Page 12 of Two Friends in Marriage
As we exit, we look at each other and shake our heads.We’re not going to put in an offer, and I sigh as I head to Evan’s car down the street.I’ve just put on my seatbelt when my phone rings.It’s my father, so I answer.
“Hi, Dad,” I say.
“Jane, I’m so sorry.”
My heart rate kicks up.“What’s wrong?Did something happen to Suzanne or the kids?”
“Ah, no.”
“To you?”
“I’m fine, but I can’t come to the wedding.”
I shouldn’t be surprised.My dad has been disappointing me for over two decades; he missed both my high school and university graduations.Yet I assumed he would at least show up for my wedding, even though he has to fly across the country.How silly of me.
“I have to go to Denver for an important meeting,” he explains.
It’s three months away, though.Shouldn’t there be something he could do?Change the date or ask someone else to go instead of him?
But I don’t say that.
“I understand.”My voice is flat.
On the other end of the phone, my father makes more excuses that sound like gibberish to me.I know that if Peyton or Kaden gets married, he’ll be there no matter what.
I don’t point that out.I just nod and murmur a few words until he ends the call.Then I set aside the phone and look vacantly out the windshield.
“What’s up?”Evan asks.
“He’s not coming to the wedding.Business meeting.”
“What?Do you want me to call back and yell at him?Can’t he—”
I hold up a hand.“Don’t bother.He’s made up his mind.”
I appreciate the offer, though, and the idea of Evan yelling makes me chuckle.I’ve never heard him raise his voice.
He reaches across the console and puts a hand on my shoulder.My eyes suddenly brim with tears, but I don’t let them fall.It’s not worth crying over my father; I’ve known that for a long, long time.
I look down at my hands.“I know it’s hard to believe, but in the years after my mom died, he really was a good father.It was like the two of us against the world.He never missed an event.He made sure I had therapy.Maybe that doesn’t sound remarkable, but I don’t know how many fathers in the nineties would have done that for their grieving kids.And then…”
Puberty was simply too much for him.He couldn’t handle the fact that I needed bras or pads.He gave me cash and told me to figure it out, which once led to me sobbing in Shoppers until a friend’s mom found me.He thought I didn’t need him anymore, but I did, just in a different way.
I shake my head, and Evan doesn’t press.He leans closer to me and runs his fingers through my hair in a soothing manner.
“Is this okay?”he asks.
“Yeah.It’s nice.”I can’t remember the last time someone touched my hair like this.It’s as if he’s stroking some of the pain away.Tension leaves my body as I relax against him, and a few tears slide down my cheeks.
“I can’t promise I’ll never disappoint you,” he says.“I wish I could, but I can’t.But I’ll do my best to always be there when you need me, and if I screw up, just remind me that I promised you.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
And from then on, I feel like we’re truly engaged.We’re not sleeping together or exchangingI love yous—in fact, no man has ever said that to me before—but our relationship means something.
Chapter 4
Evan
