A Life Less Broken (13 page)

“Is it
always this quiet?” I ask Dominic.

“Not
exactly.”

My eyes dart
to his, and he looks like the cat that ate the canary. A sheepish look passes
over his face as he tries to hold in his smile.

“What aren’t
you telling me?”

“I sort of
anticipated your needs to limit the number of people around. I booked the restaurant
for the next two hours, and left just one table inside. All the tables outside are
available. This way you can ease back into being around people.”

“You did all
this for me?”

“Of course.”

Oh my
.

Everything
he’s done, he’s done for me. Without hesitation and without limits, he’s put
his life on hold to help me.

I stare into
his dynamic brown eyes.

He’s
perfect.

He’s my perfect.

I can hear
the rush of my heartbeat thrum intensely in my ears.

This time,
I’m not nervous, although I am still petrified of what would happen if I were
to step outside into the world alone.

But I
am
worried of what might happen if I tell him just how much I love him.

“Are you
nervous?” I ask Dominic as he paces the length of my family room.

“Of course
not, don’t be preposterous.” He scowls at me.

“No? Are you
sure about that?” I lean against the back of the sofa as I watch him continue
walking back and forth. He stops once and rakes his long fingers through his thick,
dark hair and continues his marching.

“To me you
look anxious. I’ve never seen you so agitated and on edge.”

“Well I’m
not.” The fierceness in his voice silences me as he walks over and envelops me in
his warm arms. “I’m sorry, it’s just I haven’t had to meet parents for a very long
time. And I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon. But I know it’s best that it
happen now so your parents begin to understand that I’m not going anywhere.” He
leans in and kisses my mouth. With the softest of touches he sweeps his tongue
across my bottom lip and draws it into his mouth, just nibbling tenderly.

“You’re
forgiven,” I say against his lips. “Don’t worry about my parents, Dominic.
They’ll just be pleased we’re there. When I called them, they were so happy we’re
coming to see them. Mom even started crying.” My arms stay tight around his
waist as Dominic presses a kiss into my hair.

“I’m so
proud of your strength, sweetheart.” Dominic cradles my face in his hands and
allows his thumbs to stroke my cheeks. He leans down and his lips gently meet
my own. I feel his body relax as his hands frame my face and his warm moist
lips stay glued to mine.

We get lost
in the moment, an eternity passing as we revel in the intimacy and closeness of
each other’s soothing touch.

“We need to
go.” I sadly break the electric connection between us.

“When I have
you in my arms, those are the most perfect moments of my day,” Dominic whispers
in my ear. “Do you know that?”

A shiver of
happiness runs through me. I’m happier than I’ve felt in a long time.

“Are you
ready to go?” Dominic asks as he laces our fingers together and gently tugs me
toward the door.

“Yeah I’m
ready; let’s go.” The wooden door was already open and I unlock the screen door,
step through and wait for Dominic to lock up so we can head to my parents’
home.

“My mom’s
really looking forward to meeting you. My dad on the other hand…well, he’ll be
a little harder to convince.”

“Your mom’s
name is Sandra and your dad’s is George, right?”

“You
remembered.” I smile over at Dominic as he pulls out into the street.

Dominic
lifts my hand to kiss my knuckles, and a small, nervous smile graces his face.

We drive in
silence for the rest of the ten-minute trip. Like the true gentleman that he
is, he comes around to open the car door, and holds my hand tightly in his as I
rise.

This time,
it’s me who needs to be his strength.

I can tell
that he’s got himself in a slight panic. He keeps running his free hand through
his hair, then straightens his shirt and his eyes dart around him, taking in
his surroundings.

As we walk
up the path to my parents’ front door, I lean over and say, “Relax. It’ll be fine.
They know you’re important to me, so they’ll go easy on you.”

A tight, strained
smile thins his lips and his nods, acknowledging, but not responding to my
words. I squeeze my fingers around his as we take the final few steps to the
front door.

I look
around the front of the single-level house and notice that not a lot has
changed. Though the gardens look a little overrun with weeds, the rest of the
façade looks exactly as it did three years ago.

I reach up
and press the doorbell and hear a small cry from inside.

Mom flings
the door open and without pausing she hauls me in for a hug as tears fall freely
down her face.

“I’m so
happy, darling. So happy.” She keeps repeating, tightening her hold on me until
her embrace becomes constricting.

“Mom, you
need to let go a little,” I say with a giggle.

“I just
can’t. You’re here, you’re really here. I’m so happy.”

“Step aside,
Sandy and let our girl give her old man a hug too,” Dad says from behind Mom.

Mom doesn’t
let me go although she moves to the side and brings Dad into the hug. I’m finally
standing on the porch at my parents’ house, enfolded in the arms of two people
I adore.

“I’m so
proud of you,” Dad whispers shakily as we continue to hug.

“Come on,
let’s go inside.” Mom breaks the hug and steps to the side to usher us in the
door. “Oh I’m so sorry, I’m Sandra and you must be Dominic.” Mom extends her
hand to Dominic and he gently takes it in his and shakes it.

“Ma’am, it’s
a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh please,
it’s just Sandra. Please come inside.”

