Chapter Twenty-Seven
Logan
Christenings are boring.
And since I’m the godfather, I can’t even scroll my phone without looking like a jackass. So I sit there with my hands folded, nodding solemnly while a priest I’ve never met talks about sacred vows and spiritual responsibility.
All I can do is make eyes at Jess.
She ignores me.
I try again. A wink this time.
Nothing.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Penny’s head is dunked, she screams, and we get to leave.
Jess and I rush out after pictures to set up the house for the party.
Everyone was happy to have it at the community center but then Jess offered our backyard. So now we’re going home on a Sunday to entertain fifty people.
I don’t mind, exactly. I just… would’ve preferred a quiet day with my family instead of a rotating cast of people my wife somehow collects like Pokémon.
“Why are you so grumpy?” Jess asks from the passenger seat.
“I’m not grumpy.”
“You’re scowling.”
“You know this is going to be a mess,” I mutter.
“Why?” she asks, though she already knows.
I give her a look.
“My mom,” I say. “With not only Dad. But Manuel.”
She makes a small face. “We can’t ask Manuel to leave, Logan. He’s been watching the boys too when we drop them off at your dad’s.”
“Don’t remind me.” I exhale through my nose. “I feel like an asshole every time I drop them there.”
“Well,” she says lightly, “your mom’s barely ever in town. And daycare closes at eight.”
“It’s not that easy.”
She turns toward me slightly. “It never is.”
“It’s bad enough everyone thinks Dad left Mom for a man,” I say. “Inviting them to the same family event just-”
“Your dad didn’t leave your mom for Manuel,” she cuts in gently. “They got together years after the divorce.”
I don’t answer choosing to stay quiet till we turn into our driveway.
People are already milling around, thankfully Jess asked Macki to stay at the house so she could let the early comers in.
Through the side gate, we head into the backyard. I immediately clock the damage. The grass I mowed yesterday is already being flattened under dress shoes and stroller wheels.
It’s fine when Bell and Ty tear it up. It’s their house.
These people?
“Stop scowling,” Jess mutters, jabbing a finger into my side.
I give her a fake smile.
She narrows her eyes. “Go back to scowling,” she says under her breath, then disappears toward the food table to greet someone she definitely knows and I absolutely do not.
I stand there a second, hands on my hips, watching strangers trudge across my lawn like it’s public property.
“Logan.”
I stiffen slightly before turning.
My dad stands a few feet away, hands in his pockets. Manuel beside him.
Manuel gives me a small nod. He looks nervous, glancing around like someone’s about to jump him.
“Nice turnout,” Dad says.
“Yeah,” I reply. “Jess planned most of it.”
He nods like that tracks. There’s an awkward beat before he asks, “Where are the kids?”
“Mom’s driving them,” I say, immediately wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole.
“Oh.” He clears his throat. “Um… where’s the gift table?”
I stare at the giant pink box Manuel is holding and point to the table Jess made me move three separate times for “better flow.”
“Over there.”
The two of them hurry off like they feel the awkwardness as much as I do.
I stare after them, confused.
They’re acting like my mother is some demon from the underworld and not just his ex-wife.
Which, to be fair, depends on the day.
Thankfully Darren and Simone roll in not long after. Unfortunately, Mom does too.
She takes up position near the drinks table while Dad and Manuel hover near the grill on the opposite side of the yard.
The grass between them might as well be a war zone.
Darren rolls up beside me, stopping right in the middle where I’m standing with my arms crossed, monitoring all sides like a UN peacekeeper.
“This is a bad idea,” he mutters.
“Tell me about it,” I say gruffly. “Why’d you invite him?”
“Dad asked me to.”
“And you couldn’t say no to daddy?”
He whips his head toward me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” I say, already walking away.
“Get back here,” he snaps.
The next thing I know, something slams into the back of my right knee.
My leg buckles and I go down face-first into my own grass.
“What the fuck?” I snap, pushing myself up and brushing the blades off my shirt.
“Tell me what you meant,” Darren says, coming dangerously close to running over my left foot.
