Chapter Thirty-Seven
Zack
Friday
“I can’t believe what you’re doing with the house, Dad,” I told him with tears in my eyes. “This is really something else. What made you change your mind?”
“The actual thought about selling it was too much,” he admitted with a shrug. “I know I said your mom would want it to go to another family, but I just couldn’t do it. I would much rather offer it to the charity. We can turn it into a shelter for the vets who need somewhere to live. It’ll be awesome.”
My heart swelled. “Mom would be so happy with that; she was such a giving woman.” I grabbed my dad and hugged him. “She would love you doing this.”
“I feel good about it.” He rubbed the sweat from his forehead. “Even better now I’m all packed up. I’m looking forward to my brand new adventure.”
“Hmm…about that.” I needed to ask him; it had been plaguing me all night long. “About new adventures… What was the deal with you and Drea last night?”
A light blush tinged his cheeks, telling me all that I needed to know. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Dad, come on. There’s chemistry there, you two were flirting…”
“Oh, are you talking about Drea?” As Lark walked back in from the moving van, he knew exactly what we were talking about. “Yeah, Mr. Taylor, you were definitely hitting it off. What’s the deal there?”
“She’s about ten years younger than me.” He shrugged, trying to play it off. “It felt good to have some attention.”
“Oh, Dad, come on! If there’s something there, you can just say it.” I paused for a moment, realizing what the issue might be. “Dad, you’re allowed to be happy after Mom. She would want that for you, and I do, too. If you like this woman, then please…”
“It isn’t like that. I just met her last night.” Dad sighed loudly, seemingly reaching his limit. “I don’t know; I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” He shut down rapidly, so I must have overwhelmed him. “I just want to get these boxes moved.”
“Sure, sure.” I gave Lark a grin; we could both see how important this was to him. “Let’s do this.”
We heaved the boxes into the van and struggled with the furniture, but soon everything was stacked up and ready to go. Looking back at the home I grew up in, the house I only reconnected with the other day, all empty was a little heartbreaking…but at least it would remain with our family. I would’ve probably been a massive mess if I thought another family was going to live there.
“This will be great for the charity,” Dad reassuringly said as he patted me on the shoulder. “It’ll be a wonderful addition to what you’re trying to do. Giving vets that need it a temporary place to live while they get back on their feet will be incredible. You’ll give people their lives back.”
I knew better than anyone how losing the military could be devastating. “This is exactly why I wanted to set this up.”
“I’ll call the builders next week, get the ball rolling. Might as well get started right away, work on this alongside the office building.”
“Great, thanks, Dad. It’s so good to have you on board.”
We paused for a moment, both of us lost in our individual thoughts. This was no longer a goodbye – it was a step in the right direction for both of us. Things were changing, but for the better. Who knew what would happen next?
“Right, work isn’t over yet. Let’s get unpacked on the other side.”
I groaned playfully. “Urgh, do I have to?” But secretly, I couldn’t wait to help get my father get set up. It was going to be awesome.
***
“Hey, boys!” Olivia’s very welcome voice rang through the house. “I was just passing by and thought you might want something to eat. You’re probably starving, right? So we picked up some Chinese food.”
“Oh my God, you’re a lifesaver.” As I raced out into the hallway, I noticed Drea and Meghan were also there. This was going to be interesting – it’d be nice to see how she interacted with my dad again. “Thank you so much for coming.”
Drea was drawn to my dad like a magnet, they kissed one another’s cheeks innocently enough, but the sparks flew wildly. It was so obvious that they adored one another. It would only take time…
“Come in, sit down. Let’s eat together. We haven’t really set up the table yet.”
“Oh, don’t worry. We'll do it.” Olivia and Drea took over. They unpacked the dining room in less than ten minutes, which was impressive. It had taken the three of us all damn day long! “Right, come on let’s eat.”
The chairs were still in the moving van, so we made do with boxes the best that we could. It hardly mattered – we were all having just the best time together. I was so damn lucky to have a woman with so many great qualities by my side. She accepted me despite my leg, my money, my secrecy, my hard life. She didn’t let it affect her or the way she looked at me at all.
Olivia was perfect.
Once we’d finished eating, I left Lark and the girls to get on with the unpacking for a moment while I pulled my dad into the kitchen. I had something that I wanted to talk with him about while my heart was filled up with love. It just felt like the right time.
“Dad?” I hissed at him quietly. “You like Olivia, don’t you? Meghan, too?”
“Of course I do. They’re great. Meghan’s such a sweet kid. I really like her.”
