Page 36 of Frosty Felicity
“So, after that, I was planning to spend some time at my mother and stepdad’s house with family. How about after the visit with my mother, I swing by your aunt’s, house? I know it sounds like a lot, but—”
“No, no, that’s perfect.”
“Really? On second thought, you don’t think it’s too fast? I mean, we haven’t been dating that long and—”
He silenced her with a kiss. Taking her by the hand, he walked up to his parked car in front of the store, then tapped on the passenger’s side frame. Dad rolled down the window.
“I’m going to walk Felicity to her car.” He pointed up ahead. “I won’t be gone long. Then we’ll leave.”
“Okay, no problem. Nice meetin’ you, Felicity!” The old man waved and grinned as he rolled the window back up.
“It was nice meeting you, too!”
They took a short walk across the mostly empty parking lot to her car, which was covered in a slight dusting of snow. After she got inside the vehicle, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips.
“I’ll be over later tonight. Be careful driving home.”
“Okay.” She gave him a sweet peck, then locked her door, and drove away. He waited for a few seconds, watching her car, then walked back to his. When he got in, his father’s face was all aglow from his phone screen’s light. He turned on the radio and pulled away, heading to the highway. ‘Leave Before You Love Me,’ by the Jonas Brothers, came on the radio. Dad was quiet for a while, then cleared his throat.
“You and Felicity haven’t been dating that long, huh? Or at least that’s what you said earlier to me, right?”
“Yeah. We met in early November. Hasn’t been too long.”
“Hmmm… things got pretty serious, pretty fast then, huh? You told me tonight that she’s your girlfriend.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, we’re exclusive, so I guess so. It just sort of happened that way.”
Dad nodded and drew quiet for a bit. He clasped his hands together as the music played on low, and Brett took his time driving on the icy streets, then merged onto I-75. Dad started fidgeting with his wedding band. He rarely ever took it off, even after Mom’s death.
“I knew your mother for four months before we got married…”
He shot his father a glance from the corner of his eye, and could see the old man’s lower lip quiver with emotion.
“Yeah. Mom had told me. She said people thought she was pregnant.” He chuckled. “Shotgun wedding.”
Dad smiled at that.
“Yeah, I heard that at the time, too. No… she wasn’t pregnant. We were just in love.” Dad looked out the window. He could see the old man’s reflection as he seemed to be drifting in his own thoughts like a slow-moving cloud. “We didn’t see the reason to wait long. When you know, you know.”
“I can’t argue with you there. I really like her—just like I told you. She makes me feel… Hell, I can’t even explain it, Dad, but it feels good. Real good.”
“Felicity seems like a nice woman, Brett. You both appear to enjoy each other. Have fun together. That’s important.” Dad turned back towards him.
“Yeah, it is. Trust is important, too.” He gripped the steering wheel a bit harder as he merged into traffic.
“It’s not really about how long you’ve known someone, son. It’s the time you spend talking and getting to know one another.” Brett nodded in agreement. “Communication and trust are key. Being compatible. Having the same values. If you spend more time laughin’ with someone than crying, then you know she’s a keeper. I haven’t seen you laugh as much as you laughed tonight, in years.”
Dad’s gaze seemed to bore into his soul. Brett saw his father’s heartache, his pain, his love for his mother in those eyes.
The old man patted his thigh, offered a sad smile, then quickly turned away. They spoke not another word while they rolled in their own thoughts to the rhythm of ‘Life Goes On,’ by Oliver Tree…
