Chapter 24 – Leo
Break and Bake Isn’t Just For Cookies
Leo
“THANKS FOR COMING, man.” I shake Gavin’s hand, giving him a slap on the shoulder before turning to look up at my parents’ house. “At least this way there will be witnesses if they try to kill me.”
I was planning to come here alone. No way would I put Maddie in a position where someone makes her feel responsible for their reaction. She’s had enough of that to deal with from her parents.
“You really think they’re going to be that upset?” Gavin asks.
At this point, I don’t know what to expect from my parents.
My mother has called to check in on me a few times over the past month, and didn’t give me shit when I told her I didn’t want them at my first home match.
Until I’m confident they will treat Maddie with the kindness and care she deserves, they don’t get to be around her.
“It could go either way. I think they’ve accepted that Maddie and I are going to be together, but this is a whole different level.” Especially considering mine and Maddie’s decision to make our relationship official.
In the matrimonial sense.
“I know they’re not perfect, but I don’t think they are bad people.” Gavin seems thoughtful. “Babs and Dan have their issues, but at the end of the day they genuinely love you and Alexis and want you to be happy.”
I hope that’s the case, because I don’t know how we will be able to move forward if they won’t accept Maddie.
“I guess we should get this show on the road.” I’m not looking forward to this, but I do want to have it done and over with. I want to get home to Maddie. I want to make sure she is feeling as okay as possible.
And I want to start our life together. I know there are still plenty of loose ends that have to be tied up. Her divorce, her apartment, all the court proceedings we are involved in thanks to Drake, my travel schedule. We’ve got a lot of decisions to make and plenty of work ahead of us.
But it will be worth it when Maddie can finally enjoy her life.
Our life.
Gavin stays right at my side as we walk up and onto my parents porch. My mother looks a little surprised to see us both standing there, her blue eyes darting back and forth between us a few times before she steps back, making room for us to come in.
“I wasn’t expecting a visit from you boys today.” Babs is clearly trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. She’s scanning me and Gavin from head to toe, like there is some hint of our intentions hiding in plain sight. “Is everything okay?”
Like Maddie did with her parents, I don’t try to ease my way in. I simply lay it out. “I asked Maddie to marry me.” When my mother doesn’t immediately start freaking out the way Maddie’s did, I take it as a good sign and continue. “And we are going to have a baby in the fall.”
“You got her pregnant?” My dad’s voice comes into the room before she does. When Dan rounds the corner, I’m a little surprised that he doesn’t look angry.
Maybe a little disappointed, but not angry.
“I did.” I look between my parents, standing straighter.
Daring them to say something out of hand.
“I’m going to be a dad, which means you might have the opportunity to be grandparents.
” I keep my voice firm when I say, “but I won’t have anyone do anything that might upset Maddie, so if you aren’t going to accept us being together, then I don’t want you involved. ”
Part of me expects my dad to argue. To yell. To tell me I’m ruining Maddie’s life. For him to continue beating the same drum he has been wailing on since Christmas.
But my dad doesn’t do any of that.
“Parenting is hard, son. That’s something you’re about to find out.
” He walks toward where Gavin and I stand.
“You want to protect your kids no matter how old they are, and sometimes go about it the wrong way.” He scrubs one hand over his face.
“I shouldn’t have said the things I did about you dating Maddie, but I said them because I was worried about both of you.
” He glances at my mom, and she offers what appears to be a reassuring nod.
“It’s been brought to my attention that I might not communicate my feelings well.
I’m trying to be better at it, and I hope you’ll give me the chance to show you. ”
Of all the things I expected to hear from my dad today, this confession wasn’t even on my radar. It leaves me stunned into silence. I’m not the only one, because Gavin is staring at my dad with the same open-mouth expression I am.
My mom reaches out to pat him on the arm. “Your dad and I have been doing a lot of talking the past couple of months and agreed we could have handled our reaction to your relationship with Maddie better.” Her eyes are soft as they fix to mine. “We are so sorry, honey.”
“Your response definitely could have been better.” I look between them, unsure what to say. “But I appreciate the apology.”
My mother clasps both hands in front of her chest, fingers laced tightly together. “Is she feeling okay? Any morning sickness?”
There’s genuine concern in her question, and for the first time since all this started I have hope my parents and I can rebuild our relationship. “She is sick as a dog.”
My mother’s hands pull apart before coming to rest against the center of her chest. “I remember those days. It’s miserable.” Her expression pinches. “Has she tried ginger? It really helped ease my sickness when I was pregnant with you and Alexis.”
We’ve tried plenty of things to ease Maddie’s nausea, but ginger is something I hadn’t even considered. “Do you just chew on a piece of it?”
Babs seems to bounce a little, looking strangely excited. “You can use it all sorts of ways.” She turns, heading for the kitchen. “Let me show you.”
I spend the next half hour listening to my mother talk about the miseries of pregnancy as she digs through her cabinets, managing to find half a box of ginger tea.
When there’s nothing else on hand that would be useful, she turns to her laptop and starts scrolling.
In no time, she’s ordered candied ginger, ginger mouth spray, ginger lozenges, ginger soda.
