Chapter 41
DARREN
My parents’ door is unlocked when I give it a yank and then step inside.
Nothing’s changed in here since I was a kid and my dad tried his hand at renovations.
They ended up having to call in a professional to fix everything he touched, which cost them triple what they thought they were saving by doing it on their own.
Now, they’ve just embraced the out-of-date features and lack of storage space.
Leaving my shoes at the front, I step over Abbie’s sneakers and search for where everyone’s hiding. It’s only seven thirty, but since my mom’s up at five every morning, I know she’s already gotten Abbie’s ready to go by now.
It’s been hard to keep my cool all morning after being with Delaney last night.
Mom would have lost her mind and run over half-awake in her slippers if I’d actually called her this morning like I’d contemplated doing.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so happy about something to call her about it, and I’ve been clutching onto that since I woke up.
“You look well rested this morning, sweetheart,” she pipes up before jumping out of nowhere and attacking me with a hug.
I steady myself and return the gesture. “I slept good. ”
“Finally.”
“You’re telling me. Did my daughter?”
“Of course she did. We went to the playground, and as I suspected, she ran circles around me.”
“So, you also slept well?” I ask with a chuckle.
Mom twists to the fridge and pulls out a jug of orange juice. I reach over her head and grab a tall glass, handing it over.
“I always do when my grandbaby is here.”
I take the glass of juice when she offers it to me. “Thank you for watching her for me.”
“You don’t have to thank me! I don’t get enough time with her anymore.”
“Blame school for that. It’s such a time hog,” I tease.
Moving around her, I put the juice away and steal a yoghurt to have on my way home. She eyes the container in my hand and huffs.
“Let me make you a real breakfast. You need more than a yoghurt.”
I wink while sneaking past her into the hall. “No time, Mom. Where are you hiding my daughter?”
“I’ll never tell!”
My laugh fills the quiet hall. Every door is open besides Poppy’s old one. Even years after moving out, she refuses to give it up and let Mom turn it into her home gym. Unlike me, who made peace with my room turning into our dad’s storage locker.
The soft singing coming from the spare room snatches my attention and makes me smile moments before I see Abbie twirling in front of the bed.
She’s using the end of her hairbrush as a microphone and singing the lyrics to a song I don’t know but can guess Poppy taught her.
The curls in her hair flop in the breeze she’s creating with her spins, making her laugh.
I step into the room and start to clap. “Encore, encore!”
“Dad!” she squeals before running into my arms and clutching me tight. “You’re already here. ”
Smoothing a hand down the frizzy hairs at the top of her head, I give her a squeeze and then let her go.
“It’s seven thirty, you diva. I figured your grandma would make us stay and eat something before school.”
“You’re taking me today?”
“I am. Your mom will be there to pick you up after. We just had to switch things around a bit, but you’ll be with her the rest of the week.”
She tosses her brush onto the unmade bed. “Okay. Can we bring something for Delaney?”
“Bring her what?”
“Breakfast. She eats those crunchy bars in the morning. The gross ones.”
I swallow a laugh, knowing exactly which bars she’s talking about. They’re the same ones Sasha keeps trying to put in Abbie’s lunchbox despite her smashing them to bits inside the wrapper and bringing them back home.
“You can sure try.”
“I like her,” she states bluntly.
“Delaney?”
“Yep. She’s nice. I teached her how to make my bracelets, and she liked them.”
“She’s pretty great, sweetie. You should tell her what you told me. I’m sure it would make her happy.”
“Grandma likes her too. She said so.”
Abbie skips past me out of the room after dropping that bomb, and I follow quickly after her. She makes it to the kitchen mere seconds before I do and starts talking to my mom.
“Grandma, Dad said we can bring Delaney good food,” she urges, taking a seat at the table.
“That’s not exactly what I said.”
My mom spins to face me, an all-knowing grin on her face. “Oh, don’t take it back now, Darren.”
“Mom,” I warn lightly.
“What? I think it’s great that your daughter is enjoying her teacher so much. That bond is an important one,” she says, eyes twinkling.
I stand in the same spot and stare at her, trying to reveal what I’m thinking without having to say it in front of my daughter.
Delaney doesn’t want her to know about us yet, and as much as I wish we could tell her already, I know that’s the right call.
While I’m certain about her, that doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind, and my daughter can’t be a casualty of that.
Not when she’s still got to sit in the same room with her for the rest of the school year.
“Abbie, how about you go tell your grandpa to leave the shed alone and come inside for breakfast,” Mom says.
I nod when Abbie looks to me for confirmation.
“Be right back!” she announces while hopping out of her chair and racing for the back door.
The second it swings shut behind her and we hear Abbie call out for my dad, I take a seat at the table and prepare for the questions.
Mom takes the seat opposite me. “Why didn’t you tell me that Delaney was her teacher this year? It’s already October.”
