Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Well, it sounds like you’ve all found out about your father and Nell Patridge, then. As if today couldn’t get any worse.”
All three of us stared at her, gobsmacked.
“You knew?” Nuala challenged.
“Of course, I knew. Your father and I have been together for over forty years. We tell each other everything.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us that our dad almost had a baby with another woman when he was a teenager?” Tristan interjected. “Okay, no, that would be a very weird thing to tell your children. Makes sense that you didn’t.”
“Your father was only a boy when it all happened,” Mam said. “I didn’t judge him for it, and at the time, he was willing to help Nell with the baby. She refused because he wouldn’t marry her, which, in a way, I can understand. I wouldn’t have wanted to give birth as a single mother during those times either.”
Nuala made an exasperated choking sound as she looked at Tristan, then at Mam. “This is all so weird.”
“Did you know that Milly was her niece?” I asked Mam.
She shook her head. “No, actually. I didn’t put it together since they have different last names. Your father just told me.”
“Speaking of Dad, how is he?” Nuala questioned. “Do they know why he collapsed?”
“They still aren’t sure but they’re running some tests. It could be a while before they can make any conclusions.”
“Is he all right?” I asked.
“He’s feeling much better,” Mam said, placing a hand on my arm and giving a reassuring squeeze. “He’s going to be okay. You all should be able to go in and see him in a while. They’re just finishing up the MRI.”
“What a relief. I don’t know what I’d do if—” Nuala trailed off, a hitch in her voice.
Mam let go of my arm to pull my sister into a hug, and we all fell into thoughtful silence for a few minutes, just thinking about Dad and what life would be like without him. I didn’t want to imagine it even though it was inevitable that he wouldn’t live forever. Still, I wasn’t ready for him to go anywhere yet, not for a long time.
A little later, an orderly appeared and ushered us in to see him. The next few days were full of stress. Dad finally gave in to Mam’s demand and set a date for his retirement. A date that just so happened to be two months away, which meant I was going to have to get over my fears and step up. There was no other option.
Then, after a number of test and scan results came through, it turned out that Dad had a tumour on his brain that needed to be operated on. It was thankfully benign, but because it was causing symptoms and there was a chance it would grow, the decision was made to remove it. It was a major surgery, and because of his age, the recovery time would be substantial, which basically cancelled out the two months to retirement plan and meant I had to take over right away. Tristan was my right-hand man, though, and it was a relief to have him by my side. I definitely couldn’t handle it all alone.
There was so much to do that I hadn’t even had the opportunity to touch base with Milly and discuss what had happened between us at Gigi’s party. I did, however, make a point to speak with Paloma and reiterate to her firmly that what she’d proposed was deeply inappropriate. She’d been on a flying visit and left the morning after the party, but I’d managed to catch her before she’d left. She’d had the grace to look chagrined and admitted it was inappropriate. She’d also promised it wouldn’t happen again, which was a relief. I wasn’t attracted to her in that way anymore. Yes, she was a beautiful woman, but after the divorce, the part of me that desired her had died. Or perhaps drifted away was a better way to describe it. Basically, I thought of her as a co-parent and a friend and nothing more.
Amid all this, I barely had a second to mull over the revelation about Milly’s aunt and whether I was even going to bring it up. The past was the past, and there wasn’t much to be achieved by talking about it. Still, I was curious to know if her aunt was the reason she wouldn’t be with me back then. For so many years, I’d convinced myself my love for her was unrequited, but what if it wasn’t? The idea that Milly had wanted me like I’d wanted her back then made my head spin. It untangled so many things about us that had never made sense, and I just wanted to go to her, lay it all out and tell her I wasn’t angry. That I understood her reasoning even though I wished she’d been honest with me from the start.