20
The other doctor in Maddie’s practice had been happy to cover a few patients in the early afternoon. It was one of those rare slow days where everyone seemed healthy and happy. Maddie cherished those because they didn’t happen often.
With a few free hours, she’d called her father to see if he had time to meet up for a cup of coffee. He’d agreed and that’s why she was sitting in the local coffee shop, nervous as hell and eating a slab of marble cake. She ate sugar when she was upset.
After her conversation with Amanda last night, Maddie had known she had to talk to her father again. She wasn’t angry anymore, which was a relief. Being mad at her dad wasn’t fun for either of them. She was disappointed, of course. But she’d made a point to Amanda that parents weren’t perfect. Her father had taken a huge tumble off of his pedestal recently, and that was something she had to admit her part in. After all, she’s the one that had placed him up there in the first place. He’d never asked her to.
“Hey, pumpkin,” her father said, leaning down to drop a kiss on her cheek. Somehow he’d managed to enter the shop and not make a sound until he was right next to her. Or maybe her mind had been miles away. “It’s good to see you today.”
He was acting as if they hadn’t argued the last time they’d seen each other. Her dad wasn’t much for confrontations. He preferred to sweep it all under the rug and hope that the issue became moot. Oftentimes, he got lucky and it did.
“It’s good to see you, too. I’m glad you could join me.”
“I’m always up for having a coffee with my beautiful daughter. Are you ready for Amanda’s birthday party?”
They were having a party for Amanda’s nineteenth birthday and everyone was invited. She’d lost count of the guest list, and at this point, she simply assumed everyone in Springwood plus many others from farther afield were attending. They’d planned on doing the big party when Amanda had turned eighteen but she’d come down with a nasty case of stomach flu and they’d had to cancel. They wanted to make up for it this year.
Her father was regular at the shop and the waitress brought his usual order, placing it in front of him before bustling away.
“My friends are going to help me decorate. Thank goodness, I’m not doing the cooking.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” her father said, taking a sip of his coffee. “If you hadn’t called me today, I was going to call you.”
Sighing, Maddie shook her head.
“I’m sorry about how the lunch turned out. I didn’t want it to go that way, but somehow it spiraled out of control and the next thing I knew we were at each other’s throats.”
“Stacy understood. She wasn’t put off by it.”
Maddie didn’t give a crap what Stacy thought. She barely knew her. Maybe someday in the future her opinion might matter a great deal, but not yet.
If that makes me a bitch, so be it. I’m at an age where I don’t much care about what strangers think of me.
“Dad, Stacy and I are basically strangers. You can’t force this to happen.”
“I’m beginning to think that you don’t want it to happen. You’ve certainly dug in your heels.”
Her temper flared at her father’s words, but she kept her emotions firmly leashed. She didn’t want to start going in circles all over again. This was supposed to be a productive conversation.
“I don’t want to argue about this, Dad,” she replied, her tone even. “I’m a grown woman and I choose my own friends. You can’t set Stacy and I up on a playdate. I’m too old for that. You know, maybe if you weren’t pushing so hard, I wouldn’t be pushing back. Just let it happen. Why do you have such an aggressive timetable for this?”
Her father’s shoulders slumped, his lips turned down.
“Let’s face it. You would never choose Stacy to be friends with. You and she are so different. I’m not stupid, Maddie. I know that you didn’t like her.”
“I don’t know her,” she protested. “I’ll admit that she came on a little strong for my tastes, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like her. I’m sure she’s a nice person. Do we have anything in common? I don’t know, and that’s something that she and I can find out over time. I just don’t want to be pushed into something I’m not ready for. You and Stacy have been talking and learning about each other for months. I’ve had a few days to get used to this.”
“Stacy does come on a bit strong,” her father admitted. “She has a real zest for life, and because of that she can sometimes bulldoze some boundaries.”
“Dad,” Maddie sighed. “She flirted with my husband. In front of me.”
“I know, and that was a cringe moment. She really didn’t mean anything by it. She’s completely harmless.”
“I’m sure she is. But this isn’t really about her. This is about you. And me. And Mom.”
Her dad’s gaze fell to the table, his brows pinched together.
“I am sorry about what I did, even though you don’t think that I am. I’m ashamed of what happened, and I’d like to think that I’m not that person anymore. I hope that I’ve learned my lesson.” He straightened in his chair. “As for your mother and me, we had a good marriage, Maddie. It wasn’t perfect, but then nothing is. We argued and we made up. We were committed to making our life together work even when the going got tough. I may have strayed from my marriage vows in one sense, but I always held tight to till death do us part. Your mother was the love of my life, and I hope that I made her as happy as she made me.”