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“Oh, no. We stayed here,” she said, looking confused.
“Could I ask a favor?” I said, blowing a raspberry on Thorne’s cheek.
“Sure, anything,” she said immediately.
“If you send out an invitation for anything, can you send one to me instead of waiting for Patrick to do it?” I asked, feeling my son walk up to us.
“Of course,” she said with confusion passing through her features.
“God, you are so beautiful,” I cooed at Thorne.
“Vincent.”
Patrick’s impatient tone made me flinch.
“Oh, Patrick, your dad was just saying hello,” she defended me.
“We have more pressing matters to attend to,” he snapped at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Come on darling, you can have fun with your grandpa when your daddy finishes talking to him.”
“I’ll be back, and I need to say hello to your sister too,” I said.
“Vincent.” Patrick's impatient tone made me clench my jaw in annoyance.
“I just wanted to say hello to the birthday girl,” I said, following him into the house.
“You’ll have plenty of time for that,” he said, walking down into the basement.
Will I? It seemed our concept of time was very different.
When we reached the bottom, it looked like a cigar club, dark colors, dim lighting with a wall full of liquor behind cabinets. It was impressive and something I would do in my home if I had the idea.
“Bourbon?” he asked, as I looked around.
“Sure,” I said, walking to a wall full of pictures.
A phone rang and I quickly pulled out my own seeing it wasn’t mine, but enjoyed seeing my wallpaper of Easton and Noemi together with whipped cream on their faces. It was dumb for me to keep this wallpaper, but this picture was my favorite of them. It always brought a smile to my face because I loved that I froze a moment of them looking so happy and carefree.
“Hey, I’m busy, let me call you back.” Patrick's voice pulled me out of the memory of that photo.
I put my phone back in my pocket looking up at the photos on the wall. The first picture I laid eyes on was of a younger Easton and Patrick. My heart clenched in guilt. I was fucking my son’s best friend. If this came out or if anyone found out, I knew he wouldn’t ever let me see my granddaughters again.
My body grew hot, my heart beat faster and my breathing grew labored. I knew I shouldn’t be with Easton and Noemi. They were young, barely hitting the prime of their lives and here I was a father and a grandfather. Our relationship was no longer a contract, it had become more, and I had no idea when that happened. It had to end now before it blew up in my face and it gave my son one more thing to hate me for. But how do you give up something that's made you the happiest you've ever been?
“Vincent.”
I turned around to see Patrick holding out a glass for me. I plastered a smile on my face hoping he didn’t see my underlying panic. Everything would be fine, or it would be once I broke the contract.
But was my son's happiness worth more than my own?
29
NOEMI
As soon as the guys showed up I knew something was wrong. We ate dinner in silence which wasn't abnormal for us, but you could cut the tension with a knife. It was making me uncomfortable, sparking my anxiety that something bad had happened or worse, something bad was about to happen.
Every time I wanted to say anything, it felt like I might break the delicate balance we were hanging on to. I knew we were going to have to talk about it, but I was too scared. Once we finished dinner, I took the plates to the kitchen, getting ready to wash the dishes when Vincent pulled me away.
