Chapter 26
D ominic
A few weeks later, my father asks me to meet him for lunch. I try to prepare myself for whatever he’s going to complain about now. Pricing, marketing, schedules, you name it, and he’s bound to criticize me about it.
“Have you told him point-blank that you are hurt by his constant critiques?” Kate asks the night before, after the kids have gone to bed. We’re sitting on the couch, all the lights turned off, and the only light comes from our wood-burning fireplace. Kate commented more than once, when she first began nannying for me, how she always wanted a fireplace, and that she loved the smell of them. Needless to say, I intend to keep as much wood as possible on hand so we can enjoy each other’s company in front of a fire.
“I’m not sure if I’ve ever bluntly told him that he’s hurt me, but he knows I get frustrated with his constant helicoptering.”
“This may not be in the correct audience, but he’s male, Dominic. Sometimes you guys just don’t get things. We can’t insinuate, or suggest, something. We have to state things with extreme specifics so you understand.”
“Are you saying we’re clueless?” I tease, throwing my hand against my chest in fake shock. “You’ve hurt me, Katharine.”
“See? That was specific. Tell your father that!” she laughs. “Seriously, baby. He probably thinks he’s helping. Maybe he thinks you don’t want this job, or that you feel forced into it. He needs to know how happy you are, and that you want him to step away fully.”
“Even if I said it exactly as you did, I don’t know if he’ll respect my wishes. He considers the hotel to be his baby. Clearly he doesn’t believe I can run it without his help,” I murmur as I dig my thumbs into the arch of Kate’s foot. I’ve found my wife melts into a puddle with a good foot massage, and it’s become a nightly staple before we escape to our bedroom and I inevitably break her back.
“I think you should try again, but be blunter. I read a study once that talked about the number of times people have to be exposed to something new before they’re willing to try it. Maybe that applies here,” Kate offers.
“Was the study you read about telling your father to back the fuck up at work, or was it about trying new food?”
Kate blushes and casts her eyes downward with a smirk. “Well, I mean, it could work for different objectives.”
Uh-huh. Sure.
But as I sit down with my father in the Everlasting dining room the following afternoon, I find myself going over the things Kate said. Have I ever specifically stated how I would be more comfortable with him stepping back? Does he know that his constant critiques are hurtful? I’m not sure.
“I saw that we’re booked solid into January for overnight guests,” Dad comments as our drinks are delivered. I sigh, waiting to hear what negative thing he has to say about that. “That’s great. Do we have many holiday parties booked this season?”
I stare at him in shock. Is this a new technique, where he lulls me into a false sense of security, then lambastes me about my sales department? “Uh, yes. We only have one or two evenings in December where the banquet rooms aren’t sold out.”
“What are you doing for extra security and staff this year?” Last year, Luca’s girl, Hannah, and my sister, Arianna, were stuck in a holiday party gone bad, and Arianna was injured. I’m not surprised my dad brought this up .
“We’re scheduling two extra employees for each party, and making sure at least one male is in a room at all times. I’ve also hired two off-duty police officers to work the weekend parties, because those tend to be rowdier.”
“That’s an excellent plan. You ready to get some food?” Dad says, before standing up and walking to the buffet.
What?
I’m left at the table, completely speechless. He’s not going to berate me? Tell me how unprepared I am, or how I put my sister and Hannah at risk last year? This is out of the norm, and unprecedented. Is he having a stroke?
Not realizing I’ve been sitting silently at the table, I jolt when my father returns with a full plate of food. “You do know they don’t bring you the buffet, right?”
Jesus Christ, now he’s telling jokes. Maybe I should call my mom. Or, better yet, a doctor. Something is definitely up with him right now. I laugh awkwardly and stand, knocking over my chair, as I hurriedly head to the buffet. Our hotel is known for its buffet. We used to open it to anyone, but nowadays, it’s only available to hot springs visitors and overnight guests.
“What the hell is going on?” I blurt out, exasperated. “You’re freaking me out, Dad.”
“Go get food, Dominic. What I need to say can wait.” He smirks, a look so surprising to me I trip walking to the buffet. I can’t remember the last time he smiled at me. He definitely smiles at his grandchildren, and at my mom, but me? No.
Paying no attention to what I shovel onto my plate, I quickly sit down and stare at my father as I wait for him to start talking, but I think he’s enjoying making me wait. I can feel my heart rate increasing as a thin layer of sweat develops on my brow. Jesus, is someone messing with the thermostat? It feels like the temperature suddenly went up ten degrees. I reach up to loosen my tie, needing the extra bit of room to force oxygen into my lungs .
