Chapter 5
Carter
Sekani and I listened to his eclectic playlist on our way to pick up the twins for our weekend ski trip. “This is Pretty Kicks.”
“Pretty Ricky?” I asked, though I knew that wasn’t who he said.
“No, Dad.” He had the age-old tone of all children once they believe their parents are lame. “Kicks. They’re this J-pop group. Elle and I are supposed to go to the concert in January.”
“E not going with you? He loves concerts.”
He shrugged. “He didn’t seem very interested when I told him about it.”
“Maybe he’s not into J-pop,” I offered.
“E is a mixer. He loves all music, especially Asian culture.” He tapped his head back against the leather seat.
Internally, I sighed. My sons weren’t close like my brother and me.
Ethyn resented Sekani because he’d been used to being my only son, and a part of him believed that Sekani replaced him in my heart.
I hated that my actions led to the rift between my children.
Ethyn had been the angriest and hurt the most from the divorce.
My energetic, friendly boy became a sullen, irritable teen who grated my last nerve.
Only in the last year, he seemed to melt some of the icy chip he had towards me.
“I’m sorry.” I surprised myself with the apology that slipped out of my mouth on its own volition.
“For what?” Sekani slanted a gaze my way before staring out the windshield.
“It’s my fault, the two of you aren’t close like your uncle and me.”
He shrugged. “We have different mothers and grew up in different households. Elle loves being a big sister, so it’s cool. I stopped trying a long time ago to get E to like me.”
“He likes and loves you. E just isn’t good with expressing himself as I do.”
“That’s not true. I never doubt how you feel about me.
You’ve always been there, even when my mother made it hard for you,” Sekani said earnestly.
“I hear how my friends can’t get their fathers to spend time or even talk to them, and I realize how lucky I am to have a father like you.
If it wouldn’t hurt Mama so much, I would stay with you. ”
Tears pricked my eyes, and I held my fist to his. “Naw, I’m the lucky one to have a son like you, who keeps a smile on your face even when you’re in deep pain.”
“My name does mean ‘joy’.” He bumped my fist before turning the volume up. “Listen to this song.”
With one hand at the bottom of the wheel, I leaned back and allowed the beats of my son’s favorite music to flow through the car.
In the week since Thanksgiving, I’d been avoiding Joi and not taking her calls or deleting her texts before reading them.
I didn’t want to relive the past and get caught up in “what ifs” when I’d already moved forward even before I met Brooklyn.
I’d been relieved when he limped out of the house alone to slide into the front seat, which he would only hold until we picked up the twins.
Thirty or so minutes later, I pulled up into the circular driveway of the charming cottage of my ex-wife and her husband.
My beautiful, bubbly daughter rushed out the door first and hugged Sekani as he exited the car so that she could take the front seat.
Whenever my children rode in the car, Elle had the front seat.
Thankfully, she preferred braids, baggy, loose-fitting clothes, and rarely wore makeup.
She had a rigorous practice schedule because she had Olympic hopes in track and field.
She leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Hey, my evening star. I missed you.” I smiled.
Elle had a hold on my heart from birth, even as I recognized she wasn’t my baby.
My ex-wife had her own secrets while we were in college.
She had sex with Grey, her current husband, a day before she had sex with me, resulting in a rarity—a set of twins with two different fathers.
Ethyn was mine, and Elle was Grey’s. Yet, I loved them both the same.
“Me too.” She closed the door and buckled up.
“Where’s E?”
“Arguing with Mama.” Unbothered, she waved her hand.
“Is Grey home?”
“No. He’s at a coach’s camp until tomorrow.”
I jumped out of the car and hurried inside. The raised voices of my son and Darren hit my ears when I walked inside. I followed the voices to the kitchen.
“I’m not giving you any more money if you can’t follow the rules.”
“Fine, don’t give me shit. I’ll just work more.”
The two faced off in the kitchen. My tall son, who looked more and more like me the older he grew, loomed over his mother. My ex had her finger in his scowling face. “School is your priority. Drop out of school, and I swear to God, I’m breaking that lease.”
“Man, I don’t need school.”
“Quitting school isn’t an option.” I jumped in.
Darren’s head whipped to me, and she folded her arms. “Please take him. I don’t want to look at him right now. Tired of him thinking he’s too grown to listen to me.”
