Chapter 7
GARRETT
November
After I confirmed with my boss that I wanted the transfer to Pittsburgh, things happened fast. My landlord let me out of my lease since I had an out-of-state offer letter for a job, and the moving trucks pulled up days later.
Good thing I didn’t need to do a purge and seriously downsize my things—I’d done a lot of that during the divorce—because there wasn’t time.
Less than a month after I’d visited Chris, I was checked into a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. It was two blocks away from my new office, and I’d stay there while I waited for my apartment to be ready next week.
It was all a whirlwind, and when the dust settled, there I was—living in the same city as the son I’d been estranged from for too long.
Now that I was here, I texted and FaceTimed regularly with the two kids I’d already reconciled with; they understood why I’d made the move.
Though they’d been disappointed, they got it, and they were happy that I could work on my relationship with Chris.
Hopefully, in time, I’d be able to fix things with Ally, but right now, I’d take this progress with Chris.
Today, I was meeting up with him and his girlfriend for dinner. They’d recommended a low-key café not far from where I was staying, and of course, I got there early. What could I say? I was eager to see him again and to finally meet her.
The hostess seated me, and I texted Chris to let him know I had a table.
Chris
cool. we’re on our way. be there in 10.
I smiled as I sent back a thumbs-up. I was relieved to be meeting Jasmine.
Chris had said she was out of town with friends in October, but he wasn’t a good liar.
Never had been. It was a little odd, him keeping his girlfriend away from me, but maybe that was just part of our reconciliation process.
Maybe he wanted to see how things went between him and me before he brought her into the equation.
When they walked into the restaurant, though, I was pretty sure I understood why we hadn’t been introduced before:
Jasmine was quite obviously pregnant.
And though I tried not to make a big deal out of it, my reaction was apparently not subtle.
Blushing, Chris said, “Uh, Dad, this is Jasmine.” He smiled shyly and touched her belly. “And Asher.”
I blinked. “Uh. Wow. I…” I laughed, shaking my head. “This is a surprise! It’s great to meet you, though. Um. Both of you.”
Jasmine smiled as she shook my hand. “It’s good to finally meet you too. Chris has been talking nonstop about having you here in town.” She glanced at him with a fond look. “Well, when he’s not talking about hockey or the baby.”
Chris turned a little redder.
I chuckled and clapped his arm. “That sounds like him. There’s always at least a few brain cells focused on hockey.”
“You’re not wrong,” Jasmine said dryly.
Chris hmphed, but he didn’t gainsay either of us.
We sat down at the table and started perusing the menu.
It was a good thing I’d already gone through it twice and settled on what I wanted, because I couldn’t make sense of the text anymore.
In my head, I was reeling, and not just because becoming a grandfather at forty-seven was seriously overwhelming.
Was this why Chris had changed his mind and wanted to reconnect?
And what if we hadn’t managed to reconcile now?
What if I’d come back into his life later and discovered he had a family?
Shit. That was heavy. It also made me even more desperate to fix things with Ally; I just didn’t know how to go about that while still respecting her boundaries.
One thing at a time. Katie insisted her sister would come around. Ally wasn’t ready yet but she’d get there. Hopefully.
In the meantime, I was here with Chris, and I needed to focus on what I could do, which was work on my relationship with him.
After we’d placed our orders, I folded my hands on the table and faced my son and his girlfriend. “So, how did the two of you meet?”
The little smiles they exchanged were incredibly cute. Chris took her hand and said, “Her friend had a date with one of my teammates, but she wanted to do a double date. So he asked if I’d tag along.”
I chuckled. “Worked out great, didn’t it?” I picked up my water for a sip. “How did it work out for them?”
“Oh, pretty good.” Jasmine smiled. “I was her maid of honor and Chris was his best man, so…”
“Oh, wow! Everybody won, then.”
She elbowed Chris playfully. “I still tell her it’s her fault I’m stuck with this one.”
Chris tsked, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and kissed her temple. “Rude.”
She just snickered.
I was honestly awestruck. Chris had struggled to connect with girls when he was a teenager. He’d been laser-focused on hockey, but he’d also just been super shy. To see him this at ease with a girlfriend who clearly adored him was amazing.
We continued talking and catching up when our dinner came. They showed me photos of the nursery he’d started putting together, and I got to see some ultrasounds of my grandson.