“How would you feel about becoming her grandfather?”
He snapped his eyes around to me, finally seeming to see that this was a very serious conversation. “Wait, what? What are you saying?”
I pulled the ring box out of my pocket with the diamond and gold band I’d chosen just for Olivia. “I bought this the other day. I want to marry Olivia.”
“Woah, what are you doing?” Dad gripped onto my wrist, and he gave me a wide-eyed intense stare. “Are you insane? I know you like this woman, but you haven’t been together that long, have you? And you’ve had a really rocky time.”
“But I know, Dad,” I chuckled. “I know that she’s the one. I’ve never felt love like it, and I know I never will again.”
“It isn’t like you to be so impulsive.” He shook his head at me as if he was trying to work out just when I lost my mind. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why don’t you just give it some more time? Olivia has a daughter; she can’t just act on a whim.”
“This isn’t on a whim, Dad, and I’ve thought about Meghan a lot. I want to adopt her. I want to be her father.” I wasn’t even annoyed that he seemed shocked by the idea. I knew it was a little crazy, but I also knew exactly what I was doing. “Trust me; I know this is the right thing for me.”
His mouth opened, he seemed to have more to say, but then he must have recalled our last argument where I was the one in the right in the end. “Okay, whatever you want, son. I really do hope it works out. Olivia and Meghan are great, and I’m sure you’ll be good together.”
“Me, too,” I nodded as I spoke. “I do know this is right, Dad. I hope you can trust me.”
We embraced for a moment, and I felt my dad’s acceptance of me and my decision. I needed everyone on my side for this. It was a huge step.
***
“This is silly, isn’t it?” I declared as we stood in the hallway outside our apartments. “Living in different places. We should just look for a bigger place together.”
“What?” Olivia was so stunned; she almost dropped a sleeping Meghan in the process. “Are you insane?”
“What, too quick?” If she thought moving in together was a huge step, then maybe Dad was right, and the ring wasn’t the best idea. “Sorry, you know me. I just say whatever’s on my mind.”
“No, it isn’t that, I’m just surprised that’s all.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment. “You know what, why don’t you come in for a bit? I’ll lay Meghan down and get her off to sleep fully. Then we can properly talk about it.”
“My dad and Drea really tired her out, didn’t they? Racing around the house, playing Iron Man.”
“Oh, I know… That’s another subject we’ll get to later. What is going on there?”
“Definitely something!”
I watched in awe as Olivia expertly laid Meghan down in her bed, not disturbing the girl’s sleep at all. That had to take some training. I couldn’t wait until the day that I was as good with Meghan myself. If Olivia let me adopt her, of course. I knew that was a huge decision to make. I didn’t think I’d ever be a good father before, but now I felt like it was all I wanted in the whole world. Meghan was worth it, and she truly deserved a decent father figure. If her asshole biological dad didn’t want to step up to the plate, then I would do it.
“She’s so sweet, isn’t she?” I cooed once she was rested. “Such a lovely daughter. You should be proud of what you’ve achieved with her. She’s amazing.”
“Thank you so much; obviously I think she’s amazing, but it’s nice to hear someone else say it.”
We moved away from Meghan’s room and towards the front room, with the monitor clutched tightly between Olivia’s hand.
“You never let that thing go, do you?”
“Not when my baby’s asleep. I need to keep a link to her wherever she is.”
Olivia placed the monitor down on the table and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. She pulled herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips gently to mine. My heart swelled and my chest heated up happily as love and passion circled me. This was right – everything about Olivia and me was right, I didn’t feel bad about moving forwards at all.
“So what do you say?” I murmured into her mouth. “Do you think you might want to move in with me?”
“I mean, of course, I want that. But is it a bit soon?” The hesitation in her voice didn’t feel too genuine. She was trying to be smart, but she wanted it.
“It isn’t if you know it’s right. Do you think you could ever be as happy with someone else? I know for a fact that I couldn’t. I’ve never loved anyone but you.”
“No, of course not. No one will ever make me as happy as you do. I guess I’m just scared. It’s a big step, isn’t it?”
I understood. After everything that she’d been through, it made sense that she’d freak out. Her ex had clearly left her high and dry when she needed him the most, but she had to know that I would never do that.
“But yeah, I do think I’d like to move in with you. We can at least look for places, can’t we? Make a start on it. It’ll probably take a while…”
I wanted to punch the air excitedly, but I just about managed to contain myself. I wanted to move at Olivia’s pace. I just felt great that we were moving in the right direction at last.