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He led me into his living room, heading straight for a bar. While it was only two in the afternoon, it was obvious in my mind he had been expecting a visit. He took his time pouring two drinks, two whiskeys. As he brought one to me, his features softened somewhat.
I accepted the gesture, just as strangely tongue tied as he was.
“You look good,” he finally said.
“You do as well.”
“Neither one of us are very good liars.”
I laughed. It was something he’d told me a long time ago, even trying to teach me how to become a better one. He’d taught me how effectively a poker face could be used, which I’d done countless times in my business life. It was apparent I’d done so in my personal as well.
“The years have been brutal.”
“I know,” Thomas said. “I am so sorry about Sophia. I never got a chance to tell you that. How’s Zoe?”
“She’s amazing. I have an amazing daughter about to head off to college. And I am terrified.”
Now we laughed together, his eyes misting over. “I was exactly that way with Raven. I wanted her to call every day, but I never told her that. She only knew me as the strict father who never allowed her to have any fun.”
“We had to be that way; our professions required it.”
“Did you ever wonder what it would have been like to be born into a normal family?”
His question was one I’d thought of a lot as a kid. Now? I’d come to an important realization. “Your daughter helped me realize that families are the most important thing in the world. There’s no amount of money or things that can come close to time spent together and laughter.” I looked away, thinking about her bucket list of fun things. I wanted to experience every one of them.
“Isn’t it amazing how much smarter our children can be than we are?” He lifted his glass. “To our kids. May they not become the stupid assholes we did.”
We clinked glasses and for the first time in far too long, we really looked into each other’s eyes.
“I missed you, brother. I’m not going to lie that I wanted you dead, but I missed what we had.”
“I was lost, Arman. I needed to blame the world for everything that happened to me. I was too broken to see how important you and your family were, especially Pops. How’s he doing?”
“Still broken about you, and he hates retirement.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m shocked he allowed you to take the helm.”
“More like forced.”
“I’ve kept up with you guys, you know.”
“Travis mentioned it.”
He seemed somewhat surprised. “Travis was a good man for the most part. He helped me find another path.”
“Until he was lured into the same darkness the two of us continually tried to crawl out of.”
“It’s a part of us, Arman. We can’t run from who our fathers were, which is what I thought I was doing.”
“No, we can’t run. But in embracing our heritage, that doesn’t mean we have to abide by the same rules.”
“You’re right about that.” We stood in silence for a time, but the tension was slowly easing. “So, you’re marrying my daughter.”
“I am.”
“You forced her?”
“I did. Not any longer. She’s free to walk and knows that.”
