Our Forever Promise

by Mary Wasowski

  He leaned into me and whispered in my ear, “Why don’t I give you and your father some time alone? My presence here is not helping at all.”

  “Jackson, please don’t leave. I need you here. I’m sorry.” I tried to object, but he dismissed me. I was crushed.

  He whispered in my ear again, “And I need you to exercise patience. This is not easy for him. Get out of your head right now and listen with your heart. Open yourself to listen to your father. Allow your heart to lead you on the path of forgiveness. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Jackson nodded at my father in a respectful manner and left me with a chaste kiss to my cheek. I knew deep down he was right. Jackson is always right. Once Jackson disappeared from my sight, I turned back to my father.

  “Happy now, daddy? You just ran off Jackson.”

  My father rubbed his temples and was clearly annoyed with me. I don’t know anymore. I feel like I’m at the table with a stranger. He is far from the man that I once considered my hero.

  “I ran off your boyfriend? Wow! You just love passing the blame. You ran off Jackson with your emotional and adolescent behavior. He even tried to make you see reason. I could hear him the whole time he was whispering to you. And here you sit, still blaming me. How can I make this right? Riley, I feel like I have been tried and convicted in your eyes. When you finally agreed to meet with me, I truly thought it would be you and you alone. I have so much to make up for, and I am doing everything wrong. I’m sorry for being rude. I am not mad at Jackson. I just can’t stand to look at him. I know how that sounds, but it’s how I feel. All I see when I look at him is his father.”

  He continued, “You are so young and so inexperienced on how love works. You invest all you have into the person you choose to stand beside you. You love hard. You trust even harder and completely hand over your life’s happiness to the other person. I had all of that with your mother, nearly two decades of loving her, giving her all that I had. What took me years to build was lost in the blink of an eye.”

  “I believe my anger is justified Riley, and that hurt just doesn’t magically go away. It feels like I am going through the stages of grief. I’ll admit every part is harder than the first. I don’t feel better. I actually feel worse. If I didn’t have my work, the pain would swallow me up. Can you even try to see my side?”

  I had tears in my eyes, but was still feeling hostile. “Daddy, believe it or not, I can. I may be young, but I do know and understand what love is. All that you had with mother is different to what I have with Jackson. I have true love with him. We connected from the start. We have an all-consuming type of love. It’s very real. Please don’t scoff at me. I do have it, and I will have it for the rest of my life. If he would agree to it, I would marry him today. He wants our wedding day to be magical with you walking me down the aisle, with tears in your eyes. His words, not mine. You’re right about one thing, I don’t know how you feel, because I have never been hurt that way, and I pray I never am.”

  I continued, “I was blind for so long when it came to your marriage with mother. I remember so many nights listening to mom cry herself to sleep when you didn’t come home for days at a time. Of course, mom never knew that I listened by her door, but I did daddy, and I still had my head in the clouds. Little girls want to believe in their fathers and believe in love. I’m not saying that you didn’t have that with mom, but as I grew older, I began to see the cracks in your foundation.”

  “Mom shielded me from so much of it. On the outside, we were the picture perfect family, but I can see now we weren’t. I never even considered my choice of colleges when I chose New York. With me gone miles away from home, mom would truly be alone. Knowing that hurt me, daddy. I never knew her plans of the divorce, but after coming to terms with it all, I understand it so much better now. Forget about Mr. Reed coming back into her life. She was planning to leave way before they found each other again. She was giving you an out, a chance to move on and be with someone that could truly be your match. She always put you first, and that was before Mr. Reed came waltzing back. And how did you repay her for her kindness? You took what she offered and threw it back in her face. How am I expected to feel about that?”

  “Are you done yet? For a young woman, you certainly have the martyr act down.”

  “For a smart man, you sure act incredibly stupid. Daddy, are we done hurting each other yet? Because I am, and I’m about five seconds away from walking out of this restaurant.”

  He said nothing. I got up and shoved back my chair. As I turned, my father grabbed my wrist.

  “Please Riley, don’t go. I need you.” He released me, and I returned to my seat.

  “I guess I should increase my therapy sessions because I completely failed here today,” he said.

  “Are you seeing a therapist?” I asked. This revelation shocked me.

  “Yes, I am in therapy. I only go once a week, but after today, I will increase my visits. I know I’m full of anger and resentment. I thought our time apart was actually helping me get a better handle on it, but clearly I was wrong.”

  His head and shoulders sunk, and he said, “I know I was a bastard toward your mother. I am not ready to cross that precipice with her yet. I’ll have you know that under the encouragement of my therapist, I have spoken with Reese. The first step was to apologize for my actions. Once again, she took kindness on me, and accepted my apology. Riley, from this moment on, anything I say to you or your mother will always be heartfelt, but this is all that I’m capable of right now. I will not pretend to you that all is bright in my world. I had many years with your mom. Those feelings are not easily erased, nor forgotten. Please tell me you understand this?”

  “I’m trying daddy, but you are not making it easy on any of us. The first thing you need to do is accept my relationship with Jackson. I love him, daddy, and he’s going to be in my life. This means he will also be in yours. Please meet me halfway here. If you can promise to try, then we will figure it out together.”

