Chapter 23
Jonas
“Are we volunteering tomorrow?” Eddie asked, as we pulled up to Arthur’s house Saturday afternoon. “If we are, I need to stop by our house on the way so I can grab some things I forgot. I wanna show Mr. Smith the coin I found.”
“You’ll have to show him next week,” I said with a smile. “Or we can go to Hopeway House another day this week. This weekend is all about family, and we’re going to start by turning off our cell phones and making pizzas together.”
I put my hand out, and he handed over his phone. “Arthur’s never going to take Leo’s cell phone away,” he grumbled.
“Maybe not, but I parent by example, and I’m not going to let you get away with everything Leo’s been getting away with for years. They’ll catch up, and things will be equal. Until then, we do what we’ve always done.”
“Fine,” he said, but he wasn’t mad. He was giving me a hard time, testing boundaries and pushing limits like any other teen.
“Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate you being a good example for Leo. Change is hard enough, but if he sees you continue on without stressing out about it, he’ll know it isn’t that big of a deal.”
We got out of the car and Leo met us at the door, a big smile on his face. “I hope you guys are hungry, because we have every topping imaginable." He leaned closer to Eddie. “I bet I can get my crust bigger than yours.”
“It’s not a competition, Leo,” Eddie said with a dramatic roll of his eyes.
“That’s what you say when you know I’m going to win.”
The two boys took off for the kitchen, and Arthur stepped out. We kissed, then I took his hand and we stood outside in the warmth of the afternoon sun for a few moments.
“Did you hear that?” I asked.
“I know competition is aggressive, but—”
“No,” I said, too excited to hold back and wait my turn to speak. “He could have easily called Eddie a loser. But instead, he used positive, personal language. Rather than pawning his feelings off on everyone else, he’s owning them. That’s a huge step." I shook my head, laughing. “And a little healthy competition is good for teens.”
“We might have to agree to disagree on the competition thing,” Arthur said, winking to show that he was just joking. “Come on. We have so much planned for tonight.”
I held his hand, stopping him from going inside. “What about Leo? Any headway on the promise ring?”
He sighed. “He’s still upset about it, but I can’t pinpoint why. He likes you, he likes Eddie, and he’s happier than he’s been in a long time. But he’s still angry about the ring." Arthur shrugged. “I asked him why, but he just blew me off.”
“Maybe he can’t explain it.”
“You’re probably right. I’m not going to worry about it. He’s welcome to his opinions, but I’m learning that he has to know his place and I need to know mine.”
“Eddie always tells me to stay in my lane,” I laughed.
“That’s exactly it,” Arthur said.
We walked into the house to find Eddie and Leo already finishing up their pizzas. Leo had the oven on, and together, they were reading the instructions from the family cookbook. Their heads were close, both mouths moving as they read along and did their best to decipher what was on the page. Then they went to the oven, and with only a little heated discussion, they got their pies in the oven and the timer set.
I stood close to Arthur, our hips brushing as we reached across the bar to pick our ingredients. Every touch reminded me of the night we’d shared in the B&B, and all the ups and downs we’d managed over the past two months. It was crazy to think that the decision to give the next guy a chance before I cut and run had made such a difference in my life. And in Eddie’s.
We finished topping our pizzas just as the boys took theirs out of the oven. Without us asking, Leo and Eddie took our pizzas and put them in the oven with a flourish, as if they were waiters and chefs, serving us at a fancy restaurant.
“That was unexpected,” I whispered in Arthur’s ear while the pair rummaged around in the fridge and brought us something to drink.
He nodded and put his arm around my waist as we basked in the glory of our hard work and loving Leo through all his bad choices. What we’d learned at the seminar was working.
I was envisioning our video blurb for the seminar success stories page when the doorbell rang. Leo froze, but Arthur only tilted his head in confusion and went to the kitchen door, which led to his driveway.
I had an unobstructed view of the man standing in the doorway, flowers in hand, a huge grin on his face. He was blond, tall and slender, with dazzling blue eyes.
