Page 90 of Until

“I know. I can’t believe you seem so calm. You’re about to lose everything.”

“You don’t have to put it like that,” I say with a laugh.

“But it’s true. Maybe we should get married. Call Howard or Harold, whatever his name is, and delay this. We can do it now at City Hall.”

“Carina, I know a City Hall wedding isn’t what you want. It’s not what I want either.”

“It doesn’t matter how we get married. I just want to be with you,” she says.

“And I want to be with you too, but I’m not going to have you miss out on what you want because of some spiteful dead man. Besides, you never know what might happen in there today. My dad could be mean, and he definitely wasn’t a good father to Alex, but we had a lot of good times, too. Most of my memories with him are positive ones. Hopefully, this one will be too.”

She nods, but I can tell she’s still anxious.

“Carina, I know you had a rough time growing up, but I want you to know that none of what’s going to happen in there matters to me. We don’t need the money or the mansion, and I know you don’t care about that, but I want you to know that I don’t either. What matters to me is that I have my brother back in my life, and I have you. I finally have my spark. You light up my life in ways I never thought was possible.” I slide my hand into her hair and cup her face. “Today is a new beginning for us. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, and nothing will prevent that.” I lean over, kiss her lips, and she smiles. “I love you, Carina.”

“I love you too, Ryan.”

We step out of the car, and Alex’s limo pulls up and parks. An old man gets out of the driver’s seat and begins to head towards me while Alex gets out of the car.

A crooked grin forms on the old man’s face, and I realize it’s Reggie, my father’s old driver.

“Reggie? I had no idea you’ve been working for Alex,” I say.

Reggie’s face shows no emotion other than a crooked grin, but then he reaches me, holds his hand out, and pulls me in for a hug.

“Been a long time, sir.”

Carina steps over and hugs Reggie before looping her arm through his.

“You’re coming in too, right?” she asks.

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he says.

Alex walks alongside me as we enter the building.

“Why didn’t you tell me you hired Reggie?” I ask.

“We haven’t spoken in five years, and that’s what you’re hung up on?” he laughs. “Besides, I didn’t even hire him. He hired himself for a position that didn’t exist. I had to buy a limo for him to drive. I don’t even pay him.”

“You don’t?”

“No. I tried to once things got better for me financially that I could afford to run a payroll, but he turned it down. Said he has more in life than he could ever imagine.” Alex shrugged. “He lives rent-free in the guesthouse, and I make sure he has everything he needs.

Caitlin is waiting as the elevator doors open.

“They’re waiting for you,” she says as we get out of the elevator.

We follow her down the familiar hall to the glass meeting room. Seated around the table are Abe, Harold, and the others. At one end of the room is a white movie screen.

“There’s no need for formalities, are there?” Harold asks.

“No, let’s just get this over with,” I say.

Harold nods, then waits for everyone to sit before pressing play.

The DVD player turns on, and shades automatically roll down over the glass windows. After a blip, my father appears on the screen, looking just as I remembered him before his death.

He grins at the camera and then sits down.

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