vehicle.” I pat him on the shoulder. “This is progress.”
“Don’t condescend to me.” Milo points a finger at me. “Things are changing. This is the new Milo. The one who can handle himself, the one who . . .” He pats the pockets of his denim jacket. “Oh, shit. I think I left the keys in Dad’s room.”
I snort-laugh as he runs inside. Sure, it’s great that things are changing, but it’s also kind of nice that some things will stay the same.
* * *
* * *
When Milo leaves, I head back to Dad’s room. I knock on the door, then walk in to find him sitting in his recliner, a crossword puzzle book on his lap.
“Well, hi there, sweetheart,” he says, pushing himself off the recliner with some effort. “I didn’t know you were coming over!”
I don’t tell him that I reminded him about this appointment last night and this morning and put it on his calendar. I know it won’t help him.
“I’m here to take you to the doctor for your follow-up appointment,” I say. “Are you ready?”
He shuffles toward his closet. “Just let me get my coat.”
I check the clock on his wall. I left us plenty of time, but my unexpected Milo encounter means we’re probably going to be late. “Hurry up, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he says, his voice muffled as he searches through his closet. I can’t help but smile because, for this moment at least, he sounds the way he used to—full of good-natured annoyance when I tell him what to do.
“So how are things going with Dave?” he asks, then shuffles back toward me, attempting to button a shirt that looks almost exactly like the one he had on before.
“Let me.” I reach out and start buttoning his shirt for him, biting my lip. It’s not like I thought he’d remember what happened when Nick was here. But it still hurts to know that I couldn’t possibly talk to him about everything with Nick, even if I wanted to have one of those traditional movie-worthy father-daughter heart-to-hearts. This is yet another thing his disease took from us, and it sucks.
“Dave and I aren’t together anymore,” I say, focusing on his buttons.
“I just want you to be happy, Chloe,” he says, and, again, I feel my heart start to crumble into tiny little pieces.
“I am happy, Dad,” I say quietly.
“Dave’s the guy for you,” Dad says. “I can tell.”
“You think?” I ask, buttoning the last button.
Dad waves a hand. “You can always tell. Like with your mother, I knew things weren’t right from the beginning.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You did?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He shrugs. “You wanna be with somebody you can’t stop thinking about. Somebody who takes care of you, even when you’re being a real asshole. Somebody who makes sure you know that you’re the only person they want.”
Nick’s words, I don’t want anybody else. I only want you, play in my mind but I push them away.
“A person shouldn’t make you feel like they always have one foot out the door,” Dad says. “That’s how your mother always is.”
“Was,” I mutter. I’ve always avoided talking about Mom with Dad, worried it would upset him too much, but he’s talking about her with less emotion than he uses to discuss characters on TV.
“But you and Dave, I can tell you have something good.”
I’m not sure who Dad is talking about—actual, spiky-haired Dave from high school or Nick—but this feels so much like a real father-daughter talk that I just go with it. “Yeah?”
Dad nods. “The way you two looked at each other—you’d have to be an idiot not to tell.”
“Dad,” I say gently. “I don’t think things with Dave are going to work out. I have a lot going on right now and it’s not really the right time for me.”
Dad snorts and waves me off. “It’s never the right time. But when you’re in love with someone, what can you do? Let me give you some advice, Chloe: life can really put you through the shitter. If it tosses something good your way once in a while, don’t think twice about grabbing it.”
I frown, my heartbeat quickening.
He looks me straight in the eyes then, his own eyes clear and full of conviction, seeming so much like the Dad I used to watch sitcoms with in our living room. “Not everyone’s your mother, sweetheart. Not everyone’s gonna leave you.”
My heart is now pounding so loud that I can feel it all over my