Today. Tomorrow. Always (Free Falling, #3.5)(4)
Being born in Japan to a Japanese father and a mother of both Japanese and Thai descent, he spoke both languages as fluently as he spoke English. Not to mention, he had a firm grasp on the culture, which was equally important. He had the potential to be the perfect business liaison between our company and our clients in Japan.
After cutting to the chase with him one afternoon over lunch, I discovered the one thing his current position, nor any of his other prospects, offered him: flexibility. Yes, there’d be travel, and probably a lot of it at times, but the compromise we made was that he could manage his own schedule while he was here in the States. Some days he’d come into the office after hours, which I didn’t mind. Other days he’d teleconference from home. I’d even seen him work three, consecutive, fourteen-hour shifts in order to have a long weekend to tend to something personal. Again, I didn’t mind. To say the guy was hardworking was an understatement.
“Hey, I’m not judging,” Terrell concluded with a chuckle. “Do what you gotta do. I was actually asking about having your dad around again, though. It’s working out?”
I chuckled a bit at his question, thinking about the weeks that had passed since my mom and dad officially became New Yorkers. Things had once been so bleak between my father and I that I found myself wishing I could cut him out of my life completely. However, here we were, working together on a daily basis again, forced to speak, forced to find common ground on business matters just like when I was living in Virginia. But… I couldn’t remember a time I’d been happier having him around.
For so many years, I remember wishing I could talk to him about things most guys had their dads around for—good stuff, bad stuff, hell… pointless stuff—but we just didn’t have that. I hated it, but learned how to deal with the hand I’d been dealt. For all intents and purposes, the man my father has become, is not the man I wasted so much time and energy hating. He’d grown a lot. Maybe we both had.
In the beginning of him changing, righting his wrongs, I’d been his biggest critic and skeptic, but those days seemed so far behind us now. There was a period of healing and adjusting, in addition to a mandatory period of him making amends with my wife, but we were in a good place now. We all were. Who would’ve thought I’d actually be the one to encourage my father to move closer—to me, to Sam, to my family. I had, though, and hadn’t regretted it.
“Things are good,” was my response to Terrell. Surprisingly enough, my dad and I actually made a good team. I had things under control when he got here and I believe that earned his respect. He had his office down the hall where he worked without interfering with the role he’d put me in here.
From the corner of my eye, Sam standing to her feet with the little one in her arms caught my attention. I assumed she was heading upstairs to put him in his crib. Maisha stood next and then came to the door. “Coming to bed?” she asked Terrell, leaning against the frame.
He yawned and then placed his hands on the armrests of the chair, hoisting himself up. “Normally, I’d chill out here with you for a while, but between working today and then driving up here, I’m beat.”
He didn’t have to explain; I was ready to hit the sheets, too. “It’s cool. I have work in the morning, anyway.” I stood and stretched. “I’ll only be there half the day, so I should be back around noon; one at the latest.”
Terrell gave a nod and then followed me back inside. The living room lamp went dark and I walked to the stairs off memory. Terrell and Maisha were already up the steps and headed into their room. After a whispered “goodnight”, they disappeared behind the closed door.
Before heading off to bed, I stopped in to check on Anthony, making sure his monitor was on after pulling his blanket up a bit. He was knocked out, snoring and everything. I touched his hair and he smiled in his sleep, bringing one to my face as well.
“Night, son,” I said quietly, and then eased his door shut.
I found Sam sliding beneath the comforter, resting on her side, facing the doorway as I entered.
“I didn’t expect you to be up here for a while. Usually you and Terrell stay up half the night doing God-knows-what when y’all get together,” she said with a grin.
“Nah, not tonight. He’s tired and I have to be up in the morning.”
I slipped my t-shirt over my head as I crossed the room. Right after tossing it into the hamper, I hit the light switch and got as close to Sam as I could. Warm hands flattened against my chest, fingers spread, heat moving all the way through me. I took her waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead as she settled against me.
“It’s nice having them here, isn’t it?” she said, exhaling as she did.
I nodded. “It is—wish I could convince them to move closer.”
“Like you did to your mom and dad?” she asked with a laugh.
I dug into her side lightly with my fingertips, making her yelp much louder than she should have into the quietness that filled the house.
“Okay, okay… I’ll shut up,” she whined, doing her best to pry my hands away from her. I wouldn’t budge, though.
“One more word and I’m going all in—armpits, feet, neck—all in,” I warned playfully, knowing how much she hated to be tickled.
“But it’s not like I’m lying!” she protested, still laughing a bit. “You did do a little convincing to get your parents here, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”