silence. His face is soft with love. I can feel the tenderness
between us. I can feel that he’s proud of me. There’s nothing
bad there.
All the things I’ve feared for so long turned out not to
be true. I might lose some friends. Maybe my brother won’t
take the news so well, although he probably really won’t care
what I do with my life, because he’s just like that. I know I
won’t lose my job. Maybe I’ll have to fight to hold onto my
position, to keep people’s respect, but that’s okay. It’s easier to
fight it knowing who I am than to fight who I am.
I lived with ghosts for so long. Adley has her own
ghosts. Her own pain. Maybe she’ll never move past it. Maybe
she truly isn’t ready. Dad’s right. We didn’t plan this. It kind of
just happened. For me, it was a great thing. I just assumed it
was for her too, and that was a terrible thing to do. You can
meet the right person at the wrong time. I always heard that
and thought it was ridiculous. Now I know that it’s achingly
true. Fear is a hardwired response. Flight is instinct. Dad was
absolutely right.
It’s in us to run. But it’s also in us to fight, and he’s
right about that too. I’m not ready to give up. I’ll accept what I
have to, but I’m not going to make any more assumptions
about what that is.
I’m generally pretty bad at talking. At feelings. At the
artsy side of my brain.
Since I met Adley, I know that’s not really true. I’ve
come a long way in such a short time, and I’m not done yet.
“I have a beautiful, smart, caring daughter who puts so
much good into the world. What more could a father ask for?”
Dad suddenly says, surprising the heck out of me.