Page 75 of Hung Up
“I don’t know.” I lift my gaze, narrowing my eyes on him slightly, but he’s looking down at his menu, too. “It just seems beneath you, is all.”
I scoff, averting my gaze. “Like you’d know what is or isn’t beneath me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hello, my name is Melody, and I’ll be your waitress for the evening.”Thank god for this disruption.“Can I get you started off with anything to drink?”
“Just a water, thanks,” I say, forcing a smile on my face as I glance up at her.
She nods, turning to my father. “Do you have a tap menu?”
Shaking my head, I turn to the television to see they’re talking about Kai, tuning out my father. If there’s one thing that always brings back unpleasant flashbacks, it’s him ordering something to drink. He was never an alcoholic by any means, but when he did drink, he got angry, and it never boded well for my mother or me. And while realistically I know we’re in public and he’ll only have one, it doesn’t bring any peace to my now frantically beating heart.
“I have news,” he announces once the waitress leaves to get our drinks. He stares at me eagerly, waiting for me to ask him about it, but I just stare at him instead. “Alright, then,” he murmurs. “I’ve been seeing someone.”
“Oh.” I’m unable to hide my surprise. “That’s?—”
“And I asked her to marry me.” My eyes grow to the size of saucers. “We’re getting married in June, a small ceremony. And I want you standing up there with me.”
My mouth opens and closes, no words coming out as I try to wrap my head around what he’s told me. Thankfully, I’m old enough not to feel like he’s trying to replace my mother, but it wouldn’t bother me even if he was. What still bothers me is how they stayed together in the first place. Replacing her then would’ve been a blessing. But is he out of his mind? I know when you get older, sometimes the process and timelines shorten for things like this, but I didn’t even know he was seeing anyone, don’t even know her name, and he wants me standing up there with him?
“I’m—” I cough, trying to clear the lump in my throat. “I’m going to need a little more information.”
“Like what?” He seems genuinely upset and offended that I didn’t simply agree.
“Gosh, I don’t know, maybe what’s her name for starters?”
He says something under his breath that I don’t quite catch. “Her name is Savannah.”
“Okay, and—” I stop, the name finally registering, and I feel my cheeks heat for a moment. “Did you say Savannah?” He nods. “You don’t mean?—”
“Savannah Johnsen? I do.”
Savannah was my best friend in high school and all through college until she sent me those photos that showed my first boyfriend had been cheating on me. Yup, that was her. I’ll admit I didn’t handle it well. I not only went off on him, I took my anger out on her, too, but once word got to me that she had known for months and never bothered to tell me, I felt one hundred percent justified in my anger toward her. After that, we were no longer friends. That was the moment I knew I had to keep my circle small.
And now my ex-friend—who is my age, mind you—is marrying my father?
What the actual fuck?
“You’re out of your fucking mind.” His face goes from neutral to pissed the fastest I’ve seen it do in years. “You’re thirty years older than she is.”
“Twenty-nine, actually.”
“Oh, ‘cause that’s better, you’re right.” I shake my head in disbelief. Am I being punked? Because it really feels like I’m being punked. “Is this some kind of midlife crisis or something? ‘Cause you know buying a sports car might be a better option.”
His fists clench on the table in front of him. “You’re being ridiculous. We love each other, Faith. And it’s not like I’m asking for your blessing. All I’m asking is for you to support this.”
“No.” The decision comes easily. He’s out of his fucking mind if he thinks I’m going to stand up there while he marries an old friend of mine who could be his daughter. It’s sick. “Absolutely not. I’m sorry, but no. You’ll just have to marry your daughter-bride without me.”
“Then you’re going to have to talk to Adam.” My eyebrows skyrocket. “I told him he’d be your date to the wedding.”
“You told him—” I stop, holding my hands out in front of me for a moment as I tilt my head, trying to get my anger under control. “You know what, I just remembered I don’t have to force myself to sit through this meal. I’m going to go.”
He tries to reach for my hands, but I pull them away and grab my bag. “Quit acting like a child, Faith. It’s not a good look.”
“I’m sure you know all about acting like a child, considering you’re marrying one.” He looks like he’s about to snap at me, but I hold a hand up, silencing him. “When you realize what a mistake this is, finally realize that you need to stop trying to get Adam and me back together, and actually respect what I do for a living and the choices I make, then we can try this again. Until then, well, don’t contact me.”
I slide out of the booth just as the waitress returns with our drinks, her eyes on my back as she watches me go. I wait ‘til I’m outside to order an Uber back to the hotel since my father insisted on driving, typing out a very long text to Rylie to tell her what just happened.
