Page 44 of A Simple Love
“What?” Victoria’s head is spinning, her eyes bouncing back and forth between me and her dad.
“I mean, he did stand you up, but it was because of me. Not because he changed his mind about you.”
“What did you do, Dad?” I can see her tears forming and all I want to do is rush over to hold her, but she needs to hear his side first. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her this part of our history, so I’m glad that he is. But watching her agony as she’s fed the truth is breaking my heart.
“Well, you know how I’ve always felt about Mike and his brother?” She nods. “When I found out that you were going to go out with him, I confronted him at Mic’s Garage that morning of your date and threatened him if he didn’t leave you alone.”
“What?” Victoria shouts as her bag falls to the floor.
“I’m sorry, baby. But I only wanted what was best for you. I thought that Mike would end up just like his dad and I didn’t want you around that. Plus, you were so young and full of drive… I didn’t want you to end up making a mistake and throwing away your dreams and your life for some boy.”
“So you threatened him to stay away from me and made a decision about my life without even telling me?” Victoria is seething, even as tears stream down her face. “And you!” She points over at me. “You never said anything and just made me think you changed your mind? I cried for weeks after that! I doubted so much about myself and how you felt about me, and all because of my dad? Why didn’t you stand up to him and fight for us?”
I reach out for her but she pulls away. “Vic, we can talk about this later, okay? Everything is fine now. Your dad and I spoke last time I was here and we squashed everything. He knows how much I love you and how much you love me. Everything worked out the way it was supposed to, babe. Let’s not let this ruin what we’ve wanted for so long.”
Victoria shakes her head and storms off towards the house, leaving her bag on the ground in front of us, my head hanging in defeat as she walks away.
“Shit,” Frank mutters, his hands running through his gray hair. “That’s not how I wanted her to find out about this. Truthfully, I would have been fine if she never found out.”
“Yeah, but I know it would have come up eventually between us. At least she got to hear it from you, and I could reassure her we’re past it.” There’s a pit in my stomach now, filling me with anxiety about how this is going to affect Victoria and me as we move forward. Will we still move forward? Is this going to be enough to break us apart after we’ve finally found our way together?
“I’ll try to talk to her, Frank. Just know, I understand why you did what you did and said what you said back then. Hopefully, I can get her to see that everything worked out for the best and we’re good.”
Franks pats my shoulder. “Thank you, Mike. Take care of my little girl.”
“I promise.”
I stride back to the house, cautiously opening the door, fearful of what I might see or hear. As I turn my head, Victoria and her mom come into view, seated on the couch, Leslie’s arms draped over Victoria’s shoulder as she wipes her eyes with a tissue.
“Vic, can I talk to you please?”
She looks up at me and nods just as Leslie stands and gives me a sympathetic pat on the back while she walks away.
“Vic, your dad did what he did to protect you. I know it sucks, especially because I allowed his words to affect me more than I care to admit. But he was right.”
Her head snaps up at my admission. “How was he right, Mike? He kept us apart for years! And you allowed him too!”
I bend down to my knees on the floor in front of her so I can see her eye to eye. “Shhhh… I know, okay? I regret how I reacted and how badly I hurt you that day, believe me. But look at where we are now because of it.”
“What do you mean?”
I place my hand on her cheek. “I know it feels like we lost time together. But I’m choosing to look at it in terms of what we gained instead. Look at what we’ve both been able to accomplish while we were apart. Sure, if we had our choice, we would have been together. But now, we’re older and wiser andestablished. You’re a teacher just like you always wanted. I own my own business and home. We know exactly what we want now. Who knows what distractions we would have created for each other if we had given in to our feelings all those years ago?”
She continues to look at me in silence, so I keep talking. “I know back then I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and your dad, not so graciously, pointed that out to me. He made me see that I needed to make something of myself so that I was worthy of you. And he was right. Even though I hated him at the time, he pushed me to be better. For you. And for myself.”
“But he never told me what he did. He just always told me to stay away from you. I was so hurt when you never showed up that day, Mike.”
“I made that choice, and believe me, it killed me. And he made a choice---it wasn’t necessarily the best one---but he made it. Don’t hold it against him though, because I’ve let it go and accepted it. When I finally stood up to him after our date with Lilly, I think he finally realized how much I love you and wasn’t going to let him scare me off this time. He gets it now. He sees what we have. Don’t make him pay for wanting to protect you, Vic. He’s a good dad. I know I have little to compare to, but he loves you, and that’s all he was trying to do.”
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, contemplating how much of a grudge she’s willing to hold. I know her though, and Victoria Baker understands the importance of forgiveness. She has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Even our friends joke that she couldn’t hurt a fly and always knows what to say to help you see reason. I’m sure I’ll be grateful for that at one point down the road when I mess up and she’ll continue to love me regardless of my faults.
“You’re right.” She goes to stand as I follow her lead. Taking a deep breath, she moves for the front door. I contemplate following her, but then she turns back to me. “Thank you, Mike. I know this will take some time for me to accept, but I don’t want to ruin my relationship with my dad over something that happened so long ago. We are together now, and that’s all that matters.” She shoots me a small smile, blows me a kiss, and then makes her way outside to talk to her dad.
“Is she okay?” Leslie’s small voice in the hallway scares me half to death.
I swallow down my fear before I answer. “Yeah, I think they’ll be alright.”
“You’re right, you know?”