“Oh.” Joe pauses as if waiting for an explanation, but when I don’t give one, he heads back towards the front door of his house. “Well, come in, then. I guess I’ll get you a coffee.”
Joe disappears into the house ahead of us, and I have one last moment to squeeze Ashley's hand and give her a look that says it's all going to be alright. The thing is, I don't really know if it will be. This could be the end of their family relationship. All I know is, I'm not going to give up on Ashley under any circumstances. If it has to be a choice between me or her father, I feel confident that she will choose me. And even if she doesn't at first, I will find a way to show her that I'm the right man for her, even if her family doesn’t approve.
She's mine. Just because everyone in the world doesn't know it yet, doesn't make it any less true. And I'm not going home without her.
“So,” Joe says, once we’re all settled in the living room with cups of coffee. “What are you doing here, then, Nando? Business trip?”
“No,” I say, clearing my throat and glancing at her. “Actually, it’s a personal visit. I wanted to see you.”
“Me?” Joe glances between us, suspiciously. He half-smiles, half squints, like he’s not quite sure how to take this news. I don’t blame him. It must seem like it’s coming right out of left field. “Why do I get the feeling it’s not for a good reason?”
I wish I could delay by suggesting that we sit down, but we all already are. There’s nothing for it, now, but to get to the point.
“The thing is,” I say. “Ashley and I spent a lot of time together in Barcelona.”
“That’s good,” Joe says, hesitantly. “Isn’t it? I asked you to look out for her, after all.”
“You did,” I say, and then pause. “But the thing is – it wasn’t like that. When I called you… I was thinking of telling you something else. But it became clear that you wouldn’t accept my words over the phone. I decided to come here and tell you in person so that you can see how serious I am about this.”
“About what?” Joe looks between us again, clearly nonplussed.
“Dad,” Ashley takes over, leaning across towards me. We’re seated side by side on the sofa, but with this move, now we’re more together. “It’s about what happened in Barcelona. Between us.”
“Between you?” A heavy frown is beginning to appear between Joe’s eyes.
I take a breath. “Ashley and I – we really connected. And I think that we have something real. Something that’s worth exploring further. I want her to come back to Barcelona and live with me, as soon as she can wrap up the things that she needs to here. We have a chance at something really special.”
“You…” Joe’s face pales and then goes red, as what I’m saying hits home. I’ve tried to be as subtle and mature about it as possible – I don’t want to tell him that she makes me wild in bed or that I can’t get enough of her body. It’s deeper than that, anyway. But I can see him thinking it through, wondering what we must have got up to out there alone. “You and my daughter…”
“Dad, please listen,” Ashley says quickly. She can sense just as well as I can that Joe is about to lose it. “This is real. There’s something between us, something that neither of us expected. I… I want to stay with him. I do. This week was so magical, and I don’t want to give it up.”
“This week!” Joe explodes, his hands shaking as he gestures angrily. “This week! You’ve known each other as adults for a week – less than a week! And you’re going to move to another country because of that?”
“It’s–” I start to say, thinking to defend her choice. I don’t get a chance to say anything else.
“And you!” Joe yells, wheeling on me. “You’ve known her since she was a child! How can you do this?”
“She’s not a child anymore,” I say quietly, thinking that it’s probably not going to improve matters but having to say it anyway. “She grew up, and I haven’t been here with you for years. She’s… she’s a woman now. It’s not as though we went on family vacations together?”
“You think that makes it better?” Joe yells. He knows I’m right – I saw Ashley from time to time when she was a kid, but never often enough to get to know her or be close to her. Hell, I don’t think we ever had a full conversation. She was just Joe’s kid, in the background, usually with her mother. If we’d have been close, maybe I would have thought it was too weird for us to get together now. But we weren’t, and I don’t.