“Shit, me too!,” Sam said. “Amanda said I was acting a little strange all night and it was because I didn’t know how to deal with Mom and Dad, ’cause I knew they weren’t staying. She told me to talk to you guys about it, but I just didn’t.”
“We have a father,” Jesse replied, thinking of the conversation he’d already had with Dr. Brooks about Senior. What he was feeling and the whole reality of the situation. “And it’s not like he’s locked up or dead or even a bad man.”
“Yeah, I think we all have our issues, but my grown-man issues with him all have to do with the fact that he isn’t here,” Zach said. He looked at his brothers, and he knew they were thinking the same thing, the words left unsaid. Senior had left the job of showing them how to be men unfinished.
“I was sitting up last night trying to pull it together and I’m looking at my girlfriend and my grandmother,” Jesse said. “I—he should be here.”
“Have you called them yet today, told them what happened?” Sam asked.
“No. I haven’t told them yet.”
Zach glanced at his watch. “It’s nine o’clock there now, and I think Dad has to shoot tomorrow. They should be back at their place. I say we call them.”
“And say what?”
“We want them to come back. It’s the same issue with Mom. Evie was walking on eggshells with her ’cause during the wedding Mom’s not here for them to establish their own adult relationship.”
“Do you know how fucked up it is we’re talking about our own parents like this?” Sam said with a dry chuckle.
“It is,” Jesse said with a painful sigh. “Okay. Let’s call them. Come on.” His brothers followed him inside and gathered around as he set up the laptop on the kitchen island.
“You want me to start?” Zach asked as Jesse sat down. It was not a secret that Zach was their dad’s favorite. They’d spent the most time together, had a deep bond, even if it was strained now.
“No, I need to do this,” Jesse replied. He had it in him to say what he was feeling now. If he didn’t get it off his chest, he didn’t know when he would, or how explosive that eventual revelation would be. He had to deal with it now. He brought up the video chat app and hit his father’s contact. The bubbling ringtone was like a jackhammer to his temples.
A few moments later, his father popped up on the screen. He was wearing a vintage 42 sweatshirt. He could see all three of them in his father’s features: Sam favored Senior the most, but Jesse had his high cheekbones and the same set of his mouth; Zach had his nose and the shape of his jaw. Jesse blinked, looking at all four of them, the Pleasant men reflected back on the screen.
“Oh. It’s all of my sons at once,” he said, even though he was walking through their flat and not looking at the screen.
“You got a moment, Dad? We need to talk to you.”
“One moment, please.” Their dad groaned as he made himself comfortable in his home office in their London apartment. “I always have time for my sons.”
Yeah, Jesse definitely needed to speak up. They couldn’t go on acting like this shit was okay anymore.
“Um—we think you and Mom should come back. You should move back to Charming. You should be here.” His throat went tight at the end there, but he had to see this through. If his dad blew them off, then he could do the more permanent hard work of putting him in a different sort of box, with a label reserved for someone who he couldn’t actually rely on.
Jesse went on though, filling his father in on the situation with Dane Locklear and the men who’d broken into his house.
“Everyone’s okay, though?” Senior asked. “Your grandmother’s okay?”
“Everyone is fine, but the dust was settling and I felt like I’m the man of this whole family, and that doesn’t sit right with me. I’m trying to figure out my own shit—stuff. Sorry, sir. I’m trying to be a better person and a better man, and it’s hard when I feel like I have to pretend I don’t have a father to turn to for anything. You should be here.” Fuck it all, but tears rushed to Jesse’s eyes, blocking his throat. Years of hurt and frustration, rejection finally spilled over. This was what he’d been carrying around all day, and for the last however many years.
Zach squeezed Jesse’s shoulder and went on, probably sensing Jesse couldn’t. “Yeah, Dad. We have his back, but Jesse really has been the glue keeping this all together. Making it so Sam and Evie and I can do what we want. Looking after Lilah and Miss Leona. Dealing with Corie. I’m surprised he had time to even start something with Lily-Grace. We didn’t make it easy on him.” Zach let out another deep breath of his own. Jesse looked up from where he was staring at the corner of his screen and saw the look of determination on Zach’s face. He’d reached his limit for holding things in, too. “Dad, Evie and I are about to have this baby, and I want you and Mom around.Wedo. I don’t want to think about you guys only seeing your grandchild in person twice a year.”
“That’s not what I want at all.” Senior sighed and Jesse could see where he got it from. His dad was trying to hold all kinds of thoughts and emotions inside. “Your mother and I discussed this after the wedding; we didn’t know if you wanted us to come back, but I’m the parent here and I should have just asked.”
“We want you to come back,” Sam piped up, his status as the baby of the family showing. As it should. Senior had taken off, the second the ink on Sam’s GED certificate dried. They’d had the least amount of time together. “But only if you want to be here. We understand that you left to pursue your career, but I don’t think any of us thought it would be like this. Barely seeing you, barely talking to you, like there’s some beef when there isn’t. At least that I know about.”
“There is no beef.” Senior chuckled. “I left because of a disagreement I had with your grandmother. I also needed to put some space between myself and your grandmother and your mother, but that’s all water under the bridge now, and has been for some time. Zachariah, Sammy, give me a moment to speak to Junior, please.”
“Yes, sir.” They both gave Jesse a pat on the back and walked toward the front door. Jesse looked back at the monitor when he heard it click closed.
“I owe you an apology,” Senior said. “You are absolutely right. My brothers and I had our own struggles with your grandparents and with each other, and when I saw how capable you were of handling things and how you and Miss Leona saw eye to eye on the Big Rock, I thought I was doing the right thing, but there’s a difference between stepping aside and me skipping town.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I think each of us had our own theory as to why you didn’t want to really be our father anymore.”
“No. Never. That’s never been the case, but it’s my fault you feel that way. Your mother is just here to support me. I know she misses you. I was angry with my mother and my brothers and I didn’t see how that had affected you and your brothers. Thank you for stepping up, but you’re right; you shouldn’t have had to.”
