Page 13 of Rebound

“What the hell are you looking at?” I ask with my mouth full.

“Nothing good,” he says back.

“Fine. Then look over there”—I point to the back of the kitchen—“before I stab you in the eye with my fork.” I shove the rest of the fajita in my mouth and lean back in the chair to enjoy it.

He rolls his eyes at me and snorts. I pick up the fork and pretend to stab something with it. He chuckles.

“Girls always think they can fight,” he mumbles. “Assuming you’re a girl,” he says under his breath. “That’s a big assumption,” he adds.

He leaves the table and returns a few minutes later with a bowl. He puts it down along with a can of whipped cream. He gets a small plate and puts strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries on it. He tops it off with whipped cream and puts it on Jasmine’s highchair table. He hands her a small spoon and she attacks her dessert with gusto.

He gestures for me to help myself, and I do. I eat one more fajita before I turn to the dessert. I’d prefer cake or tiramisu, but this works too on a warm summer night.

“Can I have some water, please?” I ask just to see what he’ll do. So far, he’s been a fine host. To my shock, he gets up. As soon as his back is turned, I grab the can of whipped cream, open my mouth, and press the top. He turns around and catches me. I’m not the least bit embarrassed.

He puts the water down and shakes his head. Then he picks up the whipped cream and does the same thing. I grin at him before I start to laugh. He grins back.

Once I finish the fruit, I lean back in the chair and pat my full belly. Even Jasmine is happy. She has her little fruit bowl covering her face while fruit juice drips from her chin onto the floor. I take it off her and giggle at how messy she is.

“I’ll clear the table and clean the kitchen if you want to wash her up,” I tell him. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Thanks,” he says. I wait for a snide comment, but none is forthcoming. I imagine it can’t be easy being a single parent to an infant. My mom was a single mom, but she always had my grandma and other relatives. She didn’t have to deal with me as a baby on her own, but to hear her tell it, my dad never did shit to help her.

He takes a wiggling and very messy baby out of the chair. On his way down the hall, his phone rings and he answers.

“Yes, Dad,” he says. I can sense some irritation in his tone. “I’m about to give her a bath,” he says. I don’t hear anything else until he sighs deeply and says, “Fine. I’m gonna hang up and call you when I have her in the tub.” He pulls the phone from his ear, and I hear him mutter, “Freaking pain in my ass.”

I decide I’m going to wait three minutes and tiptoe down the hall to eavesdrop.

Chapter 9

Seth

“Put me on the camera. I want to see my grandbaby,” he says. Any outsider would probably think it’s adorable that a grandfather wants to see his granddaughter, but it does not make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It pisses me the fuck off, is what it does.

“Fine,” I mutter. “I have to hang up. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” While I fill the tub, I undress my wiggling baby. I put her naked body on my hip and pray she won’t pee or worse on me like she did a few nights ago.

Once I put her in the warm water and hand her a few toys, I call my father on FaceTime. He’s only forty-six but looks about ten years older. He’s completely gray and he looks like he hasn’t shaved in a week. Not that it matters when you never go anywhere.

Unwilling to look at him, I turn the camera around so he can see Jasmine. His only granddaughter that he sees only when I bring her to him. Not that he would ever make the effort to take the four-hour drive from upstate to Manhattan.

After he talks nonsense with Jasmine for a few minutes, he asks to speak with me. I go stand on the other side of the room while Jasmine plays in the tub.

“She’s gotten so big,”he says.

“Yeah. You should come and see her,” I add.

“I was thinking that you two could come for a few days. It’s the summer and you’re not training yet. I miss you guys.” I sigh and roll my eyes. “I really do, Seth. And I’d come to you if I could, but—”

“Well, if you’d work with the therapist,” I say.

“I am, but it’s hard. In the meantime, Jasmine needs family, and I’m her only grandparent,” he reminds me. That’s the saddest thing of all, and it’s true. My father, who hasn’t left the house in over a decade, is the only family I have. Even though I had to raise myself. Worse, once my mother left, I had to take on roles that no young boy should have to.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” I say without making any promises, but I most likely will go, if only for a day or two.

“And how about you? Have you met anyone? Remember what I told you. Jasmine needs a mother. She’s only a baby now, but she’s going to need a woman around when she gets older.”

“How did that work out when you tried it?” I don’t regret my words despite the look of hurt on his face.

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