Chapter 43 Zeke
forty-three
Zeke
Ican’t remember the last time I saw my dad. Between school, hockey, and visiting Mom, I haven’t been home to see him. Not that he’s around. He spends most of his time in the office, avoiding the responsibility of taking care of my mom.
But she’s out of the hospital now and back home. Which means dinners now involve my dad again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like he abandoned me, not like Avalon’s parents. But since my mom’s been in the hospital, face-to-face conversations haven’t happened in a while.
So, I have no idea how this dinner’s going to go. I didn’t even know my dad knew about Avalon until my mom invited both of us to the house tonight.
“What’s he like?” Avalon looks at me as we pull into the driveway. “Your dad?”
“He’s a nice guy. I really looked up to him as a kid.”
“You don’t talk about him a lot. I know he hasn’t really been there for your mom, not when she’s in the hospital, but—”
“My mom always tells me it doesn’t make him a bad guy. Hospitals are hard for him.”
“They can’t be easy for you.” She grabs my hand. “Watching your mom constantly going in and out of them. You were only sixteen and had to take on so much responsibility.”
“You were much younger than me, dealing with even worse.”
She taps my cheek. “It’s not a competition. We both went through hard things as kids. Things no one should have to.”
“Without those things, I don’t know if you’d be next to me in this car.”
She scrunches her nose with a smile. “Very true.”
“We should go in. My mom doesn’t like when people are late.”
“That makes sense.” I hop out of the car and walk toward the other side to open her door and help her out. “Thank you.”
I grab her hand, holding it the whole walk to the front door. Part of me feels like I should knock… or ring the doorbell, but the other part feels like it’s still my home. Like I have every right to walk right in.
“Did you forget how to turn a doorknob?” Avalon whispers, pushing up on her tiptoes. “You want help with that?”
“Ha ha.” I roll my eyes. “I know how a door works. I guess I’m kind of nervous. It’s been so long since I’ve been home.”
“It’s going to be great. I promise.”
“It’s a lot better because you’re here.” I turn toward her. “I honestly don’t know if I could make it through this dinner without you. I don’t know if I would’ve survived these last few months without having you to lean on.”
“I feel the same way,” she replies.
“Look at us,” I whisper. “Two broken people realizing their broken pieces fit together. I never thought I’d feel whole again, Avalon. You made me whole.”
“That’s the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said to me, Zeke Harris.
” She chuckles. “But I get it. I always felt like a part of me was missing, and I assumed it was because of my dad leaving. But when I met you, I realized it wasn’t him that was missing.
It was love. And you’ve shown me the kind of love I didn’t think was possible.
You’ve shown me that not everyone leaves. ”
My thumb brushes her lower lip, and then her words finally register. Her eyes go wide.
“Not that I think you’re in love with me; it’s more of a general idea of love, not—”
“I am.” I cut her off. “I do.”
“You do?” Her face softens.
“Of course I do, Stewart. I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. More than I ever thought possible.”
She bites her lip, trying to contain her smile.
“I love you too.”
Without another word, I lean down, pressing my lips to hers. A soft-tender kiss, one worthy of this moment. One worthy of her, of the girl I love.
And the one who loves me.
I’m so happy you were able to join us, Avalon.” My mom says, sitting down across from us at the table.
“Thank you for inviting me. Everything looks great, Elise.” Avalon smiles, placing a napkin on her lap.
“Oh, it was all Darryl, but thank you, Avalon,” she replies.
“So, how did the two of you meet?” My dad takes a bite of his steak.
“A party. We weren’t necessarily fond of each other at first, but we—”
“I’d say I was instantly smitten with Avalon. She was a little hesitant, but I got her to change her mind,” I cut her off.
“That’s very true. Zeke even tracked me down on campus after our first meeting.” Avalon cuts into her steak, turning toward me.
“I was trying to give you back your phone.” I take a drink of my water. “And in all fairness, it worked. I didn’t even give you back your phone personally, but it led to the start of our relationship.”
“I guess it all worked out in your favor then, hmm?” She scrunches her nose.
“How do I know it wasn’t all a part of your plan?” I tease, my eyes narrowing.
“I see why Elise likes you,” My dad says. “You remind me a lot of her when we first met. Strong-willed.”
“I was not strong-willed,” My mom argues. “Just opinionated.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I ask, and my mom’s mouth falls open.
“Whose side are you on?”
“I bet your friends love her too,” My dad continues. “Avalon, you seem like you’d fit right in with them.”
“Um, I actually haven’t met them.”
“Really?” he asks. “Why not?”
“It’s never seemed like the right time,” she replies. “I was supposed to meet them a couple weeks ago, but I had some family drama.”
“Oh no, hopefully everyone is okay.” My mom reaches across the table and grabs Avalon’s hand.
“It’s all good.”
