Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
E mily’s uneasiness over breaking the news to her parents they were relocating to Washington grew stronger with each hour leading up to the dinner. She didn’t doubt her parents’ love for her, but she did doubt their ability to support any idea that didn’t originate with them.
“You okay?” Ryan’s question came as he walked into their bedroom and sat on the bed to put his shoes on.
She was sitting on the bed, her hands folded and tears running down her cheeks. Wiping her eyes, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m just worried about how they’ll react to the news.”
“Maybe a little distance from their dysfunction will be good for you, for us.”
Ryan took jabs at her parents at almost every opportunity, but she didn’t blame him. She understood how badly her father Richard had hurt him in the past. She knew it was not easy to get over the fact his father-in-law started the relationship by telling him he wasn’t good enough for his daughter and went out of his way to attempt to single-handedly destroy the relationship.
“ Ryan . . . Please don’t.”
“I’m sorry.” Moving over to her side on the bed, he wrapped an arm around her. “I know tonight won’t be easy for you, but it’s the right thing. You should’ve heard my mom on the phone when I told her we were thinking about moving up.”
Smiling, Emily’s heart brightened. “Yeah?”
“She can’t wait for us to get there. Talked about how we can have family dinners and invite the other kids over.”
“Your sisters?”
Forcing a smile, Ryan nodded. “Yeah, and Jason. I don’t know if any of my sisters will make the drive over, but I like the thought of it.”
“They’re all still upset about the grill?”
Nodding slowly, Ryan looked down. “Yeah, all three of them are all pretty bitter about it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Rising to his feet, he took her by the hand.
Resisting, she stayed put on the bed, pulling her hand away from him. “I don’t want to go, Ryan. Can’t we just call them or send a text?”
Ryan shook his head. “My dad always told me there are some doors that you just have to walk through and this is one of those doors, Em.”
Sighing, she rose to her feet, another few tears trickling out. Ryan’s face flashed concern at their appearance.
“You alright?”
“Yes. I just miss your dad so much. The conversations, the wisdom, everything. I know this move would bring a smile to his face. He always talked about how we should move up there.”
“Yeah, he’d be pleased.” Holding his hand out, Ryan lifted his eyebrows. “Ready?”
Placing her hand in his, they left the bedroom.
At the dinner table with her parents Richard and Zeena, Emily’s hands trembled as she picked up her salad fork.
“What’s wrong?” Richard’s voice was firm, his gaze fixed narrowly on Emily.
“Nothing.” Emily stabbed a bite of salad with ranch on it and popped it into her mouth.
Ryan set his fork down on the plate and folded his hands. “We came here tonight to break the news to you that?—”
“You’re leaving. That’s just great.” Richard finished his sentence and threw his napkin onto the plate in front of him. Emily’s heart ached at seeing her father’s expression drip with disdain and anger.
Zeena scolded him. “Richard! Don’t act like that.”
“What? I told you that this would happen, Zeena! They’d end up relocating. I told you the second we found out about Frank passing.”
Standing up, Richard exited the dining room. His exit was a relief, but it stirred sorrow within Emily’s heart at the same time it brought relief.
Jack, Conner, and Elizabeth all turned to Ryan. Awkwardly smiling, he said, “Eat your dinner, children.”
After finishing her food, Emily went to find her father. Locating him in his study, she knocked lightly and let herself in.
“Why are you doing this to our family?”
She kept quiet, her gaze locked on the checkered carpet in his office.
“Seriously, Emily. What is wrong with your life here in California that you need to leave? You have friends, family, a job. Everything. And now you’re just going to throw it all away for what? Some dumpy business that Frank left to your husband.”
Again, she was quiet.
“Say something!” Richard stood up, his hands planted on his desk as he leaned forward.
“I don’t know what to say, Dad . . .” Eyes welling with tears, she lifted her gaze to meet his angry expression.
