Chapter 14
Leo
I was coming down the stairs for dinner when I heard my dad on the phone. He was laughing, flirting, obviously talking to him.
“I’m looking forward to it, too. Yeah, I think we should let them volunteer together one more weekend before we move forward. Leo really does better when he eases into things.”
I stiffened. What gives him the right? I thought, angry that he was talking about me behind my back. Ease me into what?
My stomach dropped, and I carefully walked down the last two steps, keeping the wall between me and my dad. I held my breath, but I couldn’t hear the man on the other line. I could only hear my dad, and what I was hearing wasn’t good.
“I’ve hired a second employee, and both are doing well at the shop. I think I’ll take the rest of this week off and all of next week so the transition will go smoother." The other man said something, and Dad laughed.
“You’re right. I do worry too much. Anyway, I have to get dinner taken care of. You enjoy dinner at your parents’ house." There was a pause, then, “I’m glad we worked things out, too.”
I backed up the stairs quickly, and was almost to the top when he appeared around the corner and smiled at me. “You wanna go out to dinner with your old dad tonight?”
“No,” I said.
He blinked, then kept talking, that stupid, lovey-dovey smile on his face like he could change my mind. “Even if we go to Antonio’s?”
“Screw Antonio’s." My stomach growled and my mouth water, but I stood my ground. “I’d rather die.”
I expected him to tell me how it pained him to hear such ugly words from my mouth, but his smile didn’t budge. Oh shit, I thought. Something’s going down. I was shaking now, but the sadness that normally showed on his face any time we fought wasn’t there.
When he shrugged, I saw red. He didn’t care! “Suit yourself,” he said.
Then he walked away. I stood there, staring at the spot where he’d been, then I turned around and went back to my room and slammed the door. Pacing around, I relived Dad’s end of the conversation over and over, trying to figure out what they were talking about.
Had that man convinced Dad to send me away? The more I thought about it, the scarier the possibilities were. One thing was for sure; Eddie and his dad were butting into my life, and I wasn’t going to take it.
I smelled the pizza before I heard the knock on the door. My stomach rumbled. “I got a deep-dish pepperoni.” Dad’s muffled voice came through the closed door. “Unless you don’t want it.”
I listened to his footsteps as he walked back down the stairs, then ran to the door and flung it open, smiling for the first time since I had caught him talking crap behind my back. There was nothing there.
He must have it, I thought, narrowing my eyes. He always left the pizza in front of my door, along with a two-liter of Pepsi. What kind of game was he playing?
I went down the stairs slowly, suspicious. My nose wrinkled and my eyes rolled back as the delicious scents mingled and floated through the doorway of the kitchen and up the stairs. He was in the kitchen with my food, sitting at the table, Jenga already stacked and ready to go.
“I thought you might like a rematch,” he said, without looking up at me.
“We haven’t played since my twelfth birthday,” I reminded him.
“Right. And if I am correct, you got your butt stomped.”
I narrowed my eyes, and he smiled at me. “Fine,” I said. “Did you get me some soda?”
“I did.” He handed me a single-serving bottle of Pepsi. When I looked up, he smiled again. “It’s late, and we could both use some sleep. I don’t want you up all night.”
“I can handle it.”
“I know you can.”
I waited, but another, larger bottle of soda didn’t appear. I wanted to argue, but he was already looking at the tower of wooden pieces, one hand holding a slice of pizza, the other hovering around the game, fingers twitching while he considered every option.
“Loser goes first,” I said, then cringed.
“Go ahead, then. I’m not getting any younger.”
I took the first piece, stacking it on the top without so much as a wobble, then sat down and devoured a slice of pizza while he planned his move.
***
I was done with my entire pizza when my dad pulled a piece, and the now-gigantic tower came tumbling down. I clapped my hands together and laughed. “I win,” I chanted.
He laughed, giving me a high-five and setting the game back up while I took my pizza box to the recycle bin. He took the first move this time, and like the previous game, I stomped him into the ground, laughing when the wooden pieces bounced across the kitchen floor and scattered to the far corners.
“Best two out of three?” he asked.
“I just won two games,” I laughed. “Doesn’t that mean you already lost?”
Dad smiled. “I didn’t lose,” he said. He was staring at me, his head tilted.
He pinched his lips together, then looked at the clock. “It’s late. Let’s say we pick this up tomorrow after volunteering.”
I groaned. “Again?”
“You seemed to be enjoying your time yesterday with Mrs. Granger.”
“Volunteering is lame.”
“Of course it is.” He rolled his eyes. “But you still have to do it, and until you can prove to Mrs. Granger that you don’t need extra attention, you’ll be there every day."
He looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I sighed, biting my lip and looking him in the eye. “I’ll try. I don’t want to get up this early all week next week, too.”
“Perfect. We’ll pick up our game after lunch.”
“What about homework?”
“Homework can wait. This is more important." He stood up and kissed me on top of the head. “Good night. Turn the lights off when you go to bed, please.”
“I will, Arthur,” I said.
I sat there for a long time, fiddling with the wooden blocks for a bit before I put them away in their box. I was smiling when I saw my dad’s phone on the counter and remembered the conversation earlier. The smile slid off my face, and I shook my head.
