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That’s what she was telling herself, but she didn’t believe it. This felt…
The door opened and in the blink of an eye she was face to face with a man who she didn’t recognize but looked familiar. He stood about the same height as Glenn but had a much smaller frame. He had salt-n-pepper hair, and his face was wrinkled.
She blinked and waited for some sort of epiphany to come to her. A knowing. A recognition. But none did.
“Hello, we’re looking for Mason Wells.” Glenn’s smooth voice was like a soothing balm to her soul.
The man lifted the glasses that were hung around his neck and as soon as he put them on and he glanced over to her, she knew. This was the man that had packed up and left his family. It was his eyes. They were Audrey’s eyes. The same almond shape. The same honey color. This was her father. There was no doubt in her mind.
All the color drained out of his face as he whispered when he saw her. “Vivi.”
Vivi. She’d forgotten that’s what her father had called her. It was also what Nonna called her. They were the only two people who had ever given her that nickname.
So this was it. This was the man she’d been looking for. She continued waiting to feel something. Anything. Anger. Happiness. Relief. Sadness. Something.
But she felt nothing. She was numb.
He continued staring at her like she wasn’t real. Like she was a figment of his imagination.
“Hey, Dad. Long time no see,” she said flatly.
“Is it really you?”
“Unless you have another redheaded daughter named Vivien, yes, it’s really me.” Whenever she was uncomfortable, she resorted to sarcasm. It was her safe place.
“Sorry.” He blinked and shook his head. “Come in, come in.”
She started to walk into the house and once again felt Glenn’s hand rest on her back. It was exactly the reassurance that she needed.
The interior of the cabin looked much different than the exterior. It was tidy. Clean. And surprisingly bright. The far wall was floor to ceiling windows with a breathtaking view of the ocean.
“Please, sit down. Can I get you a drink? Something to eat?”
“No.” Viv shook her head.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Glenn said as they both lowered onto a sofa.
Her father took a seat across from them in a leather chair. He looked to be out of breath and grabbed a bottle of prescription pills that were sitting beside his recliner. She noticed then that there was quite the array of clear orange containers with white pharmacy labels on them.
He twisted open the white cap, threw a couple pills in his mouth, and took a swig from the coffee cup beside him.
“Sorry, I have a bad heart and seeing you is a shock. I never thought this day would come.”
Great. Just what she needed. She finally found her dad and seeing him made him have a heart attack and die. That thought should make her upset, but it actually just irritated her. Since she wasn’t sure how much time she had she figured she’d get right to it.
“Why did you leave and never come back?”
He took a deep breath and coughed, then settled back into his chair.
“I left because I was a drug addict. Your mom asked me to go because she knew I wasn’t ready to get clean and she didn’t want my addiction to scar you girls.”
Viv let out a forced laugh. “So you thought abandoning us would be the better option?”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I was not in any state of mind to make that sort of a decision. But your mom was right. It wasn’t just my behavior; I was running with a dangerous crowd and would have put you girls and your mother in danger.”
That explained why he’d left, but not why he’d stayed away. “Did you know Mom died when we were teenagers? Did you ever think to look us up? Check on us? Make sure we were okay?”
He took another breath. “No.”
