After taking a drag, my father-in-law chuckled bitterly, "It's also my fault. I pushed you two together, and it ended up harming you."
"Don't say that, Dad."
"At least I got married and found a father I never had. I'm quite content with that."
I also lit a cigarette and sat beside his bed. That was the truth because my relationship with my father-in-law was genuinely like father and son. We shared remarkably similar values, and since he was a military man who had seen combat, he was the type of person I admired most. I often thought that if my biological father were still alive, he would be just like my father-in-law. Even though Emma and Dave were entangled, I never pursued it, and after failing to persuade her, I simply let it be.
"James, please allow me one more selfish request," he said. "After I'm gone, give Emma one last chance. She's spoiled by me, so she's very willful, but I'm sure of one thing—she loves you and has never wronged you." Holding my hand, he continued, "But if she doesn't appreciate what she has, then you don't have to consider me in any decision you make."
"Alright." I nodded. That was just my father. To exaggerate a bit, finding fatherly love had redeemed me, a man ready to die for such a father.
"Let it be," he murmured, slowly closing his eyes.
After my father-in-law passed, I called Emma several times, but she never turned her phone on, and when I called Dave, he answered but ignored me. I could overhear their conversation.
"Dave, you don't think something really happened to my dad, do you? After all, a man with such pride knelt before me."
"Emma, you're not a man. You don't understand men, but I am a man, and I understand men best. He is just jealous, and that means he cares about you even more."
"But I'm still a bit worried."
"Oh, don't worry. Come on, Emma, let's do something exciting..."
The call ended there.
Staring at my father-in-law's body, I thought, 'Is this not betraying me?' It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt, given all the years we shared. But I had completely given up on Emma.
My father-in-law was a soldier who disliked waste and preferred decisive actions. He wouldn't have wanted a big fuss over his body.
So, I quickly had him cremated, took his ashes home, and started preparing for the memorial service over the phone.