“Will we get to meet your parents, Avalon? We’d love to have them over for dinner sometime,” my dad begins. Avalon looks at me as if she expected them to already know about those relationships. Truth is, it didn’t feel right to share that kind of information with them… it wasn’t my place to.
“That won’t be necessary,” she replies. “They aren’t really a part of my life.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“No,” she holds her hand up, stopping him, “don’t apologize. My dad left when I was little, so that wound healed a long time ago.”
“And your mom?” My mom sits her silverware down and focuses on Avalon. I rub Avalon’s back.
“She’s always been kind of cagey.” She laughs. “Let’s just say I didn’t have a mother like you growing up, Mrs… Elise.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” My mom frowns.
“Again, don’t be. I’ve learned to be on my own.”
“Well, you’re not on your own,” my mom promises. “Not anymore.”
I kiss the back of Avalon’s hand. It’s nice to know she has the official seal of approval from my mom. It’s nice to know they see her as a part of this family now.
“Elise is right,” My dad adds. “I couldn’t imagine walking out like that. You seem like such a great girl; they really missed out.”
I know he means well… and it might seem like a harmless sentence to anyone else, but it’s far from it. He’s been cagey for years, especially when it comes to my mom’s health. He may still be around physically unless my mom’s in the hospital, but in every other way, he’s checked out.
“Zeke?” My mom’s voice pulls me out of my head. “You okay, sweetie? It’s like we lost you for a second.”
“Sorry, it’s nothing.” I force a smile. “I just zoned out.”
“So, Avalon, what are you going to school for?” My dad continues.
“I’m a biology and neuroscience major,” she responds. “And I’m taking pre-med courses. In May, I’ll start applying to med schools.”
“Wow,” My mom gasps. “That’s pretty incredible. Isn’t it a little early to apply for medical school?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Most people apply the year before they plan on attending.”
“Zeke told me you were nineteen, so I just assumed—”
“What can I tell you, Mom? My girl’s a genius,” I gloat.
“That she is.” My dad leans back in his chair. “I’m so happy I finally got to meet you, Avalon. Elise has done nothing but talk about you since she met you. And every time you guys went down to see her, it just made her day.”
“Yeah, Avalon’s been to the hospital more in the last few weeks than you’ve been in years.” I don’t mean for the words to come out… they just do.
Avalon’s eyes widen as if she doesn’t know what to do in this situation. She doesn’t know if she should just carry on with the conversation or say nothing at all.
“Zeke,” my mom whispers, “not tonight.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
“I feel like I’m the one you should be apologizing to,” My dad interrupts. “And your girlfriend, too. We were having a nice dinner before you let your attitude get the best of you.”
“Darryl!” My mom’s eyes dart in his direction. “You’re not helping the situation.”
“I’m sorry, Darryl.” I throw my napkin onto the table.
“I didn’t realize sharing a fact with the group was me letting my attitude get the best of me.
Honestly, I’m surprised you even had time to be here since you’ve always been too busy at the office to come to one of Mom’s appointments.
Or sit with her during treatment. Or just keep her company when she feels like the world is caving in. ”
“How do you think those appointments and treatments get paid for, Zeke?” he asks. “You think I’m growing money on the trees in the backyard.”
“No, Dad, I think you’re a coward,” I continue. “I think you’ve been one since the day we found out mom was sick and that work is the only excuse you can give people so they don’t think you’re a coward, too.”
“Zeke.” My mom sighs, resting her head in her hands.
“No, Mom. He needs to hear this. She needed you, Dad. We both did. But you ran into a corner and hid. You let your sixteen-year-old son carry this burden so you didn’t have to.”
“That’s not fair,” he mumbles. “I sat in that hospital room with your mom when she was first diagnosed. I held her in that room as she sobbed over how we were going to tell you and—”
“And then you disappeared. I thought you were buying this house so you could be closer to Mom during her treatments, but every weekend I drove down here, you were nowhere to be seen. You threw yourself so far into your work that you forgot what was really important. She gave up everything for you, Dad. Besides me, you’re all she has left, but instead of giving up anything for her, you gave up on her.
And I know someday you’re going to regret it.
” I stand up. “I’m happy you’re home, Mom.
It’s the greatest thing that’s happened to our family in years.
I’m sorry it took you finally getting better for Dad to actually care. ”
“Zeke.” His voice is stern. I can’t tell if he’s ready to make this an even bigger argument, but my mom reaches for his hand and shakes her head.
“I’ll call you when we get back home, okay?” I look at my mom, who has a sad smile.
“Okay.”
“Thank you so much for dinner.” Avalon stands, glancing down at her half-full plate. “Everything was fantastic. Elise, I’ll call you tomorrow. You can tell me all about General Hospital.”
“Goodnight, Avalon. Get home safe,” she replies. I walk around the table and place a kiss on her cheek before Avalon gives her a hug.
And then we’re out the door and on our way home.
I’ve seen Avalon’s family at their worst. I guess it was only fair that she mine at theirs.