I knew the phone was locked, so checking the text messages was out of the question. But I didn’t need to snoop through his phone to know that he and Eddie’s dad were up to something. Playing games with my dad while we ate pizza and drank soda had reminded me of how nice it was to have him all to myself.
Even when he was being a total geek, we still had fun. I didn’t want to share my dad with anyone. I wasn’t going to let his relationship ruin that, and there was no way I was going to be friends with Eddie. Ever.
Eddie
I watched my dad eating from across the table, quietly chewing the lasagna that Grandma had made from scratch, just like she did every Wednesday night. I drank my sparkling cider and wished my dad would let me try a bit of the white wine that Grandma served with the family meal.
I was still looking at my glass when Grandpa turned to me and smiled, tilting his head forward to gaze at me over the rims of his glasses. I bet he’s already tipsy, I thought. His smile was a little too lopsided for him to still be sober. “So, how is school, Eddie?”
“I’m not going right now,” I said. I took another bite, closing my eyes and savoring the flavor.
Grandpa turned and glared at Dad. “You are homeschooling him, are you?” he asked, hanging on the word as if my father was corrupting the very fiber of my moral being.
Dad looked at me, then took a swig of his wine and set the glass down. “No. Eddie defended himself against a bully at school, and both boys were suspended.”
“That can’t be what happened,” Grandpa said, then turned to Aunt Charlotte. “Char, would the school suspend the victim?”
“Dad, I’m telling you what happened. Why are you asking her?”
“She works in the schools.”
“I work in the schools,” my dad said. “And Char is a school nurse.”
“But she works with the good kids,” Grandma insisted.
Dad looked at me and I shrugged. “Leo isn’t a bad kid, Grandpa. He’s just had a lot of trauma in his life. His adopted dad is doing his best, and volunteering with Leo isn’t so bad. Arthur really does love him.”
“Arthur?” Grandma said.
Dad shot me a look and mouthed the words What the hell?
I smirked as I watched Grandma tilt her head as she looked for the memory, then she smiled and nodded. “It’s funny, I must have things mixed up."
She turned to my dad again. “I thought you said Arthur was the name of the man you’ve been dating. What was his name again?”
“Arthur,” my dad said slowly, glaring at me again.
I took another bite.
“Oh, okay. That’s weird that this boy’s father and your new man have the same name.”
“It’s because they’re the same person,” I offered, then flinched when Dad kicked me under the table.
I smiled at him. “What? They were going to find out sooner or later, and if you two are going to make this last, we should get the awkward stuff over now.”
“I can’t believe you,” Dad said, shaking his head. “Is nothing sacred?”
“The truth is…” I ate two more bites, then took a drink of the amber liquid that bubbled in my wine glass. It was still glorified soda.
Then I looked at my grandparents and my aunt and said it again, making it as clear as I could. “My dad is dating the dad of the kid that beat me up at school." I laughed. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
“Does he work at the school?” Grandpa demanded, as if that was so important.
“No,” I said. “He owns a medicinal herb shop.” Dad sucked in a quick breath.
“What the heck is that?” Grandma asked.
“He sells alternative medicine, and—” my dad’s voice quieted. “Medicinal marijuana.”
The table erupted. “Tell me you’re joking,” Aunt Charlotte said.
“So he’s a weed head?” Grandpa asked.
“They’re called potheads,” I corrected.
“He’s not a pothead!” my dad said, shouting to be heard over everyone else and giving me another angry look. “He’s a business owner, and he’s very knowledgeable. He’s also a good dad.”
“We don’t do drugs in this family,” Grandma said.
“I don’t do drugs, Mom,” my dad said.
I finished my meal and my drink. All the adults were talking at once when I stood to clear my plate and walked away from the mess I’d made.
I couldn’t help but smile. My dad had told me so many times that the truth would set me free, but he was the first one to keep uncomfortable things from our own family.
Grandma and Grandpa were still talking loudly when my dad appeared in the kitchen, taking my arm and pulling me into the hallway where it was quieter. “What the hell, Eddie?”
“You told me to tell the truth, no matter the cost.”
“Okay, but you had to know this wasn’t going to go well.”
“Wouldn’t you rather get it over with before they meet Arthur and Leo?”
He stopped, his lips parting slightly as he considered what I was saying. I decided to keep talking while I had him.
“Eventually, you’re going to want to them to meet Arthur, and we can’t just leave Leo at home. Do you really want Grandma and Grandpa to do this—” I gestured to the other room—“in front of Arthur? What will he think?”
“That our family is crazy." He thrust his fingers through his hair. “They are crazy.”
“You know that, and so do I. I think they should get their crazy out now, don’t you?”
He smiled, giving me a playful punch in the arm. “This is happening all too often,” he said, grinning ear to ear.
“What is?”
“You are leading the way and reminding me how things are supposed to be. I’m proud of you, Eddie.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He gestured toward the dining room, where Grandma and Grandpa were still lamenting about the bomb I’d dropped about Arthur. “Come on, now. We have a fire to put out.”