The Maturation of Vinnie Pt. 04

Both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent at Mom and Dad's house. It was tradition, and since Dana was the newest member of our family, she was expected to be there. It may not be official yet, but she was a Blanton as far as we were concerned. Usually, everyone opened one present on Christmas Eve, just to take the edge off, and then the main presents were opened on Christmas morning. Since Dana knew all about Hawaii, I decided that gift would be for Christmas Day. I wanted to surprise her on Christmas Eve and once more, Jenny came to the rescue.

Jenny and I met at the jewelry store and I showed her the rings we had chosen. With her help, we found a pendant and chain that would look wonderful on Dana and then I really splurged again with Jenny's advice. I chose a pair of diamond earrings as a special gift. A year ago, I would never have guessed I could afford this, but for Dana I didn't think twice. Once again, the owner gave me a special discount to soften the blow. I think he figured out that I was going to be a regular customer over the coming years. He was a very smart man.

I can remember a lot of happy Christmases in my youth. Our family was all together and it was a fun time. It had been a while since I had felt that way, probably because Tom and I had grown up, and I had drifted away from the family circle. This Christmas brought it all back again. With Dana beside me and my place in the family restored, I felt better than I had in a long time. I was surprised at how sentimental I had become about my family. I think that Dana had something to do with that when she made sure I understood how important family was to someone who didn't have one.

Except for Mom and Dad, who were seated in their usual chairs, we were all sitting on the carpet near the tree, with Nikki bubbling away, anticipating when we would let her open her present. I had carefully put the earrings out of sight so that they wouldn't be spotted ahead of time. Only Jenny knew what I planned. The jeweler had wrapped them in a special paper he said he reserved for diamonds. It was a bright, metallic blue, and the tiny bow on the top of the diminutive package was an opalescent white. I was sure Dana would guess what was inside the moment she saw the package, so hiding it under some other presents was the only way to delay the inevitable.

Not surprisingly, Nikki got to open her present first. It was a portable DVD player and she was delighted with it. Included in the package were a couple of DVD movies; apparently ones she really liked. Mom was next and Jenny had helped Dad pick out a beautiful cashmere sweater that she obviously approved of -- she wore it on Christmas Day. As the presents were passed out, Jenny skillfully kept the little blue package hidden until the last and when she passed it to me and I gave it to Dana, along with Merry Christmas and a big kiss.

She looked shocked. I don't think she was expecting anything -- certainly not anything this elegant. I already had my most important Christmas present -- Dana. She opened the tiny package and when she saw the jewelry box, she gasped, and gasped again when she opened it. She had tears in her eyes when she turned to me to thank me and threw her arms around me and gave me another big kiss.

"Euuwwww! Mushy stuff!" Nikki said. That prompted laughter among the adults.

Then she crawled over to look at the earrings and was heard to offer a "Wow!" when she saw them. Naturally, Dana put them on right away, and Mom and Jenny came over to give them a close inspection. They sparkled in a kaleidoscope of colors from the tree lights. They matched her beauty perfectly and I could only marvel at my good luck to be marrying her. She was wrapped in my arms, leaning back on my shoulder and I couldn't have been happier than I was at that moment.

Christmas Day was calmer than I remembered it. I guess because Tom and I were grown and the only youngster that could really appreciate the day was Nikki. Tom and Jenny spoiled her with presents, but I never got the sense that she didn't appreciate them. I think she thought of Tom as her real dad, even since the arrival of the twins. Nikki never gave any sign that she felt second best or ignored. She was a bright, happy-go-lucky kid who did well at school and had lots of friends. Tom was a natural father and I hoped that I could be as good as he was when my turn came along.

The big meal was served and it was great. Mom wouldn't have it any other way and with Jenny and Dana to help, it was a lot less demanding on her than in the past. Mom and Jenny had formed a special bond that made Jenny feel more like a daughter than a daughter-in-law. I was hoping Dana could form that kind of bond too. Jenny had been an enormous help to Mom when Dad had his stroke and she was a regular visitor at the house, always willing to help Mom with anything she needed. Dana would have a job until we started having children, so it would be more difficult for her to help out, but I wasn't worried. Mom had already made it obvious that she welcomed Dana.

After dinner, the ladies looked after the dishes and the guys just flopped down in the living room and tried to keep from falling asleep. Tom and I managed to survive, but Dad was out cold in ten minutes. With the women in the kitchen, we talked about Dana's father.

"Any word from the detective about him showing up?" I asked.

"Nothing yet. They haven't got a twenty-four seven on him, so they're doing random checks. I suggest we think about alternative places for Dana to work until we find him or we decide he isn't coming back."

"Yah. We could have her operate from my place. We just have to move the computer and some files."

"Well, let's give it some thought, Vinnie. He probably knows about you and so he can figure out that if she isn't at home, she might be at your place. We might want to move her somewhere he doesn't know about." Tom was thinking out loud, but I had to agree with his logic.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I'll have to clear it with Jen first, but ... I think the safest place might be my house. Jen is usually home, so it would make it more difficult for someone to take them by surprise."

