18
Garrett took the stairs to the Hemming house two at a time. Anxiety lay across his shoulders like a heavy woolen mantle. He knew that his friend must know by now; and from the tirade he’d witnessed while watching Elizabeth on the other side of the one-way glass at the police precinct that night, he knew now. Guilt had settled on Garrett since then, and as he climbed the stairs he wondered just what he’d say to Matthew.
The doorman did not greet him when he came to the door, instead it was Trisha. She smiled warmly to her husband's longtime friend, and despite its warmth he couldn’t help but feel as if there was a divide between them. Garrett stopped short, his mouth opening to say something, anything. Yet what could he say? “It’s alright,” Trisha waved him off with a small smile, “I’ve known for a while how much she cared for you. I’m not offended. I know you’ll treat her right.”
Garrett felt a weight lift from him that he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying. Of course, Matthew was likely nowhere near as receptive, but at least Trisha didn’t hate him. He didn’t think he could stand another woman’s anger, let alone survive it.
“Thank you, Trisha. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. It was cowardly of me, and I…feel guilty.”
“I can believe it. You’ll be feeling worse after speaking with Matthew, I’m sure.”
“Is he… well, I suppose he’s furious. Rightly so.”
“Yes, he is. I don’t think he’s going to sever ties with you, Garrett.”
Another weight lifted, his heart reeling. Garrett wondered how he’d gotten so lucky as to have friends as near and dear as Trisha and Matthew. He certainly didn’t deserve their trust after the whole incident. This thought must have been written on his face because Trisha’s arms were around him in a moment, squeezing him tightly.
“It’ll all be okay. Let’s go, he’s waiting for you in the library.”
“How did he know I was coming?”
“He knew the moment the second copy of your divorce decree arrived here.”
Garrett blanched, but nodded. He followed Trisha up the stairs to the library and paused at the door to collect himself. Trisha gave him one final hug for confidence and then left him at the door, heading towards the kitchens where she would no doubt be managing today’s Christmas Eve party. Garrett, meanwhile, took one last deep breath, adjusted his clothes, and strode into the library.
Matthew sat by the enormous marble fireplace, its old-world charm casting an imposing air to the scene. Matthew was dressed in one of his charcoal gray suits. He sat in one of the high-backed red velvet chairs, staring into the fire with a frown on his lips. When the door opened, he did not so much as glance up.
Garrett entered, closing the door behind himself. He walked to the fireplace, the flames crackling merrily as he neared his old friend. Anxiety made his throat suddenly dry, and he worried that this would be the end – that Trisha had been wrong, and Matthew would cut him from his life.
“Matthew?”
Even to himself, Garrett’s voice sounded weak. He silently cursed himself for not having come to Matthew sooner, for allowing Sarah to tell him what he should have told him long before. When Matthew looked up, their eyes met and Garrett found himself looking down, searching for words. He’d had this conversation a thousand times on the way here, yet now he found himself speechless. “Words can’t… I’m not… I didn’t mean... shit. Matthew, I’m sorry. It’s not a big enough word. It’s not enough; words aren’t enough. I should have told you. I should have been the one to tell you. I would have, but…I was a coward. I didn’t want you to think less of me…because of Elizabeth. I didn’t want you to…think that I didn’t…truly love Sarah. I don’t… I don’t know how to make this right, but I desperately want to.”
Matthew’s face did not chance its countenance, and for an eternity he said nothing. Garrett finally looked up at the man, his brows knit in a glare. He didn’t know if he could stand the silence much longer.
“If you want to make this right, leave my daughter. Don’t speak to her again. Don’t contact her again. Stay away from her, Garrett.”
The command stung, though the response he had stung him more. He wished he could make his friend happy. He wished that he could do what Matthew asked. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that. I love her, and I… I’ll never leave her, Matthew. I’ll never treat her wrong. I will never let her suffer, or want for anything, but I’ll never stop loving her either. I want to… I want to be worth her love. She deserves that and more.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Garrett looked up with a start, watching as Matthew rose from his chair. Five o’clock shadow sprinkled his cheeks and jaw, and his hair was not at all arranged into his normal coif. He came nearer to Garrett, watching the stunned man with a serious expression.
“What?” asked Garrett, bewildered.
“I wanted to hear that from you. If you’re hell bent on my daughter, you’d better be worth it. She’s a special girl; she loves as deep as the ocean and just as thoroughly. Don’t for a moment think you’ll be able to treat her like you did Elizabeth. Before you say anything yes, I know she deserved it. I’ve been married for twenty-five years. Deserving a punishment isn’t what you think about when you think about your wife. You think of her as a partner. Keep Sarah as a partner and an equal. Don’t you ever make her cry, and don’t you ever hurt her.”
“I’d… I wouldn’t–”Matthew stopped in front of the still-floundering man, and put his hands on both shoulders. He squared Garrett, and looked into his eyes with a frown. For a moment, it looked as if he might simply be sizing up his friend. Garrett searched for words, anything in response. In fact, he was so busy thinking and floundering for a response, he didn’t see Matthew’s fist until it was too late.
Matthew’s closed fist connected with his mouth, and Garrett immediately saw stars from the impact. His body twisted, and he staggered, before falling on his rear. Pain lanced from his lip up to his right ear, and he could taste blood. The sting of a split lip alerted him to where the blood was most likely coming from. Garrett touched his mouth, fingers probing carefully at his teeth. He couldn’t feel any loose ones, thank goodness.
