Page 85 of Trust Again

She shook her head and turned around. It occurred to me that she might never have met the parents of a friend before. We’d have to talk about that some time.

Over the next hour, as Dad and I ate our steaks, I pumped him for information about Maureen and he returned the favor by asking me about Everly. Meeting with my dad was great, especially if he was feeling happy.

“I wanted to talk to you about what happened last week,” he eventually said.

“Hm?” I was chewing my last piece of steak, savoring my final moments in carnivore heaven.

“I’m talking about Nathaniel, honey.”

The meat turned to sawdust in my mouth. I gulped it down and chased it with lemonade. “I overreacted, Dad. I really didn’t mean to embarrass you, but…”

“What?” He frowned. “You didn’t embarrass me. It’s completely understandable that you’d be upset to see your ex-husband with another woman.”

The word “husband” made me flinch. “Dad, I think… I have to tell you something.”

He set his cutlery down and looked at me, worried.

I hadn’t planned to have this conversation just now, and I didn’t know how to start.

“You’re scaring me, Dawny. Spit it out,” Dad insisted.

“The reason why Nate and I split up… is not that we grew apart,” I began softly.

“What was it?”

I cleared my throat. “Nate… kind of… cheated on me.”

Dad opened his mouth. Closed it again. All kinds of emotions ran across his face, but what he seemed to settle on was confusion.

“Excuse me?”

I took a deep breath and searched for the courage I’d need to make it through this conversation.

“He cheated on me with Rebecca,” I finally blurted out. My heart was pounding and my hands had grown damp.

“What?” Dad’s voice was deadly low.

Reaching over the table, I took his hands. The roughness of his skin felt so familiar. Like home.

“It happened over a long period of time. He was cheating on me for months.”

Dad’s eyes were throwing sparks. Suddenly he stood and his thighs hit the table, making our glasses wobble dangerously. Then he came around the table and sat down next to me on the bench. He took me in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Dad,” I whispered and buried my face in his shoulder. “I didn’t want you to worry. That’s why I pretended everything was okay. But seeing Nate and Rebecca in the restaurant… that kind of brought it all back. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

He was silent and just held me. The hug was a year too late but it still felt just right. Like closure. Warm tears flowed down my cheeks.

“I’m going to kill him,” Dad said after a pause. “I’m gonna give him a beating. And then I’ll stretch him out on the workbench.”

“Please don’t,” I said with a weak laugh. “I don’t want this to affect your friendship with Sherman and Elena.”

The furrows on his brow were back, deeper than before. “That’s why you didn’t tell me?”

“I know you, Dad. I knew how you’d react and I didn’t want to jeopardize your friendships. Besides, I wanted to be strong. I didn’t want anybody to know how much he hurt me. I’m an Edwards, after all.”

“Dawn, you should have told me much sooner,” he said earnestly. “You’re my daughter. My family. That’s much more important than friendship.”

More tears burned in my eyes, but I blinked them away.