Page 70 of Secrets at Seaside
He sighed. “I don’t know. It’s who I am, I guess. I just want the best for you. But you have to give me credit. I bit my tongue a lot when you were younger. Like when you used to sneak out to go swimming with the girls at the pool. And that summer when you dated Tony Black. And, boy, did I want to say something. Not that I don’t like Tony, but I was afraid you’d get married and follow him around the country instead of going to college. But I bit my tongue then, and you had a great summer. I figured you needed a good time before you hit the books.”
Amy’s breath left her lungs in a rush. She sank down to the dock, her jaw agape. “You…you…knew?”
He laughed. “Honey, how could anyone not know? You two could barely stand to be away from each other that summer.”
“You knew.” She said it more to herself than to him. Tears welled in her eyes. “You never said anything. That summer…you just kept harping about how I would need tohunker downin the fall and I’d have no time for boys and dating.”
“Exactly. That’s why when you two had your little fling, I didn’t say anything. It seemed harmless enough. I never even saw you two kiss. I figured a little infatuation was okay before you hit the books and every minute would matter.”
“A little infatuation.” She shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. Would things have been different if she’d known that he saw what was between them? She mulled that over as he rattled on about how he and the other parents thought their crush was cute and how they were surprised that Jamie and one of the other girls didn’t experience the same thing.
She wanted to yell at him, to tell him that it wasn’t just a crush, that she’d loved Tony with all her heart and that she still did. She wanted to tell him that she’d gone through a miscarriage alone because she was so afraid of disappointing him that she couldn’t stand to tell anyone. But in the end, as she sat alone on the dock with the sun shining down on her and the soothing sounds of water splashing against the boats in the gentle breeze, she didn’t say any of that. That was her business. Tony’s business. It was their private heartache, and her father knowing about it wouldn’t change what they’d experienced.
She drew in another deep breath, feeling as though she were living on them lately, and said what she’d been determined to say all along.
“Dad, I love you, but from here on out we need to move forward without discussing the intricacies of my business, okay?”
“Okay, princess. I promise to try, but I’m an old dog, and you know…learning new tricks and all that.”
She smiled. “Yeah. I know. I’ll cut you some slack. A tiny amount.”
“Okay. Fair enough. I admire the courage it took for you to call me.”
“Thank you. It did take courage.” She didn’t realize how much until now. “Dad. One more thing. I’m marrying Tony.”
“You’re…”
“Marrying Tony Black. I love him. I’ve always loved him. And if you have anything negative to say about it, don’t. Because it doesn’t matter to me if you don’t think he’s good enough or if you think I should be with some—”
“Amy, stop.”
She silenced at the paternal tone he rarely took with her.
“I love Tony like I love the other kids. Uh, the other men and women. Not kids anymore, I suppose. I have nothing against him. He’s always been a nice, respectable person.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, he is.”
“I just didn’t want you to follow him at eighteen. I wanted you to get your degree and become self-reliant.”
“That’s funny, considering how much you hover over every decision I make.” She couldn’t believe she’d said it out loud, and she had no idea how the words escaped without her brain stopping them first.
“Wow. How long have you been holding that in, princess?”
She was relieved to hear a smile in his voice. “Um, probably for more years than I want to admit.” She felt like a giant weight had fallen from her shoulders, and she couldn’t wait to see what walking around without it would feel like.
“Right. Okay, that’s fair, too. You are self-reliant, Amy. As I said, I was there for guidance, but you have built your own business. You’re capable, and I realize I need to back off. What matters now is this. Are you happy?”
“Very.”
“That’s all I ever wanted for you. So I guess it wasn’t an infatuation.”
“Not even close,” she admitted.
“I didn’t even know you were dating. How long have you been seeing each other? Or I guess how long have you been in love is a better question.”
Amy thought long and hard about how to respond. Seeing each other?Every day and night in my dreams. In love?
“Forever.”
