RECONCILIATION II

Eleanor took deep silent breaths, watching every reaction of the man who stood in front of her. He had grown older from the way she remembered and had changed his hairstyle, but that didn't make him any less handsome. He still had his charms and still emitted that calm aura he always had. She didn't realize how much she missed him until now she's seeing him in person.

She walked into the room and the man who opened the door for her bowed before leaving the room. As the door closed behind her, she walked toward the man opening his hands in front of her for a hug, and she embraced him.

"Dad," she called out still in his embrace as she kept wishing she wasn't dreaming.

This was too good to be a dream and even if she was dreaming, she don't want to wake up. She couldn't remember the last time she had hugged him like this.

She had left their house in London, England when she turned 18 because of her adopted mother's death - Mrs. Doris due to a re-occurrence of acute myeloid leukemia which happened right after she graduated from high school.

Watching her mother suffer back then and how her appearance changed in months until she later died on her birthday was one of the darkest moments of her life.

She stopped celebrating her birthday afterward and moved out of the house despite her father's disapproval since it contained painful memories. Her mother's death had made her PTSD worse because they were extremely close, and she had hidden that from her father.

"Anor my dear, I missed you so much." Pulling her from his embrace, he held her shoulders with his hands and stared at her face.

"You've grown into a beautiful woman my dear. Your mum will be so proud of you, just as I am." He added with a warm smile.

Her eyes became wet, and she blinked a couple of times to stop herself from shedding any tears. She couldn't believe her father was saying those words to her.

Earlier when she was preparing to come to meet him, she was anxious about how his reaction would be, she had even debated whether or not his feeling had changed towards her. Her guilty conscience had played with her, telling her he hated her for leaving but looking at his sincere face as he told her he was proud, brought a tear of happiness to her eyes.

"Thanks, Dad." A warm smile adorned her lips.

Antonio's eyes left her face to the dishes already served on the table. "Hope you're hungry," his eyes came back to hers. "I ordered a lot."

Eleanor smiled as she looked at the table with different dishes. Her father still hadn't changed. Her eyes came back to meet his.

"I was craving Italian food, and I heard this is one of the best restaurants for Italian foods in New York, that was why I picked this restaurant."

"You still got a good taste for fine dining." She complimented.

"Of course," he smiled. "I hope you don't mind that I already ordered. These were your favorite dishes when you were little or have your taste changed?" He asked when he saw the change in her expression as she looked at the dishes.

"Not at all." She faked a smile as her gaze met his.

"Shall we?"

She walked over to the round table to the other seat opposite her father's and sat on it. Her father also sat on his and started digging in.

As Eleanor stared at the food, her mind wandered off to her teenage hood. The sight of the food had brought memories from her past. She remembered how her mother, alongside their chef, made these dishes and how they arranged them in the same way. These were the last dish she made before her Illness became worse, to the point where she barely walked.

"These were Mum's favorite dishes." She aired her thoughts as she took a spoon of her meal.

"Yeah, they were."

Antonio took a sip of the wine poured into his cup by the special waiter standing at the corner of the room, waiting for them to require his service.

Seeing the sad expression on his face, she decided to stop talking about her mother. She had been selfish in the past and had left her father when he needed her the most, only thinking about how she was hurting and forgetting that he was hurting just as well, or even more because he lost the love of his life.

"It's delicious." She forced a smile, trying to change the topic. "Let's make a toast." She raised her cup and he did the same. "To a good life and better future."

"Cheers." They both said as they clinked their cup.

A short wave of silence followed after they toasted as they both ate their meals.

"We're going to have a gathering with a family friend tonight by eight. I want you to be

there." Antonio broke the silence, taking a sip of his wine.

"Of course dad," she smiled, "I'll be there."