Page 111 of The Fast Lane

“All true.” He brushed my cheek with his hand. “I need to talk to you about something and?—”

My phone rang; I winced. “Sorry. I better get that.”

Cal didn’t even let me get a greeting out. “Hey, Mom and Dad are back.”

FORTY-SEVEN

Note to self:

Kids are the perfect icebreaker.

Maybe ask to borrow Hallie.

By the time we made it back to the apartment, my parents were standing in the middle of a very silent living room. Mom’s face was pale, her gaze darting between the son she hadn’t seen in eleven years and the granddaughter she hadn’t known existed. But it was Dad, his eyes shining with unshed tears, that we all watched. And we waited. To see how he would react, what he’d say.

If this meeting would go very, very badly.

It was Hallie who made the first move. Still clutching that baby doll with the wild hair, she marched up to Dad, tilted her head back, and pursed her lips. “You look like my daddy.”

Dad’s eye widened. “Hi.”

“’Cept Daddy has hair on his head, and he has pictures all over him and he smiles all the time. You aren’t smiling. Why?”

“Uh, well.” He dropped to a knee. “I guess because I’m surprised.”

“Oh,” Hallie breathed. “I love ’sprises.” Her brow wrinkled as she glanced around the room. “What’s the ’sprise?”

Dad cleared his throat. “You are.”

“You’re funny.” Hallie giggled. She held her hands out in front of her, fingers spread wide. “I got a ’sprise. I’m handsy.”

“You are?” Dad shot a confused glance toward us.

“Uh-huh. It means I have nice hands. Are you handsy?”

“I’ve never thought about it.” A smile spread across his face. “I’m your grandpa.”

“Ooooh,” she breathed. “I’ve never had a grandpa afore. Can I hug you?”

Dad sat on the floor and cleared his throat again. I will swear forever that my loud, disgruntled father, who laughed at the sad parts of movies, including the scene when Bambi’s mother dies, had tears in his eyes. Real, actual tears. He held his arms open. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Good idea getting a kid,” I said quietly, sitting on the arm of the couch next to my brother. On his other side was our mother, who had been beside herself. She’d hugged Abe so long, even I got uncomfortable. We’d had to gently pry her arms from him, although she’d refused to completely let go of him and was even at this moment clinging to his arm.

Abe snorted. “Yes. It was my plan all along. Father a child I didn’t know about and use her to unite our family.”

“She is pretty awesome.”

“Agreed.”

Both of us looked over at Dad, who’d already been conned into wearing a princess tiara and reading books with Hallie curled up in his lap. They’d been cuddled up like that for over an hour and while it was hard not to smile when I looked at them together, it was clear Dad planned to avoid the elephant in the room as long as possible. The one with all the tattoos and piercings.

“Has he said anything to you?” I asked.

Abe’s shoulders slumped. “No. He nodded his head in my general direction but otherwise, nothing.”

“Don’t get discouraged,” I hurried to say. “Give him a little time. We sprung this on him.”

“I hope you’re right.” But he didn’t sound optimistic.