Chapter Thirty-Two
Max pulled to the curb in front of the Thai Garden restaurant, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu. The last time he’d been here things had gone so badly. He looked over at his wife.
You sure you want to do this alone?
Malee nodded. “I need to do this by myself. There are things I need to say, things he needs to understand. It will be better if you’re not there to distract from that.”
All right. But just know I’ll be right here if you need me.
She leaned over and kissed him. “I love you.”
I love you, too, baby girl.
“I may be a while.”
I’ll wait as long as you need.
She gave him a big smile, then turned and climbed out of his truck.
***
The bell above the door tinkled as she walked in; Malee knew this not because she could hear it, but because her father paused in his sweeping to turn and look over his shoulder.
Scanning the room, Malee found her mother wiping down a table. She straightened when she saw her daughter. Her face was a mask, showing no emotion as she waited to see what Malee would say.
Malee’s eyes darted back to her father. His look wasn’t so blank or so hard to read. His chin came up, and his face tightened. He was angry, and probably hurt. She’d left with no explanation and, more importantly, without his approval or permission. She’d informed Lawan in a text of where she’d gone and why, passing the burden of telling her parents to her sister. Something she owed Lawan an apology for. But at the time, Malee knew she couldn’t tell her parents. She couldn’t risk them getting in her head again. She’d made her decision. If she could have, she wouldn’t have informed them of anything about her trip, but she couldn’t do that. She would never want them to worry.
Malee walked slowly forward, lifting her chin as she did. She was not about to cower, yield, or defer to her father’s idea of how she should behave or live her life. Not anymore. That was over and done.
“Father, Mother, I’d like to speak with you.”
Her father set the broom aside. Did you go through with it? Did you marry that man?
“That man? He has a name, Father, and you know it.”
You dare to speak to me this way.
“His name is Maxwell O’Rourke, Father, and yes, he’s my husband now. He loves me just the way I am, disability and all. He makes me very happy. You may not agree with my choices, but I hope you can at least be happy that I am happy.”
I was trying to do what was best for you, Malee. Why can’t you see that?
“No, Father. It is you who can’t see.” That had him straightening his back with anger, but she didn’t care; he needed to understand. “You were trying to force me into the life you thought I should live, not the life I want to live.”
He raised his chin. And where is this husband of yours?
“He’s waiting for me outside. I wanted to talk to you alone.”
Well, Malee, you disobeyed me. I warned you. He will be trouble. You’ve disrespected me by going against my wishes. You’ve made your choice. He lifted his chin toward the door. Go! Go have this life you wanted. I will not be a part of it.
“Papa—”
She wanted to forgive him. She needed him to ask to be forgiven, or to say he was sorry, or to at least admit he was wrong. But he did none of those things. Instead, he turned away and stalked into the kitchen.
Her mother’s eyes followed her husband, but then she turned back to Malee and wagged her hands, entreating her daughter to come to her. When Malee approached, her mother enfolded her in a tight hug. It didn’t last long before she was pecking Malee on the cheek and then pulling back to sign, There is a photograph that your father keeps on our dresser. It’s a picture of you up on his shoulders when you were barely three years old. You both were smiling at the camera. It is a good shot, both of you so happy. Every morning he picks up that framed picture, Malee. He rubs his thumb over the glass and stares at it. He does love you. She patted her cheek. Remember that.
Then she turned to follow her husband into the kitchen.
Malee stood a moment, her eyes drifting around the restaurant she’d practically grown up in, taking it all in, not sure if or when she would ever return.
She turned and looked out the window. Max’s truck sat idling at the curb, his red taillights glowing through the tinted plate-glass. He was her future, and together they would make a new life. There was sadness in her at the loss of a relationship with her father, but there was happiness inside her, too. And she refused to let the sadness overshadow that. She was in love, and that was a powerful feeling. Pushing the door open, she took a deep breath, letting the negativity roll off of her as she filled her lungs with a breath of fresh air and walked toward her husband and her new life.