Thirty-Five #2
“Shut up and go fix things with my girl.” She avoids confirming me knowing that her crash out is because she wants to tell Rory she loves him too but is scared.
“She’s my girl, A.” I call over my shoulder as I toss the empty bags into the trash in the kitchen.
“Not yet. Fix it.” She corrects me. Then yells out, “Tell Eddie to bring me back pie!”
“Yes ma’am.” I peek my head back around the corner and salute her and then make my way downstairs to where Dad is, in fact, waiting for me.
Dad only brings us to the diner mom used to work at when he wants to have a serious talk.
So my anxiety is heightened as we wait for our food.
He looks even healthier since his heart attack earlier this year.
That hit my brothers and me hard. Growing up with only one parent tends to make you extra attached to the one you have.
“Your mom loved this place. Even when she was at the end of her pregnancy with all three of you stretching her body to the limits. She would walk around and serve people with the type of warmth that healed you.” He glances around and his face turns sad, then he smiles like she is standing in the room with us.
Sometimes I’m jealous that he can remember what she looked like in real life.
I’ve only ever known her through pictures and photos.
The diner actually still has a picture of her and Dad hanging on the wall.
She has long curly hair and the smallest bump.
Dad is staring at her like she is his whole world.
The owner offers to give it to him every time he is in here, but he always declines.
He says that she would want it here. The diner meant the world to her because it was the first job she was ever given when she had no experience.
She was young and newly married and the owner hired her on the spot.
Even after Dad managed to get the loans for the gym and started bringing in enough for her to not have to work, she stayed at this diner.
“Fighting like you’re fighting is going to get you seriously hurt.
” He says each word evenly. I’m not dumb.
I know he knows we fight. He just pretends he doesn’t know how often because he has always let us do our own thing as long as we aren’t causing harm.
Lately, I’ve broken that trust he has in me though because I’ve been causing harm to myself and making my brothers accomplices.
“I know.” I agree easily. And I know he wasn’t expecting it because his eyes squint at me and he scratches his beard. Clearly he thought he was going to have to put up a much bigger fight.
“That’s it?” He asks suspiciously. The waitress brings our food out to us.
“Mia already tore into me over it. And AJ made sure to remind me that I’m a dumbass.
” I raise my eyebrow at him, “So, yeah. That’s it.
I’ll make sure I heal up entirely before I take another fight.
I promise.” I dip a fry into the special sauce they make here to put on your burger.
I always get a side of it for my fries. Something I tried after Dad told me that our mom did it.
“Did Avery get hurt?” He’s been concerned over her since he gave her a job cleaning the gym when she was a teenager. Something in him just knew that he needed to protect her.
“Just a little banged up. She invited one of the girls she fought to come train at the gym though. Some girl named Bellamy. That’s all we know about her.” It took Eli and Maxwell thirty minutes just to get the name from Tucker.
He grunts. “She must have been pretty good if Avery cared enough to invite her to the gym.”
“Her footwork was impressive. She’s intuitive.
” I acknowledge before taking a bite of my burger.
Dad swallows some food down before leaning his forearms on the table.
“Are you going to yell at me about something else now?” The amused and knowing smile on his face is the same one that Max wears all the time.
“I don’t yell.” He grins. He really doesn’t.
Calm and collected, that’s how we all describe him.
It’s why I joke with AJ about dating Dad’s clone all the time because Rory is the same way.
He beckons for the waitress to come back over to the table and orders a slice of pie to take home for AJ.
“She reminds me of your mom.” He finally lets out after the waitress leaves.
I don’t even have to ask who he is talking about because it’s obvious.
“Don’t fuck it up.” He knows I was at his apartment to talk about Mia.
I don’t know how, but he does. He always knows exactly what we need.
He had to raise us single handedly but we never felt less than the love of both our parents.
“That’s your big advice? Don’t fuck it up?” Thank God I ran into AJ first, she was much more helpful. I play with the hem of my shirt, not looking up at him.
“That’s my big advice. Stop overthinking it.
She doesn’t need grand love, she just needs real love.
The love that she knows is waiting for her, to hold her when she feels small.
The love that makes you want to be home.
Let her reach as high as she wants, but remind her that you will always catch her.
That is the love for a girl like Mia.” I find his eyes again and his whole face has changed.
“How do you know that?” I ask quietly. Everything about what he said was exactly something that Mia would ramble about wanting.