Chapter 29
Note to self:
The road to Hipster-ville starts with one man bun.
I woke somewhere around two in the morning and stumbled into the kitchen for a glass of water. Since I was there, I rooted around in Abe’s refrigerator for a middle-of-the-night snack and hit gold.
Well, ice cream, anyway. There were about five different gallons in the freezer, and I wondered if Abe had bought them all because he wasn’t sure what Hallie liked. I settled on chocolate chip cookie dough. After finding a spoon, I dug in. Bowls were for wimps. Clutching the container to my chest, I wandered the quiet kitchen, lit by a soft light over the sink.
I smiled at a photo of Hallie and Abe hanging on the fridge, obviously taken in the last couple of weeks. Hallie was in his lap, curled against his chest, Abe’s chin resting on her head. It was precious and I was struck by how natural and at ease they looked, like they hadn’t just met less than a month ago. Maybe that’s how it was with parents and kids; the love was there always, even when there was confusion and contention. It gave me hope Dad and Abe would be okay, somehow, someway.
A small scraping noise made me freeze. It sounded close by although muffled, and after investigating, I discovered Abe was sitting outside on the patio. I grabbed a second spoon and stepped through the back door quietly.
“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked.
“I did for a while, but Hallie woke me and fell back to sleep in my bed.” He looked at me over his shoulder. “Try sleeping with a foot in your…well, never mind. I needed a little alone time.”
“Should I leave you to it?”
“Nah, come sit.”
I took a seat and offered him a spoon. “Want some?” The cool night air sent a shiver through me. “Kinda cold out here, isn’t it?”
“You’re not in Texas anymore, Dorothy.”
“Ha. Ha.” I handed over the ice cream and side-eyed him.
“What?” he asked around a huge bite.
I shrugged. “I can’t get over you being a grown-up and all. Or that man bun? Seriously?”
Abe pointed his spoon at me. “My man bun is awesome.”
“Ooo-kay. If you say so. Are you wearing t-shirts with ironic statements these days? Have you recently had a strong urge to grow a beard, start a record collection, or learn to play the banjo?”
“Are you done?”
“Have you started wearing,” I laced my voice with over-the-top horror, “skinny jeans?”
“Whatever.”
I laughed hard enough to snort. After glaring at me, Abe’s mouth turned up into a grin.
“You love me.”
He gave my ponytail a tug. “I love you.”
“’Cause I am adorable.”
“Don’t push it.”
The quiet and chill of the night settled around us as we sat in companionable silence. Abe took a few more bites of the ice cream and set it aside.
“You okay?” I asked.
He rested his elbows on his knees and dangled his hands between his legs. “I’m thinking.”
“Got it.” I curled my feet under me and waited him out.
After what felt like ten solid minutes, he straightened. “Theo told me about his dad this afternoon.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I tried to imagine what that would be like, to not know your dad.”
I pictured my father with his gruff exterior and squishy inside. “It’s hard to even think about.”
Staring into the dark backyard, he rubbed his neck. “I’ve been living like I don’t have a father for years now.”
My breath caught at the mix of sadness and regret in his voice. But I didn’t know what to say to that. Because I knew it was true.
“I’m going to the wedding,” he said quietly.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.” His shoulders drooped a little. “I have no idea how this will go. But it’s impossible to say no to you and Theo and Cal when you gang up on me.”
My excitement curbed. “Don’t go because of us. Go because you want to.”
“That’s the thing. Between the three of you, it’s all I’ve been thinking of. I’m nervous but I think it’s the right thing. I-I want to see Mom and Frankie and?—”
“Dad?” I reached out and clutched his arm.
“Even Dad.” He turned to me, half of his face illuminated by the dim back porch light. “I need to do it for me and for Hallie.”
“It’s going to be okay.” I was going with blind optimism here. “At least you’ll get cake out of it.”
He snorted. “At least I’ll get cake.”