Chapter 22 #2
I take one of the cans and crack it open. “Just one, Dad.”
Dad settles into his recliner and pops the top on his own beer. “So. You’re staying with Nate? How did that happen?”
“Long story.” I take a sip, pondering my response. “Uh…yeah. He’s a friend.”
I want to believe we can be more, but I’m still not sure what would happen with that long-term. Despite Nate and I sharing a bed for the past week—and a shower several mornings—we haven’t talked about what we are or where this is going after the reunion.
I haven’t really thought about my own plans, even. The reunion is tonight. With Nate at my side—for real now—I can face all my old classmates, even Yvonne. But that doesn’t help me with what to do tomorrow morning or when my welcome at Nate’s house expires.
I ignore the squeeze in my heart at the thought of leaving High Lonesome.
Living here, working with Mandy, is everything I dreamed of as a kid.
I would have come back here if it weren’t for me trying to avoid Nate for all those years because of how much I hurt him when we broke up.
That was always the plan, but the first time I came up here after graduating from college, I realized he’d moved back.
That was the last time I came up to HiLo. Until now.
Mom taps her finger against her lips and exchanges a look with Dad. “Well. I’m glad you two are friends. Is he going to the reunion as well?”
I take another sip of the beer then cover my mouth to hide a small burp. “Of course he is. That’s how I ended up staying there in the first place. I asked if he was going. He offered me a room to stay in, and…” I spread my arms wide. “That’s that.”
More or less.
Spam chooses this moment to jump onto Mom’s lap with a yip.
She looks at him, petting him slowly while she thinks. “So is…Spam staying there, too?”
When I nod, her lips quirk. Then her nose.
When a giggle bubbles up, it’s like a dam bursts, and she laughs so hard she can’t speak.
Dad joins in, and Spam adds his little voice to their mirth.
I drain the beer, waiting to see what’s so fucking hilarious.
Mom wipes her eyes and sniffs. “Oh God, sorry, Rory. It’s just too funny thinking of it.”
“Of me staying at Nate’s?” I’m not sure I understand why that’s making her laugh so hard that she’s practically crying.
“No, that’s not…” She dissolves in another round of giggles. “It’s…Spam. Ollie. Nate.” More laughter.
It takes full minutes for her to gather herself, during which I walk to the kitchen to throw away the empty beer can.
I consider returning the unopened one, but crack it open instead, needing the extra courage to get through this conversation.
So far we’ve stayed surface-level when it comes to my relationship with Nate, but my parents aren’t exactly known for leaving things alone. They love to pry.
When I walk back into the family room, Mom’s laughter has started to die down, and she’s wiping a tear from her eye.
“I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time, Rory. I’m just picturing Nate and his big, tough police dog putting up with this little guy. It’s just too much.”
I sip at the second beer, picturing Nate’s face when he first saw Spam’s and Ollie’s expressions when Spam took over his bed, and then I’m laughing, too, until Mom wipes her eyes again with a wistful sigh.
“It’s too bad things didn’t work out between you two. I’m sure I don’t know the whole story, but still.” She sighs again, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
I chew on the side of my lip as I consider telling them more. Yes, I don’t need my parents knowing every last detail of my life, and getting dumped is embarrassing. It’s not at the top of my list of conversation topics, that’s for sure.
But I just shrug. Today’s conversation is feeling much less like the judgment I’d built up in my mind and more like…friends. Like my parents are on my side.
“It wasn’t anything that happened between us, honestly.
It was just that I wanted him to be free to pursue what was right for him.
You know? You talked about how glad you were that you were single when you started college, because if you’d stayed with your high school girlfriend, none of this would have happened.
” I make a sweeping gesture with my hands, indicating the life they’ve built together.
Mom and Dad share a series of glances, like they’re having a silent conversation.
After about a minute, Dad clears his throat. “I think I owe you an apology, Rory.”
His words stun me into silence. An apology? For what?
“I didn’t realize you’d overheard a conversation about that.
If I had, I would have filled in the details so you understood.
” He clears his throat again. “It was kind of an inside joke between your mom and me. I fell head over heels in love with her the first time I met her, and she used to joke that it was just because I was single at the time. That if I’d been with someone else, she and I wouldn’t have found each other. ”
Mom and Dad exchange smiles, their love for one another apparent in their gazes.
“But sometimes things are just meant to be, Rory. Your mom is my soulmate. We would have found one another no matter what. And, for the record, my high school girlfriend dumped me when the captain of the football team asked her to prom.” Dad removes his glasses and cleans the lenses with the handkerchief he always has in his pocket.
He slips them back on. “Everything works out the way it’s supposed to. Never doubt that.”
Regret rises in me as he speaks, but just as quickly, it’s replaced by something else. Hope.
Because if everything works out the way it’s supposed to, then maybe it’s not too late.
“So!” Mom says, clapping her hands. “On to the next topic. How are things with your job? Still happy there?”