Chapter 7: Give Me One Reason
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Vanessa knocked on the door of her father's apartment, knowing the sheer magnitude of what she was trying to accomplish.
Telling her mother had been easy. Mentioning it in passing was enough for Charlene.
Heinz, on the other hand, no matter how "evil" he claimed to be, loved his daughter with everything he had and by nature wanted to know everything under the sun about him.
So when he opened the door, she played it casual, working her way around and through many topics. She sat down on his couch and he brought her some water.
When she took off on a tangent about lightbulbs, he stopped her, tipped her head up to meet his gaze, and said, "There's a reason you came here, and you're trying to avoid it. It's only going to be harder to tell me the longer you wait," he stated reasonably.
He let go of her chin, but she still held his gaze. "I've got a new boyfriend." She blurted, knowing it was best to get it all out at once.
"Have I met him before?" Vanessa had to stop and think. Had they met before?
"Sort of. He helped me get the pizzasium infonionite for you at the Superduper Mega Superstore."
"But I never actually met the boy. What's his name?"
"It's Ferb. It's short for something, but even his sister doesn't know what."
"That hoodlum? The one who's always building those inventions?"
"He wasn't alone in them. Besides, he saved my life—Twice. And he's not a hoodlum!"
"Give me one reason I should like him."
"I'll give you two. If that isn't enough, I can give you more," she said assertively and indignantly. She couldn't understand why she was so forth-coming about all of this. Could she be . . . ? No. She told herself. She couldn't be. "One, he reminds me of you, always building things that show true meaning from the artist. Two, he makes me happy."
"One more." He replied, teasingly.
Before she knew she'd said it, she blurted out, "Three, I'm in love with him."
He turned to her and gave her a legitimate smile. "Well in that case," he said seriously, "You didn't even need to ask. All I ever wanted for you, Vanessa, was something concrete in your life after the divorce and Johnny and everything else that happened. If he's that foundation, and that rock never slips out from under you, I have no need to worry." His words shocked her so much that she even allowed him to kiss her on the forehead, like he longed to do since she was little.
