Page 52 of Because of Them

I still wonder if I’m cut out to run such a massive job, let alone the whole company. But Dad seems to think I’m doing alright, even with all the questions I’ve had to ask him, and Noah tells me I’ve done good. So, maybe there is hope for me yet.

Stepping onto a lone patch of grass still fighting the muddy sludge of the rest of the block, my father stares across the lot at me. His shoulders hunch against the wind. I shouldn’t have brought him here for this conversation. Should have met him in his office where he is most at ease. Maybe the second and third parts of the conversation would go down a little easier.

My fingers twitch against the hem of my shirt as I try to find the courage to tell him everything. I shouldn’t have waited this long, but the longer I put it off, the harder it gets.

“It’s ah, not for me.” I cough the words out before I can back out.

Unfolding his arms, Dad slips his hands into his pockets briefly before folding them across his chest again. His weight shifts between his legs and even with the distance he put between us I can see the wrinkles between his brow deepen.

Off at the back of the lot, Baxter howls. He runs back, tail between his legs as my parent’s fluffball chases him down.

“Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have brought her here.” My dad growls at the sight of his usually pristine white dog. Her fur is splattered with mud, just like Baxter paws.

“It’ll wash off, I’ll bring her back to your house in the tray of the ute, Baxter loves riding back there.”

“She hates the tray.”

“She’ll survive.”

He scoffs.

“So, if the house isn’t for you … don’t tell me it’s for a girl.”

I roll my eyes but my breaths come quick and my temples throb. Audrey is so much more than just a girl. She always has been. And I’m not dumb enough to imagine she’ll never get sick of me. One day, when the babies are born and her pregnancy goggles are gone, she’ll realise she deserves so much more, but I’ll soak in every moment she lets me spend with her until then.

“Her name is Audrey.” Hearing her name, even from my own mouth, helps chip away at the unease I had been feeling. My shoulders relax and I stand up a little taller. “She is … wonderful. She’s ambitious and caring and thoughtful and she is the most amazing mum to the most incredible little girl and …” I trail off unsure how to say the next piece. The words get stuck in my throat so I push them down and let more of my love for Audrey spill out instead. “I wake up every morning and I think of her and I wonder what I did right for her to come into my life. Because honestly, Dad, I don’t deserve her. She deserves somuch more than I can give her, but at least for right now, she wants to share her time with me. I will count those blessings every day for as long as I have them.”

My father tips his head to the side, a hand creeping out from under his arm to clutch his chest. A hesitant smile breaks through his stern gaze.

“You’re in love.”

My cheeks puff with my smile. “Yeah.”

“Is she worth a house?”

“Dad, she is worth the world.”

He steps over the mud towards me, throwing his arms over my shoulders. He slaps my back with pride, chuckling to himself.

My breath catches. “There’s something else.”

He leans back, his eyebrows rise towards his hairline as he jerks his chin for me to continue.

Now or never.

Sucking in a deep breath, I throw the words out in one long exhale. “She’s pregnant. We are having twins. You’re going to be a Grandad. Yes, it was a shock, and yes, I freaked out, and yes, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’mexcitedand I’m ready.”

They hang in between us, filling the air with my nervous energy and something cold coming from my dad. He closes his eyes, breathing deep into his lungs.

“Dad, say something.”

He doesn’t. He just nods slowly, eyes still closed.

When he finally speaks, it isn’t good or bad or excited or angry. It just … is.

“Twins?”

I nod and he adds, “You’re going to need a big house.”

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