NINA
No!
The word raged in my mind. I shook off the guilt that tried to settle upon my shoulders. It wasn't our fault. He was the problem.
"I'll let you in on a little secret." Dad still had that gleeful look on his face. "I've waited for you both for years. The greater part of four thousand years to be precise."
He folded his tall form into one of the chairs present. "I thought this day would never come." The only button on his impeccable suit came off, and he shifted comfortably.
"I'd hoped Marie would be the one to give what I needed. It would be hard for her to adjust if she didn't, but I was going to keep her anyway." His eyes landed back on us and he seemed genuinely happy.
"You both have made me a very happy man."
He continued his one-way conversation while we looked on. Guilt became confusion.
