Chapter 7 #3
“Wow. I can’t imagine how hard that would have been for her.”
I nodded, grabbing a chip and chewing it even though it tasted like cardboard since my story was about to turn tragic.
“They became my chosen family. I watched Marni grow from an adorable seven-year-old to a smart and sassy teenager.” I shoved my margarita glass away, as if it was the rising grief inside me, and folded my fingers together to keep myself from fidgeting.
“Long story, long, Beth died five months ago, leaving me and her thirteen-year-old daughter wrecks.”
“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” She reached out and touched my hands, giving them a squeeze. “That’s so sad.” She looked like she might cry so I took her hand and gave it a squeeze back.
“So, with her having no family…” I watched her do the proverbial math. Her eyes widened. “You’ve got a thirteen-year-old?”
“No. Well, kind of. There’s a twist.” I rubbed my thumb along the top of her silky hand, noticing they were clean where I used to see little flecks of paint on them that she’d never gotten completely off when she’d wash them.
“I was only her temporary guardian until Marni’s father could be found and notified.
” I looked at Mira, her eyes were focused on me, and she sat forward waiting almost impatiently for me to continue.
“Father? But he wasn’t in the picture, right?”
“Right. I didn’t even know Beth knew who he was until her lawyer told me the request Beth left in her will for me.”
“What request?” Mira’s brow furrowed.
“She wanted me to be the one to tell Marni’s father about her.”
Mira’s eyes widened. “Why you?”
I blew out a breath. “Because it turned out I actually knew Marni’s father.” I drew in a breath. “It’s Jesse.”
Mira’s hand left mine and flew to her mouth just as Silas dropped off our drinks and food on brightly colored plates.
“This looks good. Thank you,” I said acknowledging him, but he didn’t acknowledge me. And I got the very distinct feeling he was jealous of Marni’s and my one still-linked hand.
“Need anything else?” he asked Mira with a bright smile. She shook her head, and he turned to leave.
“Could I have…” I let my words trail off because he was gone as if he hadn’t heard me.
As soon as we were alone again, Mira clutched my arm, forcing me to pry my annoyed stare from Silas’s back.
“What happened?”
“He’s being a bad server,” I said pointing in the direction Silas left.
“Not Silas! What happened with Jesse and Beth? How?”
I smiled at her eagerness for the rest of the story, not because I was eager to finish it, but because she was adorable.
“According to the lawyer, Beth and Jesse hooked up at their high school prom. She didn’t find out she was pregnant until they’d gone to different universities for their premed degrees.
She could have contacted him through his family, but I guess she knew he had big dreams to be a doctor and didn’t want to distract him.
When they reunited in med school, he was struggling with his classes and she pushed him hard to get his grades up.
I did too. But she did it because she was desperate for him to succeed so she hadn’t denied him his child in vain. ”
“That’s twisted. I can see that she had good intentions, but she also took away his choice. No one should ever take away someone’s choice like that.”
“I agree.”
“So, what happened?”
“I was straight with Marni. Told her what her mom had asked me to do and that I’d had no idea who her father was until her mom’s lawyer had contacted me, but that I knew her father quite well.
She’d heard plenty of stories about him over the years when Beth and I reminisced.
But while Jesse had come to Beth’s funeral, they’d never met.
Marni spent most of the time tucked in a corner with the nanny avoiding all the people who came to her mom’s funeral.
Anyway, I packed a bag for Marni and one for me, and we came here to tell Jesse he was a dad. ”
“Oh, that poor girl. Two bombs dropped on her. And how’d Jesse take it?”
I huffed a humorless laugh. “Well, that was over three months ago and I’m still here.
” I shrugged. “So not well. I stayed because he had no clue how to actually be a dad even though he was the one of the two of us who had a decent role model for a father.” I licked my lips, picked up my drink, and took a long sip.
“And they both begged me to stay and help them adjust, so I did.”
“You uprooted your whole life for them? You’re amazing.”
I blinked at her. There was a look of admiration in her eyes that I didn’t fully deserve, so I continued.
“That’s what everybody thinks. But no, I’m not.
” I shrugged. “I’m pissed at Beth. She did this to Marni and Jesse, and put me in the middle, but as angry as I am, I’m also not ready to lose Marni after losing her mother.
” I paused swallowing a lump forming in my throat.
“Because regardless of everything, she’s still my family. ”
“Of course she is,” Mira said, cocking her head, her expression soft with empathy.
“That wasn’t the only reason though…” I let my words trail off, scooped up a taco and took a bite.
Mira waited patiently for me to finish chewing before asking, “What was the other reason?”
I swallowed. “You.”