Holy shit. My grandson. I was still getting my head around being back in the same space as my younger son. Now he was about to become a father. Wow.
About halfway through dinner, Jasmine got up to use the restroom. As soon as we were alone, Chris turned a concerned and sheepish look on me.
“So, um.” He cleared his throat. “You’re not mad, are you? About…?” He gestured at Jasmine’s empty seat.
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” I laughed softly. “You’re an adult, Chris. And you two are obviously happy together. You’ve got the means to take care of your family.” I shrugged. “I have no reason to be mad.”
He relaxed a little. “But I didn’t tell you. When you were here before.”
I considered that. “We were on some weird ground. We hadn’t seen each other in years, and I’d just dropped the bomb on you that I wanted to move to Pittsburgh.
” I paused. “I kind of thought at the time you didn’t want me to meet your girlfriend for some reason, but I guess now I know why.
” I smiled, hoping he caught that I wasn’t upset or making an accusation.
He chuckled, dropping his gaze. “Yeah, I, uh… I wasn’t sure how to be like, ‘hey Dad, good to see you after all this time, and by the way, you’re about to be a grandfather.’”
I laughed. “Uh, it’s a little bit of a shock, not gonna lie. But you two are obviously happy about it, and you’re in a good place financially and professionally.” I smiled as I speared a piece of broccoli on my fork. “Honestly, I’m thrilled. It’s great!”
“Yeah?” His smile was cautious but genuine. “I guess I keep expecting people to react like we’re sixteen, you know?”
“I believe it.” I hesitated, chewing my lip. “Are, um… Are you two planning to…”
Chris cocked a brow. “Are we getting married?”
I nodded uncertainly. “I’m just curious. You don’t have to—”
“It’s fine,” he said. “And yeah, we are. But Jasmine wanted to wait until she’s recovered. So she can wear the dress she wants and all.” He cringed a little as if he expected me to disapprove.
“Makes sense.” I inclined my head. “You don’t need to worry about my approval or my permission, okay? You’re an adult. I trust you to make the right decisions about your own life.” I paused, then sighed. “It isn’t like I have much of a leg to stand on to criticize.”
Chris seemed to think about that, but before he could say anything, Jasmine returned.
“Sorry about that.” She made a face as she eased herself down beside Chris. “This pregnancy thing is bullshit.” As soon as she said it, she looked horrified, as if she hadn’t meant to curse in front of me.
I just laughed. “Oh, I know. I didn’t envy Chris’s mom a single second of it, believe me.”
That made her laugh, and fortunately he did too. He seemed to relax a bit, which was a relief. I was sure we’d still discuss our past at some point, but tonight was a good time to focus on the present.
The present, and the near future.
“So, when is baby Asher due?” I asked.
“End of February.” Chris put his arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Just in time for the All-Stars.”
Jasmine giggled. “Think you’ll be an All-Star and a dad in the same month?”
Chris laughed. “I don’t know if I want that kind of pressure.” He paused and turned an innocent look on her. “Maybe you and Asher can hold out until March?”
I snorted. “Doesn’t work that way, kid. Sorry.”
“It better not.” Jasmine poked Chris. “This baby’s coming in February. Make peace with it.”
He pretended to be exasperated, but then they were both laughing.
I just watched them, hoping they couldn’t see how overwhelming it was to see them like this.
I respected my son, and admittedly, I envied him the wisdom and maturity to not rush down the aisle.
He had the means to take care of his family, and he clearly wanted his fiancée to be happy on her wedding day.
Sometimes I still regretted sprinting down to the courthouse with his mother a week after we found out she was pregnant, and not just because we’d ultimately ended up divorced.
She’d always dreamed of a beautiful wedding.
Not a huge or expensive one, but she’d wanted the white dress and all the other trappings.
She’d wanted to dance and drink champagne, and what she’d gotten was a brief ceremony during which she’d been trying not to throw up.
We hadn’t even made it through our small family dinner afterward because the restaurant’s smells had been too much for her not-just-morning sickness.
She’d deserved better. We both had.
I was pleased to see that even though Chris probably hadn’t planned to become a father just yet, he was handling it better than I had.
And I was still relieved beyond words that, by some pile of miracles, I hadn’t missed out on this stage of his life.