Page 113 of The Fast Lane
“Especially when she drives me crazy.”
I laughed softly. “Are you okay? I know we kind of sprung all this on you.”
“Yes and no.” I could tell he wanted to say more so I waited. “Yes, because I’ve missed him. Your mother, you kids, we’ve all missed him. He never should have been gone this long. And now there’s a grandbaby. It’s a lot to wrap my head around.”
“She’s pretty cute though.”
He chuckled. “She looks just like you when you were little.”
“Like I said, she’s pretty cute.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He flicked the tip of my nose, like he’s done since I was a kid.
“So, what’s the part about you not being okay?”
A long breath escapes him. “Sometimes a person does things they regret. It’s hard to face those things. Especially when that thing is the son you drove out of your house. He’s so damn different from me, from your brothers. Look at all those tattoos, and what the hell is wrong with his ears? Are those holes on purpose?”
“They’re called gauges and…you know, never mind. I’ll explain later. You finish.”
“I never knew how to talk to him. Still don’t.”
“Is that why you’re avoiding him?”
“You noticed, huh?” His shoulders deflated. “I don’t know how to mend it, how to make this better, and I regret all those years we missed out on having Abe in our lives because I was too stubborn to get over myself.”
I swallowed a lump of my own regret. Dad and I, we had a lot in common when it came to this subject. Ironically, my regret was tied to his regret.
“I gotta figure out what to say to him.” He frowned. “I don’t want to screw it up again.”
I put a hand on his arm. “Maybe the first step is telling him all this.”
“Huh. Maybe so.”
We settled back into silence, although it felt less comfortable now, more contemplative. It was funny how we forget our parents are people, too. My father was as human and riddled with as many fears and regrets as the next person. He also happened to be my dad. He wasn’t the infallible superhero I was sure he was when I grew up.
From inside, I could hear Mom asking Hallie all sorts of questions about her favorite color to her favorite food. Like Grandma Grace used to ask me. Hallie giggled at something Mom said and I couldn’t help smiling at the sound.
Any doubt I had about this surprise reunion disappeared. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows. Maybe this was the calm before the storm. But for now, bringing Abe here gave us all a chance to start to fix what was broken.
Eventually, Dad broke the silence.
“So, tell me about these holes in his ears. What did you call them again? Gadgets?”
FORTY-EIGHT
Note to self:
Make sure the next hotel I stay at is “pest” free.
“Oh, Karen, you didn’t.” But I was staring at the evidence. She totally did.
The open shoebox held one and a half perfectly intact cream-colored wedge sandals. And also, one half of a chewed up cream-colored wedge sandal.
“I found the box sort of wedged under the backseat. I don’t know how she did it.” Theo sounded almost impressed.
“Hate. She was fueled by pure hate for me.” I held up the mangled shoe. It was still soggy. Gross. “Why does she hate me?”
“She doesn’t hate you.” He rubbed my back.