  I couldn’t help the tears that began to fall down my cheeks. He was quick to wipe them away, but more fell. He leaped out of his seat and took me in his arms. I shut my eyes and tried to shove the hurt away.

  Samuel Briggs may be a superstar at his hospital, but here, he was just my father. I loved him with all of my heart. Our relationship was stronger than this. I had to believe that we could move past our hurt and be father and daughter again. I dried my eyes in a not-so-ladylike manner on his Armani dress shirt. He didn’t even try to stop me. He held me against him until he was assured I was okay. Stroking my hair and whispering “I love you’s” calmed me. I was a daddy’s girl through and through. And right now, all I felt was his love…not anger.

  “Can we start over?” he asked with hope.

  “I would like that, but can I check on Jackson, first?”

  “Of course! Please have him return to the table, so I can offer my apologies to him.”

  I excused myself from the table. I searched the entire restaurant. No sign of Jackson. Where is he? I dialed his cell number, and it went straight to voicemail. I dialed Richard’s cell number, again going straight to voicemail. What on earth? Where are they?

  I walked outside to look around, and several patrons were lingering about. I heard a woman say to another that she hoped the young man would be okay. I immediately gasped and pain shot through my heart. It’s not Jackson. It’s not Jackson. I kept repeating those three words over and over again, until I had the courage to ask who they were referring to. Fighting against the tears, I apprehensively approached the women.

  “Excuse me, ladies. I don’t mean to listen in on your conversation, but who do you hope will be okay?”

  They looked at me with confusion, but answered me anyway.

  “A handsome young man was walking along the waterfront and collapsed. We were outside chatting and ran over to try to help. A bigger fellow was at his side. He asked us to dial 911, so we did.”

  I froz
e after the woman finished explaining what happened here. Her expression was sad. I could only imagine how I looked right now. My head felt fuzzy, and my stomach no better.

  I just lost it. I already knew it was Jackson, but pulled out my phone anyway to pull up a picture.

  “Is this him?” I asked the women.

  They both answered “yes” at the same time.

  “Hope your friend is okay.” They wished me well as they turned to walk away.

  My friend? I whispered to myself. How about my life? The reason I smile a hundred times a day? Please God, let him be okay.

  How did I not hear the ambulance sirens? The restaurant was always a bit loud with music playing over the sound system. I guess because we were in the back, I wasn’t focused on outside noises. I ran back into the restaurant. I called out to my father for help. He was out of his seat and by my side in a flash.

  “Riley, my God! You are white as a ghost. Are you ill? What’s wrong? And where’s Jackson?”

  I could barely speak through my tears, but I managed to quickly explain. My father took my hand, and we sprinted to his car. He called the hospital and was told that Jackson was in the Emergency Room. Over the phone, he clearly issued his instructions on what tests should be performed on Jackson. He then gave our ETA and hit the gas. He was in Doctor Mode right now. I was thanking the heavens for my father. If anyone could help Jackson, it would be Samuel Briggs. My father is a healer and the best in his field.

  “Please God, take care of Jackson for me.” I was praying out loud. My father just held my hand, as I continued to beg God for a miracle.

  We arrived at the hospital with the valet taking our car. We moved fast through the Emergency Room. My father was updated and brought up to speed on Jackson’s condition. He wanted him moved to his wing immediately. Staff jumped at the request. I watched my father command the room. I saw Richard off to the side, on the phone.

  “Richard! What happened?”

  He shut his phone and looked down to me with his tear-filled eyes. He had known and taken care of Jackson for many years. He treated him as a son. Richard was clearly upset.

  “Miss Riley, I am so sorry I didn’t call you, but I had to act quickly.”

  “Just tell me what happened?”

  “Jackson had me meet him in front of the restaurant. He said he wasn’t feeling all too well and wanted to get some air. We walked across the street, and not even five minutes later, he collapsed. He was having a seizure. I’ve seen them before, but this one was different. Five minutes felt like an hour. That’s when I knew he needed help. An ambulance was called right away. I didn’t know if he hit his head when he fell to the ground.”

  “Why didn’t you come and get my father? You know he could have helped him.” I almost sounded angry.

  “I’m sorry. I just reacted the best way I knew how.”

  “Did you call his father?”

  “I was about to when you walked up to me.”

  “Please, Richard. Can you go be with Jackson? I’ll call my mom.”

  “Mr. Reed will want to hear from me.”

  “Please, Richard. I need to be the one to make the call.”

  “Very well, miss. I’ll be with Jackson.”

  “Thank you, Richard. I won’t be long.”

  My legs felt like jelly. I sat and shakily called my mom. Her cell went directly to voicemail. Dammit! I found myself praying again. I knew I had to be strong for Jackson, but calling his father would probably take all the strength I had left.

  “BABY! I THINK we helped New York’s economy today,” I called out to her.

  I carried ten filled shopping bags with everything our little baby girl would need. Reese asked me to help out our doorman after he made two trips. Reese was glowing. She was so happy.

  The minute we arrived in the city, we wasted no time at all. Having taken a suite at the Four Seasons the day before allowed us to have some private time. We had been planning to surprise the kids, but we knew they were in Maryland, so we did our own thing.

