He had my undivided attention and for the first time in years, I actually wanted to hear what Vic was saying. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, looking down at his lap. His voice became hoarse as he avoided my eyes.
“I see the way you look at her, the way you look at my grandson.” He pauses for a moment taking in a breath. “You look at that little boy like he’s yours, like you want a chance to be his father.” Lifting his head looking at me, I am shocked to see his bloodshot eyes that are full with tears. “I bet you’ll be a good dad.” He smiled sadly, rendering me speechless, but that was fine because Vic wasn’t finished speaking. “I owe you an apology. Hell, I owe you a lot more than apology but right now it’s all I have to offer.”
I blew out a shaky breath, leaning back in my chair as I stared at the stranger sitting before me. This wasn’t the man I detested, the man who robbed me of everything I had wanted in life. I didn’t know who the fuck he was.
“You’re a good man, Anthony. I’m sorry for filling your head with doubts and making you think you’re undeserving of Adrianna. The truth is that no one is better suited on this earth for her than you.”
His words punched me in the gut, knocking the wind from my lungs. I never realized how badly I wanted Vic’s approval, how much I craved his blessing to be the man in his daughter’s life. No, I hadn’t realized it, until that moment when he told me he accepted me for his little girl.
“I knew it the first time I saw you with her, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how watching you with her made me feel,” he said smiling slightly. “I’ve always felt like you were taking her from me.” His smile faltered and he looked at me sadly. “So I had to take her from you first,” he continued as he propped his elbows on the table and covered his mouth with one hand, gathering his thoughts before saying more. “I only hope that one day you have a daughter because then maybe, just maybe, you’ll think of me and you’ll be able to forgive me. Anthony, I know you love Adrianna. I know you can’t imagine loving anyone or anything the way you love her but I can guarantee you that when you set your eyes on your own daughter you won’t know what hit you. She’ll be everything to you, the apple of your eye and the rhythm of your heartbeat. She’ll complete you,” He smiles as a tear slides down his cheek.
I looked down blinking my own tears away. Listening to Vic talk about me having a daughter, describing the love he has for his own and how I’d feel the same if I had a daughter was a lot to take in.
“And the beauty of it is that you’ll do everything right, whereas I did everything wrong. You’ll know when to hold her close and when to let her spread her wings. You’ll be the first man she loves and when she meets the one that will be her last, you’ll hate it, but you will be a better man, a better father because you will do everything I didn’t do.”
I lifted my head, wiped away my tears with my hands, and stared at Vic. I never let myself think that far into the future, never believing a man like me could have any of that. When I was a young kid I looked at Victor and wanted everything, he had the money, the power, and the respect. Looking at him now, I wanted everything he had thrown away, everything he had lost but inspired me to have. I wanted a wife, I wanted my son, and by God, I wanted a little girl that looked just like her Mama. I wanted to feel all the things Vic described. I wanted to hang onto them because watching him fall apart in front of me, realizing all he had lost was enough for me not to want to be anything like him.
“I want out Vic,” I said, looking him in the eye. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“I know,” said he replied and then slapped his hands onto his thighs and pushed back his chair. “Give me some time. I’m going to straighten everything out in the meantime.” He stood up and walked over to me, slapping me gently on the back. “Take your family to the house by the Canadian border. Take Luca to see the falls, learn how to be a family and I’ll take care of everything else.”
He gave me one last pat on the back before walking towards the doorway of the kitchen.
Hey Vic?” I called. He paused and looked over his shoulder at me. “Does that mean I have your blessing?” I asked hoarsely.
His tired face stared at me for a moment before his lips curved and he winked at me. He didn’t have to say the words, they were shouted from the depths of his eyes.
Yes.
Chapter Thirty-One: 2015