Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 82

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Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 82

Nick tried to ignore the frisson of panic that ran through his veins. “Tell me what?”
Tian-yi turned and smiled gently at him. “I’m not alone.” He looked… Nick had never seen his
dad look like this. Almost bashful, with a hot flush on his cheeks. “I have a lady friend.”
“A lady friend.” Nick knew he was standing there with his mouth open like the fish he was never
going to catch. “Who?”
“Her name is Mei-hua. She lives down in Coconut Grove,” his dad said. “I wanted to make sure it
was serious before I told you. And, well.” He pursed his lips like he was trying to contain his joy.
“It definitely is.”
Nick closed his mouth with a click. “Well, that’s—” It went without saying that he was surprised,
so instead he said, “Congratulations, Dad. Uh, what’s she like?”
“Fantastic.” His eyes twinkled. “She made those xiao mantou you were eating the other day.”
So that’s where the fussy baked goods had come from. Nick should have connected the dots. In
his defense, he’d been distracted of late. He stared down into the water, trying to get used to all
this new information. An overwhelming mixture of pride and awe warred in his chest. Here was
his dad, who had gone through so much and lived so many years, taking another shot at love.
Good for him, Nick thought. Truly, honestly, whole-heartedly: good for him. Tian-yi had always
been the kind of father who taught by example, and Nick couldn’t help but think maybe there
was a lesson here for him.
His dad wasn’t done, though. “What I am saying is: You don’t need to worry about me. I am
fine. Do I like having you close? Of course. But I am not so selfish as to keep you here if you have
other places to be.” He walked slowly toward Nick, water swirling around his legs. His face was a
solemn promise. “When your mother died, I admit, I didn’t see much point in life. But she
would want me to be strong, and happy, and alive, so I am going to be.” He regarded Nick with
sharp eyes. “What about you? What do you want to be?”
Nick sat down heavily on the closed lid of the Igloo cooler. It sank a few inches into the sand but
held his weight. Good thing, too, because Nick’s legs weren’t up to the task. “I don’t know,” he
said with quiet honesty. He switched

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to English, not knowing the words for what he was trying to say otherwise. “I spend so much
time worrying about other people—you, Zoe, work—I hardly ever have anything left over. I
think I—might want things. For myself.” He watched a minnow school flash by. “Sounds pathetic
when I say it out loud, huh?”
Tian-yi splashed closer and held his hand out. Nick took it, letting himself be lifted back on his
feet. “No,” his dad said. “It sounds good. Live your life, whatever that is. Maybe you move.
Maybe you don’t. Maybe you find someone to love.” His gaze darted away, his face pulling into a
mask of innocence. “Maybe you already did?” He glanced back quickly to gauge Nick’s reaction.
It was so blatant, Nick had to laugh.
He slipped back into Hokkien. “Dad, come on.”
“I’m just saying, I was there when you were falling in love for the first time. I saw how you
looked at him then, and I see how you look at him now. It is the same look.”