“I never stood a chance did I?”
“That’s the sad part, you did once.”
“I did? What did I do?”
“You ruined it, your chance.”
“But how?”
“You still don’t know?”
“If I knew, would I be asking?”
“No, I suppose not. I’m not going to tell you. You have to figure that out yourself.”
“How will I ever know what I did? I’ve done so much crap in my life.”
“That’s true.”
“So, how will I know when I’ve found what caused all this? ”
“I can’t tell you that, only you can.”
“Just tell me! I want to be better, I promise!”
“Let go of me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. You’re not sorry, though. You never are. You’ll never know what you’re missing.”
“She’s grown up now, though. What I did is in the past. She shouldn’t be holding on to it. She should just move on.”
“I’m not sure anyone can move on from what you did. You left her all on her own. You left her with that woman.”
“…”
“You left her, and she was left to fend for herself.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt-”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“What else can I do? She just walked in here, said she didn’t want to see me and left. She didn’t even give me a chance to explain.”
“An explanation isn’t what she needs.”
“What then?! What can I do?”
“Lower your voice, people are staring.”
“Who cares? She’s never going to talk to me again is she?”
“Only she can answer that.”
“How did I ruin my chance?”
“Fine, I’ll tell you: you never came back.”
“That’s not true, I’m here now. I was the one who called her up when I got into town.”
“After she was all grown up and doing well on her own.”
“What does she expect me to do? I can’t go back in time and show up then. I can’t go back and stop that woman from hurting her.”
“Yes, but you could have. That was your chance. You had fifteen years worth of chances and you never took them.”
“That’s harsh. You know that it was toxic for me to be there.”
“Exactly, it was a toxic environment for you, an adult. She was just a kid, imagine what it was like for her.”
“Oh…I should have taken her with me.”
“Yes.”
“That’s how I ruined it, isn’t it? I ruined my chance of having a daughter all those years ago when I left without her.”
“Yes.”
“No wonder, I don’t stand a chance. I wouldn’t give myself one either. What can I do now? How do I even start to repair what I did to her?”
“You’re her father, just be there for her. Don’t push her to forgive you like you did today. Give her time. Let her know you are here for her. If she ever calls, drop whatever you are doing and answer. Be here for her now, like you never were then.”
“Will it ever be like it could have been?”
“…no, probably not.”
“I missed my chance then?”
“At that relationship, but you have a chance to make a new one. Take it.”
“You’re right. From this moment on, I’ll be different. I’ll be the father she deserves.”
“About time.”
Interesting dialogue. I would relate it to King Solomon’s advice on the order of time and seasons in everyone’s life. After choosing to uproot when sit was time to plant, she is now choosing to try to resurrect lost time. Problem is once the season has passed, it has passed.
“ a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
Thanks for stopping by! This is a great thing to remember, thank you for sharing
I am impressed with the variety of topics your writing addresses. I am torn in a couple of places in this piece.
Thanks, I try to keep writing about new things