When Olivia woke, she forgot where she was for a moment. They had left her father when he was preparing to light up. Her grandmother, stoic as a staunch woman in an old glass plate photograph, made their excuses.

"You'll come back tomorrow." Giorgos pleaded as he showed them out.

"In the afternoon. Olivia will swim."

Her jaw dropped. She certainly coveted a dip in the private pool, but hadn't expected her grandmother to notice.

Olivia stepped out onto her balcony. Her view was breathtaking, so she snapped a picture. Below was the hotel pool, placid and empty. She turned around and pulled on her suit and covered it with a long tee.

As she assessed the vast pool, she identified the longest and deepest stretch. Some spots were shallow for children to splash. It wasn't a lap pool but it would have to do. The water felt warmer than her pool in New York. The air was cool, but it was early in the morning.

When they had reached the hotel, she and her grandmother retreated to their own rooms with the instruction to order room service and sleep. Abigail had said plenty on the drive to the resort. As Olivia pulled the water with rhythmic strokes, she mulled over the older woman's words. Even if Olivia hated them, they had merit.

Abigail said, "Once you're done expressing your anger, you'll need to forgive him." She had exploded, but Abigail remained calm. "Not because he deserves it, but so you don't live with regret once he's gone. Life is long and you might change how you feel. I see the world a lot differently the shorter my life becomes."

She swam faster as she imagined how different her life might have been if her father hadn't been a criminal and stayed in New York. Would her mother had found Kurt? Without Kurt, she might never have met Max and Zach. She would never have gone to camp and found Mandy. It was possible she might never have learned to swim. Maybe his actions set in motion the life she was meant to live. Without knowing Kurt, she never would have helped Cami and she and Dean might still be on the streets. Even the Dees met their current guys through her. Both were remarkably serious. She slowed down with the breaststroke. But maybe she was never meant to meet Max, but a different guy who wanted her.

She stopped swimming abruptly. And stood in the four feet of water. It was so easy to blame her father for Max. He abandoned her, and Max didn't love her enough. It hurt how neither loved her enough. She dunked under to hide her tears. Then she swam as far as she could on one breath before her lungs begged for air and exhaled with an underwater scream. When she surfaced, she felt stronger. She was a Browning. Somehow she would win Max's heart.

For their visit, she packed her bikini to wear in her father's pool. Instead of Giorgos, a woman answered the door.

"Hello, I'm Kyrenia. You met my son."

Olivia smiled. "Yes, Giorgos."

Kyrenia had her hair hidden by a kerchief and wore an ill-fitting dress under her excess. Petite and round best described the woman. She looked like a housekeeper, but her smile was genuine.

"So pretty. Mr. Charles is so happy you've come back."

She showed them to the outside again. Instead of standing back, she walked over to greet him.

"Livvy, my girl." He held out his hand, and she took it.

She had expected it to be cold, but it was warm. She looked over to see her grandmother sitting closer to the pool.

"Where's mother?"

"I think she is giving us space. She told me I should forgive you so I won't have any regrets after you ddd - are gone."

"What I did doesn't deserve forgiveness. I took advantage of people's trust. I thought of it as a victimless crime, but in my youth, I wasn't good at making money on my own. It required effort and my way was easy."

"How did you get caught?"

"I got greedy and cocky and started selling and buying in large quantities. I sold a bulk of stock the day before a defect in the product became public. It raised red flags since I was friends with the CEO. I had a tip the SEC was investigating me so I got scared and ran."

"What would have happened if you had stayed?"

"I would have gone to prison, but not for as long as I have been hiding out."

"Did you say goodbye to me?"

He shook his head. "I just left. It never occurred to me I could never go home. Leaving you was the biggest regret of my life. Now you're a grown woman, but you aren't married." She shook her head. "You should have young men standing in line to date you."

"I'm like you."

"Me?"

"I found my true love at fourteen. I'm still trying to convince him he can't live without me."

"Then he's not good enough for you."

"He is." End of argument.

"Do you have a career then?"

She nodded. "I work for the family business."

"The Browning business dissolved when your grandfather died."

"No, the Dwyer family. I run the agency."

"Kurt Dwyer! Your mother married Kurt Dwyer?"

"She loves him."

"He had his eye on your mother when she was my wife, and he lets you run things at his business?"

"I'm not an agent like him or mom, but I'm in charge of the assistants and the space. It may not be glamorous but I'm good at it."

"I'm proud of you. I hope you're happy."

"I have a good life. I volunteer to help the homeless."

Charles let a tear escape. "Now I know I did one good thing in my life. You."

"I'm not special. I work hard and help my friends and love my mother and stepfather and my brother."

"Your brother. How is he?"

"Ian is great. He studied computer science at MIT. He has a good job in Boston."

"The way he played the piano, I thought he would be like his father."

"He still plays, but he loves computers. I can't imagine."

"No, me either."

His breathing became labored, and he started coughing again. Kyrenia ran over to help him.

She pounded on his back as the coughing continued. Calmly, she said, "He needs to rest. Your grandmother said you want to swim. You can change inside."

He gasped for air like an asthma attack she had witnessed once at camp. "I. Want. To. See. You. Sw. Swim."

She pressed her lips into a thin smile before turning into the house. Every time she looked at her phone she had text messages, each one filled with worry about her. Max sent a message every morning bright and early. He started the day thinking of her and responded to her throughout the day. After she changed she sent him a message about her confusion. Should I forgive him?

She felt conspicuous when she emerged wearing a bikini which showed off too much pasty white skin. It was winter but even in the summer she didn't tan. It was a reminder she wasn't a kid anymore.

