My dad smiles and nods. His eyebrows go up. “Featured artist, huh? That’s…quite the accomplishment, Lucy. I’m proud of you.”
A moment ago, I was soaring high, high above the clouds. Now I’m merely gliding a few hundred feet above the earth. All a girl wants most in this world is her father’s approval, and while my dad is doing his best to give it right now, it’s not hard to see that he’s still unhappy with me, and that’s getting in the way him being truly proud.
“Come on, Dad,” I say. “Can’t you just…be happy for me? I mean—I know you’re mad about me lying to you and everything that happened, but this is areallybig deal!”
“I am happy for you, sweetie.” My dad smiles. The way he’s trying to force it just hurts me even more.
“You know, if Titus was here,he’dbe honest with me.”
That gets him. In an instant, my dad’s on his feet and glaring at me. I know my dad would never do anything to hurt me, but that doesn’t mean the anger in his eyes can’t scare me a little bit.
“All I wanted was for you to have a back-up plan—”
“Yeah, a back-up plan, Dad! I know all about it!” I cry out. “I’ve heard it a thousand times. You think maybe I want to live my own life and not the one you want me to live?”
My dad growls, spins, and looks away from me. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and stares at the wall. I can’t tell if he’s done with the conversation or if he’s waiting for me to do something, so after a moment, I go over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Dad, youknowTitus. You know he’ll take care of me.”
My dad sighs, then slowly turns and looks at me. This time, I see a truth in his face, an acceptance, that brings a softness over me, quelling the anxiety that’s been seizing me since dinner.
He looks down at my baby bump and slowly places a gentle palm against it. “Yes, I guess I do know that, sweetie. I’ve just…I haven’t wanted to accept it.”
“I understand, Dad.” I smile as joy swells within me like a fountain. “And I’m sorry Titus and I kept it from you for so long.”
My dad shrugs and waves a hand in the air. “What’s done is done. But Iamproud of you.” He smiles. “What do you say we go pick up a nice, big, chocolate cake and ice cream?”
Epilogue
Titus
Four Years Later…
Today is a special day.It’s the anniversary of the day that I came home alive from a deployment that could have ended my life. A deployment that when I first took it had me thinking about all the things I’d miss if I never made it home again: lounging in a nice movie theater, a barbeque with Dougie, my truck, a good American cheeseburger…
What I never could have imagined was that if I’d died over there, I never would have made it back to fall in love with the woman who is now my everything, my soul, and the mother of my son.
So I always remind my gorgeous wife that today isherday, and that surviving my deployment was the ice-cream sundae, and she was the earth-shattering cherry on top.
I’m holding her now, my arm wrapped around her to protect her from the mild evening chill as we walk to the car. As a little surprise, I’ve hired a babysitter and taken her out to her favorite restaurant for dinner. And my God does she look stunning.
Of course that’s nothing new; my wifealwayslooks stunning, but tonight she’s wearing an elegant off-white dress that hugs her body just right, showing off her curves but in a very classy way, complete with a pair of chic white heels that clap down the sidewalk as she walks beside me. It’s not too crowded tonight, but I know for a fact that every man we pass is stealing a glance at my wife—even if he’s with a date of his own. And it’s moments like this that I know I’m the luckiest man in the world.
“Did you enjoy your meal?” I ask as we take our seats in the car.
“Mmmm.” Lucy smiles up at me, a look of pure contentment on her face. “Delicious. You’re the best, you know that?”
I chuckle, lean down, and kiss her on her lips, which still taste a little bit like the chocolate cake we shared for dessert.
“No, you,” I reply as I start our drive home.
To anyone else watching us right now, we’d probably come off as obnoxious and cringe-worthy, but I don’t care. Not one bit. I have my dream life, and I’m living it. Lucy is a highly successful artist, just like I thought she would be. She’s doing shows all over, mostly headlining, selling her work and doing commissions, and is a well-known name and continuing to grow. Dougie and I managed to repair our friendship too. I have to thank Lucy for that. She was the one who went to her father and spoke to him and got him to even think about talking to me again. I have to admit that our conversation was rough and may have involved some yelling, but in the end, we managed to heal the wound that had been created between us.
I park in the garage when we get home, and the two of us head inside where Trisha, the babysitter, is on the couch watching Euphoria with the volume low. She looks up when we come in.
“Hey!” she whispers. “Ollie’s asleep upstairs. He didn’t last long after you two left.”
“That makes sense,” I chuckle. “He always does like to pretend he’s gonna stay up all night.”