“I’m fine,” Maria repeated. “I’m just a little tired, and sometimes I forget the minor things, but I’m okay. Don’t worry too much about me,” she requested.
“It’s hard for me not to worry about you, Mom,” Tessa confessed. “You’re okay now, but sooner or later, you’ll start forgetting the major things and events, and I’m afraid to lose you.”
“I will not allow that to happen. The only thing that matters to me are you, your siblings, and your father. Nothing will ever change that,” she spoke fiercely.
Tessa smiled sadly, knowing that when it comes to this disease, it took everything in its path, and pretty soon, her mother would not remember any of them. She’d seen persons come into the ER with the disease shouting at their relatives and calling them strangers. She’d even seen one of them call the police on her daughter, saying that she’d stolen her jewelry, so even though her mother was a fighter, she just couldn’t see how she would win against this disease.
“I’m gonna go talk to Dad,” she informed her.
“Okay, sweetie,” Maria replied.
Tessa headed for the door, but before she exited, she turned to her mother. “What are you looking for?” she asked, noticing Maria looking around with her brow furrowed in confusion.
“The knitting needles. I can’t find them.”
Tessa’s lips twitched downward. “They’re on the coffee table,” she informed her.
Maria turned to the coffee table. “Oh. There they are,” she said, picking up the needles before carrying on with her knitting.
Tessa left the room with her eyes glistening. Her heart was breaking to see her mother devolving like this.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” her father asked in concern. A sob escaped her lips, and Luke rushed over to bundle her into his arms.
“We’re really gonna lose her, Dad,” she cried. He didn’t respond. He just continued to hold her to his chest.
“How do you handle seeing her like this?” Tessa asked when they separated. Her father sighed.
“It’s hard to imagine it. But she’s my wife, and this sickness will not take her away from me. Even if I have to remind her every day that she is the love of my life and I am hers, then I am prepared to do that. That’s why this cruise is so important for us,” he explained.
Tessa nodded.
“There’s something I want to apologize to you for. It’s been weighing on my mind ever since my heart-to-heart with Kerry.”
Tessa’s brow furrowed as she stared at her father in confusion.
“I am sorry for being so hard on you when you were growing up. I had so many expectations for you that I think I disregarded your needs. You needed a supportive father who would have been there for you no matter what you wanted to do.”
“Dad.” Her eyes widened in surprise.
“I think I might have damaged you and your siblings more than I had imagined.” He turned to look at her with remorse. “I’m sorry for how I treated and talked about Don. He was a good man, and he loved you in the way you needed to be loved. For that, I respect him very much.”
Tessa sighed. “Don would have loved to hear you say it before he died, but I suppose it’s better late than never. I spent almost my whole life trying to live up to your expectations, so I missed out on so much of my children growing up. You got in my head so much that I started resenting Don for not being what I thought success looked like.” She looked at her father with sorrowful eyes. “This success I was working for took away so many happy moments.”
Luke looked at his daughter; his eyes gutted with pain. “I am so sorry for being the cause of so much hurt in your life, Tessa. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make it up to you.”
Tessa gave him a grateful smile. “I can't put all the blame on you, Dad. I should have been honest with myself and with you and Mom. I didn’t want to be this perfect daughter. I wanted to be myself. I should have been strong enough to follow my own path. I look at Diane now, and I am so proud of her for sticking to what she believes and loves even when I wasn’t on board.” A smile came to her face as she thought about her brave daughter.
“Tessa, I want you to know that I am proud of you— of the woman you’ve become, and no matter what, I will be proud of you. You have been a rock to this family.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Tessa smiled.
Luke opened his arms once more, and she walked into the embrace.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Beverly
“What about this one?”
