Where do I go? I don’t want to go home, not yet. I can’t deal with my father on top of all this; I just can’t. There’s only one other place that will provide the distraction I need—work.
The drive to the diner gives me some time to get myself together, well as best as I possibly can; this clawing pain in my chest seems to be digging deeper with each breath I take. Thankfully, when I get inside, the place is fairly empty with only two younger guys sitting in a booth by the windows. I make it through the front, but just before I can sneak in back, Joan spots me.
“Vel, I thought I told you it was okay to take the night off?”
It’s pointless to try and hide it, so I look up to her as she makes her way over to me, and I know the moment she notices because her shoulders fall.
She takes me into her arms. “Sweet child,
what happened to you?”
I bring my hands to my face and try to explain, but nothing comes out. Joan moves to my side, still keeping one arm around me and starts to walk me to the back. “Come, we’ll get you some tea, and we can talk.”
When we get in back, she doesn’t have to say anything to Stu; just a quick nod from Joan and he moves past us and through the doors to watch over the counter.
Joan sits me in a chair. “Sit here. I’m going to make you that tea, then you’re going to tell me what happened.”
She heads through the doors to the front, then not even moments later, is back with two mugs in her hand. Pulling up a chair, she takes a seat in front of me, handing me a cup. “Okay, talk, because I know you didn’t come here to work.”
I sit up, and as I let out a trembled breath, the full force of all the pain inside comes out. The tears flooding my face burn. “He just stood there.” My words come out in a stutter. “His father insulted me. Insulted who I was as a person, and he just stood there.”
Joan lets out a sigh. “Where was this?”
I let out another breath slowly through my lips. “At Dylan’s house. We stopped there before heading to the cabin to grab Dylan’s stuff and drop off my car. When we went inside, his Dad was right there. I’ve never seen such venom inside anyone. That man’s horrible, Joan.”
She reaches over, rubbing my shoulder. “Velyn, if you noticed that within just seconds, imagine what that boy’s seen his whole life.”
I look to her with my brows pinched. “Are you saying how Dylan reacted is okay? That letting his father speak to me like that was nothing to be upset about?”
“No, but it may explain why he didn’t react at all. Velyn, I know right now you’re hurt, and you blame him because you need someone to lay blame on. But before you go condemning that boy, you need to put yourself in his shoes.”
“I can’t believe you’re making excuses for him.”
“I’m not, I just want you to think about this with a clear and open mind. I know you, Velyn, and if you make a decision based on the way you feel right now, you’ll regret it.”
I sit back, looking down at the mug in my hands. “He just stood there, Joan. No matter who it was, my father, Stu...you. No matter how much I love all of you, had any of you spoke to him like that, said those things, I would’ve said something.”
“You’re probably right, but from what you’ve told me about Dylan, Velyn, I don’t think he had a free-thinking bone in his body until you showed him that he could. His whole life, Dylan has been told how to act and what to think. Imagine if that had happened to you, then imagine if it were all pushed on you by a man with a very skewed sense of reality. Dylan’s father doesn’t think about what’s right and wrong because, to him, that’s irrelevant. The only thing that matters to men like that is what’s best for their life and how they can make it even better. And it’s sad to say, but, Velyn, that’s also what Dylan’s father pushes on his boys.”
I came here to be consoled, and instead, I’m getting a lecture. “Why does it feel like you’re on his side.”
Joan brings her fingers to my chin, tilting my head up. “Because I’ve seen how that boy looks at you. Velyn, if he didn’t jump in and defend you, it’s because he couldn’t. Just as his father’s words hurt you, they hurt him and also left him feeling powerless. I don’t know what his father all said, but I do know men like him because my own father was one—controlling and self-serving. When your whole life is spent in fear of a person like that, it may take a moment or two to develop the backbone to finally stand up to them. But what you need to do right now, is trust that Dylan’s a good man and that he’ll do the right thing. Velyn, the pain you’re feeling, don’t blame that on him. He cares for you deeply, and it’s hurting him to know that he had to let you walk out of there. But I promise if you give him a chance, he’ll make it right.”
Maybe she’s right, and Dylan does feel powerless against his father. But what does that mean for us?
I look up to Joan. “I don’t want to go home just yet.”
She nods. “The dinner rush will be starting soon, but I think upfront will be too much for you tonight. I’ll take the front with Celeste when she gets