“Do you really wanna do this here, asshole?” I snap, standing and brushing dirt off my palms as I step toward him.
Before I can tackle him, wheelchair and all, Jess wedges herself between us.
“Are you two insane?” she hisses, a tight, almost manic smile on her face. “This is a party for your niece’s christening,” she snaps at me then Darren. “Your daughter.”
“He’s acting like an asshole,” Darren shoots back, pointing at me.
“Me?” I bark. “You pushed me to the ground. What are you, twelve?”
“You know what?” Jess snaps. “Inside. Now.”
The authority in her voice could stop traffic. Darren and I obey like two sulking ten-year-olds.
As we head toward the ramp, I instinctively grab the handle of Darren’s chair to help him up.
“I can do it,” he snaps.
“And I don’t wanna be here all day,” I snap back.
We glare at each other the entire way up.
Inside, Ty and Bell rush us, tails wagging wildly after being locked in the house all afternoon.
Before either of us can escalate again, the back door swings open.
River and Myles rush in, sneakers squeaking against the tile, Simone close behind them followed by Mom with Penny in her arms.
River stops short when he sees Darren.
His little face hardens.
Myles looks between us. “Why are you fighting?”
“We’re not fighting,” I say quickly. At the same time, Darren says, “We were just talking.”
River crosses his arms. “You pushed him.”
Darren’s shoulders fall.
He looks at River and says quietly. “I’m sorry, buddy, I was angry.”
The back door opens again.
Dad steps in, Manuel just behind him. Mackie too, drawn by the tension.
“Is everything okay?” Dad asks carefully.
Jess doesn’t hesitate.
“Mackie, can you take the kids outside, please?”
“Of course.”
She gently takes Penny from my mother and ushers River and Myles toward the yard. They try to grab Bell and Ty, but Jess reminds them the side gate is open.
The boys nod solemnly. More mature than me and their uncle combined.
The back door shuts behind them leaving us in stubborn silence once again.
Then Mom snaps.
“Why is he here?” she demands, pointing directly at Manuel.
“Angela-” Dad starts.
Mom holds up a palm without even looking at him. “I’m not talking to you.”
Her eyes land on me.
“Why would you invite him? After everything?”
Before I can respond-
“Mom,” Darren snaps. “I invited him. Stop blaming Logan.”
I bristle. “I don’t need you protecting me.”
Darren’s mouth curves in a weird way. “Oh?” he says sweetly. “Aren’t you scared of Mommy?”
“You fucker-”
I lunge.
But Jess and Simone are faster. They step between us knowing they’re the only thing keeping that asshole upright in his chair.
“What is wrong with you?” Simone snaps at Darren.
“He started it,” Darren fires back, pointing at me like we’re back in middle school.
“This is ridiculous,” Jess says sharply. “Both of you.”
Manuel speaks quietly, but we all hear him. “Maybe I should leave.”
“No,” Darren snaps immediately. “Stay. It’s my party. I invited you.”
“It’s our daughter’s party,” Simone corrects, her voice cool now.
“Not now, dear,” Darren mutters.
I smirk, watching Simone stare at him like she’s calculating whether she can tip his chair without injuring him permanently. My expression wipes clean when I catch Jess glaring at me.
“Why doesn’t everyone just calm down?” Dad says, voice tight but controlled. “Manuel has every right to be here and-”
I scoff.
Dad looks at me sharply. “What?”
I drag a hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry,” I say to Manuel, then my eyes shift to Dad. “But how exactly does he have a bigger right to be here than Mom?”
“No one told your mother not to come,” Dad defends quickly.
I shrug. “Considering your relationship, maybe you should’ve bowed out.”
A flicker crosses Dad’s face.
“We’ve been bowing out for years,” he says quietly. “How long would you like it to continue?”
“I don’t know,” I fire back. “You duped Mom out of nineteen years of her life. Maybe start there.”
“I did not dupe your mother,” he snaps, the first crack in his composure.
“Sean,” Mom warns softly.
But he keeps going.
“Your mother ended our marriage.”
The room stills.
I laugh once. “Because of him.”
