Chapter 10 – The Father Who Had Looked Away

Marcus didn’t answer immediately.

Katie stood in front of him, her coat buttoned, her purse hanging from one shoulder.

She wasn’t crying anymore.

Somehow, that made the question harder.

“Would you?” she asked again.

Marcus looked toward the dining room.

Then he looked at me.

I wished I could disappear into the kitchen.

But he wasn’t asking me to leave.

He was remembering what had happened.

“I don’t know,” he said finally.

Katie’s expression tightened.

Marcus continued.

“I’d like to tell you I would’ve figured it out. That I would have seen something was wrong and gone looking for answers.”

He shook his head.

“But I can’t promise you that.”

Katie looked down.

“I thought so.”

He stepped closer.

“I asked Evelyn to invite you here. She told me you were busy. Sometimes she said you’d made other plans. I accepted those answers because they were easier than wondering why you didn’t want to see me.”

Katie looked up.

“You thought I didn’t want to see you?”

“Yes.”

“Dad, I spent three years trying to prove I deserved to.”

His face changed.

“I know that now.”

“You didn’t ask me once.”

“No.”

“Not really.”

“No.”

She looked away.

Marcus waited.

Then he said, “I can tell you why I didn’t ask, but it won’t excuse it.”

Katie turned back.

“I’d still like to know.”

He took a slow breath.

“When you left for college, I thought I had to stop treating you like the little girl who came here at eleven.”

“You did.”

“I know. But I didn’t understand how to do that without stepping away completely.”

Katie listened.

“You were angry with me about school. You wanted your own apartment. You didn’t want me checking on everything.”

“Because you were checking on everything.”

Marcus smiled faintly.

“That’s true.”

“You called my college advisor twice.”

“Three times.”

“Dad.”

“I know. It was too much.”

She shook her head, but there was almost a smile on her face.

He continued.

“Then Evelyn came along. She seemed better at talking to you about ordinary things. Applications, bills, schedules. Things I wasn’t very good at.”

Katie looked troubled.

“She was good at those things.”

“Yes.”

“She used to help me pick classes. She knew which professors were difficult. When my first roommate moved out, she found someone who needed a place.”

Marcus nodded.

“I thought you had someone you trusted.”

“I did.”

Katie’s voice became very quiet.

“That’s why I believed her.”

The words settled between them.

For a long moment, Marcus said nothing.

Then he reached toward the little silver star on her bracelet.

“Do you remember when I gave you this?”

“Graduation.”

“You were furious with me that morning.”

Katie frowned.

“Because you wouldn’t let me drive myself.”

“You’d only had your license for six months.”

“I had it for almost two years.”

He smiled sadly.

“Then maybe I was being unreasonable.”

“You were.”

She looked at the bracelet.

“But you came to the ceremony. You stood in the back because you said the chairs were too small.”

“They were.”

“And afterward you took me for pancakes.”

“You wanted pancakes.”

“I still do.”

Marcus nodded.

“So do I.”

Then his expression became serious.

“That’s the part I forgot, Katie. You didn’t need me to make your decisions. You needed me to show up.”

Katie looked at him for a long time.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Marcus took a breath.

“I should’ve picked up the phone myself. I should’ve gone to your apartment, asked whether you were all right, and listened to your answer. I shouldn’t have handed our relationship to someone else to manage.”

His eyes were wet.

“I’m sorry.”

Katie wiped her cheek.

“I wanted you to be angry when I stopped coming.”

“Why?”

“Because then I would’ve known you noticed.”

Marcus looked stricken.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

She stepped forward.

This time, she was the one who hugged him.

He wrapped his arms around her carefully.

They stood together beneath the hall chandelier for a long time.

Then Katie pulled away.

“I don’t want us to spend the next year apologizing.”

Marcus nodded.

“Neither do I.”

“I want things to be different.”

“So do I.”

She looked toward the front door.

“Then start by calling me yourself.”

“I will.”

“Even if I’m busy?”

“Especially if you’re busy.”

“And don’t send someone to check on me.”

He hesitated.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Dad.”

“All right. No surprise visits from employees.”

“Or drivers.”

“Or drivers.”

“Or men in black suits.”

He gave her an innocent look.

“What men in black suits?”

She laughed.

I did too.

For a brief moment, the mansion felt like a family home instead of a place where everybody measured their words.

The next afternoon, Katie returned for lunch.

Marcus had asked her what she’d like to eat.

She’d requested grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

I made them myself.

Marcus looked faintly disappointed when I informed him he wasn’t allowed near the stove after the last time he’d burned a saucepan.

Katie laughed so hard she had to put down her spoon.

They ate in the smaller dining room, where the windows overlooked the garden.

There were no guests.

No diamonds.

No elaborate table decorations.

Just three sandwiches, tomato soup, and Katie telling her father about the children she worked with.

She spoke about a little boy who wouldn’t eat lunch unless his crackers were arranged in a straight line.

Marcus listened.

He asked questions.

Real ones.

Not about salaries or apartment leases, but about what made her laugh and what she’d found difficult.

Later, he showed her the birthday cards he’d kept in his study.

There were twelve.

Some were covered in crooked handwriting.

One had a drawing of him with enormous shoulders and tiny legs.

Katie laughed.

“I made you look like a refrigerator.”

“You said I looked strong.”

“You looked ridiculous.”

He smiled.

“I liked it.”

She picked up another card.

This one was from the year she turned sixteen.

Inside, she’d written:

Thank you for being my dad even when I’m impossible.

Marcus watched her read it.

“You were never impossible.”

Katie looked at him.

“Dad, I was sixteen.”

He nodded.

“Fair point.”

She replaced the card carefully.

Then she looked toward the hallway.

“Can I ask you for something?”

“Anything.”

She hesitated.

“Don’t say that unless you mean it.”

He straightened.

“All right. What do you need?”

Katie glanced at the old brass key hanging on a hook beside his desk.

It was the key she’d carried when she lived there.

She’d returned it before leaving for college.

Marcus followed her gaze.

Then she said something that made him understand what the entire evening had really been about.

“I don’t want my old bedroom back, Dad. I want a key to the front door that still works after I leave.”

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