“Then just leave me alone. Have a nice time. But let me warn you now, you’ll be back. That town doesn’t have anything to offer you or your family. Small towns are full of small minds.”
Exiting his study, Emily paused in the hallway as her heart broke. As if losing Frank wasn’t hard enough, her father’s calloused attitude made the grief that much harder to bare.
That evening, after getting the kids to bed, Ryan sat with her on the couch. He didn’t say much, but she could tell he was concerned about her.
“I’m so sorry about your dad, Em.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. That’s just the way he is. Always has been, always will be . . . He’s nothing like what your dad was, Ryan.”
His voice was soft as he responded. “Right. Listen, if you don’t want to go?—”
“Stop. I want to go, Ryan.”
“Okay.”
Walking into Jack and Conner’s room, Ryan found his son Jack loading his Dog Man books into a box. He was crying.
“You okay, buddy?” Ryan inquired as he sat down on Jack’s bed.
Shaking his head, he walked over to his dad and hugged him. “I miss grandpa.”
“Me too.” Holding him a little tighter, Ryan kissed the top of his son’s head. “He’s in Heaven now though. We didn’t lose him, he just relocated.”
“And I, I am going to miss my friends here. I lost grandpa and now I’m losing my friends too. I’m so sad, Daddy.”
Rubbing his son’s back in a circular motion, Ryan did his best to fight back the tears. He wanted to be strong for Jack, for his whole family, but he didn’t know how to combat the waves of grief that seemed to be a constant presence in his life.
“Do you want to come help me with something, bud?”
Lifting his moist eyes from his father’s chest, Jack nodded. “What do you need help with, Dad?”
“I need to throw a bunch of stuff away in the dumpster out back.”
“Okay.” He wiped his eyes and they journeyed together to the back yard. Spotting his brother Conner playing on the swing set, he called out to him. “I’m going to help Dad throw stuff away.”
Conner jumped off the swing and scampered over. “I want to help.”
Smiling, Ryan appreciated the moment. His boys were young and their willful desire to help wasn’t in their normal repertoire of behavior.
“Conner, you start with the shed. Throw everything away that looks like garbage. You can ask me if you’re not sure. Jack, I need you to dig in the toy boxes out here and throw away any broken toys you come across. I’m going to work on the garage.”
After a half hour or so, Conner walked into the garage as Ryan swept.
“Dad?”
Turning, he saw Conner with his hands in his jean pockets.
“Yeah, bud?”
“Do we have to move?”
Setting the broom against the wall, Ryan walked over and bent his knees as he looked into Conner’s eyes. He smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
“Can’t I just go live with Brad? He told me the other day when we were playing that his parents would probably let me live with them.”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Ryan shook his head. “No. We’re a family and we stay together no matter what happens.”
“I just worry I won’t make any friends.”
“You’ll be okay. Plus, you’ll have your brother, sister, and mom and me.”
Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “I don’t know, Dad. Elizabeth is kind of a jerk to me. I wouldn’t call her a friend.”
“Hey. You know how I told you about my sisters not liking me much?”
“Yeah . . .”
“That’s because I wasn’t a very nice brother growing up. You have to be careful with the relationships you have, even with your family. You don’t want to make the same mistakes I did when I was younger. Someday you’ll look back and be glad you treated your sister kindly if you make the decision to do so.”
“She’s just so mean.”
“Probably so, but you can rise above that. Treat others like you want to be treated.”
“Yeah . . .”
“That make sense?”
“I guess.”
He stood up and looked over at the garage door his son had entered through. “Go finish your work. Then we’ll get some ice cream.”
“Okay!” Conner hurried out the door and Ryan could hear him telling Jack about the ice cream.
As Ryan stood in the garage and thought about the upcoming move, uncertainty pervaded his thoughts and stirred worry within him. He wasn’t just relocating to Washington, he was changing his entire family’s life and possibly trajectory. Peering up at the ceiling, he prayed. God, I hope I’m doing the right thing . . .