Page 76 of Two Friends in Marriage
“You didn’t even try!You didn’t need to be perfect, but you should have been there.So many times over the years, you just weren’t present.Not even for my fucking wedding!”
“Don’t swear, Jane.”
“Now you want to parent me?”I know I sound like a teenager, but I can’t seem to help it.I drop my voice.“Once upon a time, you were a pretty good dad.After Mom died, you tried your best for a few years.We had no other family here, and I looked up to you.You were my world.And then… Were you like this with Peyton as she got older?I don’t think it was quite the same, maybe because you had her mother to guide you.But why couldn’t you have let her come to my wedding?She wanted to be there, and it meant so much to me…”
Where am I going with this?I don’t even know.I’m just spewing out all the things that had been left unsaid for so long.It probably won’t help, but it’s a relief to actually say what’s on my mind.
And then I hear a key in the lock.
Chapter 26
Evan
“YoumustbeEvan.”Jane’s father rises from the table to shake my hand.He has salt-and-pepper hair, and he’s shorter and slighter than my own father.
The atmosphere is tense, and my wife’s hand trembles on the table.She’s abandoned her chicken, and it’s not like her to leave food half-eaten.Her dad’s plate, in contrast, has multiple bones.
What did he do to her?
I curse the plane for not taking off on time.I should have been here.
“Nice to meet you,” I say, though my tone must convey that I certainly don’t think this isnice.
After releasing the older man’s hand, I glance back at my wife, and when her eyes meet mine, I know what happened.She got angry and told her father all the things she’s kept bottled up, and his response was, once again, disappointing.
I can’t remember the last time I raised my voice, but I’d relish the opportunity to show how little I think of him, this man who wasn’t the father that my wife needed.It kills me to think of how much he failed her.
However, I know Jane wants to fight this battle by herself.So, I’ll support her, but I won’t interfere.
“Your food is on the counter,” she says to me.
I lift an upside-down bowl to reveal two grilled chicken thighs.I dump some salad on the plate, then sit down at the table.I’m starving, though I’m not in the mood to eat now.
Under the table, Jane’s right hand finds my left, and she squeezes.I squeeze back.
She doesn’t say anything more.
After a long silence, her father stands up.“I should get going.”
My wife appears relieved by this comment, so I stand up with her, and we follow him to the door.He puts on his shoes and grabs his bags, then hesitates with his hand on the doorknob.
“Take good care of her,” he says to me, and I wonder if he has any regrets.He ought to, but I’m not sure he does.
He leaves without waiting for us to respond.
Once he’s gone, Jane starts to tremble, and I wrap her in my arms.It’s a relief to finally touch her properly after being away for two nights.
“I’ve got you,” I say.“I’m here.What do you need?”
She just burrows against me.Seeing her like this makes me ache.
Once she’s stopped shaking, I lead her to the living room, where I sit down on the couch and pull her close.I don’t want to stop touching her, and she seems to feel the same way.
“He was bragging about his other kids,” she says at last.“He talked about going to Kaden’s badminton games.Wishing Peyton hadn’t decided to go to university away from home.I couldn’t take it anymore, after he didn’t come to our wedding.”Tears start leaking out of her eyes.“He said I was so independent, I didn’t need him, I pushed him away as a teenager… I told him I just wanted him to try.”
She looks uncharacteristically fragile, and it wells up in me suddenly, this need to tell her how I feel.The need for her to know that even if her father doesn’t love her the way he should…
I don’t wipe her tears away, but when sobs are no longer racking her body, I push her damp hair back from her face and say, “I love you.”
