I should hold my tongue, but I couldn’t. “But I’ll say this…”
His eyes shifted back to me.
“I’ve seen the way your parents love each other. I’ve watched them together because they’re so cute. The way they say goodbye when they step off the elevator in the morning, the way your father looks at your mother when he comes to her desk, and…I see that she loves you far more than she loves him, which is saying something.”
He looked away, almost embarrassed.
“I imagine that your dad is just like your mom….and he loves you with all his heart.”
He released a heavy sigh, like he knew I was right.
“He probably just wants the best for you, Dex. I’ve gotten to know you during our time working together, and you’re kind, funny, humble, just an all-around good person. You get that from them, I imagine. And I saw the way you leaped into action for Mr. Carlton, the way you saved his life and even went all the way to the hospital to make sure he was okay. I’m not sure why you stepped away from your career, but it seems like that’s still who you are.”
He remained quiet, contemplative.
“Why did you leave?”
He didn’t answer me for a long time. “I lost a patient, a patient who meant a lot to me.”
I didn’t ask for the details because that would be insensitive to ask him to relive that experience. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes shifted, his composure deep and hard. Whether he smiled or looked miserable, he was handsome either way. He was a complex guy with a wide array of emotions, a guy who felt so many things at once because he was empathetic and compassionate.
“It sounds like your father doesn’t want you to give up. That’s what a father does, right? Never gives up on his kids.”
He wouldn’t look at me at all, living in a whole other reality.
I waited for him to look at me again, but it didn’t happen. “And I think he’s right for not giving up on you. He believes in you…your mom believes in you…I believe in you.” I’d lie on an operating table and let him open me up in a heartbeat, because he wasn’t just brilliant, but deeply invested in people. He cared when most people didn’t. His only flaw was that he cared too much.
He shifted his eyes back to me and stared for a long time. Then he abruptly stood up and threw cash on the table. “I’m sorry…there’s somewhere I need to be.” He walked out without looking back.
I turned in my chair and watched him leave, knowing exactly where he was going.
16
Dex
When I approached the front door, I didn’t knock.
It was unlocked, so I stepped inside.
The living room was vacant, and Dad was in the kitchen, the smell of dinner aromatic in the air. He looked up at the sound of the door and stilled when he saw me standing there.
Mom sat at the dining table with a glass of wine next to her open laptop. She stared at me for a few seconds, her expression far easier to decipher than his. Her eyes softened, and she rose from her chair and exited the room by stepping into the hallway that led toward the bedrooms and the gym.
Dad hadn’t moved, and he probably hadn’t even noticed Mom take her leave. The stare lasted for nearly thirty seconds before he dropped his chin and turned off everything on the stove and abandoned what he was doing.
I took a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline, and shut the door behind me.
He was in his sweatpants without a shirt, still having a physique that was just as ripped as mine. When I was growing up, he never walked around like that, but now that I was out of the house, he did whatever felt most comfortable. I’d walked in without even knocking and violated his privacy, and I realized now I shouldn’t have done that. His semi-nakedness didn’t really bother me other than the fact that it was a bit intimidating. He could probably kick my ass if he really wanted to.
He walked up to me and stopped several feet away, staring at me with those dark espresso eyes, that tight jaw, slightly guarded like he didn’t know what I might say. He didn’t know if this would be another brawl or an apology.
I stared at him in the present moment, but the past also flashed across my mind, the way we screamed at each other, the way I said things I shouldn’t have, the way I was never really angry at him…but angry that he wouldn’t let me give up on myself.
With his hands by his sides, he waited for me to speak first. He had the patience of a mountain and would wait for all four seasons to pass before he said a single word.