Page 217 of Sing with Me

“Then pray about it,” Dad said. “God will show you.”

“Show me, Lord.” Diehl blinked. “I love her so much.”

“Have you told her?” Dad asked.

“Several times.”

“How did she respond?”

“She doesn’t show it as well as I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“She compartmentalizes everything. I found out today that she’s been so busy…” Diehl sighed. “I have asked too much of her.”

“If she really loves you, it will eventually show.” Dad lifted a finger. “Mark my words. One of these days, it’s going to come out. She can’t compartmentalize love forever.”

“Meanwhile, what do I do? My heart is aching.”

“Well, if I were you, Son, I’d figure out how to be in every single compartment so she sees me all the time.”

“You would?” Diehl nearly laughed.

“Yeah. Why not? Out of sight, out of mind, right? Give her the opportunity to tell you she loves you—or not—by being everywhere.”

Could Diehl take that advice? He wasn’t Jared—the guy who was in-your-face everywhere. However, he appreciated Dad sitting down with him and listening to his problems. “I’m going to think about what you told me. Thanks, Dad.”

“More importantly, you need to do some forensics on your life. Pastor Fizz at Midtown helped me sort through some issues I had—baggage from my past—so if you want a good counselor, he’s it.”

“What baggage from your past, Dad?”

“Nothing that concerns you.” Dad reached for his phone. “I just emailed you his direct number. Call him any time. He might be free tomorrow because I canceled my appointment with him at eleven o’clock.”’

“Why did you cancel?”

“Golf.”

“Seriously, Dad?”

“Tournament this weekend.”

“Tomorrow is only Wednesday. Last I checked it’s not the weekend.” Diehl tried not to laugh.

“Preliminaries.” Dad used his cane to prop himself up. “Your Mom and I will watch the kids whenever you need some alone time with Skye.”

“I appreciate that. Skye and I have a lot to talk about.”

“Well, that too.” Dad chuckled. “Don’t you worry about Brooks Investments. It’s going to be just fine. Your suggestion to bring Riley in is brilliant. Already she has found ways to improve the system to be more efficient. Twenty-first century, here we come.”

Diehl didn’t have the heart to tell him that they were already well into the century.

“Have you heard from Mark Gill?” Dad asked.

“This morning. I forgot to tell you.” Luigi Bellini had signed away his rights as father to the kids. It had cost Diehl a lot of money, but he didn’t care. “Mark suggested I formally adopt Elisa and Ethan so we don’t have any problems later on.”

“An overkill, in my humble opinion. Your name is on their birth certificates. But if Mark says so, do it.”

“Just in case, you know.”

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