Dad doesn’t
let me go. He continues to hold me close to his chest. I can feel his shoulders
shaking and I can hear the sniffling coming as he gulps for air. “This is all I
wanted, for you to be able to leave your home.”

“I know, Dad.
And I’ve finally done it. All thanks to Dominic,” I breathe as I continue to
hug my father.

“Come on,
let’s go inside and talk.” Dad’s hand holds mine as we step inside the house.

Everything
inside looks exactly the same too. Not a single thing has changed.

“Here, sit.”
Dad points to the sofa.

Dominic sits
in the lone armchair and I sit nestled between Mom and Dad.

“Oh, who’d
like a coffee?” Mom asks.

“I’d just
like some water, Sandra, please,” Dominic answers.

“Me too, Mom.”

Mom goes
toward the kitchen, leaving my dad, me, and Dominic. Dad looks over toward
Dominic and I watch as he eyes Dominic before furrowing his eyebrows together.

“How old are
you, Dominic?”

“I’m
thirty-eight, Sir.”

“Hmmm,” Dad scowls
at Dominic.

“Dad,” I
whisper. “Don’t, please.”

Mom comes
back in with a huge smile and four glasses of iced water as I watch Dad and
Dominic have a silent conversation.

Dad stands
the moment Mom sits and rubs his hands down his jean-clad thighs.

“A word,
please, Dominic,” he says as he heads toward the back door, not looking back to
see if Dominic follows.

“I’ll go
too,” I say as I stand and move to go outside.

Dominic places
a hand around my upper arm and pulls me back. He moves so he’s standing in
front of me, in order for me to see him better.

“There’s no
need to come. Your father and I have a few things to discuss. Stay here and
talk with your mom,” he says in a low voice. With a smile, he adds, “Go see if
your room is still four shades of purple.”

“Dominic, I
think I should come with you,” I say, frustrated that he’s trying to stop me.

“Sweetheart,”
he starts as he rubs his hands up and down my arms, causing goose bumps to form
from the simple exchange. “I’ll be fine.” He leans down and chastely kisses my
lips before letting go of my arms. He presses another kiss to my forehead and follows
Dad outside.

Dominic

“You’re
thirty-eight?” Allyn’s father says, starting this rather awkward conversation.

“Yes, sir I
am. I’ll be turning thirty-nine in about three weeks.”

George paces
along the back porch and stops to look me over then continues his marching.

“And you’re
her doctor too.”

“Yes, sir
I’m that as well.”

George takes
a few steps toward me and I straighten my back to show that I’m not intimidated
by his protective nature toward his daughter.

“Doesn’t
that cause an issue for your doctor-patient relationship? Isn’t there a code of
ethics you should be upholding?” He crosses his arms in front of him and plants
his feet hip-width apart. I can tell he’s not entirely pleased with the idea of
Allyn and me together.

“Technically,
yes. But I can’t help who I’ve fallen for, sir. She’s an amazing woman.”

“She’s
survived a lot. I don’t want her to have to survive you too. You’re
considerably older than Allyn, and when you decide that she’s too young for you
and dump her, she’ll be back where she started, if not worse.”

“I
understand your concern, but that’s not going to happen. Allyn is wise beyond
her years, and she’s perfect just the way she is.”

George takes
a step closer to me.

“You’re
aware that she’ll never work again? She’ll never be able to go out on her own, and
she’ll be living in fear the rest of her life?”

“Sir, with
all due respect, but I think Allyn is much stronger than you think and she will
certainly be able to do everything you’ve just listed and much more.”

“She can’t
give you children.”

“I know all
about what those monsters did to her.”

“Why is a
thirty-eight year old man, who seems quite intelligent, financially secure and
handsome, not married with his own family?”

Oh shit. I’m
going to have to tell him something about Chelsea.

“Truthfully,
I am married.” I see George’s face turn ashen as his hands ball up into fists.
“I’m waiting for my divorce to come through any day now. My brother is my
lawyer and he worked hard to fast-track it, but I still need to wait for it to
be finalized, and even he can’t hurry that up.”

George retreats
one step, and unclasps his hands. He turns to look out on the small, lively
garden and leans up against the railing while he takes in a huge gulp of air.

“Sir, may I
be honest with you?” I take a step closer and mimic his position and posture.

“Of course.”

“Allyn is
the most important person in my life. I can’t even think about not being with
her. I’ll protect her, I’ll nurture her, and I’ll help her heal. I know I’ll
never find anyone who touches my heart as deeply as Allyn does.”

“But her
scars…,” her father starts.

“Are
inconsequential. I don’t even see them; I never have,” I respond.

“But the age
difference…”

“Will only
matter to the haters. And unfortunately, they’re everywhere. I pay them no due,
because their opinion means nothing to me. Only Allyn’s opinion matters.  If
she’ll let me, I’ll stay with her until the very last breath I take.”

A prolonged
silence passes between us. George must be considering what I’ve said. The
intensity of the moment makes the pounding of my heart reverberate loudly in my
ears, as I allow the father of the woman I love to digest my honest words.

“Do you know
what, Dominic?” He waits for me to respond.

“No Sir,
what?”

“I think you’d
best call me George.”