Page 53 of Capri

“You’d do that? Just sit and listen to me talk? I thought that was against our rules.”

I can’t wrap my head around it. The fact that this woman I hardly know would let me vent about my life problems to her and do it willingly.

Where did she come from?

I’m transfixed as Capri lays her head on the couch, snuggling up against it and sending me the most sincere smile. “You seem like you could use it, that’s all. I know how it feels to have no one to talk to,” she admits, her understanding comforting. “Not that I’m assuming you don’t have anyone in your life, but from the small bit you told me about your family, I wanted to offer anyway. You can trust me.”

Somehow, I believe her, and I already do.

The fact that I won’t see her again helps with that trust, but my gut tells me she’s a really fucking good person. A person so good I’d be fortunate to have her in my corner, even if it’s for a short time.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll talk. As long as you don’t mind,” I say, preparing myself to open up to someone for the first time.

“Not one little bit. If at any point you want advice, just tell me, okay? Otherwise, I’m all ears.” Capri smiles, and my chest warms from her kindness.

Here goes nothing.

I take a deep breath and say the honest truth, “I was nothing but a disappointment to my father. Growing up, I could always tell he favored my brother, Tommy, over me, but the older I got, the less he cared about hiding it. I made a mistake years ago, and he never forgave me for it. Some days, I wake up and I’m just fucking mad. I can’t explain it, but I hate that I’m running the company he built. I could have sold it when he died and considered it a wash, but I love chartering. Sailing the coast and meeting new people along the way. I loved it even as a kid. But I hate that he’s attached to it. It takes away the excitement in it, you know?”

Capri listens, waiting for me to finish before speaking, “It must be really hard to navigate loving and hating something at the same time. Your father and sailing.”

I never thought about it like that.

I think through her words. “The sad part is, I never hated him. I think I just loved him so much, I wanted him to love me the same. It’s taken me a long time to accept that we never got that closure. Or at least I didn’t.”

“Jones.” Capri sighs. “I’m sure he loved you even if he never said it. Which, shame on him for that, but I can’t imagine a world where a father doesn’t love his child.”

“Maybe,” I murmur. “I wasn’t the only one he treated poorly, though.” Capri’s focus doesn’t waver. “I’ve always suspected he mistreated my mom. To what extent, I’m not sure. I don’t have proof, but she always seemed so reserved around him. She never spoke up but was also never rushing to see him after a long day. Those things matter.”

Capri nods, and I never realized how good it would feel to admit it out loud. “They do matter,” she whispers, reminding me that she knows from experience.

I hate knowing she was in a marriage that lacked love.

“I don’t know,” I mumble. “Most days, I just wish things were different. That I wasn’t alone in this big penthouse with my only living family member across the globe from me.”

“Permission to offer advice?” Capri asks sweetly, lifting her hand as if we were in a classroom. She’s definitely a teacher.

I laugh. “Go for it.”

“So, why not downsize? Maybe you need a change of scenery,” she offers, looking around my space. “Itisa bitch to clean, after all. Sounds like a good excuse to hightail it out of here.”

I chuckle, feeling lighter already. “And where would I go?”

She shrugs. “Anywhere. If you stay in Capri, find something smaller and start fresh.”

That’s not a horrible idea. But it would require taking off work to move and that’s free time I don’t have. Not even considering the fact of finding a new place. Again, time.

“Or,” she retorts. “You do it for you.”

My brows rise. “For me? You mean run the company?”

“Yep. Do it for you,” she tells me. “If you love it as much as you say you do, then why not? It’s your company now, Jones. You’ve kept it running and successful. You should get to enjoy that.”

It’s my company now. Capri’s right. All these years, I’ve acted as if my father were the one still in the captain’s seat.

But he’s not; I am.

It’s all about my mindset. It’s time I remembered that.

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