Page 62 of Free-Falling
“Okay, okay, seriously… just the tip. I promise I’ll slip right out. There won’t even be any penetration.” Jagger chuckles and pulls me into a hug. “Mmm, I’m just playing, babes. I saw the look on your face and I don’t want that look to appear on your face again. I love you.”
I hug him back tight. “I love you too, idiot.” A big, loud kiss from him is my punishment. I laugh, but then I sober. “I was just thinking about my Yorkie that I got for my fifteenth birthday. Her name was She—.”
“Shells. I know. I got her for you, dumb-ass.” Jagger confesses.
I cock my brow. “You did? Nobody told me that.”
“I know because it wasn’t for you to know. I asked one of our workers to send it over to you.”
“You weren’t in town, were you?” I ask.
I shake my head. “No. I wasn’t.”
“Makes sense.”
* * *
Sitting in front of dad is odd but comforting. I haven’t seen him since the wedding.
“How are you guys?” He starts off.
“We’re good.” I blurt out.
My father sighs. He gets up from behind his desk and moves over to where I am. He pulls up an extra chair and turns mine around to face him. He takes both of my hands in his. “Ainslee, look at me.” He softly says. “First, I want you to know I am deeply sorry about what happened with your mot—. with Natasha. I’m sorry that she did that to you and I didn’t know. I apologize for not being aware, for even giving you the idea, that I didn’t care about you. You mean the world to me. You’re the very reason I’m even alive today. You’ve saved me from so much from the moment you were born and I got to hold you in my arms even for a bit. You were my world, Ainslee, and I let it crumble. I was supposed to protect you.”
In all of my twenty-nine years of living, I have never seen my father cry about anything. The tears in his eyes triggered a protective side of me I never knew I had. I pulled my hands out of his hold, and I hugged him instead. It was an odd hug but when he stood; I could hug him like I used to as a child. “No, no, daddy, don’t cry. Please don’t.”
My father held me, placing a kiss on top of my head. He engulfed me in his arms and I felt protected, so much more than before. This was the Andres Bishops that I remembered. This man that put me first above all else. “I won’t ever do this to you again, I promise.” He says.
I get out of his hold. “I’ll hold you to it and only if you agree to my terms can I ever forgive you.”
My father cups my face in his huge hands. “What are the terms, Ainslee? I agree anyway.” He smiles at me.
I step on top of his shoes with mine like I used to. I wipe his tears. “Promise me you’ll be the best grandfather in this world. You won’t miss any baseball games, soccer games, football, arts, piano recitals and I know you hate ballet, but don’t miss that especially.” I say, and my father’s reaction makes me smile.
“Grandfather? You want me in their lives? Both of you?” He looks at me and then at Jagger.
“Yes sir, we do. We want our child and future children to know you. We’re proud to have you in our lives, sir.” Jagger makes me so proud.
I look at him quickly and blow him a kiss. He smirks. I face my dad again, “Oh! Also, never and I mean never miss a birthday. You’re not allowed to and you will always take pictures with them. Each Christmas, you are our Santa until we pass the tradition down. We will also start our own family dinners and you will be there, no matter what.”
My father smiles. “I am proud of your negotiation skills. I wonder who you learned from? I have two terms of my own.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“First, I want you to have the estate. Move in. I’m going to move into a smaller home for myself.”
“No.” Jagger answers. “We cannot possibly kick you out of your own home.”
My father shakes his head. “You guys are starting your family and I would love it if you can have this. It was going to be Ainslee’s when I passed. It’s all hers. Plus, I’ve already purchased and invested in one of your penthouse suites. The new one that isn’t too far from here.”
“The entire building?” I ask.
He nods. “My boys need a place and privacy of their own. You’ll find that our very first residence to move in is Mikonos and Guinevere.” He winks.
I look at Jagger wanting his opinion. He smiles, nodding. I turn back to my dad. “Okay. What’s your second term?”
My dad kisses the top of my head. “This one is for Jagger.” He walks over to him, “my second term is that you forgive me too. That you accept me as your father-in-law and that I will do right by your children. I know I don’t have a great track record and my family business isn’t all the way on the straight and narrow but this is who I am.”
