Chapter Twelve
At the last minute, Sailo had to cancel, but promised we’d meet up the next night. So instead, since Ethan and Rhett had put me up for the time being, and they were going to help me move into my new place this weekend, I took them out to dinner. I planned to take out everyone who was helping me move—the guys, plus their friend Dale and his husband, Adam, and of course Sailo—but I owed these two bigtime. And besides, getting out with them was a nice diversion from the afternoon I’d spent with Becky.
Afterward, we lounged in their living room with beers all around.
“Thanks again,” Ethan said. “That was an amazing meal.”
“Seriously.” Rhett groaned, rubbing his stomach. “Jesus. How had we never heard of that place?”
“Don’t know, but we’re going back.”
I chuckled. “Glad you enjoyed it. I figured I owe you guys for putting me up and helping me out.”
“Don’t mention it.” Ethan tipped his beer bottle toward me. “Happy to help, especially if there’s food like that involved.”
“Amen,” his husband said.
“As much as you guys have been helping, I’ll take you there every night of the week.” I leaned back in my chair. “I will be fucking thrilled when this whole thing is over, that’s for sure.”
“I hear that,” Rhett said. “My divorce was an epic pain in the ass.”
“And our split was…” Ethan whistled. “Not fun. So, you have my sympathy.”
Rhett nodded. “Mmhmm.” He took a swallow of beer. “And as far as moving, are you sure one day is going to be enough? I could take Monday off if you need more help.”
“Nah, one day is fine,” I said. “I don’t have that much stuff. I’m getting a head start this week too—Sailo’s helping me get a few things from the storage unit to the new place, and then all that’s left to move on Saturday is the big stuff.” I paused. “Thanks again, guys. You’ve been a huge help all along, and it’ll be great to have a couple extra pairs of hands this weekend.”
“Hey, don’t mention it,” Rhett said. “We could probably snag Kieran and Alex too, if you think we’ll need them.”
“Nah.” I waved a hand. “With Adam and Dale helping out, plus you guys, I think we’ve got it covered.”
“Sailo, eh?” Ethan arched an eyebrow. “You’ve been seeing this guy pretty regularly, haven’t you?”
“I noticed that too.” Rhett winked. “Thought you were just hooking up and getting laid.”
I chuckled. “There any rule that says I can’t hook up and get laid with the same guy more than once?”
“Well, no,” Rhett said. “But there’s a reason they’re usually called one-night stands.”
“Watch out for him,” Ethan warned with a hint of a smirk on his lips. “One minute, you’re fucking him. The next he’s got a moving van in front of your place full of his stuff.”
Laughing, I gestured dismissively with my beer. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Famous last words,” Ethan muttered.
“Spoken from experience?” I asked.
Ethan chuckled.
Rhett rolled his eyes. “That is not how it happened.”
“Okay.” Ethan patted Rhett’s leg. “We waited until the third date, but—”
“Oh, shut up.” Rhett laughed. “He’s full of shit.”
I put up my hand. “I am not getting in the middle of an argument between you two.”
“Smart man,” Ethan muttered.
Rhett smacked his leg, and Ethan laughed.
“Anyway,” I said. “Dating is a pretty foreign concept for me as it is. It’s kind of been a while.” I paused, thinking back. “In fact, the only dating I’ve ever done was in high school and the first part of college. Mostly with Becky.”
“You guys married pretty young, didn’t you?” Ethan asked.
“She was nineteen, I was twenty.”
“I was around the same age when I married my daughter’s mom.” Rhett shook his head. “Oh, if I’d only known then what I do now…”
“Preach it,” I grumbled into my beer bottle. After I’d taken a swig, I lowered the bottle and thought for a moment. “You know what’s funny? I’m actually starting to wonder if I’m not bi at all.” I fought the urge to wring my hands. “I think…I think I might be gay.”
“Really?” Rhett asked. “So, you’re not interested in women at all?”
I thought for a moment, then shook my head. “Can’t say I’ve even thought about women lately. No woman’s caught my eye either.”
“Has any man caught your eye recently?” Ethan brought his beer bottle up, but stopped at his lips. “Besides Sailo, I mean?”
“Now that you mention it…”
“That’s what I thought.” He took a deep swallow, then set the bottle down. “It could just be because you’re really into this guy. You might be so caught up in him, you’re not noticing anyone else, regardless of gender.”
“Valid point,” I said.
“Wow, Ethan.” Rhett elbowed him and grinned. “That was actually a mature—”
“Oh, shut up.” Ethan rolled his eyes.
