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Post by Cooper Benson on May 14, 2016 23:48:06 GMT
Cooper had a feeling that the conversation was overdue, however when Tripp suggested the two of them stay behind while the other three went back to finish the tour, he bit back the question of whether or not this was going to go poorly. He listened while the younger man spoke in, what Cooper had inferred from their brief encounters, his usual firm tone. Cooper knew that he had been wrong to cast quick judgment about the man in front of him, his daughter's life, and their relationship. He tried to defend it as being protective, but in the end he knew that he had simply been wrong.
When Tripp got to the part about his own relationship with his daughter being important to Melanie, he nodded. He paused briefly when he mentioned marriage but kept his face impassive. Instead he nodded thoughtfully, "The concierge at the hotel was perpetually on deck when Madison and I knew Melanie was having a rough go of it. We teasingly refer to it as DEFCON 1. He has the information for a florist with what I think actually might be a continuous supply of orchids on standby, her favorite pastries if you've accidentally forgotten a special occasion, and - in dire circumstances, her favorite restaurant comfort foods when she's too sad to actually cook. I also have a few things at home in case we've invoked her rage and one of us has to come bearing gifts. Access to any of the properties we own in the event of an impromptu vacation. I'm not saying that you need it - I'm not saying that you don't have a handle on the situation, but if this is going to work," he gestured between them. "Might as well let you know if you need any help, call."
He nodded. "I made a mistake. I know that now, you make Melanie very happy. I won't try to stand in the way of any of that. Also, you have a lovely home."
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on May 14, 2016 23:57:00 GMT
Tripp watched Cooper for a moment, trying to decipher whether or not the other man was trying to be helpful or if he expected that things were going to go poorly for them. From what he could tell, he thought that the other man was truly being sincere when he said that he and Melanie were going to make it work in the long run. He was convinced that it was, at the very least. While he had already decided that he didn't care about Cooper Benson giving his blessing about their relationship, he knew that it mattered more than he was willing to admit.
"Thank you," he said finally. He hesitated before continuing, "Melanie's happiness is important to me and you and your wife and her brother play a large role in that. I won't come in the middle of her relationship with you, I would just appreciate if we could move past whatever problems we had before."
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Post by Cooper Benson on May 15, 2016 0:03:53 GMT
Cooper offered Tripp a good-natured smile. "Of course. Like I said, I made a mistake. I do hope you know that while I went about it the wrong way, my biggest concern has always been for Melanie's happiness as well. But I'm a cranky old man. I'm a bit older and wiser now," he joked. "I think I've wasted enough time not being a part of my daughter's life, and I would like to move past that as well."
Melanie, meanwhile, finished giving Jamie and Maddy the tour, given they'd seen most of the apartment when helping her move in anyway. She returned to the kitchen with them, checking on her food. "Jamie, stir this for a minute, will you? I'm going to go check on them." To be honest, she was still nervous about the relationship between Tripp and her father. She made her way back to the craft room and poked her head in the doorway. She was pleased to see them both standing and not upset. "You two okay? Dinner's almost ready," she told them before sticking her head in further. "You didn't touch anything did you, because it's all organized a certain way and my ribbons are color coded..."
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on May 16, 2016 0:08:21 GMT
Tripp nodded. He had to admit that this conversation had gone significantly better than he had expected, though he also supposed that ultimately it wouldn't have made much of a difference either way. Once he had made his mind up about something, he found that it was rather difficult to sway him. And in this circumstance, he had made up his mind that he and Melanie were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Repairing the relationship with her father was really just a bonus as far as he was concerned.
Still, at her appearance at the door, he smiled at her and nodded again. "Everything's fine," he reassured her. "You should find all of your things exactly where you left them." Though he knew that he hadn't needed Cooper Benson's blessing about their relationship or whether or not they should get married, he was admittedly relieved that it wasn't going to become something else that stood between them all. It was more reassuring than he thought it would be. "Shall we head back out there?"
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Post by Melanie Benson on May 16, 2016 0:17:20 GMT
Cooper chuckled a bit as his daughter checked to make sure that everything was where she'd left it and that both of them were not at each other's throats. He turned to Tripp and nodded before walking over to Melanie and kissing her on the forehead. "Whatever you're making for dinner smells great, Mel-Bell. I'm starved," he informed her before stepping out of the craft room and going to find his wife and son.
Melanie grinned at her father's use of her childhood nickname before turning to Tripp, peering up at him curiously. "What were you two talking about?" she asked him curiously, stepping in front of him and wrapping her arms around him. "Nothing too bad, I hope," she said gently, still remembering all too well the fights that had followed their last attempt at dinner with her family. "But even if it did, I just want you to know how much it means to me that we're having them over tonight," she nodded. "And if he did try to say anything about anything else I may have done in the past, however bad it was - Jamie started it."
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on May 16, 2016 0:25:37 GMT
"Nothing really," Tripp dismissed easily. It wasn't so much that he felt like he had to lie to her about it, it was just that he hadn't worked out the details of what he wanted to come next for them and how he wanted it to happen. So while he knew that he wanted to marry Melanie, he felt like it would have been too much to just throw it at her here and now, particularly when it seemed like she had just moved in. "We were just clearing the air between us. I think everything is fine now."
Leaning down, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before smiling at her again. "I'm glad we invited them as well. And I'm happy that you're happy. Come on, let's go eat."
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