How Green Becomes Wood

"He sounds like a good husband. Letting his wife deal with her own problems, but right there as backup when needed and stepping in only when necessary," Sally said. "It might be for the best that you let things rest for now and let things cool, but once they have... do you desire to speak with him again?"
 
"He's, I think, the best man I've ever known," Daizi replied, rubbing her thumb along the glass rim, "I don't know. I don't know what I want. I love my father, even though... I don't know why. With everything he's done. But even though I love him, I refuse to listen to someone who does nothing but insult my family and the choice I made. Anyway, I don't think he even likes me."
 
"It is possible to love someone without reason and even against reason. It is also possible to love them while not having anything to do with them for the sake of safety or whatever else," Sally said. "I think you were right to draw that line and even more right to defend it."
 
"Likely the fact that you stood your ground and he discovered he had to deal with consequences has him a little shaken," Sally said. "I would let him stew just a bit longer, but that is me."
 
"Give it time. It's a door that needs to be closed for now, but there's no need to throw away the key just yet," Sally tried to reassure her. "When you are ready, you'll know it." She finished her meal quickly but did not try to rush Daizi.
 
"I'm not really ready to think about it. I've been doing my best to not think about our fight at all since it happened, but it's hard. It was a horrible night." Daizi sighed, eating much more slowly than Sally was, "It was crushing. I don't think anyone has ever hurt me that badly."
 
"That is the risk we must all take: those closest to us, those we should be able to trust, are inevitably the ones that can hurt us the deepest," Sally said softly. "I do not think any pain can be compared to that of a parent inflicted upon a child."
 
Sally considered her answer as she fiddled with her own glass. "I am not certain he ever allowed himself the chance to like you. I cannot speak too much on it having barely met the man, but I think he was so focus on a fantasy he was incapable of seeing the truth."
 
Daizi shrugged sadly, "There was never anything I could do to please him, was there? Don't answer that. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I'm not talking to him now. Right now I don't know if I'll ever want to talk to him again. And that's his fault, not mine. I didn't ask for what I was given, but I coped with it. I'm not going to self-flagellate because he can't."
 
"That's what I tell myself anyway. I've been repeating it to myself like a mantra with the same hope and fervor as my aunt as she kneels five times daily to pray." She took a deep breath and held it in for a few moments before exhaling, "It's weird. He disowned me once. For I think five years after I ran out on my wedding, we didn't say a word to each other. I don't know why, it doesn't make sense to me, but it hurt less when it was his choice. Maybe it's just because it was over a decade ago, maybe it's because I was only twenty-two when it started..." She swore softly, "Do you remember being twenty-two? I felt like such an adult."
 
"It hurts more because he drove you to the point where you were forced to make a decision you did not want to for the sake of those you love," Sally said. She then snorted. "We had it all sorted when we were that young, didn't we? The world was our playground! It was a rough playground, rougher for some than others, but we felt we could accomplish anything if we just had enough grit!" She laughed and then sighed. "If I had the body and energy of then and the wisdom of now... of course, we might be having this conversation again in twenty years about our thirties!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top