Page 88 of Waiting for Redemption

“Why do you think that’s what this is?”

“Because I went through the same thing when my dad died. And I remember wishing so badly that he was still here when kids would be assholes about me not having a dad.” My heart sinks as I think about Tank as a kid, remembering how he said he was bullied and wishing I could go back in time and hug him and tell him everything will be okay. Then I get angry again when I think that may be happening to Hendrix now too. I finally nod my head in agreement, wrapping my arms around Tank to comfort him and thank him before we grab their things and head home.

CHAPTER30

TANK

As much asI wanted to be thrilled when Hendrix asked if I was his dad now, I saw the look on his face, the quiet plea behind his eyes when he asked. It wasn’t just curiosity, there was a specific reason he was asking. We got home, ordered takeout, and though she’s trying to control it, my sweet wife is about to lose her damn mind not knowing for sure what’s going on. I asked her to follow my lead, knowing there was a chance she’d tell me there was no fucking way, that he’sherkid and she’ll be the one asking the questions. But much to my surprise, she was willing to let me, so I truly hope I handle this right.

“Hendrix. Come here.” I sit down on the couch, holding a photo album I grabbed earlier from the apartment.

“Are we reading a story?” He plops down right beside me, laying his head on my shoulder as Ruby joins us on my other side. When I open the book and Hendrix starts petting Maverick with his feet, I can’t help but smile at how natural this all feels.

“Sort of. I wanted to show you this picture of me when I was little.” I flip to an old family photo where Tucker and I are sticking our tongues out at each other, while my mother squeezes our shoulders in an attempt to get us to act right, and my dad is smiling ear-to-ear as if nothing in the world is wrong.

“That’syou?” He giggles.

“Yep. That’s me right there, and that’s your Uncle Tucker.” I point to each of us in the photo.

“Who are they?” He points to my parents.

“That’s my mom and dad.”

“Your dad was a police officer?” he asks in amusement.

“He was. He actually died while he was out trying to stop bad guys.” A wave of sadness I haven’t felt inyearswashes over me as I think about him. As if he can sense it, Hendrix leans into me, wrapping his arm around mine.

“I’m sorry Tank.” My eyes sting as I rest my cheek on the top of his head.

“I missed him a lot growing up, it was really hard not having my dad around.” His head drops as he mumbles into my chest.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Some kids weren’t very nice about it.”

“Did they say mean things to you?” I shake my head, worried I was right about why he asked.

“They did. They would tease me for not having a dad and that made mereallyangry.” He looks up at me with hopeful eyes.

“What did you do?”

“For a long time, I didn’t handle it well and I would get into fights with people when they would say hurtful things.”

“Fighting is bad,” Hendrix rears back, scolding me with his glare.

“Well… The way I did it, yeah it was bad. But eventually, I stopped fighting the bullies.”

“What did you do instead?”

“I threw them into trash cans.” He spurts out laughter, but I’m not saying it just to make him giggle.

“Tank Landry. No, you didn’t!” Ruby exclaims, swatting my arm.

“I certainly did. I was bigger than most of the kids in my class so when they would say things that hurt my feelings, I would put them in the garbage where they belonged.”

“Oh, Lord,” she mumbles, running her fingers through her hair as Hendrix continues laughing.

“Hendrix.” He looks over at me, and seeing that it’s time to be serious again he takes a deep breath. “Has someone said something about you not having a dad that made you angry?”

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