“Arthur,” he said warmly. “It’s so good to see you.”
Then he kissed Arthur, and my mouth dropped open.
Arthur
I was still trying to figure out who the stranger on my doorstep was when his lips touched mine, and he locked me inside his embrace. I pulled back, gasping, frantic for air and distance from this crazy moment where everything seemed impossible, yet this stranger knew my name.
“Let go of me,” I said, hands on his chest, shoving him hard. I wiped my sleeve across my lips, but I could still taste the cinnamon ice breaker that he’d pocketed in his cheek. “You have me confused with someone else.”
“I could never confuse a man like you for any other,” the man said. He reached out for me, and I slapped his hand away.
The man smiled. “I like a feisty lover. When you said you liked to play hard to get, I was hoping you weren’t just teasing.”
He moved closer again and I retreated, stopping in my doorway to keep the madness out of my house. There wasn’t enough distance between us to close the door in his face without injuring him, but if he tried to kiss me again, my concern for his well-being wouldn’t stop me anymore.
He furrowed his brow and scowled at me. “I can’t stand men who talk a big game online, like they’re some kind of magical being, then you recoil when it’s time to pay up.”
“What are you talking about?" I looked over my shoulder at Jonas and Eddie. They were standing there, dumbfounded, but it was Leo who had my attention. When our eyes met, he turned away, and I knew. “Leave, now,” I said.
“It’s too late to cancel my reservations without being charged. If you weren’t interested in real-life dating, you should’ve told me you wanted to keep it online.”
“Arthur?” Jonas queried from where he stood.
“I’ve got this, Jonas,” I snapped, then turned on the man. “How much will you be billed?” I pulled out my wallet. “I’ll pay it; I just want you gone.”
I heard rustling behind me and turned, keeping my hand on the door jamb to keep the stranger out while my eyes were averted. “Jonas, where are you going?”
“We’ll talk later,” Jonas said. “It looks like you need to get your house in order before we move forward.”
“Jonas, I’ve never met this man. I’m not meeting men online.”
But Jonas didn’t respond. He just looked at me with an expression that broke my heart in two, then took his son and walked out the front door.
I turned back to the man; he was smiling. I’d never wanted to slap the smirk off anyone’s face so badly, and what he said next nearly threw me over the edge.
“Now that your life is a little less complicated, what do you say to dinner?”
“I say, make sure you’re not being baited by someone’s teenager before you make real-life dates with someone." I shook my head. “I don’t know how you fell for it; Leo’s grammar is horrendous. Even when he’s trying to be more adult, he sounds like a teenager. I’m sorry your time was wasted."
I pulled some cash out of my wallet. “I have sixty bucks. It’s yours. Sorry for the trouble, but I don’t have an online dating profile, and I don’t know you.”
The man moved his hand from my door frame to take the money, and I took that opportunity to close the door and lock the deadbolt. I was incredulous when he turned the knob and pushed the door, then growled angrily and gave the wall a kick in anger.
I hurried to the front door to lock it, too, since Jonas and Eddie had exited that way, then watched out the blinds in the living room until I saw the man pull out of the driveway. His tires squealed, and the car fishtailed. He must’ve seen me watching, because he rolled down the window and flipped my house off, then turned his death metal music all the way up so that the walls thumped until he was out of the neighborhood.
I turned to find Leo standing there, his face wet with tears, looking more remorseful and dejected than I ever thought he could. “I can’t talk to you right now,” I said.
“Dad, I’m—”
“I can’t talk to you right now,” I repeated quietly. I turned my back, and he choked on an angry sob before he fled the room and pounded up the stairs.
The house shook when he slammed the door, but it was nothing compared to the quaking of my body as my world came crumbling down around me. My own son had crossed the line to make sure that Jonas would think I was cheating on him.
I didn’t know what to do about that, and right then, in that moment, I knew there was nothing I could do.
I was numb. I was furious, and I was crushed.