He looked up at Matthew, who was shaking his fist. It had been a long time since either of them had hit anyone, and the man was clearly regretting it. He grimaced, eyeing knuckles that were slightly bloodied now. When he was finished, he used the opposite hand to offer Garrett a hand up.
Garrett took it, letting Matthew hoist him up. He cleared his throat once he was on his feet, and sniffed. For whatever reason, a punch in the mouth always made his nose and eyes run. He waited for Matthew to speak before he dared. He didn’t know exactly how the man was feeling, though he suspected that he wasn’t as upset as Garrett had thought.
“That was for fucking my daughter.” Matthew said matter-of-factly.
“Feel better now?”
“A bit.”
“...so we’re still friends?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good. Because I’ve got a favor to ask of you.”
Matthew eyed Garrett with a look of utter incredulity. His lips quirked into a deep frown and he glared at the man for a long moment. Matthew motioned for the chairs, heading back towards the one he’d been in before he’d gotten up to punch Garrett in the mouth. Garrett followed suit, though he stayed a pace or two to the right and behind Matthew just in case the man decided to swing at him again. One punch was warranted; multiple were not.
As the men settled into their chairs, Garrett waited. He could be a patient man when he wanted to be, and if he were to get the answer he wanted from his longtime friend, he’d need to be extremely patient. Matthew would do things exactly as fast as he wanted to.
“What can I do for you, Garrett?”
“I’d like to ask for your blessing. I want to ask Sarah to marry me.”
Garrett saw the fist coming this time, and caught it with a grin. He eyed the older man, and shook his head, holding the straining fist in his hand without letting him go. He wasn’t about to be hit a second time, and he met Matthew’s eyes with that same message. The first one is free, old friend, and only the first one.
Matthew pulled his hand away and squeezed his temples, a blustery sigh escaping his lips. “You’re telling me you came here to ask for her hand in marriage, only hours after your first divorce was finalized.”
“Yes.”
“That’s very stupid.”
“Yes.”
“I’d think it was an insult, you know.”
“If I weren’t the stupid one between us, you sure would.”
“Garrett, this is serious. It has serious repercussions.”
“I know. I’d take a bullet for her. That has never changed. I’ll never find anyone I’d be happier with, and you know it.”
“Oh, I know. I suspected. She cried throughout your whole wedding, your reception. She was a teenager. She was horrified. It was days before she started to come out of her funk.”
Garrett’s heart hurt a bit at the memory of Sarah’s tears as she watched the wedding procedure; it had been something he’d gone over in his mind again and again. He had hurt her that day, and it would be something he’d regret for the rest of his days. No matter how long he loved her, he had hurt her.
“I know. She told me now. I didn’t realize it then. I knew…she was special, but I believed it was because she was your daughter. She’s meant the world to me for a long time, but now…she means my future, too. I love her, Matthew. I don’t deserve her, I know that. I tried to leave her and I couldn’t. I love her, and that… that isn’t a big enough word, either.”
Matthew watched his old friend for a long moment, gave a long sigh, and nodded.
“I give my blessing, Garrett, but only if you treat her well. She is more precious than any amount of money, or any company, or otherwise. I need you to know that. I need you to make sure she knows that. I don’t want to ever hear you’ve made her cry.”
Garrett’s lips twitched into the candid, small smile he almost never gave. Tears had sprung to his eyes at some point, and when Matthew finally had given his blessing, Garrett didn’t know what to do. He’d thought it a long shot, to come here and ask his longtime best friend to give away his daughter; yet Matthew had, knowing full well that Garrett would do everything in his powers to treat her well. He had expected not only to lose a friend, but be humiliated, hurt, abandoned. It was no secret that Garrett had no family; Matthew and Trisha were as close to family as he’d had in the many years he’d spent looking for his own. Now, they would be a family by marriage, and somehow that made his heart ache for something he’d never known he wanted.
“If you ever call me ‘dad’ or ‘father-in-law,’ I’ll make sure I punch your teeth right down your throat,” Matthew remarked, a stern glare on his face. Someone else might believe he was serious, but Garrett knew better. He certainly wasn’t going to show emotion, especially not when Garrett could feel the single tear slide down his own cheek. He wiped at it with his sleeve, clearing his throat audibly.
“I won’t. Promise,” he said simply, his voice still raw.
Matthew nodded, his facial expression softening into something less stern. Though his mind seemed to shift to another subject.
“I have to ask. What happened? With Elizabeth?”
“She’s been arrested for conspiracy to murder. Her agent was apprehended by the police, but just barely. If he had been lucky, he would have gotten away. The police caught him with a random search. He came to my office, shot my receptionists. I… I hadn’t thought they’d be in danger, and I should have said something. I made sure their families and final expenses were well taken care of, but I feel as if there was more I should have done. “He was arrested, as was Elizabeth. They caught her as the plane was about to head for the runway. She was charged, booked into jail, and her bail was too high for any of her three boyfriends to afford. However, her three boyfriends didn’t seem to want to afford it, either.”
Matthew gave a little chuckle and nodded, a small smile on his lips.
“I can’t really feel sorry for them, you know. I did let them keep the things she bought them.”
“You’re a nicer man than I would’ve been.”
“Only sometimes.”
Garrett smiled a little, and shook his head. He stood, and Matthew did as well, aware that Garrett had to go already. He knew his friend, and he certainly hadn’t asked for his blessing without plans to ask Sarah soon. He gave his friend a hug, patting him on the shoulder.
“Let me walk you out.”
As Garrett left the property, he wondered just how life would change. He’d been great friends with the Hemmings, and now he would be family. Garrett smiled to himself at the thought as he dialed the only Bvlgari jeweler he knew.