Imperfect

S E V E N - D A R R E L L R U S S E L L

The good aroma of my wife's cooking aroused me and my hunger, I couldn't wait until dinner started and ended so I could have Terri all to myself... or that's what I thought.

Before the two of us sought at the table to begin dinner, there was a knock at the door.

It was weird, because no one ever knocked during dinner time; it was our time for peace and quiet, and some alone time.

"Do you want me to open it, or you'll open it?" My wife asked while she continued to set the table.

"You're busy setting up the table," I said, "I'll go answer the door."

Before I could go do so, Terri came up to me and kissed me...

"Hurry up, if you want dinner to be quick so that we could go upstairs..."

"Why can't the dinner table be our 'downstairs' for tonight..."

Terri smiled at me, I smiled back, and the door continued to knock...

"Go get the door..." Terri instructed me with an intimate smile.

I ran towards the living room, hurriedly, because I didn't want to lose the mood that Terri and I had going on.

"Who is it?" I asked with my hand on the doorknob.

"It's me..." a masculine voice said from outside of the door.

"Who is 'me'?" I asked impatiently...

"Open the door and you will see." He responded.

Now to me, that sounded like threatening, something a killer or an intruder would say. Do I look that stupid to open the door for a complete stranger that could blow both me and my wife's brains out?

"I am not opening the door until you tell me who you are..."

"It's me... Lawrence..."

Lawrence? Why would Lawrence be knocking on my door? Didn't he and Abigale call it off months ago? Why is he in Georgia instead of Alabama?

"Why should I open the door for you?" I asked him...

"It's really important." He responded...

"That's not a good enough of an explanation for me, son."

"Darrell," Terri shouted from the kitchen, "just stop taunting the boy and let him in. The faster you get the conversation going, the quicker we can get started..."

Persuading me intimately like she always does, I hurriedly opened the door and allowed Lawrence into the house.

"What do you want?" I asked him, showing him to the living room couch.

"I wanted to speak with Abigale..." he said, with regrettable guilt in his voice...

"Abigale left earlier, about an hour ago..." my wife butted into the conversation.

He seemed worried, shockingly, not for himself this time.

"What do you want with our daughter? The last time I checked, the engagement was called off..."

"Not only did I come here for Abby," he sought next to me on the couch, "but I've came here for both you and Terri as well."

"What do you want with us?" Terri asked him as she entered into the living room.

I was quiet; I wanted to hear all of his responses before I decided to speak to him again.

"I really, really love your daughter..."

"Apparently you didn't son," I interrupted, not caring about his feelings, "if you were so in love with her, you would've never left her... even for your parents..."

"I was stupid, I know that..." Lawrence went on.

"Beyond stupid," I butted in once again not caring about how he felt, "I'm going to speak because this is about my daughter. You did her wrong, you did her dirty, and you treated my princess like a dog!"

"I admit to all of those things," he went on to apologize, "you have the right to feel how you feel. I don't judge, I understand. You feel some type of way, because that's your daughter... I would've felt the exact same way if my daughter was going through the same exact situation. I'm not mad at you because of it... I just wanted to say that I am disgusted at my behavior and I hope that you guys truly forgive me for all that I have done to not only Abigale, but to her family as well."

"We accept your apology, but why are you really here?" Terri questioned Lawrence, reading all through him.

"Why I'm really here?" he questioned her back, trying to play dumb.

"I am not stupid," she said sitting on the arm of the couch, next to me, "I know you didn't come all away from Alabama to apologize. That could've been discussed over the phone..."

I looked at Lawrence as he coughed, choked, and got real nervous and shaky from what Terri revealed to him.

"I apologize too son," I said, making it easier for him to say what he had to say, "now, why did you come here?"

"I know, I really know that you guys felt a certain way when you found out that Abigale was engaged. What parent wouldn't be upset? Honestly, mine were upset too. But I want to make things right again. And, I would like to ask for your permission this time... Can I have your blessings to marry your daughter?"

We were completely shocked. We knew he had to come for something important, but we didn't know that it would be to ask for our blessings...

"As long as you stay with her, and treat her like a princess," I said to him, "then you have my blessing."

"You have my blessing as well..." my wife added on.

I could tell that it lifted a lot of weight from his shoulders. His facial expression was very different than the moment he entered inside of our house.

He seemed happy, he seemed joyful. This is the man I remembered when I first met him...