“It’s not that bad,” I say, taking a bite of my own. We’re at Gigi’s Cupcakes after having our third dinner together since I first called him. This last week has been surreal. Mom and I had a confrontation that was hard, and revealing, and made me sick to my stomach. I eventually forgave her for lying to Ed about me not wanting to see him.
From what I remember of their breakup, he was here one day and then gone the next. They signed the divorce papers separately at the courthouse only two months later, and we never talked again. After my first phone call with my dad last week, I’d asked Mom about it.
She tried to play it off as not a big deal, but it was. To me it was. I told her you can’t just keep a girl away from her step-dad when he’s done nothing wrong. She cried, and I cried, and eventually we hugged it out.
Luckily, it’s only been three years of estrangement, so I don’t think we’ve lost much time together. I’m calling him Dad. It’s a little awkward after all these years, but it’s what I used to call him before the divorce. It may not be exactly true, but it’s better than saying, “Hey there, ex-step-dad!” every time I see him.
“I could go for another one of these,” Dad says as he finishes up his cupcake.
I laugh. “I told you they were amazing. I think she sprinkles fairy dust into the icing.”
“You said one a week won’t kill me, right?” he says, taking a sip of his coffee, which he drinks black just like I do.
I nod. “I mean, it hasn’t been medically proven or anything, but I think you’ll be fine. I eat them as much as I can afford to.”
“Enjoy that teenage metabolism,” he says, patting his stomach which isn’t even that big. He’s maybe ten pounds overweight. “One day you won’t be so lucky.”
“So Dad,” I say, feeling awkward as the name rolls off my tongue. “Why did you and Mom split up?”
It’s been a week of getting to know him again. I figure I can ask this burning question now.
He frowns, and little lines appear on his upper lip. “Honey, I don’t really know. She told me she didn’t love me anymore and kicked me out.”
I tear at the edges of my cupcake wrapper. I’d actually figured as much. Mom goes through weird moods and it was like one day she just decided she didn’t want to be married anymore.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I am now,” he says, patting the top of my hand. “It took me two years to get over both losing your mom and you, but when I met Stacy, I felt my heart start to mend back together.”
Stacy—or Mrs. Reese as I know her—is actually kind of okay. Outside of school, she acts like a normal person and doesn’t try to lecture me constantly. I can see how she makes my dad happy. She dotes on him and he dotes on her.
The whole thing is weird, but I’m still happy for him.
“You sure your mom is okay?” he asks for the third time today.
I draw in a deep breath and smile. “She will be. The store is saved, so that’s really all that matters.”
“Good,” he says, smiling back at me. “I’m here anytime you need me, kiddo.”
His phone buzzes, an incoming call from his office. “Well…except for now,” he says with a laugh. “I actually have to go.”
I stand up and give him a hug. “See you on Tuesday?” It’s his least busy work day and we’ve agreed to have dinner once a week so we can catch up on things.
“I can’t wait.”
I wave at him as he leaves Gigi’s Cupcakes, but I sit here and sip my coffee for a little while longer. Mom is working at the store, and I’m supposed to relieve her in ten minutes, but for now I just want to sit here and enjoy the feeling of being able to relax.
That first night I called Dad, he met me at Lorenzo’s Pizzeria on the opposite side of town. It was the safest place I could think of where Mom wouldn’t accidently show up and catch us talking. We talked for three hours that night. We caught up, we shared stories, we discussed the store.
Turns out my dad had saved over thirty grand for me since I was a baby, and he was happy to let me use the money to pay off Mom’s loan under the promise that she won’t sell the store to Jack Brown.
Mom was less than thrilled at the idea. But I told her it was my college fund that Dad was going to give me anyway. I spun the idea like it was my own money and I wanted to use it for the store, instead of it being her ex-husband’s money that was being used as a shameful bailout.
After a long, arduous argument, Mom finally agreed. She hasn’t stopped smiling since we got that awful payday loan off her back. Now we’re earning more money than ever thanks to Jonah’s efforts, and we don’t even need it all to get our bills paid anymore.
And the best part of all?
Jack Brown is gone for good.