"I dunno, Tom. It might put Jenny at risk too." I was worried we didn't make things worse. "Why don't you ask your detective friend what he thinks?"

"Yah ... I suppose you're right. I'll call Pete and see what he thinks."

When Dana and I got back to her place, we were both dog tired. I really wanted to make love with her, but she was starting her period and both of us needed some sleep. We held each other closely. Words weren't necessary any more. We both knew how we felt about each other.

The day after Christmas was rainy and cold and we just lay around the apartment watching TV, reading and generally doing nothing. I got a bit restless and considered driving around to the jobsites to make sure everything was OK, but I decided against it. I was determined I wasn't going to leave Dana alone in her apartment for any length of time and she didn't want to go with me. I was hoping I would hear from Tom in the next day or so.

Chapter 15:

On Thursday, I got a call from one of my crew chiefs that all was not well with one of our renovation framing jobs. Apparently, the plans didn't correspond to the actual building. That wasn't uncommon, but what to do about it required either a revision from the owner or some creative thinking on our part. I preferred the latter before suffering the usual delays when we went back to the owner for a decision on a change.

I told Dana not to let anyone she didn't know into the apartment and if her father called, keep him on the line as long as she could and then call me right away. I was uncomfortable leaving her on her own, but she was adamant that she could handle whatever came up, and she would call 911 if anything happened that might be dangerous. I wasn't completely convinced, but I need to resolve the problem on the jobsite. At least Dana knew that she had some backup with the detective service watching the apartment.

I headed for the job and as I expected, it was more complicated than we could solve with a couple of changes. The building inspector would dump all over us if we didn't get it approved ahead of time, and that meant a change approved by the owner first, and then the building inspector. That just added a few days to the job, unless we could figure out a way to make the corrections simple and not cause major changes to the design.

I huddled together with our guys; we went over the problem and looked for the simplest solution. In days gone by, I would be going off and acting out my anger and frustration at this problem. Somehow, that had all changed. I think Dana had a lot to do with it, but maybe I was maturing as well. Most of the time, my guys could contribute something toward solving the problems and I was hoping that was the case today.

It took us several hours before we worked out a solution that would avoid having to move the plumbing and change the shape of an ensuite in the new section. One of the crew chiefs, Terry Dreyfus, came up with a suggestion that was simple and didn't alter the main look of the addition. It meant taking a few inches out of the huge walk-in closet and another few inches out of the large bedroom, but overall, it didn't really make a big difference to the living space and wouldn't add any cost.

I slapped Terry on the back and congratulated him.

"Well done, guys. You just saved us a lot of grief and delay. Nice work." I looked at my watch and saw that it was one thirty and none of us had eaten.

"Terry, why don't you take the guys to lunch on me. When you're done, take the revisions to the owners and see if you can get an OK to submit them to city hall. Give me a call on the cell if you run into any problems you don't feel comfortable with. The guys can have the rest of the day off with pay. It's worth it to solve our problem this easily." I was smiling as we broke up. I thought I might have found my back-up man.

I called Dana to let her know I was on my way back and she said everything was OK. I stopped off at my place to get some more of my clothes. I had been gradually moving my stuff into her apartment. We were living there, so it didn't make any sense to have two separate places. My lease was up for renewal at the end of January, so the timing was perfect. I had already notified the landlord that I would be leaving.

When I walked into our apartment, I stopped immediately when I realized Dana wasn't alone. An older man was sitting on the sofa and Dana was in her usual chair. I didn't recognize him and I was about to say something when Dana stood up and came over to me.

"Vin ... I want you to meet someone." She was calm and composed and I didn't sense any upset, but I was tense and wanted to know why she would let a stranger into our place.

"Vin ... this is my father, Donald," she said in a steady voice.

I was stunned. She had let this bastard into our apartment. I couldn't believe it. Why? I was so taken aback that I couldn't form any words. I just stood there and stared, wide-eyed at the both of them.

Her father had stood up from the sofa and was looking at me warily, but with a steady gaze. I guess I must have shown some sort of anger or alarm, because Dana grabbed my arm and held it tightly.

"No, Vinnie! No! I'm not in any danger. It wasn't what we thought. I'm OK with it." She said it calmly, and with obvious confidence.

I let my breath out and tried to relax a bit. I was still in shock and finally I took my jacket off and hung it on the coat tree beside the door. I realized I hadn't said a word since I'd entered the room.

"What's going on?" I finally managed.

"Dad came to ... apologize, Vin. He's been trying to see me because he needed to apologize for ... what he had done." She said it quietly, but again, I was struck by how calm she was. I didn't understand it. It didn't make sense; especially after what he had done to her all those years ago.

"It's a bit late, isn't it?" I snarled.

"Yes, it is." He had finally spoken. "I can't make it right with just an apology, but it's all I have to offer. I can't change what I did, but I can't forget, either." His voice was even and he didn't really show any signs of fear. This was a very strange situation.

