Page 289 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“Really?” I asked in surprise, unable to stop myself.
Adam carefully looked down at his checklist, but I could see the faint smile on his face. “Yeah,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said shyly.
He nodded at me and then finally looked at me again, giving me a quick, awkward wave. “I’ll see you around, okay? I have a couple of last minute things I want to check on before I head home tonight.”
I frowned, wanting to… to what? Order him to go home? Pull him in for a hug for goodbye? I shook both of those thoughts out of my head. Adam was a grown man; he could stop working when he was good and ready to quit for the day. And a hug would only have made things awkward. It probably would have made him pull away from me even more, right when we were finally making progress.
No. I gave him a quick wave in response and headed out of there. My thoughts were swirling chaotically in my mind, and I still felt like there was more that I would have liked to say to him. But I had missed my chance.
There will be more chances, I reminded myself fiercely. And there certainly would be. He had shown me, over the course of the day, that he was everywhere and involved in just about everything at the resort. Which meant that I really, really couldn’t start anything with him. If things went sour, it would be impossible to avoid him afterwards.
No, I couldn’t let myself do something foolish. But as I flicked on the lights of my newly purchased condo, I couldn’t help wondering if I had already started down the path of no return.
CHAPTER 15
ADAM
I had calmed down a lot by the time I was ready to leave the resort that evening. And I knew that I had been too hard on Dad. I wanted him to be close to Ethan. I still wished that he had talked to me about the game console first, but I knew that he wasn’t trying to buy Ethan or anything silly like that. He was just genuinely happy that he could provide something like that for Ethan, something that the kid really wanted.
I knew that he just wanted to know the kinds of things that Ethan was interested in. And I knew that he was right when he told me that Ethan was a good kid and that spoiling him a little wasn’t going to ruin him. What was I so afraid of, anyway?
I knew the answer to that, I just didn’t like to admit it. I was afraid that I was going to lose Ethan. In a different way than I had lost Beth, but lose him all the same. He was already getting to that age where he would rather be off skiing and hanging out with his friends than hanging out with his old man. But the gaming console wasn’t going to accelerate that process. And new technology or not, Ethan was always going to be my son.
I sat in my truck for a moment and then sighed. I needed to apologize to Dad. To thank him for the kind gesture. To admit that maybe I had been too quick to say that Ethan couldn’t have the PowerBox.
I finally turned the key in the ignition and drove over to his house.
When I got there, I slipped inside, hearing him chatting with Ethan in the living room. I paused for a moment as I kicked off my shoes. They were watching a movie, or… no, I was pretty sure it was video games that they were playing. I fought the urge to roll my eyes, but I found myself grinning.
Of course that was how Dad would play it. He had always been the most stubborn person I knew. Other than myself, but I had learned it from the best. When I told him that I didn’t want the PowerBox in my place, he had brought it over here. And then when he had picked Ethan up after his ski club that afternoon and brought him back here, he had let the boy play.
I should have been frustrated. After all, I had wanted to set down some rules before Ethan went near the gaming console. But I knew also that Dad had been strict with me as a kid and that he wouldn’t let Ethan have unlimited time playing video games. If they were playing at all right now, that meant that Ethan was probably already finished with his homework.
I walked into the living room and cleared my throat to get their attention. Dad immediately paused the game, looking almost guilty. Ethan, on the other hand, looked scared. He immediately jumped to his feet. “Am I in trouble?” he asked.
I blinked in surprise at him and then slowly shook my head. “Of course not, buddy,” I said. “Dad, could we talk in the hall?”
Dad glanced over at Ethan and then gave me a measured, defiant look. This time, I couldn’t stop my sheepish grin, and Dad’s look softened.
“I wanted to apologize for this morning,” I said when Dad had joined me in the front hall. “I know I shouldn’t have talked to you like that. You were just trying to do something nice for Ethan, and I totally ruined it. I said some things that I shouldn’t have.”
Dad shrugged. “It was your prerogative as his parent,” he said, but I could tell that he didn’t believe the words that he was saying. Well, he agreed that it was ultimately my choice, maybe. But he still didn’t think that there was any harm in Ethan having the console.
“I wish that you’d talked to me about it first,” I said. When I saw Dad start to interrupt me, I held up a hand. “But I also know that you were probably right, that if you did talk to me about it first, I wouldn’t have listened to you. And you’re also right about the fact that Ethan is a good kid and that this isn’t going to change that. I still think he needs to get his homework done before he plays games, and I still think that he should only be allowed a certain amount of time playing games. But you were also right that the kid probably needs something to do.”
Dad nodded slowly. “I appreciate that,” he said gruffly.
I glanced towards the living room. “Maybe it would be a good idea for you to keep the PowerBox over here?” I said, even though I knew that Ethan would probably pout if we told him that that was the plan. “That way, the two of you can keep playing together. It sounded like you were having fun.”
Dad snorted. “You’re just saying that because you still don’t want the responsibility of having that thing in your house,” he said. Then, he immediately apologized. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
I grinned crookedly at him. “You’re probably right about that too, though,” I said.
“I’m not the one that he really wants to play video games with,” Dad said, shaking his head. “My eyes aren’t good enough, and my reflexes, quite simply, are terrible.”
I sighed. “He wants to play with his friends. Which would mean it makes more sense to have it at my house.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want Ethan having other kids over to our house, but with the amount that I worked, I knew that the number of playdates he wanted to set up would exceed the amount of time that I was usually at home. That could be another complication that I hadn’t thought about.
