Page 146 of Give My Everything
Until he blinks rapidly, over and over again.
And that’s when I realize what I’m seeing.
Bob Wallace is fighting back glassiness in his eyes.
“You know, Ben, maybe youarethe right person for my daughter,” he says, sitting back in his seat and putting his chin up, a move that reminds me so much of Remmy when she’s trying to be brave and sure even when she’s not.
“IknowI am.”
At that, he grins. And then he stands.
I follow suit, pushing out of my chair and stepping toward Bob as he extends his hand to me.
“You have my blessing, son.”
I squeeze his hand. He squeezes mine right back.
“Thank you, sir,” I say. “I’m happy to hear it.”
He nods his head and I take it as the dismissal it is, turning to head for the door.
“Oh, and Ben?” Bob calls after me.
When I turn to look back, he has a serious expression on his face.
“I know there was…an incident between my wife and Remmy a little bit ago at your house, and…” He pauses, thinking things over. “Can you just make sure Remmy knows no matter what, both of us love her and she’salwayswelcome to come home?”
I grin, happy to know reconciliation between Remmy and her mom is a lot nearer than I had anticipated.
“Will do. But with all due respect, sir, her home is with me.”
Bob chuckles lightly. “I guess it is.”
CHAPTER27
REMMY
Everything.
That’s what Ben makes me feel when he looks at me.
Once, there was a man who told me I was nothing. For too long, I allowed that man to control my life, even though he wasn’t anywhere near me.
I won’t allow that any longer.
The painting on my canvas is a reflection of what I feel today. Content.
Usually, I paint when my emotions are too big and I don’t have any true outlet. For so long, my emotions were a jumbled mess full of big, scary things I could never fully work through or understand.
So I just assumed my aesthetic was dark. Angry. Murky sadness displayed in images of storms and closed doors.
I didn’t realize I was even…capableof painting something like this.
It’s a similar picture to the storm painting I was working on for a few weeks before I angrily bathed the canvas in broad black strokes from my brush.
A beach. The shoreline with clouds in the distance.
But the previous image was all dark blue water with white caps from raging wind, blacks and grays filling the sky with a distant storm.
