Page 24 of Vince
Sydney
“Vince is a father,”I repeat to Chloe for the millionth time as I pace across our living room.
“So it seems,” Chloe calmly states as if she’s trying to pacify me or talk me off the ledge. I’m still not sure what her true agenda is. Frankly, I don’t care.
“Holy fucking shit. How could he not tell me he has a kid?”
“Syd, you’ve been on one date with the guy. Yeah—from what you’ve told me, it was pretty epic. But it wasn’t exactly conducive to spilling his whole life’s story. Besides, a lot of single parents don’t share the fact they have kids on the first date. Most just want you to get to know them before they introduce you to their family. He’s young, and if she’s nearly four, he’s probably not had that much experience finding someone who wouldn’t run screaming in the opposite direction when she found out he had a kid.”
“Why do you have to make sense?” I whine. But he still could’ve told me. “This is a pretty big bomb he dropped on the street corner. And with her being there, it’s not like I could confront him or anything. Besides, what would I say? So—you have a kid? Okay, Captain Obvious. What the fuck do I do now?”
“Youcouldhear him out,” Chloe suggests in her annoyingly sensible tone. “He’s likely still getting her dinner and getting her ready for bed, and you’ll hear from him later.”
Thank God, Chloe had been walking in the door when I got home; I’d be pacing a hole in the carpet or baking myself to death if she hadn’t been here to talk me through this.
“Speaking of dinner,” she adds. “Do you want to grab something to eat? I’m starving and haven’t eaten since breakfast. Let’s go to that diner on the other side of town that Abby always talks about. We can talk away from the college crowd and hopefully, by the time we’re through eating, he’ll call, or you’ll have a plan of action, so you can get out of your head and go on with your night. I know you, Syd. You’re not gonna let this go—until you get to the bottom of it.”
“I’d call him. But I know he needs to be with his daughter right now, not dealing with my freak-out over the fact he has a fucking kid.”
I pace to the other side of the room and turn before returning to where Chloe sits patiently on the couch. “Hell, Chloe, I don’t even know if I like kids.” I had a shit father growing up and haven’t even given any thoughts to having kids. I’ve been so hell bent on getting out of my situation, I’d never thought that far ahead.
But why am I contemplating having kids? I’ve been ononedate with this guy. It’s not like I’m gonna marry him or anything. Hell, at this rate, I doubt we’ll even make it to a second date.
Chloe interrupts with, “Are you really being fair to him, Syd? It’s not like he planned to meet you and hit off. One date without telling you his entire life’s story—is hardly the epitome of evil. He’s young and from the sounds of it, still a great guy—who happens to have a kid. Maybe he hasn’t found the right girl yet?”
When I shoot daggers in her direction, she defensively puts her hands up and surrenders. “Hey, all I’m saying is give the guy a chance. In the meantime, let’s get something to eat. I’m starving. I’ll even buy.”
I’m so rattled, I’m sure I’ll hardly be able to eat, but knowing I’ll go crazy if left on my own, I agree. I quickly change out of my running clothes into a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, throw my hair into a messy bun, and meet her in the living room within minutes.
When we walk into the diner, the smell of delicious food makes me hungrier than I’d realized. I manage to go through the motions of ordering, but I can’t get my mind off the situation with Vince.
In an attempt to distract myself, I ask Chloe how her weekend with her family went. Thankfully, this tactic works because she tells me about how her Uncle Marvin, who happens to be her grandma’s older brother wouldn’t stop pouring them wine. I actually find myself laughing.
“I’m not kidding, Syd. My glass never emptied and the next thing I knew, I had the biggest buzz going. I was dumbfounded and seriously had no idea how it happened. It was the first time I’ve ever been drunk around my family, and I felt guilty. Of course, I pretended as if I wasn’t three sheets to the wind and got philosophical. My cousin got it on video and showed me the next day—then said he felt guilty for not warning me about Marvin’s heavy hand with the bottles of wine. Apparently, it’s a rite of passage, and everyone waits until he has his next unsuspecting youth in front of him to see how far he can take things.”
Holy shit—remind me to never drink with her family. I don’t even know what to say with that one. Thankfully, I don’t have to respond because she quickly continues, “Can you believe my freaking family actually took bets for the type of things I would do? They’re jackasses—the whole lot of them. Good God!” she says, shaking her head. “At least I have some self-control and cut myself off and was only drinking wine. Can you imagine if it had been margaritas or something like that? You know what tequila does to me.”
Yes. Yes, I do. I attempt to hide my smile by placing a hand over my mouth, but Chloe sees right through me.
“It was one time,” she protests. “You know I love old country music, and I was just following lyrics in the music. Tequiladoes notmake my clothes come off…” she practically shouts and draws the attention of the crowd around us.
As Chloe turns beet red, she sinks further into the booth we’re sitting at then whisper shouts, “Do you think anyone heard me?”
I take a moment to examine the diner and unfortunately have to nod. “Yeah, I think they did. But don’t worry. It’s not like we frequent here or anything,” I tease—but in reality, maybe it’s only the younger couple next to us.
Just as I’m certain she’s in the clear, I have the strangest sensation roll through my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Before I can put any thought to it, the door jingles and Julia comes running into the diner.
I’m frozen in place, and Chloe instantly is on alert. “What? Did I really make that big of a scene?”
I just stare as Julia prances right up to our waitress and throws herself at her. “Momma, I missed you!”
Our waitress bends down to scoop her into her arms. “I’ve missed you, too, Jules. How was your day?” She looks around the restaurant, I’m sure looking for Vince—but he has yet to show his face.
“Holy shit,” I mumble.
“What?” Chloe cues into the fact that my attention is on the scene playing out in front of me. “What am I missing?”
“Uh… that’s Julia.” I nod in their direction, trying not to be obvious.
