Page 83 of Just Another Meet Cute
“Sure.”
I assumed that he was going to sit in the seat next to me—I already scooted over a foot—but Dad decided to sit in the seat across from me instead. He clasped his hands together and leaned on his knees with his forearms. His mouth opened and closed slightly like he was trying to figure out exactly how to start.
Deciding to help him out, I switched off my Kindle and placed it beside me. “What’s Mom doing?”
“Oh, she’s at the spa. Normal one, not pet,” he quickly added. “Since we’re still not sure how long we’ll be staying here, she thought she would make the most of it in the meantime.”
I grinned. “Considering she also went to the spa yesterday, I think she’s definitely making the most of this.”
Dad made an exaggerated grimace. “Yeah, we need to get out of this hotel soon or we’ll end up spending your college fund.”
“Or your retirement fund.”
“Oh, no. We’re not touching that,” he joked with a laugh. It slowly died as he cleared his throat. “Your mom told me that she confessed to you about … everything.”
“She did.”
His hands were clasped together so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. “I don’t want you to blame your mom. She did what she thought was best at the time.”
I was almost surprised that the first thing he did was defend her, but I shouldn’t have been. I mean, he basically let himself be the villain in our family for years and probably wasn’t ever planning to tell me the truth. So of course the first serious talk we’d ever had would be about forgiving Mom.
But in my heart, I knew that Ian was right. I couldn’t stay mad at her. In a way, I didn’t even think I was anymore. Not that much anyway. But that didn’t mean that I could totally forgive her. It’s not like I could snap my fingers andpoof!everything would go back to the way it was before.
“I don’t blame her, but it’s going to take a while for me to … accept everything,” I said slowly. “It’s a lot right now.”
“I know. You’ve always been her rock. And she’s been yours. And it’s going to stay that way no matter what happens.” One of his hands lifted and Ithought he was going to reach out to me, but it hovered in the air for a few seconds before falling back onto his lap again. “But now that you know the truth, I want you to know that I’m here, too. I may not be able to be your rock, but I would like to be here for you. Just a tiny pebble, if that’s what you want.”
“Thanks.”
“And I do want us to talk.” Dad looked a little hesitant, like he knew this would be a bad idea, but he took the plunge anyway. “About anything you want.”
There were so many questions, so many things I wanted to know about everything. It was like I was starving and someone plopped me down in front of the biggest buffet in the world. With a homemade pasta station made from scratch and a chocolate bar with hundreds of different varieties and flavors. And sushi.
So much sushi.
Maybe I was hungry. Skipping breakfast probably wasn’t the best idea.
I let out a deep breath. Better to take it one thing at a time. “I want to know about your other kids. I want to know about Lucy and Adam.”
He instantly nodded like he knew exactly what I was going to ask before I even did. “They’re great. You would like them. Adam is loud. Outgoing. He’s everyone’s best friend. And he loves to build things. Model planes. Random stuff around the house. He would nail and glue everything together. There used to be Legos all over the place when he was small. I stepped on so many of them that the bottoms of my feet don’t even feel pain anymore. And Lucy …”
His voice got a bit softer when the subject turned to Lucy. I was almostfascinated by the change in his voice, his facial expression. I’d never seen him like this before. Then again, I normally went out of my way to avoid him. “She’s like you, actually. She’s smart. Almost too smart for her own good. But she’s not a nerd. And she loves to pick fights with her brother. They can spend all day fighting about who’s more annoying. But you can tell that they love each other.
“And now … now they’re even better. Lucy is going to a dental internship in New Orleans next month, and Adam has a new girlfriend. I think she’s the second one this year,” he said with a laugh. “Or maybe third. I couldn’t really tell.”
“I thought …” Leaning forward, I stared at him. “I thought you don’t keep in touch anymore. How do you know all that?”
“You’re not the only one who’s good at stalking.”
For a split second, I thought he was talking about Ryan and Ian, and all I could do was blink wordlessly at him. “I don’t—what are you—”
“Mom told me that you check on Lucy and Adam’s Instagram accounts all the time. In secret. I do, too.” He shook his head. “I really should tell their mom that they post way too much stuff on their social media, but if they didn’t, then I wouldn’t be able to still be a part of their lives. Even if it’s just a tiny invisible part.”
Not even realizing what I was doing, I mirrored his position. Hands clasped together and arms pressing against my knees. “Do you miss them?”
Instead of answering me, Dad stared into space. Or at least I thought he was until I followed his gaze. He was watching a little two-year-old girl and her dadacross the lobby. The little girl seemed determined to climb up her dad’s leg like a monkey. At first glance, he looked like he was ignoring her, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching until finally he grabbed her under her arms and swung her around. Her sweet laughter echoed through the entire lobby, making everyone smile along with her.
So did Dad. “Did you know that Lucy’s team won the regional Science Bowl a few months ago?”
