Page 7 of The Secret
I almost burst out laughing. He’s exactly the same: super smart, incredibly kind. Doesn’t he realize that?
“Yeah, but, David, firstly you’re also this amazing, smart, great guy, and secondly that’s her decision, not yours. She understands best what will make her happy.”
“Your dad doesn’t want me for her.”
He’s caught on to this? Oh. My. God.
I try and bottle down the fizzing inside so I can listen to him, but I’ve lost my breath, words stuck behind a huge blockage in my throat.
“She likes to please your dad, you know that. She doesn’t like conflict.”
Fucking hell. “Why do you think my dad doesn’t want you for her?”
If I keep asking questions, maybe I can stop myself from punching my fist through a wall.
“He told me. Years ago. He said I wasn’t fit to lick her boots, and she could do so much better than me.”
I cover the microphone and swear loudly into the quiet of my apartment. If my father was near right now, I’d punch him. The idea of jumping on a plane and screaming at him directly about what a dick he is plays through my head. He’d never say anything nice aboutmeto a guy; he views me like something he found on the sole of his shoe. If my sister’s love for David overcomes my dad’s disapproval, I’ll be really impressed. I take a few calming breaths.
“He’s the biggest asshole on the planet.”
“Yeah, but if I’m lucky enough he also might be my father-in-law.” David never bad-mouths my dad; he just smiles while I bitch about him.
“Plus, you’d have an amazing sister-in-law.”
He laughs. “I would.” He lets out a long groan. “I fucked it up with that camping trip, didn’t I?” The desperation in his tone eats into me. “I should never have done it. What was I thinking? Oh my God. She knows I planned it and bottled out. What must she think of me?Oh, shit. I’m crazy about her, Liss, but I can’t … we have to split up.”
What?Where did that come from? “David, Jesus, don’t be a numbskull. She doesn’t know that at all, and you guys are made for each other. Just ask her. Please. Forget my dad. It’s not worth sacrificing your future for some asshole comment from him. He makes comments like this all the time. Don’t give idiots power. If she says no because she’s trying to keep my dad happy, then she’s an idiot.”
Silence.
“David?”
“Don’t give idiots power, I like that.”
A pigeon lands on the windowsill and fixes me with a beady stare, cocking its head.
“She’s crazy about you, and it’s her decision. If you love her, you have to let her make that choice.” I shift and the bird takes off in an angry flap of gray.He disappeared and gave me no choice. My blood fizzes with a horrible cocktail of anguish and anger.
David clears his throat in my ear. “I’ll think about it, Liss.”
God help us. “Not good enough. Promise me you’ll ask her soon. If she says no, at least you’ll know.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Fuck that. That’s selfish. Will you please? For me? For her?”
Another long silence as I examine the peeling paint on the window frame.
“David?”
“Oh God, okay. Okay. I’ll do it. Oh shit, what am I agreeing to?”
“Something you want,” I growl. “Now put my mom on.”
An hour later I’m off the phone and chopping zucchini for the pasta I’m making for Jo and Kate tonight—our last time together before I leave. The conversation with my mother went better than expected and, to my absolute delight, Dad was out at some golf tournament. So, barring any spontaneous calls from him to give me a hard time—something he used to do regularly when I was at college but seems to have given up on now—I’ve dodged a bullet and hopefully managed to sort my sister’s problem out at the same time.
A lightness washes through me as I sip on my wine. I can’t believe I’m escaping all this bullshit. It’s astonishing the power of one random conversation to change things, perhaps alter the direction of your life forever.
