Painful Discovery
Enrico
I looked with genuine disgust at the woman before me, feeling no positive feelings for her, let alone a son's love. This made me realize something crucial at that moment: being someone's biological child doesn't necessarily make us love that person.
Being a child goes beyond blood ties; it involves love and companionship. Sometimes, we have people in our lives whom we love as fathers and brothers, and we have relatives for whom we feel absolutely nothing. I was facing one of those cases now.
Knowing that the woman in front of me was the same one I had revered in photos for years didn't make me feel any love for her as a son. She was just a woman like any other. Unlike the man I had grown up calling father, who had raised me to the best of his ability, as he made sure to affirm.
We had our problems and misunderstandings, and I had been angry at Joseph many, many times. But I had always loved him, and that was an undeniable fact. Now, faced with the truth about some previously unknown points, I understood his motivations and struggles. If I had known all these facts earlier, things would have been very different, even if I hadn't given up on my dream of becoming a Formula One driver.
"Can we talk alone, my son?" The woman dared to ask.
Before I could respond, I looked at my father, standing next to Lindsay, his loyal and constant supporter, who seemed to bolster the robust man, visibly weakened by the painful return of his past. I decided I wouldn't betray him in that way; I wouldn't allow that woman to continue staying in his house, confronting him haughtily and proudly when she wasn't in a position to act like that.
"I can spare you some time," I replied with the same haughtiness she used, "But not right now. Tell me where you're staying, and I'll come there before I leave."
She didn't seem satisfied with my offer but mentioned the name of the cheap hotel where she was staying, coincidentally the same one Rachel had stayed at some time ago.
"When do you plan to leave?" Dorothy asked.
"Tomorrow morning," I answered, explaining further, "That means I'll visit your hotel later today, and we can talk as you wish. For now, I'd like you to leave, because I need to talk to my father."
I made sure to emphasize the "my father" part so she would understand that her betrayal of her husband, getting pregnant by another man leaving, and leaving me with Joseph, didn't change how I saw him. Joseph was still my father.
"Can I... can I ask for a hug, son?" Now she wanted to beg for affection? Well, I wasn't willing to grant her request, especially after the way she treated the man who had raised me alone for years, sacrificing so much for the child of another man. Specifically, the man her wife had cheated on him with.
"I suggest you don't," I spoke with all sincerity, though her request itself was already a clear plea. "I don't intend to grant your request."
As an empathetic person, I felt a twinge of remorse for treating the woman before me this way. However, given everything she had done and said, I chose not to let that feeling sway me. Dorothy was reaping the consequences of her past actions, which was nothing less than fair. So, I stood firm in my resolution, even if it wasn't characteristic of who I was. Not of the man Joseph raised as his legitimate son because I never once doubted that fact.
"Lindsay," I said, turning to my father's loyal aide, "Please escort Mrs. Dorothy to the door."
I didn't look at the woman again, feeling nothing but strangeness toward her, while Lindsay gestured politely toward the exit. I walked over to the man I had known all my life, now fully understanding the magnitude of his courage and strength. I couldn't imagine myself capable of such greatness if not for the example of fatherhood he had always provided.
"Are you okay?" I asked Joseph, facing him directly, eye to eye.
"Yes, everything's fine."
"I think I owe you a thank you."
"There's no need, Enrico," he said, but his eyes reflected all the love he felt for me. "Everything I did was out of pure selfishness."
Joseph didn't need to explain what he meant by that statement, as I understood perfectly. He chose to stay with his wife despite her betrayal because he loved her. And he raised his son for the same reason. But that didn't mean he didn't love me, because I knew he did. My father always loved me.
"I'm not referring to raising me, after all, I'm your son," I continued, seeing his puzzled look. "I'm talking about standing by Rachel, when I, even though I was in love with her, refused to believe her word without even giving her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure you intended to take care of her for my sake."
My father smiled with evident warmth. I was right in my assumption, of course. Joseph would take care of Rachel and the child she was expecting because he wouldn't be able to turn away from his grandchild's hand while she insisted that the child she was expecting was mine.
"I hoped that at some point you would understand that we can never be a hundred percent certain about anything, Enrico," Joseph said with great wisdom. "Sometimes, what we consider impossible can happen."
"I will follow my father's example and accept Rachel's child as mine. If she says it's mine, then that's how it will be. So now this baby will be mine, and no other man will take care of my child for me."
I embraced my father and felt all my love returned in that "manly" hug, with a few pats on the back in approval.
"I'm going to be a father!" I exclaimed, feeling immense relief wash over me at that moment. "And you're going to be a grandfather, Dad."
Lindsay chose that moment to return to the room and looked at both of us with a questioning expression that made me laugh out loud. I felt light and happy. The solution to my indecision was easier than I had imagined. I just needed to muster the courage to accept the truth I had been trying to deny for the past few months. I love Rachel, and I want the baby she's expecting to be our child.
"Did I miss something?" Lindsay eventually asked.
"Where's Rachel?"
"In the bedroom..."
I didn't wait for her to finish - I already knew what she would say - and hurried towards the staircase hall, taking two steps at a time to reach Rachel and say what had been weighing on my chest.
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