Page 107 of Summer Reading

I sucked in a breath. I felt like I’d been shot. How could my dad have had a relationship with Moira Reynolds and I didn’t know about it?

“Dad, were you involved with her?” I cried. I felt like I was having a flashback to my teen years when it felt as if all Dad and I did was yell at each other. Still, I pressed on. “Did you have an... er... intimate relationship with Ben’s mom?”

“Whoa,” Tyler said. “Didn’t see that coming.”

As one, Dad and I snapped our heads in the direction of the kitchen. Tyler stood there, holding a cucumber and a peeler.

“I was just wondering if you wanted it peeled completely or striped,” he said. “But this is way more interesting.”

“I can explain,” Dad said.

“Peel it completely, Tyler.” I gestured for him to go back into the kitchen.

“Oh, no.” He shook his head. “If Dad is spilling T about the fam, I want to hear it.”

Dad looked at me. “What is he talking about?”

“ ‘T’ is slang for gossip and ‘fam’ is family,” I said.

Dad blinked then shook his head. “It’s fine. He can hear what I have to say.”

“Cool, can Sam cook while we talk?” Tyler asked. “Itis not hyperbole that I will die if I don’t eat soon. I’ll even eat the asparagus.”

I turned around and took in his gangly teenage body. The boy needed to eat, and I could do that. “I’m going to hold you to that. Let’s go.”

The half-prepped dinner was easy to finish off, and in a matter of moments, Tyler, Dad, and I were enjoying tuna steaks and asparagus, while I kept a plate warm for Stephanie. I had a feeling we were going to need the omega-3s from the fish to power through the family convo that was about to take place.

“About Moira,” I said to Dad. “Start explaining.”

“Were you having a midlife crisis then, too?” Tyler interrupted. I sent him a quelling look and he shrugged while loading his plate.

“Midlife crisis?” Dad asked. “I’m not having—”

“Aren’t you though?” Tyler asked. “The beat-up sports car, the goatee, and your drum set at home, which has taken over the garage.”

“Don’t forget the skinny jeans,” I added.

“No, please forget the skinny jeans,” Tyler said. “We’re begging you.”

I snorted a laugh and Dad glanced between us.

“I like my jeans,” Dad protested.

“We’ll discuss them later, back to Moira,” I prodded him.

“It was a random happenstance,” he said. “Your mother and I were in the process of separating and Itook off to the Cape for the weekend to clear my head. I ran into Moira at a coffee shop and crashed with her for the weekend, instead of spending money on a hotel. I slept on her couch for three days and then came home, packed up, and moved in with Vovó until I found an apartment.”

“So, you didn’t hook up?” I asked.

“By ‘hook up’ do you mean...?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean.”

“No.” Dad shook his head. “We weren’t... She’s not... To be clear, we were and are just friends. Why is this so important to you?”

“Because I’m dating Ben, and having my dad be involved with his mom in the past would just be too weird.”

“It’s not that weird,” he said.

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