"Vinnie, Dad has finally gotten some help. He's in A.A. and he's trying to turn his life around. He knows it won't change the past, but maybe he can be a better person in the future."

"That won't be very difficult." I spat out the words. I wasn't feeling very charitable right then.

"Vinnie, you're the best thing that's happened to Dana in a long time. I'm very happy that you two have found each other. I didn't come here to mess up your lives. I came here because it's part of my rehabilitation. I needed at least to acknowledge what I had done to Dana and how it had hurt her; not just then, but until you came along."

Again, I was struck by how calm he was. He must have known how angry I was at what he had done to her, and yet I didn't seem to frighten him.

"How long?" I asked.

"How long have I been sober? Three months and eleven days." he answered promptly.

"You're just getting started." I said, calming down a bit.

"Yes ... and the road never ends." He was looking a bit sad at that point.

"Vin, I have forgiven him." Dana said it so completely out of the blue, that I was shocked into silence once more.

"I couldn't go on hating him forever. I have a new life with you and I couldn't keep that anger and hate bottled up inside me."

I couldn't believe her generosity. She was forgiving the man who raped her. The man who had beaten her mother. I was having trouble making sense of it. I just shook my head in disbelief.

"Vin ... Dad has a job. It's up north in the gas fields. He's trying to straighten his life out. He came to apologize and ask for my forgiveness. He also came to say goodbye."

"A job?" was all I could manage.

"Believe it or not, I'm still a pretty good diesel mechanic. My skill is in short supply. That's why they were willing to take a chance on me. My sponsor is from there as well. He'll be there to help me over the rough spots." There was the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

My anger had disappeared somewhere along the way. I wasn't ready to forgive him, but for Dana's sake, I could at least acknowledge that he was trying to turn his life around.

"OK," I sighed in resignation. "You have a special daughter, Mr. McNabb. She's a lot more forgiving than I would ever be."

"Yes. You're lucky to be getting her. But, I think you already know that." Now I was sure I saw a smile.

"Yah. You've got that right."

He turned to Dana and held out his hand. She ignored it and moved to embrace him. I was still in shock as I saw something I never imagined I'd see.

"Goodbye, Dad." Dana wasn't in tears, but she was close.

Her father turned to me hand held out his hand. I looked at it for a moment and wondered if I could accept it. I decided, for Dana's sake, that if she could forgive, I could at least acknowledge him. I took his hand for a brief, single shake.

Dana walked with him to the door and handed him his coat. He slipped it on, turned to us, smiled, and walked out the door.

I think it was at that point, I let my breath out. I was still dizzy with confusion about what had just happened and I was almost angry at how he had worked his way into the apartment. It was time to get some answers from Dana.

Dana pre-empted me. "Before you start ... I can explain."

I said nothing and stood looking at her. I'm sure she could see the questions in my eyes.

"He wrote me a letter and put it in the mailbox. He told me about his new life and he asked for a chance to apologize to me. I didn't want to tell you about the letter because I was afraid of what you might do. I had to make this decision myself and I have no regrets, Vinnie."

"How long have you had the letter?" I was verging on anger again.

"Yesterday. I thought about it long and hard, Vin. My father was a ghost who haunted me for a many years. My psychiatrist told me that one day I would have to confront that ghost. I decided it had to be now, before he was gone and I couldn't do anything about it."

"And the ghost is gone now?"

"Yes ... I'm sure it is. I know I feel better. He knows what he did and how wrong it was. He said he's had nightmares ever since that day and it was part of why he continued to drink. He tried to kill the memory and he couldn't." She was still showing that calm state that I couldn't understand. I was sure this would have been a horrible experience for her and it was just the opposite. My anger was beginning to subside.

"You took a big risk, Dana. I'm upset that you did. Something horrible could have happened to you. How did you know you could trust him?" I was trying not to sound angry. I think I was coming down from being frightened at what might have happened, and the relief that it didn't.

"I'm not sure. The letter I guess. It didn't look phony or artificial. I just decided I had to quit running away. If we were going to have any kind of life together, I had to be at peace with myself and with what had happened in my past. That's why I agreed to see him."

I didn't know what to say. I began to realize just how much of her past she had been carrying around with her. That shell she had built around herself when I had first met her was part of it, and perhaps I'd just been lucky to get through it and find the real Dana. Maybe I was lucky, but if her meeting today was a way to make sure we were going to be fine in the future, then who was I to object. I moved to her, wrapped my arms around her, and held her wordlessly.

I slipped Dana's engagement ring on her finger just as the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. We kissed and celebrated with our family and friends and I looked forward to a wonderful future. Just a little more than a year ago I was getting back on my feet and recovering from a nasty beating. It was amazing that I had only met Dana ten months ago. I was even more amazed at all the good things that had happened to me this past year after all the bad things that I had allowed to happen. I was one lucky guy.