And shipped all of it to my house, along with some sort of weird pillow she swears will come in handy when Maddie’s belly starts getting big, and a comfortable pajama set that will stretch as our baby grows.
I’m touched at her readiness to take care of Maddie. It gives me hope that while Maddie’s mother might not ever come around to accepting our relationship, mine appears ready and willing to put in the effort to be there for us in a healthy, supportive way.
A way Maddie will be thrilled to discover includes food.
My mom is just scooping out a tray full of extra thick chocolate chip cookies when someone starts banging on the front door. All four of us stare out of the kitchen into the entryway, confused why anyone would knock instead of ringing the doorbell.
My dad stands up from his stool at the counter just as whoever’s on their doorstep amps things up a notch, hitting the wood so hard I can hear it rattling in the frame.
My dad looks through the peephole and his body goes rigid. His jaw is set tight as he opens the door. Another man comes barging in, nearly slamming into my dad as he goes.
“I’m gonna kill your fucking son, Casselini.” Maddie’s dad looks halfway to a heart attack as he screams in my father’s face. “Do you know what he’s done to her?”
“Calm down.” My dad makes an attempt to de-escalate the situation, but Mr. Miller is having none of it.
“Calm down?” His chest puffed out, eyes wild. “He’s not only turned her against us, but now that son of a bitch got her pregnant.”
“Don’t call my son a son of a bitch.” Dan’s tone is deadly and dark. “And if you can’t calm down, I’m going to ask you to leave.”
It’s weird to see my dad being the voice of reason after his initial response to finding out about Maddie and me. Weird, but it goes a long way at showing me he genuinely is sorry for the way he reacted.
I don’t see Mr. Miller having the same sort of epiphany.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually condoning this.” Maddie’s dad scoffs. “I thought you were smarter than that, Da—” his gaze comes into the kitchen for the first time, landing squarely on me.
Shit.
Kicking Drake’s ass is one thing. I will happily do it anytime, anywhere, any day.
I don’t want to have to kick Maddie’s father’s ass. For a multitude of reasons, the least of which being I don’t want my mother to have to clean blood off her kitchen floor. Especially since she’s making me and Maddie cookies.
I can almost watch as Mr. Miller’s blood pressure skyrockets. His eyes narrow, and he Cox and arm even though we’re a room away. “I’m gonna kick your fucking a—”
The guy tries to come at me, but he doesn’t even make it two steps. My dad’s arm shoots up at the speed of lightning, catching him right across the front of his neck in a wicked clothesline that sends Mr. Miller tipping straight back.
I resist the urge to stand up, because I’m pretty sure it will only make things worse if Mr. Miller believes I’m going to engage in his nonsense.
But while I try to keep a neutral position, Babs grabs the closest thing on the counter that could be considered a weapon and gets between me and Mr. Miller.
“You fucking bastard.” I’m shocked at how quick Maddie’s dad manages to get on his feet. This time he is ready, blocking my dad with one arm, bloodshot eyes pinned on where I sit as he makes a second go at getting his hands on me.
And for the second time, one of my parents knocks him right on his ass.
My mom is so short, he doesn’t even seem to notice her standing there—or maybe he doesn’t consider her a threat because she’s a woman—so when she swings the baking sheet up and over, smashing it right into his face, Mr. Miller is caught by complete surprise.
I’m not sure if the sound he makes when the metal connects with his nose is funny or sad, but the screeching sort of grunt is gratifying. He’s hurt Maddie so much over her life. Brought her pain and guilt and suffering through his belief in his right to dictate her choices.
My dad bends down, hauling the smaller man up to his feet before shoving him to the door. “Go home and get yourself together, and when you’re ready to discuss this reasonably, you let me know.” He pushes Maddie’s dad out the still open door before closing it behind him and flipping the deadbolt.
Turning to me, he takes a deep breath, wiping hand across his brow. “Just so you know, you have my permission to smash me in the face with a baking sheet if I ever act like that.”
My mother doesn’t give me a chance to respond.
She sets the pan in the sink, expression sharp as she faces my dad.
“Just so you know, if you ever act like that I will bury you in the backyard, because nothing’s going to keep me from being in my grandchild’s life.
” Her eyes dart to me. “Yours and Maddie’s too. ”
I smile. “I got what you were saying.”
My dad jerked his head in a nod. “Fair enough.” He goes to the sink, switching on the water before grabbing the dish liquid and squeezing some onto the baking pan that might now be sporting and indent of Mr. Miller’s face.
I watch in disbelief as he picks up the scrub brush and goes to work. I have never seen my dad wash a dish in my life. I didn’t know he was even aware how dish liquid worked.
After a few seconds, he notices me staring and glances up. Tipping his head to one side, he refocuses on his task. “Apparently, in addition to not being good at communicating my feelings, I’m also shit at pulling my own weight.”
I’m stunned. Honestly can’t believe what I’m seeing, but no matter how many times I blink, Dan is still standing in front of me washing dishes.
I didn’t come here with high hopes. I expected my conversation to go at least a little bit like Maddie’s did yesterday. Instead I was given accountability, understanding, and acceptance.
My parents gave me more than I would have considered hoping for.
Which is way better than what they gave Mr. Miller. All he got was a broken fucking nose.