Chapter 4 - Fifty-Two Thousand Dollars and a Broken Promise
I found Calvin at his workshop the following Monday.
He stood beside a half-finished kitchen cabinet, sanding the edge of a wooden door.
He looked up when I entered.
"Naomi."
"Hi, Dad."
He switched off the sander.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The workshop smelled of fresh wood and varnish.
I had spent countless childhood afternoons there, sitting on a stool with coloring books while Calvin worked.
He used to let me collect the small pieces of leftover wood.
I'd stack them into towers and tell him I was building houses.
He always acted impressed.
Even when the towers collapsed.
"I brought something," I said.
I took the white envelope from my purse and placed it on his workbench.
Calvin looked at it.
"What's that?"
"The wedding paperwork."
"I know what it is."
I nodded.
"I wanted to talk about it."
He folded his arms.
"All right."
"I didn't realize how much you'd spent."
"You knew I was paying."
"I did. But I didn't understand what it meant."
He looked away.
"Naomi, I wasn't keeping score."
"Then why did you give me the bill?"
His jaw tightened.
For a moment, I thought he might tell me to leave.
Instead, he pulled out a chair.
"Sit down."
I did.
He leaned against the workbench.
"When you were little, I never wanted you to feel like you owed me for loving you."
I stared at my hands.
"I know."
"Your mama and I decided to raise you together. Nobody forced me. And when she died, I didn't suddenly stop being your father."
My throat tightened.
"I know, Dad."
He shook his head.
"I don't think you did when you said those things."
I couldn't argue.
Calvin looked toward the cabinet.
"When you asked me to pay for the wedding, I said yes because I could manage it. It was more than I'd planned to spend, but I wanted you to have a beautiful day."
He paused.
"I should've talked more seriously about the budget. That's on me."
I glanced at the envelope.
"I can pay you back."
"That's not what I want."
"Gabriel and I have some savings. We could start with a few thousand and work out payments."
"Naomi."
I looked up.
"The wedding was a gift. I'm not turning twenty years of being your father into a debt you have to repay."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Then why did you tell me to give Julian the bill?"
Calvin lowered his head.
"Because I was hurt. And I wanted you to understand that being there for somebody costs something."
He rubbed his forehead.
"That wasn't my proudest moment."
I stared at him.
"I thought you hated me."
He looked genuinely startled.
"Naomi, I don't hate you."
"Then why wouldn't you answer my calls?"
"Because every time I thought about what you said, I got angry again. And I didn't want to say something worse."
I began crying.
Calvin reached toward me, then hesitated.
That hesitation hurt.
For as long as I could remember, he'd never questioned whether he was allowed to comfort me.
"I was wrong," I whispered.
He waited.
"I wanted Julian to make up for everything he missed. I thought if he walked me down the aisle, maybe I'd stop feeling like the little girl who kept waiting for him."
Calvin's expression softened.
"I understand wanting that."
"But I didn't think about what I was taking away from you."
I wiped my cheeks.
"And calling him my real father was cruel. You didn't deserve that."
Calvin stared at the floor.
"I was looking forward to walking you," he admitted.
My chest tightened.
"I know."
"I bought new shoes."
A small, broken laugh escaped me.
He almost smiled.
"Your mama would've teased me for spending that much on shoes."
For a moment, we both remembered her.
Then Calvin said something that made me cry harder.
"I never needed to be the only father in your life. I just didn't think I'd have to fight to prove I was one."
I stood and hugged him.
At first, his arms remained at his sides.
Then he slowly wrapped them around me.
I held on.
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
He kissed the top of my head.
"I hear you."
But when I asked whether he would still attend the wedding, he didn't immediately answer.
"I need a little more time."
I stepped back.
"Okay."
He touched my shoulder.
"That doesn't mean I stopped loving you."
"I know."
On my way home, I called Gabriel.
I told him everything.
Then I made a decision.
I wasn't going to ask Calvin to walk me down the aisle simply because I wanted him to forgive me.
And I wasn't going to use Julian to complete a picture of the family I wished I'd had.
For the first time, I needed to make a wedding decision without asking what it would look like to everyone else.
May you like
The ceremony was six days away.
And I finally knew what I had to do.
