Page 145 of Anyone But Her

"C'mon. Let's go." Luke takes my hand and we walk to the car. "You want to play golf?"

"We don't have our clubs."

"We'll rent some. I want to take you to the first course I ever played."

"Albert took you there?"

"Yeah, and then he took me for ice cream. It was one of the best days of my life."

Luke smiles, a big smile that shows off those dimples of his that caught my attention the first time I saw him. I still love those dimples. I love seeing him smile. Seeing him happy. When you really love someone, seeing them happy is one of the best feelings in the world.

I get it now. I get why my dad stopped fighting with me about Luke. It's because he saw how happy Luke makes me. When my dad kicked Luke out of the house I was devastated. I stayed in my room, not even going downstairs to eat. My dad tried to talk to me, assuring me Luke would be okay, but all it did was make me cry. Because Luke wasn't okay. He was struggling and I couldn't help him or be with him.

The next day I felt even worse. I met with my golf coach but couldn't pay attention so he sent me home. I wasn't hungry so I skipped dinner that night. I knew I'd find a way to be with Luke but in that time we were apart and I was missing him like I'd never missed anyone, my dad finally realized how much I love Luke. How happy he makes me. And that's when my dad went to see him.

He didn't know where to find him and just as he was about to call him, his phone rang. The call was from some guy my dad used to know. He told him where Luke was and asked him to come down there and talk to him.

The timing was almost eerie. How did that man know to call my dad at the exact time my dad was looking for Luke? Maybe Albert really is still with us, intervening when Luke needs him.

My dad never told me what he talked about with Luke that day. All I know is that Luke asked him if I could go on this trip and my dad agreed to it. He still doesn't approve of my relationship with Luke but he will eventually. I know he will. Because he loves me, and when you love someone, you want them to be happy.

---