Chapter 82: A godfather

"I am showing up," Clancy insisted, feeling defensive at his father’s words. "That is what Spain was. Months of just being there with them." He said.

His father nodded slowly and added, "it is easy to be a good husband when you are removed from real life on a prolonged holiday. The real test is when old routines and stresses try to creep back in." his father said.

Jimmy pointed his club toward the sand. "Now, get it out of the rough." he said to his son. Clancy chipped the ball cleanly, watching it roll within a few feet of the hole. He looked back at his father. Jimmy gave a single nod. "Better," he said and walked toward his own ball, talking over his shoulder.

"Since you have already given Julian your word, do it because you want to support your brother and his daughter. Do not use a church ceremony as a tool to prove your moral rehabilitation to your wife. Selen will see right through that." His father warned.

"Do you think that she would not believe my sincerity to be there for her in the long run?" Clancy asked, referring to Selen and their relationship. "I think she wants to believe you more than anything," Jimmy said, pausing before his stroke.

"But trust takes years to build and only five minutes of neglect to ruin. Go to the church this weekend. Say the vows. Mean them. And then go back to your wife and keep doing the actual work. You are already on the right track, just stay in it" Jimmy said and tapped the ball.

It rolled straight into the cup. He retrieved it, looking at his son with a rare expression of warmth. "You are a good man, Clancy. You just forgot how to show it for a while. Do not let yourself forget again." his father said with a victorious smile from his win.

***Madrid, Spain***

In their bright kitchen, Selen was dealing with a stressful round of questions from her children. The kids were highly anxious about the news of Clancy’s departure without a proper goodbye.

"So he left?" David asked his mother, leaning against the kitchen table with his eyebrows furrowed. "No, he just went away for a few days to be with his family," Selen tried to explain.

"I thought we were his family?" Daniel asked, even more confused than he was before Selen’s last statement.

Selen heaved a sigh, trying to give her explanation another go, then she spoke again. "He left to attend his niece and your cousin’s christening." She said to them, hoping the short explanation would do the trick.

They nodded slowly in understanding. "So, we have a cousin?" Diana asked her mother. Selen heaved a sigh of relief over the fact that they would finally stop continuously asking the details of Clancy’s trip.

Her face lit up at the idea of having more family members. Their world had always been very small. Having a new cousin felt exciting to her.

Selen heaved a sigh of relief over the fact that they would finally stop continuously asking the details of Clancy’s trip. She smiled and gave Diana a quick, tight hug.

"Yes, you have a cousin. When your dad gets back, he will tell you all about the party and your other family members" she said.

She checked her phone. There was no message from Clancy. No follow-up about the kids, no confirmation of his arrival in Kent.

It was a strange feeling.

The children finally went back to playing, leaving the kitchen quiet. Selen stood up and looked out the window at the view of the backyard from where she stood.

Her phone rang from the table she had placed it on earlier. When she picked it up, it was Clancy. "I wanted to call immediately when I got up this morning but I did not want to disturb your sleep" he explained immediately after they exchanged greetings of Hello.

"I just finished golf with my father," he informed her. She wanted to act like she did not care about the information he just shared, but she felt good knowing that he had taken her advice seriously.

"Are they there? The kids I mean" Clancy asked over the phone. Before Selen could even respond, they were already trooping in,

"Yes, and they are here right now," she said and put the phone on speaker phone before handing the phone to them.

Diana stood in the middle with the phone in her hands as the boys stood by both of her sides. "Hey kiddos," Clancy said loudly over the phone. His smile could quite literally be heard over the phone.

Selen took a few steps away from their conversation and just took a lap around the kitchen. She could still hear their conversation and she was surprised that they had not begun to fight over who got to hold the phone.

They spoke for a lengthy period. From asking questions about his reasons for travelling on such short notice without saying a proper goodbye like he usually did, to listing out the things they wanted him to get for them when he came back.

Clancy mentioned taking down everything they mentioned with a firm promise to bring everything back to them.

Selen tried to talk the kids out of their numerous requests, and even tried to make Clancy not write down all the absurd ones. But after a while, she gave up and just let them go on with their things.

After the kids were done speaking to him, they handed the phone back over to Selen. "Hello?" she said as she placed it in her ear. "I will be back in Spain by tomorrow" he announced. "Do you have any requests you would like to add to the list?" He asked her in a humorous tone.

"Yes. Please do not get them that drum set they mentioned. It will be hell for me" she said.

Clancy laughed at her words then added, "and Selen, I will be sending someone I trust a lot to be there if you or the kids need anything until I am back. I know you can handle things on your own, but please, let me" he said.

Selen did not argue or debate, she knew that they would just spend a long time debating. And the truth was that she would feel more at ease when she was at work, knowing that an extra set of eyes were on the kids.