“Dad, just spit it out. Please.” I’m spiraling, and I can feel an anxiety attack nipping at the edges of my mind.
“Look at me, Dominic.” I look at my dad, finding him staring intensely at me. “Three things you can hear.”
“Um, your voice, the music on the sound system, and mom laughing at the front desk,” I respond.
“Three things you can touch,” he says quietly.
“The table, my napkin, and my water glass.”
“Three things you can see.”
My breathing evens out as I look around the room. “The buffet, the fireplace, and you.”
“Better?”
“Yeah, actually,” I respond, then startle. “Wait. How did you know about doing that?”
“When you were diagnosed with anxiety, I did some research. I’m the one who taught your mother how to help you.”
“Really?”
“I’m not as uninvolved and clueless as you think.” He raises his eyebrows as if waiting for me to challenge him. I’m suddenly aware of how volatile our relationship has gotten over the past few years.
“What happened to us, Dad? We used to be close,” I sigh, shaking my head in frustration. “I know you wanted Alex to take over for you, and you were disappointed that he didn’t want it. But I never thought it would sour our relationship like this.”
His eyes widen. “I didn’t want Alex to take over. Is that what you’ve thought all these years?”
“Well, yeah. He didn’t tell anyone about joining the Guard, and you seemed ticked that I was next in line,” I confess.
“How long have you thought this?” he asks quietly.
I shrug, not knowing how to answer. On some level, I’ve felt this way for close to twenty years. But I’m not sure my father wants to hear that. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”
“It does matter, Dominic. It matters that you’ve believed you were second choice. I knew Alex wouldn’t want to run Everlasting since before he was a teenager. We could barely get him to sit still at school. Did you honestly think he’d want to sit in business meetings, or handle hiring new staff? He’s always been someone who needs to be out and about. I don’t think he even owns a suit,” Dad says with a chuckle. “You, on the other hand, were interested in Everlasting from the time you could walk. Did you know you’d sit with me at staff meetings when you were barely out of diapers?”
“What? No,” I say incredulously.
“It’s true. You used to carry around an old calculator and pretend to do payroll. Concierge gave you a name tag when you were around eight or nine, I believe. And more than once, you told me how you’d rearrange the office once I turned it over to you,” he says with a wide smile.
“You sound … proud about those things,” I say hesitantly.
“Of course. I am proud of you. Did you think I wasn’t?”
“Not really, no. You argue with me about everything. You berate any changes I suggest, and you shoot down any new ideas. You always have. You’re hovering over me, and I don’t feel like I’m truly running Everlasting. It’s like I’m still getting the go-ahead from you,” I admit. Kate is right. He needs to know exactly how I feel. “It fucking hurts when you’re always doubting me.”
Dad sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “There have been times I was harsh with you. I know I was. And it’s not for the reasons you think. Many times, I pushed you to bring your best because you have one of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever witnessed, son. When you’re fully focused, and engaged, I can almost see the wheels turning in your head as you analyze and compute strategies, techniques, and whatnot. When I could tell you were bringing me ideas that were safe, I wouldn’t accept them. Harsh? Yes. But I don’t want you to be safe, Dom. You should take chances. Experience life, the good and the bad. I’ve watched you walk the path you thought you should be on, and I hated that. I thought maybe you were like Alex, and you weren’t happy here. I started pushing you more, trying to get a gauge on whether you could jump-start something, or if you’d come to me and admit your heart wasn’t in it.”
“So this was all some kind of fucked version of Survivor, family business edition? Just see how far you can push me until I flourish or crumble?” I say angrily, my body taut with tension as I glare at my father.
“No, that wasn’t my intention. Honestly, I thought it was work that brought you down, Dom. The last few years you seemed miserable. You rarely smiled, and you looked like you carried the weight of the world on your shoulders. It crushed me to think that I might have forced you to take over for me. I wanted to ask you to step down well over a year ago, but your mom begged me to wait. I was sick about it. I couldn’t stomach watching you hurt for another day,” Dad says quietly. “I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to feel obligated to run Everlasting if your heart isn’t here.”
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is follow in your footsteps, Dad,” I respond, my voice catching as emotion clogs my throat. He thought about demoting me a year ago? “Mom had to talk you out of demoting me?”
“She was sure things would turn around for you,” he says, nodding.
