2022 WATTYS SHORTLISTED || After being forced into a marriage by her devoutly religious parents, Aspen's husband is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, and she must find her purpose as well as fight feelings for her husband's nurse. || Aspen Wat...
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"How have you been holding up, Aspen?" Dad asks. I put his glass of water in front of him and wish I had something stronger than lemonade for myself, but I suppose that would be taunting.
"Okay, I suppose. It's been... sad," I admit. "But the silver lining of all this is that he won't have to suffer any more than he did."
Dad nods and sips his water before looking between Nick and me.
"What're you doing here?" I question.
My dad sighs before answering, "The last time we met was... intense... I suppose that is the way to put it. The way you messaged as well, with Joel... with Joel passing away, I thought we had better discuss it."
"Where's Mum? I would've thought she'd show up to offer her prayers and well wishes," I ask.
"She is at home right now, Aspen. Unfortunately, God bless her, she is distraught after the news of Joel's passing—"
"Are you kidding me?" I snort. Dad gives me a questioning look, so I carry on. "She's distraught? She hated him, Dad! He had tattoos and loved rock music... he got me pregnant, and she hated him."
"That's a bit mean, Aspen. Your mother didn't hate Joel. She didn't like what he represented and his actions towards you were questionable, but she didn't hate him," Dad says gently. He's trying to be tactful; I can see it in the way he scrunches his nose when he answers me.
"I bet she's happy this happened before the divorce went through, though, right?" I spit.
He sighs in response. "I can't deny it makes your mother happier that the divorce hasn't happened."
Nick shakes his head but stays deathly silent.
"Yeah, figures." I snort.
"What happened, Aspen? You both seemed so happy," Dad asks. "With Joel, I mean. Despite the... origins of your union, you both seemed to be happy together."
"We were... sometimes. We were best friends, and nothing more. It took us a while to see it for what it was. Dad, the thing is, we'd agreed before we got married that we were going to give Gabriel away and yet Mum insisted we still had to get married—"
"You reap what you sow, Aspen, you know that." Dad sighs.
"We did! We paid the price, as you both kept saying! Joel and I gave away our child, Dad. We learnt from our mistake!"
"Not enough," Dad points out. "According to your mother, anyway."
"So, you didn't agree with the marriage? Yet you were complicit, Dad."
