Darrell addresses the room, but Dawn steps in front of him to create a defensive wall between him and the rest of their guests.
“Well, dad, it's nice to know what you think of my friends and me. But like I said, I really don't care. Not anymore,” she informs him. “And if we’re handing out unsolicited advice, maybe you should pay attention to your own marriage as opposed to interfering in mine. Mom has deserved better than you've been giving her for years.”
Darrell bugs his eyes at his daughter. “You think I'm the shitty husband? I came out of the field for your mama! And I moved us to the East Coast to make sure he didn't get his grips into you again.”
“I never asked you to do that,” Dawn shoots back. “Just like I never asked you to plant that camera on me back in high school without my consent, no matter what you put in those reports. And guess what, Dad. Now, I’m an adult. I am free to make my own decisions and choices without you trying to drag me out of my own damn party. So you need to leave. Now.”
Dawn's father opens his mouth to protest, but before he can, Dawn says, “Thank you for coming to my baby shower. Maybe if you apologize to Victor, I will invite you to the wedding too. Maybe.”
“You can’t talk to me like that…” Darrell starts to say.
“Mom,” Dawn cuts her father off and takes her mother by the hands. “I love you so much. Please come and visit Victor and me after the baby is born. Alone.”
“I will. I don't care what your husband does. Look at this house! The other Korean halmonis at my church will die when they see it on Instagram,” Dawn's mother answers, pinching her daughter’s cheek. She then glares at her husband. “Let's go, Darrell.”
“Now hold up, doll,” Darrell protests again. “I'm not going anywhere! Not until I talk some sense into this daughter of ours.”
Unfortunately for Darrell, Victor isn’t at all committed to giving him choices. He motions to Phantom, and they each take one of Darrell’s arms to escort him to the door, per Dawn’s command.
“Thank you for coming,” Victor signs after they push him through the open doorway. “You know, Darrell, my man, I’m glad you did this. I was afraid Dawn and I wouldn't be able to surmount the bad blood between us. I had planned to work hard to overcome our history for her sake. But turns out I didn't have to do none of that shit. The thing is, I care about your daughter. I don't want to see her hurt. But obviously, you don't give a single fuck about her. So, seriously, man, thanks for doing my job for me. Good looking out.”
Getting the same words he said to Victor in May thrown in his face fills Darrell's expression with petulant rage.
But Victor decides that this time he doesn’t have to listen to whatever Dawn’s father has to say in reply. Trusting that the outside guards will complete the job of escorting him from the grounds, he slams the door in his longtime enemy’s face.
And just like that, all the anger and hatred he'd been carrying toward Dawn’s father all these years fade away.
Darrell is his past, Victor realizes as he makes his way back to the living room.
Dawn…the woman who forgave him. Who helped him understand himself better than he was too scared to before. Who stood up for him against her father.
The woman who chose him in the end, just like he chose her.
Dawn is his future.
31
DAWN
So just to recap, Victor loves me without reservation. I love Victor without reservation. And now we’ve decided to do this life together.
The Friday after that crazy baby shower, we get the opportunity to celebrate our decision in the most delicious way.
Lucy and I made an executive decision to let everyone have the last couple of weeks of December off for the holidays. Also, we figured the Yinz employees could use the extra time to start making plans for the relocation to Rhode Island. That huge move is scheduled for after my maternity leave which I’m now officially on.
Victor's not so officially taking paternity leave, but he’s been delegating a lot more of his stuff these days. Han is back in Hawaii. Phantom’s spending the holidays with his super surprising fiancée. And the household staff, save for a few of the outside guards, were also given the holidays off. So for once, we have the place to ourselves.
I think that's why Victor was so irritated when I insisted that we had to spend the morning decorating our foyer with all the Christmas stuff Yolanda ordered, as opposed to fooling around in our unexpectedly empty house.
Somehow, I forgot how unused to doing anything that remotely resembles domestic work Victor was.