Y/N POV
November 8thFour months later...
These last few months have been nothing short of a whirlwind. Normani is now about eight months pregnant and our baby shower is this weekend at our home in Napa Valley. Autumn handled everything planning wise with the help of Megan. Megan has been a huge help since Amala has been working on her new album recently. Her label has been down her throat so she hasn't had a day off since June.
Yesterday however, I received a phone call from someone I wasn't expecting. Usually I don't answer unknown numbers, but I had a feeling I should. I recognized who it was and they asked to meet for lunch so, here I am.
"Hey Y/n."
"Hey James." he sat across from me at the diner. I ordered coffee for the both of us before he came, so the waiter gave us our mugs as he sat down. The silence was growing awkward as the waiter poured the hot coffee. I used this time to watch the steam rise from the mug to prepare myself for whatever he had to say.
I watched as he grabbed two packets of sugar, flap them back and forth, and rip them open to put in the hot coffee, followed by two small containers of hazelnut creamer. He still drinks it the same. I think to myself. I do the same, swapping the hazelnut for vanilla.
"So how's Normani? She doing okay?" he breaks the silence.
"She's good. Almost eight months now, she's got the glow and everything." I answer, trying to give effort.
"Good, I'm glad." he nods before taking a sip, clicking his tongue twice just as he did when I was a kid.
"So... what's up?"
"Straight to the point. I don't blame you." he takes one more sip before wiping his mouth with a napkin. "The last time we saw each other didn't go exactly as planned. I know your mother can be... well she's not the best at her role."
"That's and understatement." I scoff.
"You're right." he pauses, trying to find the words it appears. "Okay here's the truth. I have been wanting to reconnect with you for years, but your mother had me wrapped around her finger. When we came to see you in the hospital after you were shot, it took a lot of convincing to get her to even consider coming here to LA." he paused again.
"So why come? Why then? Hell, why now?" I asked.
"Because I didn't want to live with the fact that my only daughter could die thinking I hated her when I didn't. I know you may never forgive me for the things I've done, the awful things I've said, but please believe me when I say, I am so sorry. You didn't deserve..." for the first time in my life, I see my father shed a few tears. My eyes begin to water as well. "You didn't deserve that. You were just a kid. You were my kid and I failed you. I was a horrible father and I was complicit in your mother's abuse."
"Why?"
"Huh?" he looks up from wiping his tears.
"Why did you treat me that way? Why did you allow her to treat me that? I-I don't get it." my eyes burn with tears as I try to remain calm.
"Honestly Y/n, we didn't deserve you. We were so convinced what we were doing was for your good. But I see now that it was only to give us control and maintain it. I'm so, so sorry Y/n. I," tears rush down his face as he pauses to clear his throat. "I filed for divorced from your mother a few months ago. It was a long time coming, but I realized that I was missing out on someone who had changed the world all because of who they love. When I saw you and how Normani looks at you, how protective you are over her, I couldn't continue to feed into her abuse. I wanted my child back. I wanted you back."
"I don't know James... I'm not sure I can trust you yet." he nodded his head, swiftly wiping his tears in defeat.
"I understand. I wouldn't either." he chuckled.
As I looked over his face and saw how sincere he looked, I hate to say that I believed him. Did he deserve my forgiveness? No. I didn't want to forgive him, I wanted to hurt him back. But I kept thinking about how I didn't want to bring my children into this world, holding onto my pain, parenting out of spite, constantly trying to one up my parents. I wanted peace, and even though it wasn't going to be easy, I had to start somewhere.
"But I'm willing to work towards it if you're really true to your word." The light in my father's eyes returned for the first time since he had sat down.
"R-really?"
"Yeah, if you're ready for that. But we have to work at my pace. I won't allow you to infiltrate my life and happiness without any care. I just ask that you respect that, for the sake of my wife and kids. I don't want to rush this because I refuse to get hurt again."
"Of course. That's very wise of you." he smiled at me. "Thank you." I nodded and shook his hand. Soon after, he paid for the bill and was on his way. I saved his number in my phone under his first and last name.
Baby steps.
The next few days flew by leading up to the baby shower and it was all pretty much stress free. I've been helping Megan with the final preparations and now, today is the day! It's been a struggle trying to keep Mani upstairs since she's so eager to see everything, but I've been keeping her busy with putting away some of the clothes we bought into the nursery we have here in the Napa house.
Since we haven't had the chance to to stay here since we first got together, we decided to spend the last month of her pregnancy here like a mini getaway. Plus, Mani always talks about decorating this house for Christmas so, here we are.
"Babe."
"Mani, for the fifth time, I promise not to make a mess of myself today while eating the baby shower meatballs."
"You keep saying it, but every time you say it you smirk a bit and it looks like you're lying!" she laughs.
"Because this is crazy! I should be able to eat how I want!" I fake pout.
"And you can... after we take pictures." I groan from frustration. "Then you can do what you want."
"Fine, fine. I'll be classy until after we take pictures. Why'd we go with all white attire anyway? We knew we'd have the meatballs!"
"First of all, it's not all white anymore. We're wearing shades of brown and neutral colors. We talked about this last night remember?"
"Right I forgot."
"And because it matches the theme, it looks good in pictures, and you said I could have whatever I wanted." she folds another baby blanket and puts it in the bin next to her.
"I did say that didn't I?"
"Yup."
"I gotta stop saying it then." I say jokingly. Next thing I know, a pair of baby socks collides with the side of my head. "I'm kidding!" I laugh
"Mhm. Anyway, do you want to reveal the names to everyone today? Or we could just tell Megan and Amala."
"It's up to you, I'm cool with either." I lightly toss back the socks and she catches them. I walk over to her and kiss her on the forehead before folding one of the blankets in the pile.
"I think we should keep it a secret until we have them. Like one last surprise."
"I like that idea. Plus please don't wait a million years to announce it to your fans. Nation has been dying waiting for you to announce something for the past eight months. They're starting to attack me!"