Turned out, miracles did indeed happen. Or just really good feats of engineering.
Dale glanced up as soon as Trey entered. He pushed open the glass door without knocking. It wasn’t his usual MO. He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t knocked before entering his father’s domain. Even as a kid, his mom taught him to raise his little fist in greeting or warning, before he entered another person’s somewhat private space.
“We need to talk.” He didn’t bother with preamble before he shuffled across the vast distance of empty office space- the place was absolutely huge. It was the largest office in the building and Dale had pretty much chosen to leave most of it empty, almost like a big fuck you to everyone else in the place who struggled and clamored for more space.
Trey sunk down in the black modern office chair across from his father’s desk. It was so incongruous with the antique piece that he almost laughed at the fact that he’d never noticed it before. He felt like when it came to everything about his life, he was seeing clearly, eyes wide open, for the first time in his life.
“I figured you’d be by sooner or later.” Dale set down the expensive fountain pen he used. It was a gift from Trey’s mom and Dale used the thing almost exclusively when he wasn’t working on his laptop. His dad was old-fashioned in the way that he still liked to send handwritten cards at Christmas, not emails like he was doing just now.
That caught Trey off guard. He watched as Dale folded his hands on the ancient desk top. He actually raised his head, giving Trey his full attention.
“You fought tooth and nail to marry mom. Her dad didn’t think you were good enough for her. You wouldn’t give up. You had nothing, but you promised him that you’d look after her. That you’d give her a good life, and most of all, that you’d never stop loving her. That you’d cherish her above everything else. And you did. I didn’t really know it at the time, but I was a lucky kid, growing up, to get to see two people who loved each other like you and mom. You were happy. Both of you. You never stopped loving each other. She was your entire world.” Trey cleared his throat. His father stared at him impassively, but Dale had years of perfecting the perfect stern look. It was the same look he liked to give problematic clients, disgruntled employees, and his wayward son. “Why won’t you give me the same chance to have that?”
His father did something he didn’t expect. Dale laughed. He chuckled under his breath and leaned back just a little. “I didn’t realize I was stopping you.”
Trey knew he probably looked like a fool at the moment, a mix of shock and disbelief twisting his face. He’d come prepared for battle. Not- not whatever this was.
“How can you say that? You were the one who told me to choose between Ambi and my inheritance in college. You told me it was break up with her or lose everything.”
Dale shifted in his seat. He kept his face impassive and bland. “I did give you that choice, yes.”
“You told me to make the right decision. Not to disappoint mom.”
“No. I told you to make the decision that would have made your mother proud. I never told you what that was.”
“You made it obvious!”
Dale rearranged his hands on the desktop. Trey’s eyes were drawn to them. Those hands. Strong hands. Hands that had picked him up when he’d fallen as a kid. Hands that healed his scraped knees and elbows. Hands that guided him on his bike for the first time, hands that taught him to fly fish- which he and his dad did every single summer. Hands that taught. Guided. Loved. Hands that were there to instruct.
His father taught him that nothing in life was final. Anything could be achieved through hard work and dedication. Trey used to think it was an old-school mentality that wasn’t quite true, but now he wasn’t so sure. His dad tried to give him the most important thing in the world. Values. He tried to teach him what was important in life. Somewhere along the way, had he misunderstood?
Dale wasn’t snarling at him at the moment. He wasn’t giving him a list of ultimatums. He was just sitting there, staring at his hands like he was waiting for Trey to make up his own mind about what was happening. About what had happened in the past.
“I came here because I wanted to tell you that I’m not giving up on Ambi. Not this time. I’ve spent the past five years living with the weight of my regrets. I don’t want to sell insurance. I never have. I wanted to do something creative with my life, not be chained to a desk day in and day out. I want to go down a different path. I’ve saved and invested all the money that I earned and that you gave me. I’ve been careful. I’ve made a name for myself and I’ve made a good living and I thank you for providing me with that. For setting the foundation and helping me build up the walls along the way. You and mom. You taught me everything. You gave me every opportunity in the world. I just- I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to work here. I actually hate working here. I always have.”