“Manuel,” Dad says firmly, “wasn’t even in the picture then. He wasn’t even on the horizon. We ran into each other by accident years after the divorce.”
I shake my head. “That’s convenient.”
“It’s true,” Darren says quietly.
I don’t look at him.
“Mom didn’t just wake up one day and end a nineteen-year marriage,” I say. “Something happened.”
“Yes,” Dad says, his voice tired. “We were miserable.”
Mom inhales sharply, but he keeps going.
“Your mother just had the guts to do what I couldn’t.”
“Then why,” I press, “did you tell us about him when you told us about the divorce?”
Mom answers before Dad can.
“I thought your father might date men after and-”
“And the taunts about Manuel?” I cut in.
She flinches.
“It was just words,” she says. “I didn’t think they’d actually… get together.”
Dad rubs his jaw.
“So why,” I ask her, “have you been so vocal about them?”
She swallows.
“Because I was worried,” she admits quietly. “That your dad had just… bided his time with me.”
“I didn’t,” Dad says firmly. “I loved you. For a long time, I did.”
I look at Darren.
“Do you believe this?”
He glances at Simone, then back at me.
“You weren’t home those last years,” he says carefully. “They fought. A lot.”
My stomach drops. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Mom’s voice softens. “We didn’t want to worry you. You were already in a war zone and…”
And.
The word hangs there.
I look around the room. At all the faces watching me and I just deflate.
“I can’t believe this,” I mutter walking away.
I barely sit down before the door opens again. I don’t turn from the window assuming it’s Jess.
Dad’s voice makes me jump when he asks, “Can I come in?”
I nod without looking at him.
“Are you alright?” he asks.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I say flatly. “Everything’s fine.”
He exhales softly.
“Son… what happened with your mother and me was a long time ago.”
I let out a dry laugh. “That seems to be the motto of my life.”
He ignores it.
“Why does this bother you so much?” he asks quietly.
I stare at the floor.
And then I ask the question that’s been sitting on my chest my entire life. “Why aren’t we close?”
He blinks. “What?”
“You and Darren are always laughing,” I say. “Inside jokes. It’s easy between you. But you and me? We’re more like… neighbors.”
He exhales slowly. “Logan…”
“No,” I press. “I’ve always felt it. Even before you and Mom divorced. It was different.”
He rubs his hands together like he’s buying time.
“When you were born,” he says carefully, “your mother and I weren’t married. We weren’t even living together.”
I say nothing.
“I was young. Trying to figure out who I was. I didn’t know how to be a father,” he continues. “I loved you. But I was still… figuring out myself.”
“You figured it out for Darren,” I say, bitterness slipping through before I can stop it.
He looks at me sharply.
“I figured it out for you,” he corrects. “How do you think Darren was conceived?”
“Ew, Dad,” I cringe automatically.
He laughs, the tension cracking for a second. “I’m serious.”
I shake my head. “That does not make it better.”
He sobers.
“By the time Darren came along, I was in a better place,” he says. “I wasn’t scared of him like I was of you.”
“You were scared of me?” I ask, my tone incredulous.
“Of course,” he says simply. “You’re a dad. You know what I mean.”
I do.
“I didn’t know it was possible to be scared for someone and scared of someone at the same time,” I say quietly. “Then again, that’s also true for Jess.”
He gives me a sad smile. “You’re raising your kids the way I wish I’d raised you.”
I shift, uncomfortable with the heaviness of that.
“It wasn’t all bad,” I say not wanting him to feel bad.
“It wasn’t all good either,” he replies.
I clear my throat and stand. “We should get back to the party.”
“Yeah,” he says, pushing himself up too.
There’s no hug. No dramatic handshake. Just a quiet understanding settling between us.
As we step back into the hallway, he says, almost casually, “I’ve been thinking about installing those… hippy-dippy cameras you guys sell.”
Glancing at him, I correct automatically. “Motion-activated surveillance systems.”
“Yeah. Those.”
“I can come by and take a look,” I say. “See how many you need.”
He nods once. “I’d like that.”