“Would you have cared who the teacher was if it wasn’t her?”
“Probably,” she declares before shifting in her seat. “Maybe. If I thought about it, I would have.”
“I didn’t want to tell you until I knew what exactly I’d be sharing.”
“And? You know that now?”
Her enthusiasm is welcome, even if I’m acting like a hard-ass. I’ve missed seeing her happy while talking about Delaney.
“She came over last night for dinner.”
Mom jumps out of her chair and whips open the fridge. She pulls out the same jug of juice she offered me and bypasses a glass, opting to drink right from the spout instead. I laugh under my breath and watch her have a mini-freak-out.
“Sorry, I’m overwhelmed,” she announces .
Waving a hand, I say, “Oh, go ahead and let it out. It’s just us here.”
If my sister were here, then I’d be hauling Abbie out immediately. I can deal with both women separately with things like this, but together? My dad and I run for the hills as soon as we can.
The juice gets slid into the fridge again before Mom spins back to face me and breathes in through her nose.
“How is our sweet girl, Darren? Is she okay? Happy?”
“She’s good. More beautiful than ever and just as witty. There are extra freckles on her nose, even with it being fall, so I think they’ve just multiplied. And— Why do you look like that?”
Mom scoffs, cutting a hand through the air before turning away from me. “I’m not looking at you like anything. I’m listening to you talk about the woman you love. Stop bothering me.”
“Are you going to cry? Should I get some tissues?”
“Don’t make fun of me, Darren!”
“I’m not, Mom. I’m just asking if you’re going to be okay before I say anything that’s going to send you over the edge,” I explain, teasing just a bit.
She gasps, diving right in. “And do you have something to share of that calibre?”
“It’s for real, Mom. I got my chance, and that’s that. No wrong turns this time.”
“If you’re teasing me, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
I choke on a laugh. “Pretty sure you’re not allowed to say that to your son.”
“You can when they’re thirty years old. It’s an unwritten rule,” she argues before huffing and swerving back on topic. “Don’t distract me. I need to hear you say all of that one more time.”
“The whole ‘I have my person back, and I won’t let her go again’ thing? Do you mean that?”
Despite thinking I was ready for this, her sob takes me aback. It rattles me, creating a glitch in my brain that leaves an opening for her to attack me with another hug. She kisses the side of my head over and over.
“I’ve been waiting for this for years. This is the way it was always supposed to be. Our Delaney is back.”
“Not officially, Mom. I’m still working on it, but it’s looking good. She wants to be careful, and I don’t blame her. We’re keeping this from Abbie for now.”
“Good. Smart. She’s too precious.” Taking a step back, Mom swipes beneath her eyes. “I was so worried about Delaney. I’ve been struggling with not forcing my way back into her life.”
The stacks of homemade, frozen meals in the garage freezer that I spotted a week after the news of Delaney’s grandmother started to spread were gone the next day.
Mom never mentioned to me where she took them, but I always knew.
She might be my blood, but she’s always seen Elle as another daughter.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask if she’d seen her since she brought the food to her, but even if I did, she wouldn’t have told me with the state I was in.
If I had to guess, though, I’d say no. Not with Abbie and Sasha being constants in my life.
“I don’t think she would have minded you trying, Mom. Not then and not now.”
Hope fills her expression. “Really? Is that your approval?”
“It’s my approval. But you’ll need hers. Just try not to overwhelm her, please.”
“Never. Oh, I’ve been so jealous ever since Poppy started blabbing about all the time they’ve been spending together. It was torture! Please, let me cook her dinner. Invite her over this week, I’m begging you.”
“That might be too soon,” I argue, unsure.
“Abbie’s with her mother, so she won’t have to know. Just at least ask Delaney. If she isn’t comfortable with that yet, then I’ll wait.”
“Alright, I’ll ask. But don’t get your hopes up just yet, alright? ”
She nods, even though I know she’s already done that. “You got it.”
I crook a half-smile and hold my reply when Abbie comes back inside with my dad in tow. The man who raised me is tall and intimidating as hell but has shown his bleeding heart to me and my sister more than his stern scowl damn near every day. He’s kept up the tradition with my daughter.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Morning, Darren,” he mumbles.
“Breakfast! I’m going to make breakfast!” Mom announces, already setting herself in motion.
Dad checks his watch. “It’s quarter to eight.”
“I’ll be quick. Sit and talk to your son while I cook.”
“Yes, dear.”
I laugh and keep an eye on them for just long enough to see Dad steal a kiss from Mom before joining me. Abbie takes the seat between us and starts rambling about school while Mom sneaks a look at me and grins.
It’s enough to confirm that the moment I leave, she’ll have Dad completely up to date on everything we’ve just talked about. And I’m glad, because it’s about time they’re allowed to.