He Locked Me Out Now He’s Begging Me Back Chapter 61
Half a year later, my father came back to Portland for a follow-up appointment.
I drove to the airport to meet him and my mother.
When we reached my condo, my father stood outside the door and waited instinctively for me to open it.
I lit up the keypad and entered a temporary guest code.
“This one expires in a week,” I said. “Next time you come, I’ll give you a new one.”
My father laughed. “Strict, huh?”
My mother smacked his arm lightly. “It’s her home. Of course she makes the rules.”
I smiled, too, and pushed the door open.
The fiddle-leaf fig in the living room had grown another few inches. The second bedroom was still my office, the wall-length bookshelves now filled. My last quarter’s project had launched ahead of schedule, and I had been promoted. A plaque from my team sat beside the desk.
My father took a slow look around the office.
“So you still haven’t put a child’s bed in here?”
“I haven’t.”
“Good.”
This time, he didn’t pause, and he didn’t add anything about the future.
After dinner, Marisol came by with a cake.
When she opened the box, my mother laughed first.
Written in white icing were the words:
*Still Home.*
My father didn’t get the joke and asked what it meant.