Ethyn glared at Darren and started to brush past me, and I grabbed his arm. He looked like he was about to buck from me, and I stared him down. “Go back and kiss your mother. Apologize.”
He threw his long arms wide. “I didn’t do anything wrong. She keeps trying to treat me like I’m this little kid.”
“You raised your voice to her. I could hear you as soon as I opened the door.” When his nose flared, I tightened my grip on his arm. “Have you ever heard me raise my voice to your grandma even when we all knew she was wrong?”
“I’m not you...,” he started and winced from my grip.
“Have you?”
“No, sir.” He lowered his defiant glare.
“Your mother went through a lot to bring you into this world and spoils you rotten. Allowing you to get an apartment while you were still in high school without talking to me. She would do anything for you. So, I know that you’re not in here disrespecting her.”
“I wasn’t. She started with me this morning when I got here about moving back home. I’m not having it.”
I jerked him closer to me. “You’re only talking big because Grey isn’t here. He wouldn’t let you talk to his wife like that, and I’m not going to let my son talk to his mother like you just did. Apologize and then wait in the car for me.”
Darren tapped her foot and held her cheek out for him to kiss. He mumbled an apology before he eased past me, making sure not to touch any part of me.
Once the front door closed, I jammed my hands in my pockets. “What now?”
“That boy gets on my nerves, thinking he’s grown.” She held her hand up. “And I don’t need to hear your mouth that I deserve all of this because I let him live on his own too soon.”
“Don’t think I need to say it.” I smirked.
She groaned. “You love being right about the kids, and I hate it when you’re right.”
“That’s the best part.” I chuckled, and she hit my shoulder.
“Ouch, I forgot your body is made of steel.” She rubbed her hand. “I think we need to stop helping him pay for his apartment.”
“After you convinced me to help out so he and I can be closer?” I folded my arms. “Since you and E like telling me shit years after it happens, what is he doing? Is he not paying his bills or having wild parties? I thought he was being responsible.”
Still tapping her foot, Darren accused, “Elle and I stopped by last night to see if he wanted to see a movie, and a girl was in his bed. He tried to hide it, but the dumb girl came out of the bedroom barely dressed to see who stopped by.”
I laughed out loud. “That’s what you get for stopping by a man’s place without calling.”
“Carter, he’s not a man.”
“He’s almost nineteen and in college. If he’s being responsible with his bills and passing his classes, we can’t take his apartment away after we allowed him to have it.”
“I signed that lease, and I don’t mind breaking it. He can’t have girls spending the night. He’s too young.”
“What did you think would happen, allowing him his own apartment when we know he already loves the girls? You know damn well that at that age, I was having sex. And so was your husband, who wasn’t better than me when dealing with girls back then.
I’ll talk to E and make sure he’s using condoms and not out there bad.
After that, there’s nothing else we can do to stop him now that he’s had a taste of the kitty cat. You need to stop tripping.”
“And what if I caught Elle with a boy?” She taunted.
I bristled at the thought of anyone remotely trying to hit on her.
She was too confident and pretty not to have already had male interest, though she’d never had a boyfriend too focused on track.
“If you ever do, I never want to hear about it. As far as I’m concerned, she’s a nun until the day I stop breathing. ”
She laughed louder. “You and Grey ain’t worth shit. He had the same attitude about E and got pissed when I mentioned Elle in the same situation.”
“We really not,” I agreed and smiled. Glad that at least she and I could be friendly toward each other, and that, as much as I wanted to hate Grey since he stole Darren’s heart before I could, I actually liked him.
He’d been good to our children and kind to me when he didn’t have to be. “How is Grey?”
“Good. Married life has been good.” Her dimples were on deep display.
“He loves that Elle decided to stay with us instead of moving into a dorm. She might be more competitive than he was. Between her natural gift of running and watching your strong work ethic when she was growing up, she’s more than up for the challenge to be a star athlete. ”
I beamed at her rare praise. “Thank you for that.”
“It’s the truth. You were the first man to love and guide her. Figured I owed you a compliment for putting E in his place without making the situation worse. Matter of fact...” Her eyes narrowed, and she studied my face for what seemed like a long time.
“What? Is there something on my face?” I patted my mouth and beard.
“You met someone. You’re glowing.” She clapped her hands in delight. “Tell me.”