Page 26 of Paradise & Vodka
Nick kissed me on the cheek. "How about we go get the ladies another round, and I'll tell you how I helped my grandfather rebuild the engine for his '64 Pontiac GTO."
"You know how to work on cars?" Dad questioned.
"I'm not just a pretty face, Mr. James." Nick winked at me.
Dad and Nick started to walk toward the bar, and I heard Dad say, "Call me Earl."
"Nick really does seem like a great guy." Mom sat across from me at the table.
"He is."
"Are you happy?"
I looked over at Nick, who was deep in conversation with my father. I had no idea he knew about cars. In a perfect world, Nick could be the one for me. He obviously knew how to protect me, he knew how to win my father over, and he knew how to pleasure me. However, we didn't live in a perfect world, and once the trip was over, I would have to tell everyone that we broke up. For now, though, I would lie to my mother.
"Really happy."
I wantedto stick up for Ashleighsobadly, but it wasn't my fight because she wasn't mine. At the end of the day, I was just her date and had no place butting in, so instead, I diffused the situation the best way I could by pulling her father away. I really did know about cars and had helped my grandfather rebuild his GTO. And Earl was impressed, to say the least.
"If I had a son, he and I would work in the garage every weekend," Earl indicated.
"But you have two daughters," I stated as though he didn't know that.
"I do, and they're my world."
"Even Ashleigh?" I asked before I realized what I'd asked.
"What do you mean?"
I flagged down the bartender, and we placed our order. "Well, you didn't know we were dating for starters." I didn't care that I was lying to the man. I was trying to make a point.
"Her mother is the one who talks to her about her love life."
"Apparently not," I corrected.
"Yeah, apparently not," he agreed. The bartender placed our drinks in front of us, and Earl took a swig of his beer. "Honestly, I was never close with my girls."
"Why not?"
He shrugged. "I never knew what to do with them."
"What do you mean?"
"Everleigh was always doing her hair and makeup, and then she started doing pageants."
"Couldn't you have done science experiments with Ashleigh?"
Earl chuckled. "That girl is smarter than me and her Momma combined. If she wasn't a twin, I would think she wasn't ours."
"But she is yours."
He stared at me for a moment as though it finally hit him that Ashleighwashis daughter. "I know, and now she lives in Vegas, and we only see her once a year."
"Maybe if you treated her like you treat Everleigh, then you'd see her more."
"I don't treat them differently."
"With all due respect, Earl, you fuckin' do. You let the one who had her heart broken watch you and Dixie praise a relationship that devastated her."
