Down Under With Dad’s Best Friend by Flora Ferrari
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sean
I stare open-mouthed as Candace makes her declaration. She’s so strong. So poised and beautiful. I couldn’t have imagined that she would stand up like this.
She’s so powerful right now. So strong. Infused with this kind of righteous energy that shuts us both up. And I’m so proud of her, no matter what she’s about to say.
“We’re going to end this now,” she says, which shatters my thoughts entirely. What does she mean by ‘end this’? “You’re both going to listen, and after that, we’re not going to talk about this anymore. It’s going to be done.”
My heart is like a heavy stone in my chest. Neither Bill nor I speak. I don’t want to agree, because I have this sinking feeling that by ‘this’, she means us. And I’m not going to let her just end things without a discussion. No. That’s not going to happen.
She’s mine, and she knows it is. She looked into my eyes. She felt that same connection that I felt. This is never going to be over.
Candace walks around the couch and sits down again, though this time she doesn’t press against me. She sits apart, steely, her back straight and her eyes cold as she looks right down the lens. I want to reach for her hand, but I get this strange impression that it will feel like ice.
“This is not going to go any further,” she says. “Dad, you’re going to drop any idea of calling the police or speaking out to anyone about what you’ve just said. In fact, you’ll never share this conversation or what happened here in Melbourne with anyone. You’ll make me a promise about that.”
No one says anything. Bill’s expression has calmed down, no longer bright red and spitting fury. But he doesn’t look happy either. For my part, I feel like I’m suspended on hooks. The first part was for her dad. What pound of flesh does she want from me?
“And Sean,” she says, her voice only faltering slightly when she says my name. “You’re going to go home. You’re going to catch your flight. In exchange for Dad’s silence… I’m going to catch my flight, too. And that’s it. It’s over.”
“No,” I croak, immediately, because I knew it was coming. There’s no way I can accept this. No way in hell that it will ever sit well with me. I need her. Can’t she see that I need her?
“Yes,” Candace says desperately. She turns to me, and I see the moment that steely determination and resolve break. Not because she is changing her mind, but because she can’t bear to pretend she isn’t dying inside anymore. “Don’t you see? Sean, he’s going to ruin your life. You might even end up in prison. It doesn’t matter that you’re innocent – that hasn’t helped all those people who get wrongly convicted all the time. It’s the only way I can keep you safe. He’s never going to let us be together.”
“Good,” Bill grunts from the phone screen. “Then you’d better get out the door and get to the airport. I’ll pick you up when you land, and we can get back to normal.”
“Normal?” Candace says, turning to face him again. Her tone is bitter. “You’re making me give up the love of my life. I don’t think anything’s ever going to be normal between us again. But if this is what I have to do in order to keep him safe, then so be it.”
Bill’s expression falters for the first time. I see it. She sees it too.
“I can’t accept this,” I say, trying to push home the advantage. “This isn’t right. I don’t care what he says about me. I don’t care what they do to me. I’ll take it all. You’re worth it.”
“No, Sean,” Candace says, ripping her hands away when I reach for them. “I can’t do that to you. Don’t you understand? To hear people saying those horrible things about you – it would kill me. You don’t deserve any of that. You’re a good man. Honest and kind. And I won’t throw you to the wolves just so I can be happy at your side.”
“This is ridiculous,” Bill scoffs. But I can see that even he doubts what he’s saying, now. “You’re putting on this whole pantomime just to make me drop the idea of calling the police.”
“It’s not a pantomime,” Candace says, her voice powerful and firm. “Making false accusations like that can destroy someone. I can’t believe you’re even willing to do it. But since you are, you’re forcing your own daughter to sacrifice her shot at happiness to prevent it. I hope that satisfies you.”
“He isn’t your shot at happiness,” Bill says. The wind sounds like it has gone out of his sails completely. “He’s just another man. You’ll find someone you love. Someone closer to your own age.”
“Not like this,” Candace says fiercely, looking at me. The way she looks, it’s like she’s trying to memorize my face. “Never again like this.”
“He doesn’t look at you the same way,” Bill says. His voice is wheedling now, persuading, no longer yelling. “Sweetie, you’re young. You don’t know what love is really like. I know this might seem like everything to you now, but to him, it’s just another fling. He’s not serious. He can’t be, not with the way he lives. He’s not even based anywhere close to us. You’re going to give up your whole life, your family and friends, all your plans, for him?”
“I don’t have any plans,” Candace says wearily. “But whatever they were going to be, I already expected that I would have to leave people behind. That’s what happens when you become an adult, Dad. You have to move on.”
“But it’s not moving on for him,” Dad says. “What does he have to give up? Nothing!”
“That’s not true,” I say, finally managing to get a word in. “It’s not just a fling for me. I’ve never had a fling in my life, Bill. I’m serious about this.”
“And we’re just going to take your word for it, are we?” Bill snaps, a little more of the fire back in his voice.
This is it. This is where I can make a difference and make him see. It looks like he’s even starting to come around already, thanks to Candace’s declaration. I don’t think he believes anymore that I’ve been grooming her if he even really did in the first place. And now, what? Does he just think it’s puppy love?
“You don’t have to take my word for it,” I say. I reach for Candace’s hand again, and this time she doesn’t pull away. But the look on her face, like she’s allowing herself one last hit of something she has to give up forever, is enough to almost rip my heart in half. “You can watch me. I’m going to put my money where my mouth is. You may not trust me now, but you will. You’ll see how much I care for her. How serious I am about wanting to be together for the rest of our lives.”
I feel Candace’s hand tighten on mine. But I know I already have her. It’s not her I need to convince.
“So I’m supposed to just sit back and watch you ruin her life and break her heart, while we wait for some miraculous sign to come?” Bill says. “You must think I was born yesterday.”
“No, I don’t,” I say. And I hesitate, looking at Candace for this part. “I mean to start right now. I’m asking Candace to move in with me so that we can give this relationship a real shot.”
