Page 51 of Good Days Bad Days
“I’m fine right here. I don’t need much,” he insists.
“I think he’s afraid that if he leaves even for one night that we won’t let him back in again.” It’s like he’s a sentinel sworn to stand guard over my mother’s belongings, the ones she remembers and even the ones she doesn’t.
The screen door hinges squeak, announcing my father’s arrival.
“Is that him?” Olivia bounces on her toes again in nervous excitement. I never intended to introduce my parents to anyone in my family, and the only reason it’s happening now is because of Olivia’s insistence and Ian’s assistance. I’m annoyed but resigned.
“Hi, Dad,” I say as he reaches the driveway. He looks anxious, picking at a loose thread on his denim belt loop. He’s wearing one of his threadbare flannel shirts with an off-white T-shirt showing through the V of his unbuttoned collar.
“Hello, hello,” he says, nodding in my direction and then acknowledging Ian, who I know he’s seen by my side on TV. Ian shakes his hand, and I introduce them to one another using the termshusbandandfathereven though neither feel completely accurate.
“And this is Olivia,” I say, gesturing to his granddaughter but leaving out the unearned moniker this time. Olivia greets him graciously but doesn’t reach out for any physical connection, which comes as a relief for some reason. He asks her a few general small-talk questions, and she answers warmly. Ian and I flank her on each side, and when their conversation comes to an end, Ian breaks the uncomfortable lull with an unexpected offer.
“Greg, would you mind if I came in and took a look at the house? I’d like to get your input on a few details so we can start drawing up plans for after the cleanup.”
We.The word is so misleading. It makes it sound like I’ve agreed to his participation in the project, though I never asked for his help. I take a burning gulp from my coffee, and my dad looks at me for my guidance.
This is a massive undertaking, one I can’t do alone. I brought on Dino and Tina and their whole crew, but the house needs more than cleaning. It needs restoration, and no one does that better than Ian. It’d be selfish to reject his offer out of spite.
“Ian’s the best at what he does,” I say plainly and honestly.
“If Lottie trusts you, I trust you.” Greg claps and the dull-gold band on his left hand glints in the morning light.
“Sounds great. Should we get started now?” Ian asks, rubbing his hands together and finally meeting my eyes.
Unease fills my midsection. Ian will see the house. He’ll see part of me that very few people have witnessed firsthand. Ian already knows so many parts of me intimately—he knows about the birthmark on my ribs, hidden by my right breast; he knows how to nibble at my ear as we make love to make me gasp; he knows how to tangle his fingers up into the hair at the base of my skull to calm my anxiety. That closeness used to make me feel safe, but now it makes me feel vulnerable.
“Will you girls be joining us?” Greg asks timidly, like he’s also reluctant to let Olivia inside the house in its present state.
“Probably not. I’m thinking of taking Olivia to lunch at Lake Aire’s.”
“That’s your mother’s favorite,” he reminds me, resurfacing memories of when I was younger and my mother would dress up and go out with us for dinner, her lipliner perfect, shoes nicely polished, looking like one of the rich housewives summering on the lake. I loved those dinners where we looked like a normal family.
“We could bring her lunch,” Olivia suggests, and before I can rescind the offer, my father piles on.
“I think she’d love that. I can call the nurses’ station and let them know, if you like.”
“Well, I don’t know—” I start to say, but Olivia overrides my protest.
“Great!”
I don’t want to fight, not in front of my dad, not in the same spot my mom and I had our last argument before our family fell apart, so I let him step away to make the call.
Olivia holds out a trembling hand for the car keys. “I’m going to wait in the car. I’m freezing.”
“Of course. Warm up the car. I’ll be there in a second.” I pass her the keys and she hugs Ian, waving to her new grandfather cheerfully. Olivia is a friendly girl, but she’s never been this friendly. I’m watching her navigate down the slippery driveway with suspicion when Ian steps close.
“Hey there,” he says, his voice deep and gravelly in that sexy morning way I’ve always found irresistible. I clutch my coffee to my chest as though it can protect me from his innate charm.
“Hi.”
“You OK with this?” I think he means am I OK with him going in the house, but I take the opportunity to share my thoughts about the whole surprise-visit situation.
“I really wish you’d given me a heads-up.”
“I know but ...” He shrugs and runs a hand over his beard. “Olivia thought you’d shut the whole thing down.”
“And I probably would’ve. Since when do we let the monkeys run the circus?” We always laugh about how our life is like a three-ringcircus with too many sideshows to count. Come see the incredible joined-at-the-hip couple who juggle meals, chores, TV shoots, and their relationship seamlessly; watch breathlessly as they traverse the dangerous tightrope of work, life, and family over a pit of sharks.
