Page 49 of Best Kept Vows

“I’ve been so busy with Boone Metals that…I just didn’t have time.”For anyone.Even for myself. And now my kids were asking who I was protecting this legacy for, and I didn’t have any answer. The business was failing, and every time Ithought I could make it work, and we saw some success, something else broke down. I felt like I was playing Whack-a-Mole.

“Oh, we have to try this.” Ada dragged me off to try artisan honey, which I had to admit was good, and then convinced me to buy peaches, saying Lia would love them.

“You know your mother isn’t at home.” I tilted my chin toward the peaches.

“But you know where she works and lives, and you canvisither tomorrow or Monday,” Ada suggested with a wink.

“Is this your version ofThe Parent Trap?” I queried, my eyebrows raised.

“Absolutely,” Ada confirmed with gusto.

I bought a bag of peaches.

I enjoyed my daughter’s company.

The warmth of summer settled around us, and Forsyth Park was alive. The towering oaks draped in Spanish moss provided plenty of shade, and the fountain in the center gushed in steady, calming streams while Ada told me about her classes and an internship she was doing at the mayor’s office.

Like Lia, Ada was witty and vivacious. However, unlike Lia, who was an introvert, my daughter was an extrovert who thrived in the company of people. At her age, she was way more confident than Lia and even me, which I was grateful for. Both Tristan and Ada were better people than their parents.

After we wandered the market, we stopped for ice creamat Leopold’s. I let Ada order for me, and she handed me a cone with butter pecan, her favorite.

I took a bite and sighed. “This is good.”

“You’re welcome,” she said smugly.

We found a shaded bench in the park and settled in, eating our ice cream as we watched families stroll past, runners weave along the paths, and kids chase after dogs.

Ada licked her ice cream and then, as if she was weighing her words, sighed deeply. “You know, growing up, I used to sometimes get frustrated with Mama for not standing up to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You seemed unaware of all the things she did. You also seemed unaware of how Aunt Coco and Grandma were—pardon my language, Dad—complete bitches to her.”

I hadn’t been unaware—just unwilling to prioritize my wife’s feelings. And now, the shame of it settled heavily inside me. I’d chosen peace with my mother over the woman I vowed to love and protect. That truth was impossible to ignore any longer.

“I asked Mama why she put up with all that and didn’t put her foot down. She said that she loved you, and you loved her—and in any relationship, you had to take the good with the bad. The good outweighed the bad for her.”

“Until it didn’t,” I murmured.

My daughter had just put Lia’s and my situation in perspective with those few words.

I finished my ice cream and successfully two-pointed the napkin into a trash can.

“Do you love Mama?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “With everything I am.”

She smiled, small but understanding. “Then show her. No big speeches, no promises. Just show her every single day.”

I let out a slow breath and nodded. “I will.”

She patted my arm. “Good. Now, let’s take a selfie for her.”

I chuckled, wrapping an arm around my daughter as she snapped the picture. Ada sent the photo to Lia with a message:Dad and I are having fun!! We both love you.

Lia responded almost immediately:I wish I were with you. I love you both, too.

My wife needed space, but she hadn’t shut the door on us. Thanks to my kids, I had been reminded of what I’d been too blind to see before—my legacy wasn’t Boone Metals; it was my relationship with my wife and my children.