Her jaw went slack, but also, she looked a little confused. But she said nothing, only looked down quickly and grabbed a taco for herself. For a few minutes we ate, only commenting on how good the food was, and then, Mira spoke.
“So, seeing as you’re here, I take it things aren’t going well with Marni and Jesse?” Mira took a long sip of her margarita while once again she waited for me to finish chewing to answer.
“Marni’s thirteen.” I paused for dramatic effect and then added. “And Jesse’s an eternal frat boy suddenly thrown into a father role, so no. I’m a civilian in the middle of a battleground sans the Geneva Convention.” I chuckled. “Hence this very lovely date with a very lovely woman.”
“Is this a date?” she asked, concern etching her features.
Wiping her fingers on her napkin, she continued, “Because… I don’t date.
” Her words said one thing, but her body language earlier had spoken louder and clearer than her words now.
She enjoyed our flirting. Then again, I hadn’t meant to be dating her either.
As much as I wanted Mira, wanted to continue what we’d started so long ago, once I found out what she was going through, I vowed to give her what she needed, which was a friend.
“That’s what it looks like, at least according to the jealousy level of our server,” I said with another chuckle, glancing at Silas walking by with a tray of drinks for a large group sitting nearby.
“I haven’t been in a relationship since high school.
And dating with the intention to get to know someone hadn’t been on my to-do list for years either.
I put Beth and Marni first when it came to my life.
Until I met you. After that few weeks we had together, my view on life flipped and I changed my plans.
Once Marni was a bit older, and my residency was done, I had decided to look for jobs here in Montana. ”
The confusion from earlier returned but this time she didn’t attempt to hide it. “I thought you forgot about me.” She looked down and when her eyes lifted, they were filled with pain. “Or lost interest.”
I was taken aback. “Why would you think that? I know I didn’t always reply right away, but I did it as quickly as I could.”
Her brow furrowed. “You stop texting me completely.” There was an edge of anger mixed in with the hurt in her voice.
My eyes widened in shock. “No, I didn’t. You stopped replying.”
It was her turn to be surprised. “No…” she didn’t finish her thought then, instead she narrowed her eyes. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through it, tapping something and then I heard the sound of ringing through her speakers.
“Do you have your phone on you?”
“Pretty much always. As a doctor…” I stared at her phone.
“Is it on vibrate?”
I shook my head and then fished it out of my pocket holding it up to her.
“Son of a... he changed your number in my phone.”
My brows shot up. “He? Who?”
“My ex.”
“Why would he—”
“Because I was in love with you and he was getting nowhere with me because of it.”
I swallowed. “You were in…”
Her sudden realization of what she’d said hit and her face instantly went red.
“Uh, yeah. And I thought you ghosted me.” She pressed her lips and when she continued, her voice was laced with anger.
“But my ex, a narcissistic, asshole, fake Dom, who screwed my life up, must have…” She leaned back, crossing her arms.
“Wow, this dinner is full of plot twists.”
She chuckled and nodded but then her face fell, and disappointment filled her eyes. “And now it’s too late.”
“Because you’re not the same person anymore.” I reiterated the words she’d said way back when we’d first seen each other at the hospital.
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m not the girl you knew and now I don’t want a relationship, especially not with a Dom.”
“Don’t want or don’t need?”
“Both,” she said, her eyes shifting slightly, giving away her lie.
“I can’t say I completely understand, but that’s because I don’t know the full story. But you’ve made yourself clear, so I’m not going to push. But I’d still like to be friends.”
“I’d like that, too,” she said and drained her margarita. “And on that note, I need to go. I have an early class tomorrow.”
I stood just as she did. “Okay, but we didn’t even talk about what was bothering you.”
“That’s okay. Listening to your stuff gave me a reprieve from mine.” She gave me a small smile, one that hit me right in the chest.
“Let’s get these tacos wrapped up for you then. You didn’t eat much.”
She started to roll her eyes but caught herself, and I knew she was remembering one of our many scenes together, this one more real than a lot of our more playful scenes.
“Can’t be bringing home fish tacos, it’ll stink up my tiny room, possibly the whole dorm.”
“Okay. I got this covered then. I don’t want to hold you back.”
She turned to leave, and I grabbed her arm. “Hey, give me that.”
She looked puzzled so I ran my hand down her arm to her palm, taking her cell phone. I hesitated when I saw my contact info was still up.
Daddy. My contact was still under Daddy.
For a moment I was frozen. Should I change the name to prove I was just a friend? Or should I leave it as a reminder? I quickly changed the name to Wes, even though it was like a punch to the gut and put in the proper number. And then, like the finale, I passed it back.
“Good night, Mira.”