“I know, Mom.” As she held her mother, Lizzie dropped the letter.
“I love you,” she said with a sniff.
“I love you too.”
Derek watched them together, his eyes noticeably wet.
After Lizzie finished with the long hug, she turned to face Derek.
They stared at each other for a bit, his eyes growing more and more emotional as he looked at her.
She dropped her gaze for a moment, like she didn’t know what to say. Then she moved into his chest and squeezed him harder.
His arms wrapped around her, and he closed his eyes, breathing hard like he was doing his best not to break down into tears like Emerson.
She hugged him harder than she did her mother, and I knew exactly why.
“You always told me to believe in myself,” she whispered. “This happened because of you.”
Derek couldn’t hold back his emotion anymore, and the tears came. “Liz…”
“You never gave up on me. You told me I was smart when my teachers said I was stupid.”
“Stop…” He rubbed her back as the tears continued to come. “It was all you, Liz. Don’t give me any credit I don’t deserve.”
Emerson’s face was red and blotchy as she watched them together.
“You’re the best dad anyone could ask for,” Lizzie whispered.
“Fuck…” Now, it was my turn. I blinked my eyes quickly so I wouldn’t cry like everyone else.
Derek pulled himself together before he pulled away. “And you’re the best daughter I ever could have asked for. I just wish…I wish I had more time with you. I don’t know what I’m going to do when you move out.”
“I’ll come back, Dad.” She gave him a smile through her tears. “There’s only one place I want to work.”
I had just clocked out when Dad walked up to my desk, his satchel over his shoulder, wearing his signature jeans and sweater. He hadn’t changed much since I could remember, always having the same routine, the same outfits, the same boring dinners.
“Want to come up for a beer? The game is on.”
“Sounds good. But I’ve been working all day, and I’m pretty hungry…”
He gave a slight smile. “I can order you a pizza.”
“You? You aren’t going to eat it?”
“Your mother and I ordered pizza a few days ago.”
Man, he was lame. “I’m in.” I grabbed my sweater and walked with him to the elevator. “Should I text Derek?” I knew Mom was working late because she had an event with a client, so Dad was solo tonight.
“He’s busy.”
We got into the elevator and rode it up together.
I could tell Dad was in a bit of a weird mood because he was really quiet.
“We’re going to have another Harvard alum in the family…pretty exciting.”
“Very.” He gripped the strap of his bag and faced the metal doors. “Your mother and I are extremely proud. Lizzie is a very accomplished young woman, and I’m excited to see where life will take her. I just feel bad for Derek. It’s gonna be hard for him.”
“Hard for him, how?”
“Because she’s leaving for college.” The doors opened, and he stepped into the hallway. “She’ll start her own life. When each one of you went off to college, it was rough. I took it worse than your mother. Daisy was the hardest.”
“Why was Daisy the hardest?”
He walked forward and pulled his keys from his pocket. “I love you all equally and raised you all equally, but…it’s just different with her. She’s my little girl. I just feel more protective toward her than you or Derek. So, I know Derek will have to go through that entire process. At least I had Daisy from the day she was born. Derek didn’t get that luxury.” He unlocked the door, and we walked inside, stepping into my childhood home. His satchel was set on the dining table like routine, and he headed to the fridge to grab the beers.
I got comfortable on the couch and pulled out my phone to order the pizza. “You sure you don’t want anything?”
“Yes.” He set the beers down and sat beside me. “But let me order it.”
“I got it—”
He pushed my phone down and made the order himself. “You’re my company.”
I knew that wasn’t the only reason. I made good money working for Mom, but it still wasn’t a fortune when the rent in New York City was so expensive. I was definitely the poorest person in the family, living in a regular apartment now instead of a nice penthouse, but that didn’t bother me at all. “Well, thanks.”
He tossed the phone aside then twisted off the cap to his beer.
I did the same.
He took a drink of his beer but didn’t reach for the remote.
It was on the other side of him on the coffee table, so I couldn’t reach it. I waited for him to grab it, but he didn’t.
Oh fuck. I knew what was coming. “What is it?”