Page 125 of Before We're More Than Friends
“We are,” I said.
“Yeah,” Arielle said, no longer looking at him.
Dad nodded, seeming to pick up on the tension. Unlike the other kids meeting their parents in the room, we hadn’t run up to hug him with tears streaming down our cheeks. “Good.” He faced Mom. “How has work been?”
“Some days are easier than others,” Mom said. “I’ve been focusing more on home and taking care of the girls. We’ve been having dinner together every night now.”
“Oh, really?” Dad nodded again, though his face pinched as if he was upset he was missing out. “Good.”
We’d only been sitting here for one minute, but my chest was tight from the tension in the air. We didn’t know how to talk to each other anymore.
“So you’ve been getting along well?” Dad asked after a few moments of silence, shifting in his seat.
“Very well,” Mom said. “The girls have really motivated me to be my best self.” She laughed. “Sounds like one of those commercials you’d be in when you first started real estate.”
Dad snorted. “Those commercials were full of bull. We just wanted to get the business off the ground.”
“Well, it worked with your charming personality.” Mom winked at him.
Dad beamed, his cheeks flushing pink. “What can I say? It’s how I ended up with you.”
Mom blushed back, and I couldn’t help but to smile. I hadn’t seen them flirt like this in forever. Warmth flooded my own cheeks. I wanted a guy to make me blush like that after so many years of being together.
Dallas’s red cheeks flashed in my mind.Stop that, brain!
“Anyway,” Dad said, “I’m happy that you guys have been spending more time together while I’ve been away.” He leaned back in his chair. “How have things been with your friends, girls?”
Yay, the last thing I want to talk about!“Fine,” Arielle and I said at the same time.
“It’s been rough for them,” Mom said with a sigh. “They’ve having some boy problems.”
I moaned. “Seriously?”
Dad raised an eyebrow. “Boy troubles? Who do I have to beat up?” He looked around before whispering, “I’m willing to do extra time for that.”
That actually made me laugh a little. “It’s nothing. It’s just . . .”Everything.
“Boys are complicated,” Arielle said, and the way her face pinched made me wonder if she wasn’t just talking about my situation. Had something been going on with her and Hayden again? Had she started talking to another guy?
“I know, I’ve been one my whole life,” Dad said with a sigh. “We can really screw things up before realizing how wrong we are.”
“You can,” Mom said, no longer looking him in the eyes. “But it’s no different with girls. We screw things up, too.”
Arielle nodded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, flipping my hair. “I’m perfect.”
“Your pasta needed more seasoning last night.”
“Your opinion is wrong.”
We all laughed, and I was happy that I was able to lighten the mood. Just for once.
“Besides daddy issues,” Dad said, then cringed. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“That’s because you’re the issue,” I said with a smile, trying to maintain a good mood now that we were more comfortable. I didn’t want to go back to the sad reality of our lives.
“I can’t deny that.” He laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “What else has happened since I’ve been gone? I know your mom has been working on recovering from her problem.” He never outright called Mom’s problem a drinking addiction, but because other people were around us, maybe he didn’t want to disclose it for the room to hear. We clearly already had enough problems on display in the media.