“Just saying.” Rhett set his beer on the coffee table and folded his hands in his lap. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much right now if I were you. Just enjoy being with this guy and putting your divorce behind you. There’s plenty of time to figure out what it all means later.”
“True.”
“I mean, I’m bi,” he said. “But it doesn’t really matter because I haven’t been with a woman since before Ethan and I—”
The doorbell rang.
Ethan and Rhett both turned their heads, then eyed each other.
“You expecting anyone?” Rhett asked as he stood.
“No,” Ethan said. “You?”
Rhett shook his head. “I’ll be right back.”
“Well, while he’s doing that…” Ethan collected the empty bottles. “You want another?”
“You know what?” I stood. “I think I will.”
We moved into the kitchen, and Ethan pulled some fresh drinks from the fridge. He opened them and slid one across the island to me. He was about to speak, but Rhett’s voice came from the hallway:
“Hey, look who’s here.”
Ethan and I turned as Rhett’s daughter, Sabrina, and her husband, Tyson, walked in the kitchen with Rhett on their heels.
“Hey, kiddo!” Ethan hugged his stepdaughter. “This is a surprise.” He kissed her cheek and let her go. Gesturing at me, he said, “You remember Greg, right?”
“Of course.” Sabrina smiled. “Good to see you.”
“You too.” I sipped my beer. “Hey, Tyson.”
“What brings you two into the neighborhood?” Rhett asked. “I didn’t think we were going to see you until this weekend.”
“Well, um.” She glanced at her husband. He put his hand on the small of her back, and she faced her fathers again. “We just stopped by for a minute.” She took a small gift bag from her husband and set it on the counter in front of Ethan. “We wanted to drop off your early birthday present.”
“Birthday present?” Ethan cocked his head. “My birthday’s not for another six months.”
“I know.” She pushed it across the counter. “But I wanted to give this to you now.”
“But—”
“Just open it.”
Something about her smile made my heart speed up. As Ethan and Rhett exchanged puzzled looks, I suppressed a grin because I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.
Ethan shrugged. He pushed the tissue paper aside, reached inside, and pulled out a bright yellow coffee mug. “World’s Greatest—” His eyes widened.
Rhett craned his neck, turning the mug slightly so he could see it. His lips parted and his head snapped toward his daughter, who was now grinning so big she started laughing.
“World’s Greatest Grandpa?” Rhett breathed. “Are you serious? You’re…”
Ethan set the mug down, the quiet rattle as it touched the counter giving away the unsteadiness in his hands. “Didn’t I tell you I’m not supposed to be a grandfather before I turn—” His voice caught, and he quickly cleared his throat. “Before I turn fifty?”
She pressed her lips together, shooting him an innocent look as she tried and failed not to smile. “Surprise?”
He laughed and hugged her tight, and though he was probably trying to be smooth and subtle, I caught him wiping his eyes just before he let her go.
Then Rhett gathered his daughter in a bear hug. “Congratulations, baby. Wow.”
While he did that, Ethan shook Tyson’s hand and exchanged smiles with him. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Tyson beamed.
Watching Rhett and Ethan get choked up and excited over Sabrina’s news was enough to bring tears to my eyes, and it wasn’t just because I was thrilled for them. It was true, wasn’t it—in the wake of a divorce, you just never knew where those reminders would come from, and how far they’d hit below the emotional belt.
My first grandchild had been announced with wringing hands and teary eyes, my daughter convinced we were going to hit the roof and that her life was over. Now that she was married—to my sent-from-heaven son-in-law instead of that useless deadbeat—there was some talk of more kids in the near future. And I hadn’t realized until just now how much I’d looked forward to the announcement that number two was on the way. All of us together, my wife and me congratulating our daughter and son-in-law and making plans to spoil the kid rotten.
When my next grandchild came along, I’d be just as thrilled as I would’ve been before the divorce. But tonight, right now, I indulged in a moment to grieve that little scene I’d imagined.
Becky and I would attend our kids’ college graduations and weddings, and we’d be cordial to each other because the divorce wasn’t a bitter one. Even if it had been, we owed it to our kids to be civil and not make their important days about us. There would probably come a time when we’d bring new partners with us to those events. I’d meet her new boyfriend. She’d meet mine. There wouldn’t be any drama—that just wasn’t who we were—but I wondered if a part of me would still feel that little pang of sadness at one more reminder of our failed marriage.
I shook myself and took a deep swallow of beer. It was weird how the divorce reared its ugly head at the most unexpected moments. In bed with a man? Barely a peep from my subconscious. Watching two of my friends find out they were about to be grandparents? Hold on tight—here goes the roller coaster.
All part of the process, I decided.
All part of the shitty fucking process that was never going to end.