Page 107 of Child of Mine

“I’ve missed you, Dad,” I whisper.

“I’ve missed you too, sweetheart.”

Chapter 23

“WHAT DOES DON REALLY WANT—LOVE? SUCCESS? Tune in this week to find out onAll His Children!”TV Today,August 1989

HENRY

Bella and her father set off to confront the blackmailer long before business hours, so Joe isn’t in yet when I show up at the NBS offices. I don’t want to leave Bella hanging in case she calls in, but there are too many memories in this building for me to just sit and wait. Instead, I head up 8thAvenue to kill time and do some thinking while I walk.

Interestingly, meeting Joe yesterday didn’t leave me with regrets about my career trajectory. On the contrary, if I’d followed the path I was on, I’d be stuck in an office making phone calls and taking meetings. I’d be making a hell of a lot more money, but I wouldn’t be hands-on and I wouldn’t have the creative opportunities that GBH promises.

What I do still regret, and what keeps running through my mind, is the last conversation I had with my dad. The last time I saw him face-to-face, neither of us were smiling. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. He found me in my childhood bedroom packing up to fly back to New York. He knew when my flight was. He’d offered to drive me to the airport, but he wouldn’t stop needling me about my choices.

“Seems like you just got here and now you’re going back,” he said.

“I have to work, Dad.” I was hungover from going out with high school buddies the night before and antsy to get back. At least one of my rivals had been working through the holiday, so my voice was chock full of condescension.

“Life’s not just about work.”

My dad’s irritatingly patronizing tone poked the bear that was my big fat ego. Yet I couldn’t look at him as I lit into him. “Youwork all the time—all of you do. You people don’t talk about anything else. I don’t even know who or what you’re talking about half the time. It’s like I’m not a part of the family anymore.”

“You’re the one who left.” The accusation made me wonder if it was how he’d always felt, if he’d just been humoring me. If his so-called support had a time limit. “You can come back anytime, join the family business.”

“I can’t if I want to have a career in television.” My eyeroll was probably epic, and I’m sure I huffed out a ridiculously superior sigh. But then he spat out the thing that pierced my heart.

“I regret the day I gave you that camera.”

And he just kept twisting it.

“You’re living in an apartment with I don’t know how many other guys when you could work for us and have your own house down here. You could make commercials for us. Start your own family. Be a part of this family. You’ve been gone so long people forget we have a youngest son, and I’m wondering too.”

I couldn’t speak.

“I’m sorry if what we built isn’t enough for you.”

“Well, I’m sorry if what I’ve worked so hard for isn’t enough for you,” I finally said.

“But what has it gotten you? You’re nowhere near doing what you want. You’re just spinning your wheels up there, wasting time and money.”

I was done. “You know what, you don’t have to drive me to the airport. I’ll just take a cab.”

The last words I ever said to my dad were “I don’t need anything from you.”

* * *

BELLA

I’m high on hope by the time I reconnect with Henry in midtown and sign new documents proffered by his friend Joe, which, miraculously, both free and protect me.

“Something that should’ve happened the first time around,” Joe says with a rueful nod.

As I shake his hand, I say, “Good to know that Shakespeare wasn’t right about all the lawyers.” It’s clear that he doesn’t get the reference, so I add, “In one of theHenryplays, ironically, a character declares, ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’”

Thankfully, Joe laughs and wishes us well.

As promised, Henry has checked out of the hotel and loaded up the car, so we’re on the road to Boston in time to make it back to GBH before the end of the day. My voice fills the car as I catch him up on what happened this morning, both with Nancy and my dad. It’s not until we cross into Connecticut that I notice Henry hasn’t contributed much to the conversation.

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