Page 86 of When We Are Complete

I hit rock bottom and let myself sit there for a moment, before rallying again. The thought of losing Kelly again hurts worse than anything I can imagine. I never thought I’d get another chance with her. And I got that chance.

I may be an imperfect man. But I can’t give up on the woman I love, on my daughter.

I’d take my last breath, walk through fire for them if needed. The problem is, I just don’t know what to do.

As I look at Adele, Kelly’s words come rushing back. About how Adele needs me to be there, to really be there—not as the fixer, the problem-solver, but as her dad, someone who’ll listen without judgment, without needing to make everything right.

The truth hits me: I’ve been so focused on protecting Adele, on fighting every battle for her, that I never stopped to ask if that’s what she needed. I remember Kelly’s voice saying sometimesjust being thereis enough.

Maybe that’s all Adele and Kelly have been asking for—someone who’ll sit with them in the mess, not try to clean it up. The walls I’ve built around this idea of beingstrongcrack wide open, and I see with startling clarity that strength might mean standing by their sides, quietly, patiently, and letting them feel what they need to feel.

Adele is staring at me, and I swallow the lump in my throat. “What do you need from me right now? I’m not trying to fix anything. I just want to be here for you.”

She sniffles, her eyes wary. “You want to make it all go away, but that doesn’t help. I just want you to, like, sit with me.”

“You’re right, I did want to fix it. But I can sit here, too. I can listen.”

She glances up, hesitating. “Whenever I tell you something hurts or that things are bad, you always jump in and say,let me fix it, let me make it right.But sometimes I don’t need that. I justneed to feel bad for a while and know you’re okay with it. That it’s okay for me to be, I don’t know, messed up.”

I nod slowly. “So, you don’t want a solution right away. Or maybe even at all. You just want me to sit with you. Let you be you, even if it’s messy. Is that it?”

Her shoulders relax a little. “Yeah. Sometimes I just needyou. Maybe make a stupid joke. But no advice.”

“Okay,” I say quietly, forcing myself to sit with that, to let her take the lead. It’s a little foreign, but something about it seems right.

“I’m sorry I’ve been getting it so wrong, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to make you feel as though your emotions are wrong or that they need to be fixed. I’ll do better. I’ll try.”

She watches me for a moment, and something softens in her eyes. She gives a nod.

This is so strange and so new. But I can do this, because I love her.

Her hand reaches out to give mine a small squeeze. In this moment, holding space for her pain, I finally get what she’s been trying to tell me all along.

It’s what my dad could never give my mom, give any of us.

And the realization settles deeper than I could’ve imagined, hitting me with the force of something long overdue. It’s not just Adele and Kelly I’ve been trying to fix. It’s everyone around me—always trying to be the strong one, the solver of problems, the steady, reliable one.

But in doing that, maybe I’ve missed what people really need from me: the patience to understand their pain, to see them as they are, instead of who I want them to be.

And then I see Kelly’s face so clearly, her hurt, her walls coming up to protect herself from the weight of expectations—even mine. Maybe all she’s needed all along was for me tojust see her, without pushing to fix whatever issue she’s going through.

New resolve rushes through me. I won’t let her walk away because I didn’t get it before. I want her—all of her.

“Adele,” I say, squeezing her hand again, “thank you. You really helped me see things clearer today. I promise, I’m going to do better.”

Outside, the light shifts, darkening, and a new kind of urgency builds inside. I need to get back to Kelly. The minute Adele’s okay, I’m going to find her. And this time, I’ll show her that no storm, no broken pieces, are going to change how much she means to me.

Adele is studying me with a seriousness that catches me off guard. “Dad, are you okay?”

I blink, momentarily at a loss. When did she start checking up on me? I clear my throat. “Yeah, sweetheart. I’m fine.” But even as the words leave my mouth, I can tell she sees right through them.

She frowns, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You don’t look fine. Is it about Kelly? Did you find her?” She hesitates but then keeps going, her voice softer. “Did something happen between you two?”

“Yeah, something did. Things are complicated right now. Kelly, she, uh, she just wants some space.”

Adele stares at me, her expression caught somewhere between shock and sympathy. “And you just left her?”

Her question hits me, but there’s no edge in her voice—just genuine curiosity, and maybe even a little challenge. “It wasn’t exactly up to me. She thinks she’s better off alone. But I plan to go and see her as soon as you’re okay.”

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