“Why?” I ask stubbornly.
Dad smiles. “You don’t know why? Really?”
“Obviously not.”
“Because of Kate.”
“How is Kate involved in this?” A nagging twinge in my head is telling me something is off here.
“Do you promise not to tell your mother anything I’m about to tell you?” Dad asks, his eyes darting around quickly.
“Alright.”
“Your mother may have had a part in Kate needing to move out of her rental in town,” Dad whispers.
“What?” I shout .
“Keep your voice down,” Dad hisses. “She’s in the building, and I know she’ll make me sleep on the couch if she hears me telling you.”
I roll my eyes. “She will not. She can’t sleep unless you’re in the bed with her. We all know that.”
Dad smirks and nods. “Okay, you’re right. But I don’t want the disappointed glances and tsk-tsk sounds she’ll do every time she sees me.”
I can’t help but laugh. My mother has some epic guilt trips in her arsenal. “That’s fair. Continue, please.”
“Your mom called in a favor from the family that rented Kate her room. It’s just coincidence that you called Kate right after that, and then offered her a room in your house. But that was your mom’s plan all along. She could see the attraction between you two, and was impatient, so she forced you to be in each other’s spaces.”
“She could see the attraction between us,” I parrot. “Did she expect me to marry Kate when I found out about all of her health problems?”
My dad grins, a wide grin that I haven’t seen in years. “No, that was all you, my boy.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Any other shenanigans I need to know about where we were pushed together? Wait. She was the one who suggested Kate nanny for me years ago!”
“Yeah, your mom has been ready for the two of you to get your heads out of your asses for quite some time.”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter. “But what does this have to do with my job?”
“Oh,” he says, straightening up in his chair. “Since you and Kate had your fake wedding, I realized it wasn’t at all that you were unhappy here. I saw you smiling more. You weren’t working tons of late nights, and you rarely came in on the weekends. My grandchildren commented that your moods at home had improved, and that you seemed genuinely happy. You didn’t hate your job. But you were incredibly lonely.”
“I was lonely? Dad, I didn’t have time to be lonely. ”
“I disagree. You let work take over your life to hide from your loneliness. You were lonely and heartbroken, but you didn’t know how to solve either of those problems. So your mother pushed you in the right direction.”
I think over his words for a moment. I guess I was lonely. I knew I always had the support and love of my family, but Kate’s love has been everything I didn’t know I needed.
“What have we always said about relationships?” Dad says softly.
“Love out loud,” I murmur, chuckling as I think back to discussing this with my sister Arianna as she struggled with her own relationship.
“It goes both ways, Dom. Neither you, nor Savannah, ever treated your marriage as something you’d be proud to shout from the rooftops. But you and Kate? Watching you fall in love has been the greatest gift, Dominic, but watching her love you, and your kids, makes me get very emotional. I couldn’t ask for a better partner for you,” he says, his voice cracking with emotion.
“I thought true love was a fallacy,” I admit. “That I’d never find someone who would love me in spite of all my faults, and I for sure never thought I’d love someone through theirs. And here comes this complete spitfire with multi-colored hair and a sassy mouth, bound and determined to bulldoze into my heart. She’s everything I didn’t know I wanted.”
“True love is knowing the good, and the bad, about someone, and choosing to still love them. Still choosing them. No one is perfect, but a perfect partner makes each day better than the last.”
When I notice my dad look over my shoulder, and a peaceful smile comes over his face, I know my mom is walking toward us. I’m pretty sure I smile at Kate the same way. “I never noticed how you smile at Mom. It’s like the sight of her calms you.”
“She does. Don’t get me wrong, Dominic. We argue. We fight. She irritates me over stupid stuff. But I would walk through fire for your mother. She is the best part of me.” He motions for my mom to wait by holding up a finger, then turns to me. “I hate that you thought I was disappointed in you, or that I didn’t think you could take over from me at Everlasting. I don’t tell you enough how proud I am of you, Dominic. I don’t think anyone else could do anywhere near as good a job as you do here. And now that I know your sadness was due to your heart, and not this job, I’m handing over the kingdom to you, and officially retiring.”
“I’ve heard that before,” I joke.
“I’m serious. All I ever want is for my kids to be happy. Four of you are content. Three to go,” he says with a furrowed expression. “And that one needs to be next.”
“Who?” I ask, turning to see my older brother Alex, stomping toward us with a furious expression. “Oh. Good luck with that one.”
Dad sighs. “I’m going to need it.”