Houston
Arriving at Luke’s I hoped everything was good.
It was rare that Luke called to me to get Malone early or at all.
It was always me calling to get him back because I missed laying eyes on him.
Shawn and Luke had been a big help. A bigger help than they knew but something was up, and I knew it wasn’t going to be good news.
There was an extra car in the driveway. A car I hadn’t seen before.
Knocking at the door Shawn answered with a worried look on her face.
It was almost as if she was attempting to apologize without words.
I retreated because again something wasn’t right.
As I stepped in the house and went further in I came face to face with Leslie's parents. I knew this conversation wasn’t going to be pleasant, so I braced myself.
Malone came from the back room and latched onto my leg and I smiled.
He had a way of easing my mind. The moment didn’t last long as Leslie’s father Chester, cleared his throat.
“I don’t avoid people, I avoid energy. How are you and the missus?”
“Missing her grandson, and that’s a problem. I’ve always been a problem solver, so I can imagine you understand how I feel after countless unanswered calls and not one visit since my Leslie passed.”
“You lost me years ago when you all but said I couldn’t raise Malone. Are you here in hopes of checking me? Luke is that why you called?”
“Son, we need to have a talk,” Leslie’s mother Kim commented.
Everything in my gut said to grab my son and get the fuck on.
I would discuss the invasion with Luke later.
But for some reason, my feet were planted.
I said I wanted to be open to healing and moving on but being forced into it was unnerving.
“About what?”
“We want to see Malone more. I know things got hairy when Leslie passed, but we are here with good intentions. We want to be grandparents, so we are moving back.”
“Fine,” I replied, grabbing Malone’s hand and things. We would see how this went but it wouldn’t be tonight. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Don’t make me do this the hard way. We have rights, and we aren’t afraid to explore them,” Chester mentioned before I turned the doorknob. His problem was not knowing how to speak to me as a man. I had little respect for him. It didn’t matter how much respect I showed him he never returned it.
“Is that a threat? Because if so we starting off on the wrong foot.”
“Chester stop, you’ve done nothing but give the boy a hard time.
Houston, please give me a call when you can.
” Kim was always easier to talk to. She didn’t feel the need to throw her weight around and make me feel like I was beneath them.
Leslie came from a well-off family and that I knew before I even really met her.
I knew that from Luke. He never had to work during college unlike me.
I wasn’t the first pick for a girl like Leslie in Chester’s eyes.
It didn’t bother me then because it was on her to feel that way or not feel that way.
She chose me and it didn’t matter what I had in the bank account.
Chester had never respected me, and he had no problem showing it.
And I had no problem showing him that I didn’t respect him. I was on what he was on.