Page 79 of Meet Me on Love Street
He smiles at me with relief and orders the pasta.
Once the waitress is gone, I wait for them to start talking. This “meeting” is for them to be honest with me for the first time, so they need to start doing that.
My dad clears his throat. “Sana, I’m glad you came to see me yesterday. You brought up a few things that made me realize how far apart we’ve drifted. We need to have a proper conversation.” He pauses and swallows thickly like he’s uncomfortable. Good, he should be. “You accused me of only asking you to move in with me so your mother would sell her building. That isn’t true—I would love to have you at home with us.”
I shake my head. “Yeah, right. Like—”
Mom puts her hand on my arm, stopping me. “Let your father finish.”
I cross my arms in front of me.
Dad exhales. “But I admit, thetimingof my invitationwasso your mother would reconsider the offer I’d presented to her. It was a good offer. I negotiated the best possible terms for her—not because I wanted a bigger commission, but because I truly do want what’s best for her. For both of you. This developer is fair. I’ve known Ashwin, one of the owners, for a long time. I know enough about the industry to know that this was going to be the best deal for her.”
Mom nods. “It really is an excellent offer.”
“Yeah, but you should have told me the truth from the beginning,” I say. “You both kept this huge thing from your own daughter.”
“You’re right,” Mom says. “We should have. If we could do it again—”
I shake my head. “But you can’t do it again. I’m not nine anymore. I’mseventeen. Do you think I’m not mature enough to understand these things? Or is it because you don’t want me to have a say on decisions you know I won’t agree with?”
“Sana, I explained why I had to sell,” Mom says. “I thought you understood.”
“Idounderstand,” I say. If we’re all going to be open with each other, I should tell the truth. “I overheard you and Jenn talking a couple of months ago—that day you were painting those flowerpots pink. You said you’d had an offer for the building, but you weren’t going to sell until you talked to me about it. But then you didn’t talk to me.”
Mom cringes. “I’m sorry you heard that, Sana. I just… I didn’t want this to affect your work with the festival.”
“But I suggested the festival to the BOA so youwouldn’thave to sell. I’ve been helping you more in the store. I did it all so we could stay there.” Didn’t make a whole lot of difference, though. I hate how powerless I feel. Just like when I was little, everything is turning upside down, and I don’t have control over any of it.
“We’re sorry we weren’t honest with you from the beginning,” Dad says.
I glare at my father. “It’s not like you’ve ever been honest with me in the past.”
Everyone at the table is silent for several long moments.
Mom finally speaks. “Sana, how long have you known that your father was with Noureen before our divorce?”
I shrug. “Since the beginning,” I say. “I overheard Dad talking to her in his office a few times. He said her name… Noureen. He said they’d be together soon. Then, when you told me that you two were divorcing, it all made sense. I was young, but I wasn’t an idiot. You both promised that it wasn’t because you were with someone else. Which I knew right away was a lie.”
Dad looks sad, but I know he doesn’t regret what he did back then. Because, I mean, hemarriedNoureen.
“I’m sorry you heard that,” Dad says.
No one speaks for a while. This “family” doesn’t know how to communicate, so why even try? But Idoknow how to talk. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept this in for so long, waiting for them to be honest with me. I’m not going to keep it in anymore.
I take a breath. “You two shouldn’t have lied to me.” I look at Mom. “You shouldn’t have forced me to go see Dad… acheater… and hismistressevery weekend. And you”—I point to my father—“shouldn’t have forced me tohave a relationship with Noureen. She broke up my family. And she doesn’t even like me, anyway.”
Dad shakes his head. “Sana, that’s not fair. Noureen has been nothing but welcoming to you. She’s—”
“She’s not the one who needs to bewelcomingme to your family!” I spit out. “You’re my father—I had you first!” That shut Dad up. Mom puts her hand on my arm, and I appreciate the support. I take a breath. “Noureen might like me if I were smarter, dressed better, had smoother hair, and wanted to work a corporate job. Basically, if I were Sarina. I don’t know why she thinks she has the right to judge the daughter of the woman whose husband she stole.”
Mom shakes her head. “Noureen didn’t steal anyone, Sana. I promise. Everything isn’t black-and-white here. I know it would be easier if there were a bad guy and a good guy… but your father and I both made mistakes. And quite truthfully, our relationship was effectively over long before Noureen came into the picture.”
“What does that mean…effectively over?”
The server shows up with our food then. It all looks delicious—too bad none of us has an appetite right now. After she’s gone, Dad sighs. “Your mother and I wanted different things from our lives. She wanted to open her dream flower shop in the city, and I wanted a stable house in the suburbs. And I’m not proud of it, but we bitterly villainized each other for our differences for much too long.”
“You guys never fought!” We were a happy family. My memories weren’t all fake. My parents weren’t particularly romantic with each other, but I don’t remember them arguing.