The minute she submerged herself in the heated water, and she felt the tension ease out of her muscles as she moved into a slow breaststroke. It only took a few synchronized kicks and strokes to reach the other side of the pool. Pushing off the wall she glided underwater and reached the other side with a few flutter kicks.

After going back and forth a while, she emerged and grabbed the towel Kyrenia had left for her. It was strange to be in an unfamiliar house, but it was her father's home. A home he said would become hers.

She stepped over to him. He smiled. "You are a fish."

"I don't want your money." She stood in a towel with her hair dripping and her hands on her hips.

"It belongs to you."

"It's blood money."

"I never killed anyone."

"Fine. Dirty money."

"Not all of it. I created a lucrative business here."

Grandmother's eyes narrowed. "What business? Doing what?"

"I've been working as a business consultant and made a respectable life here. I have friends and had invitations until the poison took over my lungs."

He gasped, Olivia braced herself but he didn't cough.

Abigail brushed Olivia's arm, she wasn't a woman who liked physical contact. They greeted each other with a soft handshake even when she was a child.

"Charles, I confess that revelation comes as a surprise. I expected you to be living off your spoils like a playboy."

"I admitted to the women, but I've never been a playboy."

Olivia said, "I think the government should take back the money you stole."

"You should use it to help the homeless."

Her head snapped to look at her grandmother. "Are you serious?"

"Give it to the government or help society, but think of yourself. You could live independently."

She felt turbulence deep in her soul. The desire to control her destiny was strong, but she had morals. "It is still Charles's money."

If using his given name bothered him he hid it. She held back a smile. He was his mother's son.

They found a routine to their days. She woke early to text messages, including one from Max. He had encouraged her to forgive Charles. When she pushed him for his reasoning beyond lack of regret, his reply made her sad.

If you forgive him, then you'll always forgive me.

She replied, There's a difference because I don't remember loving him, but I can't remember not loving you.

It was an exaggeration. His only reply was to forgive him. She threw her phone on her bed and swam like she was being chased.

The silver lining was her relationship with her grandmother improved. Most nights they had dinner together. She saw the woman in a new light. It started when she admitted to liking her mother. Abigail had chosen to forgive her son while Olivia had only one day to decide. Her last full day in Cyprus, she swam and then she sat on a chaise before getting some breakfast.

It was a beautiful place, but she hadn't seen any of it. She hadn't even dipped her toes in the sea. She stood and walked down the path to the white sand beach. The last beach she walked on looked very different. It was Zach's wedding weekend. She pushed the memory aside. The only man she needed to think about was the one who was dying.

She feared arriving to find a man on his deathbed. She respected him for notifying his mother while he was well enough to talk. Kyrenia hadn't been specific but said he had some time to get his affairs in order.

"Was she just one of his affairs?"

She looked out over the blue water. It wasn't a rough sea. The calmness felt therapeutic. With deep breaths, the calm filled her soul. Something told her she would be alright. She stepped into the water. It was warmer than in Maine. She waded in to her knees but preferred swimming in pools.

Once again, she and her grandmother traveled to her father's home. He greeted them at the door. She had hardly seen him walk. Although he looked small in the lounge, he was a tall man.

"I was taking care of some business."

He took them to a large living room. A laptop sat on the coffee table. Neither Kyrenia nor Giorgos was around. Olivia watched as he inserted the nasal cannulas into his nose. He had answered the door without oxygen.

The visit seemed different with him sitting up. The outside patio felt less formal. No one spoke for a very long time. Lines were etched on Charles's thin face. Olivia tried to resurrect memories of happy times, but they were faint like the wisp of a ghost.

Abigail cleared her throat. "I'll get us some drinks."

Olivia smirked. Charles chuckled. "My whole life she had a maid to get the drinks. Today she serves me for the last time."

"She might come back."

"No. I didn't ask you here to see me die. That would be too selfish of me. I wanted to say my piece and didn't want to leave the world without you knowing I loved you. I'm the world's worst father, but I loved you."

She shook her head as emotion buzzed around her heart. "Not the worst. You never beat us."

"I left you and I'm sorry." He put his hand on his chest.

"I'm sorry too. I felt left out not having a father growing up."

"I wish I could have gotten word to you." He paused. "I could have, but I never took the risk. I was a greedy and selfish coward."

She took a deep breath and wondered what was taking so long with the drinks. "Should I help her?"

He shook his head. "She's giving us time alone."

He looked sad and very human. Her distorted memory had him larger than life. "I'm glad I came. It hasn't been easy, but telling you how I felt, um, feel was worth it. Thank you for asking to see me. I want you to rest in peace, so I forgive you. It doesn't make up for the years of loss, but maybe I'll get over the abandonment."

He wept, as tears streamed down her own cheek. "I hope you find true love. Your generous heart deserves it."

"If you go to a place where you can intervene, then maybe you can make up for your actions."

"Maybe, I can, but don't count on it."

They didn't stay long. He looked exhausted, and they had said everything.

Before she left, she hugged him and whispered. "Goodbye, Dad." As she pulled back his face looked contorted between a smile and sobs.

"You'll always be my little girl." He touched his chest. She turned from his goodbye with his mother and paused. On a table, she saw a framed picture and walked over to it. She looked about four or five and was dressed for a party. Even her socks had ruffles. He looked handsome in a well-tailored suit. They were holding hands and smiling at each other.

She turned back. "I did love you. I really don't remember any of it."

He nodded. "I'd like to keep it for now, but Kyrenia has instructions to send it to you."

"Thank you." She turned back to the picture and took out her phone and snapped a photo. She sent it in two texts both with the caption: I don't remember.

Anyone crying? 😭😭😭⭐️⭐️⭐️