Page 12 of Taffy
“Since we met,” I offer.
“Which was?” I feel like I’m sixteen all over again, standing in front of the disciplinary committee at school.
“Yesterday,” Tina supplies, her voice almost a whisper. “We met yesterday.”
“And you’re in love today?”
I scrub a hand through my thick hair, a sheepish grin pulling at my mouth. “Yeah. We are.”
Kate looks between us. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Don’t speak to your father like that!” Tina yells, her finger pointed before she registers what she just did, blushes like crazy, then lowers her hand. “I mean, he’s not lying. You might not understand it, but it doesn’t change how we feel.”
“This isinsane,” Kate scoffs. “You know that, right?”
“We do,” I say. “But Tina’s right, it doesn’t change how we feel.”
Kate throws her hands up. “I need some air.” She grabs her bag and pushes past me.
Tina moves to chase her, but I place a hand on her shoulder. “Let her cool down. She’ll come back. I promise.”
I just wish I was as reassured by my words as Tina seems to be. I have no idea how this is going to pan out.
Tina
“This isn’t how I wanted her to find out,” Troy says, scrubbing a hand over his face as he sits on my couch waiting for Kate to come back. The more time that goes by, the more anxious we both get. I’ve eaten half the bag of taffy, and now I’m folding the wrappers into little origami cranes to keep my hands busy.
“Me either,” I say from where I’m sitting cross-legged on the floor. “I’m sure we both had a plan that involved easing her into the idea before slapping her in the face with it.” I glance up at him, offering a wry smile. “Best laid plans, though, huh?”
He leans forward with a sigh, picking up one of the cranes and holding it gently in those big, strong fingers of his. It amazes me how gentle and tender those hands can be even though everything about his size exudes power. I think that’s another thing I love about him—he makes me feel safe and protected. I feel small beside him which isn’t easy to come by when you’re a big girl.
“Not much in life follows a plan,” he says, his voice soft as he slides onto the floor so he’s sitting in front me, his long legs stretched out either side. “Come here.” He holds his arms out, and I happily push my craft project to the side and flop into his arms, pressing my face into his neck, the stubble on his face brushing against my cheek as I breathe in deep and fill my lungs with his scent.Home.
“You smell like home to me,” he echoes, reading my thoughts.
“Youfeellike home to me,” I say, lifting my head and meeting his eyes. I lift a hand and run my fingers over his brow. He closes his eyes and sighs before I thread my fingers in his hair and press my lips to his in a gentle, yet meaningful kiss. “Do you think we should take a step back until Kate comes to terms with us being together?”
Troy presses his lips together, lifting a hand to tuck my damp hair back from my face. “I don’t want to. But we might have to. I don’t want to hurt my daughter.”
“You’re not hurting me, Dad,” Kate says, her voice a sudden and jolting sound inside the apartment. I didn’t even hear her get back. Troy and I were too wrapped up in our own little world.
“I’m not?” Troy and I separate, but remain sitting on the floor while Kate returns to the couch and lets out a sigh. It seems to be the language of the moment, lots of sighs and tense moments, but it leads into honest communication, which is what we need right now. We watch Kate with eager, concerned eyes.
“No. But thisisweird for me,” she starts, looking between us both as we nod in understanding. “I came here expecting a girl’s weekend with my friend and a visit with my dad, and I walked in to find my best friend and dad have gone all ga-ga over each other.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling awful that I’ve made her uncomfortable when she’s been nothing but an awesome friend to me.
“Don’t be,” she says as a ghost of a smile crosses her face. “I thought I was going to come back here and tell you guys you were gross and that I couldn’t deal. But then I opened the door and what I found wasn’t gross at all. It was beautiful, and it made my heart squeeze and gave me a hell of a lot of perspective. T, I know what a big deal this is for you. I’ve never seen you even look twice at a guy before now. And Dad, I don’t think I’ve ever seen youwitha woman. I know you’ve always loved me and supported me, and I haven’t made it easy on you. But this right here, I want to makethiseasy for you. You’re very obviously smitten with each other and Tina, you’re my best friend, the one person I love as much as I love my family. So, I think for me, the right thing to do is get out of your way and let you love each other. I don’t want to be responsible for taking this away from either of you. It’s too beautiful and pure for that.”
Troy releases his pent-up breath as he reaches for my hand and laces our fingers together. The connection brings me such comfort and reassurance. “Thank you. That means a lot,” he says, placing a light touch on Kate’s knee with his free hand.
“It really does,” I agree. “But, what do you mean by ‘get out of the way’?” That part concerns me. I don’t want to be responsible for chasing her away.
Kate laughs. “I mean, I’m not going to kick up a fuss and try and make you feel shitty for being in love with my dad, silly. Although, that whole ‘don’t talk to your father like that’ bit was kinda weird. Let’s not do that in the future.” She’s still smiling, and I can’t help but laugh as I feel my cheeks heat.
“I don’t even know where that came from,” I say.
“I do,” she says. “It came from a place of love.”
