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"Alright, that's enough, Kevin McKnight!"
"You have the nerve to raise your voice at me after I just caught you with my …" he shouts, his face red. He balls his fists tightly.
"Think about what you're saying carefully, man … I don't care about what you think of me right now but watch what you say about Amanda."
He suddenly stops and lowers his head. He sits down slowly and turns away but I catch a sheen of tears in his eyes.
"Kevin, I never dreamed I would fall in love. Relationships have never worked out for me in the past. I might have pretended and acted like I was fine and satisfied with just my work, but I wasn’t. When you told me about Rochelle, I was so happy for you, albeit a little jealous, if I’m honest. Seeing you so in love was beautiful. I wanted what you had. And why shouldn’t I be happy? I never ever thought I would find what I was looking for all this time in Amanda. But I did. I love her, Kevin ... and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
Kevin's head shoots up and he gives me a death stare but I don't flinch. I don't mind taking another beating if it will soothe him and eventually mend things between us. But I am not going to back down from this. We stare at each other for a while and Kevin's face softens.
"I didn't know you felt that way, Leo. I would have appreciated you telling me you had feelings for my daughter before sleeping with her."
"I'm sorry. I was going to tell you. I just wanted to do it at the right time."
"And when did you think was the right time?"
"After I had proposed to her."
Kevin gazes at me in disbelief. "You're really that serious?"
"I am. Dead serious. But I need your approval. Not just as her father, but as my best friend."
Kevin looks at me for a long moment and begins to pace the room.
“And Amy feels the same way too?”
“Yes.”
"Ok, look. There's something I need to tell you.” Kevin takes a deep breath and sits down again.
"Rochelle was ... I mean ... is … Amy's childhood friend."
"What?!"
"Yeah. We both met again when I took the teaching job at Stanford and we fell in love. She was actually my student. When Amy found out, she was so mad. Now I know how she felt."
I can barely contain my shock. Why did this feel like Deja vu? I guess this must be one of the things running through Kevin's mind.
"Look Leo, part of the reason why I was so mad was because I felt as though this was some sort of payback. I thought Amy was still carrying a grudge about Rochelle and so she decided to pay me back."
He turns to face me and looks me square in the eye. "We've known each other for years, Leonardo. Now I'm asking you sincerely ... man to man ... do you really love Amanda?"
"I really love Amanda, Kevin. I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
Kevin leans back and exhales deeply. He sits thoughtfully for a while then nods. Eventually, he says, "It's going to be weird though. Me being your father-in-law and all."
I laugh in relief as he half smiles back. "Yeah I guess it will. But I have to get married first and that's where I'll need your help."
"What do you mean?"
"She left ... she left and she won't see or speak to me. I have been to her condo five times. I can't lose her Kevin."
"I haven't seen or spoken to her either," he lowers his head.
"Yeah. You need to talk to her, Kev. She's really hurt and I'm deeply sorry for the way you found out and how it's affected your relationship."
"I understand. I'll go talk to her."
