I haven’t thought about my mother in years. She was beautiful and headstrong. She knew what she wanted from life and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. My father was in love with her his entire life. When she entered the room, it wasn’t just his face that lit up. It was as if he was lit up from the inside out. He was reserved and was rarely physically affectionate with her in front of me, but there is no doubt that he loved her until the day he died.
When my father got sick, Valentina arranged for the best doctors and nurses to take care of him. Then she left a plane ticket on my desk without a word. It was a difficult time for my company and I couldn’t bear the distraction. My relationship with my father at the time was frosty at best. We just didn’t understand each other. So the ticket sat, unused, in the trash bin, and I never saw my father again.
I don’t regret my decision but if I were to be given the chance again, I would choose to be by my father’s bedside. I wouldn’t expect him to display any bit of pleasure at my presence, nor would I expect to have some miraculous reconciliation in the last seconds of his life. But I would be content to just sit next to him and keep him company in his last moments. I think we would have both appreciated the quiet companionship. Being with Amelia makes me realize that a person’s simple presence and silence can say the words we may not be ready to or know how to say.
Even though he was a man of few words, my father was a romantic and I guess I am no different. I stare at myself in the little square mirror and see a man with hope in his eyes for the first time in years. I almost don’t recognize myself. This is not a man consumed by work and status. I am looking forward to a future. I can picture the life that I will have with Amelia. She’ll move to Manhattan with me and fall seamlessly into my life. We will raise our children together and our days will be filled with playdates, family meals, and lazy weekends on the couch. It is strange; I have never pictured having children with Rachel, even though I’m sure I was committed to her. Now, I can’t wait to have children with Amelia and see us raising a family together. The idea fills my heart with warmth and hope that I haven’t felt in a long time.
Everything is falling into place perfectly. Things are going so well that I can’t even believe it. This happens when you’re in love, right? I have everything planned out for us. Amelia doesn’t know it yet, but I know she will love it! How could she not? We will have the perfect life together, free from any worries, arguments, or stress. We will have the life I’ve always pictured.
Staring down at my mother’s ring, I suddenly realize that I don’t just want Amelia in my life for a few weeks or months. I don’t want her to move to New York and be my girlfriend. I want her to be a part of my life, forever.
Chapter 13
Amelia
I’m always late.
I rush around the house in my scrubs, looking for my keys. I went back home to stay with Mom for a couple of weeks, but Fletcher is coming back from New York today, so I came back to his house. Most of the rooms are bare, as they were when he left. He still hasn’t told me what he plans to do with the house yet. I thought he was going to sell it, but then he offered that my mom could live here. It is definitely a very tempting offer. It’s a nice house and very close to the hospital. There is a bedroom on the groundfloor so that Mom could get around easily in her wheelchair.
But I can’t just accept this generous gift of a house. Also, that would cement the fact that I’ll be moving to New York with him, right? I can’t live in his house without him, right? That would seem like I’m just taking advantage of him.
Moving to New York with him is also very tempting. I want to be with him and the thought of him all the way across the country just tears me into pieces. We have just started our relationship and being long-distance will be hard. Not to mention that he has a very demanding and important job and I am trying to become a nurse. Yet, that also seems like I’m just taking advantage of him.
Meghan thinks that I’m an idiot, to pass up an opportunity to live in New York on a billionaire’s dime. She thinks my life will be filled with penthouses, private cars, and expensive glasses of champagne. But I just can’t do it. I tell Fletcher that I’ll decide if I’ll move to New York with him after I’m done with the two-month program at the hospital, so he left without me because he couldn’t wait that long. We have been talking on the phone every night and I can tell that the distance is already wearing down on him, as it has worn me out. I can also tell that something is going wrong with his work. The Japanese investor he mentioned has pulled out of the deal. He sounded tired and irritable on the phone last night. His voice cracked and stalled in ways I’ve never heard before. I wish there was something I could do to help. I told him to take his time with his work and take care of
