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.But—” Tears begin surfacing.“It’s really not something you tell someone you haven’t seen in twenty years.” I half-laugh as I wipe the tears away.“Especially, since I didn’t have any family growing up.And the one person you looked up to ended up being someone completely different than you thought,” I say, referencing my dad.“That’s part of what I wanted to talk about, Cecilia.Your father was my hero.”I sniff, wiping more tears away.“What do you mean?”“Your dad put me through my first round of treatment when I first got cancer.” I lean forward, wanting to hear more.“Your dad and I continued speaking even though your mother forbade it.Once he found out I was sick, he said he would do anything to help me.”Apparently, he literally meant anything.She takes a sip of her coffee and I just continue to stare at her.Ever since learning the truth about his death, I had often wondered what made him go into gambling in the first place.“You’re the reason he joined with Ramiro.” It comes out accusingly, but I hadn’t meant it to.“He just called me up one day and said he was sending me money.And the money just kept coming, which meant I could pay for treatment that my insurance wouldn’t cover.He never told me how he got it.”I feel my heart racing, the dots finally connecting.“Did you know about Ramiro? Or the gambling? Or the plan?”“No,” she blurts out.“I read his obituary and only what the local papers said online.I never contacted your mom and figured she wouldn’t care to hear from me.”“Oh,” I say relieved.“He was addicted to gambling,” I explain.‘That’s how he got the money.”“I never knew.”“Yeah, I didn’t know until a couple years ago,” I offer softly.It felt weird talking about my dad again, but a part of me felt happy that I still could.“He killed himself,” I say bluntly.“He began losing money and couldn’t pay it.” I lower my head to avoid seeing his reflection in her face.“He killed himself to keep them away from us.He knew they’d come after us if he couldn’t pay up.The insurance money paid them off.” The tears come uncontrollably now, and I don’t even try to stop them.“I miss him so much.”She rubs the pad of her thumb over my knuckles.“Your dad was a good man, Cecilia.”I smile as I twirl my empty coffee cup in my other hand.“I know.He really was.I always thought of him as my hero when I was a child.”“He saved my life,” she says, her words making me lock eyes with her.“However, there isn’t any amount of money in the world that can save me now.But just know, no matter how your dad died, he died a hero.He gave me time and that’s something I could never get back or could thank him enough for doing.My only regret is not being able to come see him more.”I squeeze her hand in mine, fear obvious in her eyes.“Let’s use the time we have now.”* * *One Month LaterAva spent a week with Bentley and me at our house.We Skyped with her husband and sons so I could ‘meet’ them.I never felt an emotional pain before, but meeting Ava and her family was bittersweet.We promised to keep in touch, but I had an uncanny feeling that this promise wouldn’t last long.After saying goodbye to Ava, it really made me think how I really need to spend time with the people that are important in our lives.It’s easy to make excuses when you’re busy with work and husbands, but I wanted to make sure I put an extra effort into it now.Mrs.Leighton and I plan to meet up finally.It’s time to finally put this cat pissing fight to rest.I want her involved in our life.“Cecilia,” she says my name as if it’s a dirty word.“Hello, Mrs.Leighton,” I say politely, taking a seat across from her.“Thank you for meeting me.”“Well, I do enjoy their lobster,” she says blankly.“Before we order, can I please just say something?” She finally looks at me and nods lightly.“You know I love your son.And I understand you love him just as much [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]