Chapter 10 #3
“Did they hurt you, too?” She nodded but didn’t say anything more. “I see. I’m going to have to wait until you’re ready to tell me, aren’t I? If you ever do.”
“It’s all over with. I turned out to be an all right person, and we need to focus on that for a while. What was done to me here is like my dad said, water under the bridge.” Gleason nodded, then kissed her on the mouth. “Not that I mind, but what was that for?”
“For being perfect.” Dad came down the stairs, and they were ready to go. He had on a dark suit with a dark tie, and she was wondering if he had anything that wasn’t black or dark blue. She’d get him to change sometime, but for now, they were going to have dinner together and have some fun.
And they did have fun. Her grandmother was never brought up again, but she told him that she didn’t want to talk about her at all at the beginning of the meal.
Once they had ordered, she told him of the things that she’d done that weren’t bad, like hiding in plain sight of people who were looking for her.
He thought that was funny, and she and Gleason laughed as well.
By the time dessert was being served, they were like old friends catching up after a long time.
She didn’t know if she loved him like a father yet; time would tell, but she was going to give it her best shot to be whatever he wanted of her.
So long as there was no mention of divorce.
Because it was so late when they dropped her dad off, they ended up staying in a hotel.
They’d been invited to stay with him in the house, but she wasn’t ready for that.
There were no good memories of the place, and she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep, wondering about how things were going to go in the morning.
They met up again for lunch, and he was pleased to have them over.
He had found some things that her mother had saved, and she looked through the pictures of the two of them together.
She must have taken a hundred pictures every time they were together and loved the memories that went with them.
Mom had saved every one of them to put in an album, and she couldn’t believe how much she missed her.
“Have you read her letter to you yet?” She told her dad that she wasn’t in a place where she could do that yet. “I understand. She told me that she wanted you to have it when she got really sick, and I didn’t know how to get in touch with you. I’m thinking that my mother had a lot to do with that.”
She didn’t comment, thinking the same thing when she’d thought of her grandmother. She wondered if her mom had suffered at her hands when she’d been seeing her and decided that her mother would have been able to care for herself. Her mom was a good deal stronger than she looked.
“I’ve decided that I’m going to sell this old house and get myself something closer to you.
I won’t be over all the time, but I want to be there for the grandchildren when they come.
I told your mom when she was at the last stages of her life that I hated this house, and she agreed with me.
It’s seen too much in the way of terrible things, and it’s high time I got out of it and saw the way real people live.
” She didn’t know what to think about that, but Gleason seemed to think it was going to be a good idea.
That living close to them and not with them was going to be a good thing.
“I’ve got some making up to do, and I can’t do it in this house.
It’s been a dark house since I bought it all those years ago, and I want something lighter.
Something that I can make better memories in than I have. ”
“Good for you.” Gleason kissed the back of her hand and smiled. “We’ll help you with that. There are a number of houses around town, or you can build. There is plenty of land out where we live that would easily accommodate you in what you need.”
“I’m too old to build. I want something that only has a single floor and several bedrooms. For the grandkids.” He looked at her. “You’ll allow me to be with them, won’t you, child? I mean, I’m working on being a better man than I was and hope that you trust me with the children.”
“I’ll trust you until you break that trust. Then they’ll never find your body.
” She didn’t so much as crack a smile when she told him that.
She was as serious as she’d ever been. “I know that we’re just getting to know one another, but you hurt my children in any way, and I swear to you you’ll suffer in ways that grandmother never thought of. ”
“I believe you.” She nodded once and told him that she hoped so. “Yes, I do believe that I’m going to like living close to you. You’ll keep me on my toes a great deal.”
They talked about their home and how Gleason had had it built for them. They talked about the furniture that they’d had delivered and how much fun it had been with his family around. They even talked a bit about her mom and how much they missed her.
Her mom had been a good woman and a better person than she could have hoped for when she reached adulthood. It was as if they were more like friends than mother and daughter, and that was all right too. They were close, no matter how someone would see their relationship.
After enjoying an afternoon with her father, they went home.
There was plenty for them to do there, and they both had jobs.
It was a nice visit, but stressful. Hailey hoped that it would get better as they moved on and got to know one another better.
Gleason seemed to be all right with her dad, but time would tell.
She was going to be happy with him even if her father decided that he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.
She hoped that it wouldn’t come to that, but one never knew about people.
That night, she told Gleason she wanted to wait a year before they had any children. She wanted to get to know him as well as she could. He agreed with her and said that it was entirely up to her. Just one more thing to fall in love with him over. And she loved him so very much.