  We dined back at Brasserie Les Halles, but this time with less drama. Andre’s expression was very illuminating. His eyes were dancing as he took in my arrival, along with my escort. We declined wine on account of Reese’s pregnancy. Andre pouted, but served us sparkling water instead. He asked me several times if I wanted to try anything from the private collection, but I finally raised my hand to him, clearly ready to dismiss him. Reese giggled at his overattentiveness with us. After all, I was a VIP patron and was always given the golden treatment.

  I fed Reese course after course until she was full. We danced off our dessert and made love through the night. Next to proposing to Reese at all of our favorite spots, this night was sheer heaven.

  Overnight, Reese’s little baby bump became more visible. She was breathtaking. I gave her a massage and kissed every inch of her stomach. My precious baby girl was nestled deep within her womb, and so protected from the big bad world. I sang to her and told her our love story. As she would get older, our little one would love hearing it again and again, I imagined. I remembered every detail of Reese, and my little princess would certainly believe in love.

  “For centuries,” I spoke to Reese’s baby bump, “books had been written with stories of the Happily Ever After’s. For Reese and me, our story was like no other tale told before. It didn’t have to be in a book; we lived it and survived it. We didn’t have an evil queen casting a spell on us, but we had something similar to it: an evil king. He and the other trolls did their worst by keeping us apart. They thought they had written our ending for us, but then a miracle happened, and love did prevail. We found each other again, and our love became stronger. It’s the same love that made you little one…our daughter.”

  As I rubbed Reese’s belly, I spoke again to our princess. “Do you hear your daddy? Believe in Happily Ever After. Believe in Forever. I love you so much. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms. You, my precious little girl, will remind me of your beautiful mother, the smallest version of her. My heart will not only beat for mommy, but you too, my princess. I’m already imagining you running through the meadow with bouncy brown curls. You have pink ribbons in your hair, and your laugh is the sweetest melody. Daddy loves you, princess, and I can’t wait to hold you in my arms.”

  All my talking had lulled Reese into a deep sleep. Oh my poor angel. I definitely wore her out yesterday, but she never complained. We were making new memories together.

  I probably could have stayed asleep with Reese, but I was never one to require no more than four hours at a time. I left my angel nestled under the plush blankets with her mane of gorgeous hair flowing over our pillows. She was safe, and I knew this time when I returned to our room, she would still be there waiting for me. Every once in a while, my mind drifted back to that morning where my world fell apart, but I quickly shoved it away.

  I was working my way through the tough chapters of our story. Elizabeth wanted me to forgive, well easier said than done. I still hadn’t explained all to Reese, but I layered so much on her already. I wouldn’t risk another fight between us. I loved the making up part, but it pained both our hearts to hurt each other.

  I needed to sort this out on my own. I believed that day in the cemetery was real. Even if I shouted it from the tallest buildings, would my father hear me forgive him? Saying the words is one thing, but to believe them is another altogether. I’m not ready yet, this much I know.

  My run this morning through Central Park was invigorating. My workout with Reese, even better, but my stomach was growling something fierce. The day had flown by with all we did today, and I was beginning to wonder what could be taking Jackson and Riley so long to return back to the city.

  After receiving my son’s text message, my worry was gone. I was concerned with my son being so close to Samuel Briggs. I know he is Riley’s father, but he hated me, and I certainly didn’t want him to show my son any animosity. I wasn’t going to worry, not yet. Richard would call me if anything
was wrong.

  I busied myself in the kitchen and made some sandwiches. I left instructions with the staff to keep the refrigerator and pantry fully stocked while Jackson and Riley were here.

  I wasn’t sure if Reese could handle Pastrami and Swiss, her favorite New York sandwich, so I went with grilled cheese and tomato. It was a safer bet for now. I accompanied it with soup and fruit for dessert. I carried the tray into our bedroom where my sleeping angel was now awake, clearly waiting for me.

  “Hey, baby, how was your sleep?” I asked her.

  “It was heaven, but lonely without you.” She flashed her eyelashes at me.” Tease!

  “Oh really? Well how about you eat this amazing meal I prepared for us. Our daughter is hungry, and she needs to keep growing. Once you are nice and full, we can discuss how lonely you were without me. Deal?”

  “I love you. You are such a flirt.”

  “This is true, but I only have eyes for you…Now eat!”

  I gave her a stern look. Reese just smiled and ate every last bite on her plate, very much pleasing me. Quickly clearing the tray, I had her wrapped up in my arms afterwards.

  “So tell me? How can I satisfy your cravings? What are you in the mood for?”

  “Can I get back to you on that? Nature is calling,” she replied.

  She kissed me soundly and bounced off our bed. I was going to follow her when I was interrupted by the sound of my cell phone.

  Not checking the number, I simply answered, “Reed.”

  “Mr. Reed?” Riley, I thought. Something is wrong. I could hear her crying on the other end.

  “Riley, what’s wrong honey? Are you okay?”

  She didn’t answer my question. I asked her again, as she continued to cry.

  “Please, Riley?” I now was off the bed and getting dressed.