figured you'd give him a shot if he asked me for my approval. Which is funny because the dummy didn’t even ask my permission for marriage.”
I laughed. Daddy never got over Cole not coming to him about the proposal.
“What did you tell him?” I questioned.
“I told him I’d talk to you. And since I’m a man of my word, this is me doing exactly that. This is me talking to you. Now, you listen to me, Yara, and you listen closely.” He leaned in and said, “Don’t you ever go back to the things that cut you so deeply. They still have the knives in their cabinets that they used before to hurt you. Even if they smile and pretend they don’t. And sometimes, they even sharpened them more.”
I smiled. “No back steps.”
“We move forward.” He shifted in his chair and grabbed a few orange slices. “But this complicated thing of yours with Alex.”
My cheeks heated from the conversation shifting to Alex.
He continued. “I like him for you.”
I laughed. “What? Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t like any men for us.”
“That’s true, but I like Alex. He has a good foundation.”
“What do you mean?”
“I worked with him on the restaurant for months and months. I watched people harass him, bully him, and try to run him out of town. Still, he kept building. He kept persevering. If that doesn’t speak of a person’s character, then I don’t know what does. You need a person like that. A person who won’t quit when things get hard. A person who won’t have a wandering eye when you’re on a down slope. A person who builds stronger things when the world expects him to crumple.”
“Daddy—”
“Every relationship has ebbs and flows, Yara. Ups and downs. You aren’t always at the peak, in la-la land of the honeymoon stage. Sometimes, you’re in the trenches. That’s why you need someone with a strong foundation. Someone who loves you enough to get to tomorrow without hurting you even if they don’t like you today.”
I wanted that feeling.
I wanted that level of trust in another person, but sometimes I wondered if true love even existed. Because with Cole, I loved him through every storm. It just took me a while to realize it had to be a mutual love. I also realized that the one creating said storms was the one I was trying to shield from the rain.
“Let me be clear, I like him, Yara. I do. But don’t get me wrong. If he’s not the one for you, then he’s not the one. All I’m saying is don’t be afraid to try something new. You never know where something new can lead you.”
