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Hudson
I open the door, Theresa’s laugh billowing out of the kitchen from some joke that Matt probably told her. The guy can be hilarious when he’s not too crude for someone like Theresa.
Am I really that different from when we used to hang together? I get the domesticated thing, settling roots and being a dad, but I didn’t think my personality had changed that much. But I even cringed at a few of the things Matt said during dinner.
Matt smiles over Theresa’s shoulder when we enter the kitchen.
“Found ice cream,” I say, raising it.
“Oh good.” Theresa pushes up from the table and turns, stopping when she sees Palmer and Adley with me. “Oh, and you brought extras.”
I hope that’s okay. Sorry for interrupting.
I translate Palmer’s sign language for Theresa.
“Of course. There’s plenty.” She puts on a fake-ass smile that I’m sure even Matt can see through, and he doesn’t even know her.
“Palmer?” Matt says, rising to his feet from the table. “Nice to meet you.” He signs.
She blinks for a beat along with me. You know how to sign?
“A little.” He continues to sign as he speaks, missing a few words, but overall doing okay. “In high school, I had the option to take sign language or Spanish, and I already knew I sucked at Spanish, so I gave sign language a shot.”
This is Adley. Palmer puts her hand on our daughter’s back.
Matt crouches down to her level, putting his hand up in the air. “Give me five.”
Adley smacks it like she does with her uncles, harder than most three-year-olds.
“Whoa.” He shakes out his hand.
Palmer laughs, and I glance at her, wondering where that flirtatious sound came from. I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been around Palmer and a man who wasn’t someone she’s related to. She got pregnant and wasn’t interested in sex, then after Adley was born, she always said how disgusting she felt. At some point last year, Palmer went on a girls’ trip with some of her cousins, and from listening to their cryptic talk, I think maybe Palmer hooked up with someone, but I wasn’t there to see it.
“I like her already. Teaching her how to inflict pain.”
The two of them laugh, and Matt steps aside, pulling a chair out for Adley first then Palmer.
“I wish you would’ve told me they were coming,” Theresa whispers while cutting the cake.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” I whisper back.
“It’s just that I wanted to get to know your friend, and now…”
“What?” I stop scooping the ice cream and stare at her.
“Nothing. Let’s just get this over with.” She takes two bowls over to the table and passes them out, adding a sweetness to her tone I only ever hear when she’s hiding something.
“Palmer says it looks delicious,” Matt translates since both of our backs are facing them.
A growl stops short from erupting up my throat.
Theresa turns away from the counter and smiles. “Thank you.”
“Chocolate is my favorite,” Adley says, using her spoon to dig into the cake.
As Adley eats her cake and ice cream, Matt and Palmer continue to chat using sign language.
So, why did you pick Hudson to train you?
