An Act of Persuasion(38)

Mark tried to imagine Dom in his condition keeping up with such a robust schedule. He couldn’t.

The man closed his eyes and when he opened them Mark pretended not to see they were red. “She just lost her mother six months ago. We’re all she has left. She doesn’t even know you other than as the man who got her mother pregnant.”

Mark tightened his jaw. He wasn’t about to tell Helen’s father how it really went down between them. It was Helen’s secret and he would honor it even in death. But he did remind his daughter’s grandfather of one very important fact. “I offered to marry her. I gave her my ring. She was the one who broke the engagement.”

“Yes, she did.”

“I’ve been patient. You said to give Sophie time to adjust before rushing into her life. I’ve sat on my hands for six months waiting. You can’t tell me that Sophie isn’t ready. She knows I’m in the area. Hell, she’s probably wondering why I haven’t come to see her.”

“We believe she should meet with you, yes. Marie and I have discussed that. But to live with you full time...I don’t know if that will work.”

He was holding something back. Mark could see it in his face. It was hurting Dom, which was why his eyes were still red. They were both biding time, hoping that something would change, but Mark didn’t know what that something was. He only knew he wanted his daughter in his life. Neither Dom nor Marie could continue to convince themselves they could raise her on their own for much longer. Time was their enemy.

“Dom, her schedule is going to pick up again—”

“I know what her damn schedule is! Don’t you think I know? Her agent is constantly pressuring us on this. We asked for this break to give her time to grieve, but now everyone has decided that six months is a perfectly satisfactory time for a fourteen-year-old girl to get over the death of her mother!”

Mark leaned back in his chair letting Dom have his say.

“We hoped maybe she would adjust to a more normal routine. School, friends. But she’s...she’s not like other kids her age. Certainly not like Helen at that age. All Helen used to think of was her hair and boys. All Sophie can think of is...more.”

Then she’s like me at that age.

“Dom, I think you agreed to meet me here because you know what I told you over the phone is right. You and Marie are her grandparents. I will make sure you remain a steady and important part of her life. But she’s my daughter, my responsibility and she should be with me now.”

The man didn’t have to know how terrified Mark was about the idea of being a father. He was hoping it sort of came to him. Like some magic wand would be waved as soon as they were together and bam, he would be insta-father.

“And like I told you, Marie and I are still considering it.”

“That’s fair. We don’t have to make any major changes right now,” Mark agreed. “But I’m done waiting to see her. She should at least know I’m here. That I want her in my life. You can’t hide her from me forever.”

“Is that what you think? That we’ve been hiding her from you?”

“Every time I ask to see her or schedule time with all of you, you come up with one excuse after another. What was I supposed to think?”

Dom shook his head. “Son, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s not us keeping you from her. It’s her. We didn’t know quite how to tell you, but I’ll just come right out with it. Sophie wants nothing to do with you.”

That was when Mark felt his heart break for the first time in his life.





CHAPTER NINE



“WAS THIS A GOOD IDEA or a bad one?”

Anna glanced at Ben who was smiling grimly. He had waited exactly two days before calling her to politely ask her out for a date Saturday afternoon. They’d had a nice, if slightly awkward, lunch at a small bistro they both enjoyed and then he’d suggested a tour of the Philadelphia Art Museum that was featuring the works of Van Gogh.

Anna had walked the creaky boards of the museum enjoying the swirls of color and light. It was odd seeing so much beauty on the canvas even though she knew that at the time he’d painted them Van Gogh had been in so much mental pain.

“Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t want to bore you. I want us to have fun.”

Anna couldn’t say how much fun she was having. But she felt peaceful with him. At rest deep inside in a way she hadn’t been in a long time. Probably since first discovering he was sick with cancer. She wondered if it felt that way for him, too, now that he was finally healing. Now that he no longer had to deal with the specter of death looming behind his shoulder. But she didn’t want to ask and put his illness in the middle of their date. This was supposed to be about seeing if they could have a new future together, not dwelling on what they almost lost. Still, she couldn’t help but look at the paintings and be reminded of her past in a way.