No thank you.
I watched as my dad signed the paperwork and set it to the side. Leaning back, he gave me that all knowing look of his. I wondered how long we were going to sit there and stare at each other before one of us began talking.
Reaching into his drawer, he pulled out the bottle. Setting it on the desk he slid it over to me.
“Your journey of love with Ryn has so far been a bouncy one, has it not?”
Glancing at the bottle, I nodded. “Yes, sir. It has.”
“This journey called love, it’s a crazy ride, Tristan. Like I told you and your brother before, love is a road we travel down. The road isn’t always a smooth paved road. There are times we feel so lost on that road that we want to take a detour, find an easy way out. That never works though, I think you’ve discovered as much.”
Nodding my head, I whispered, “Yes, sir, I have.”
“I look at you and Kathryn together, Tristan, and do you want to know what I see?”
Gazing into my father’s eyes, I asked, “What do you see?”
“A young couple madly in love. It’s almost as if the air around them is charged with the energy from that love. You can’t help but feel it any time they step into a room. It’s a powerful thing, love. It has the power to make you so incredibly happy you can’t even think straight, and the capability of completely destroying another person to the point of no return.” Nodding his head, he looked down. “When I told you the story of the journey of love, I left out something important.”
“What was that, Dad?”
Lifting his eyes, I couldn’t help but notice the tears forming. “Once you start the journey, there is no going back. Love takes a hold of your heart, Tristan, and it grips it like a vice. Hard and strong. But that vice can be broken easily. The journey is meant to be a lifetime, but not everyone gets to experience such a love.”
Swallowing hard, I looked away.
“Are you willing to fight for it, son? Not just a month from now, or a year from now, but twenty years down the road, will you be willing to fight for your love with everything you got?”
Tears formed in my eyes as I thought about how badly I had hurt Ryn. Going to talk my voice cracked. Closing my eyes, I cleared my throat, “I’m willing, Dad, with everything in my heart and soul. I’d die first before I ever hurt her.”