Of course.“Thank you.”His offer to pray touched her.
“Good night, Gen.”
“Good night, Kyle.”
She ended the call, and put her phone on to charge, remembering the times when he’d gone away on hockey camps and would call her when her mom was out.They used to hang on the line, neither of them wanting to end the call, with lengthy exchanges involving plenty of repetitions of “You hang up” and “No, you.”
How innocent they’d been.How simple life had been back then.Simple, if not exactly easy.
Life now was neither simple nor easy, and she definitely didn’t have all of the answers, but Kyle’s offer to pray gave hope that perhaps they were inching toward some.
One day.
CHAPTER21
Kyle leaned back on his hands, smiling at where Bella sat beside him.This Fourth of July celebration had proved to be one of Mom’s better ideas.The community fun day and parade had seen Bella’s eyes widen with excitement, which made him suspect this was all new to her.“Are you having fun, Bella?”
The answer was obvious, even before she nodded, a trace of cotton candy smeared on her cheek.“This is great.Thanks, Dad.”
Dad.
His heart squeezed, and he took a moment to regain his breath.
Bella looked up at him worriedly.“It’s okay if I call you that, right?”
He nodded.“Sure is.”His heart felt fit to burst.
“Good.I asked Mom, and she said I should ask you first, but I forgot.”
“It’s all good, kiddo.”He ruffled her hair, drawing her laugh.
“Oh my heart,” Mom said, a smile on her face as she surveyed them.
Kyle grinned at her, then peered across to where Gen sat on the other side of Bella.Her gaze met his, and he mouthed a “thank you.”
She dipped her head, her expression soon resuming the tension she’d possessed since coming in from her shift at the hospital earlier.
Hmm.Maybe Gen releasing her daughter to own him as “Dad” hadn’t been the easy “yes” that Bella had implied.He could imagine Gen might feel like it was giving up part of herself, considering she’d fulfilled the role of mom and dad these many years.A title like that felt like it should be earned, not bestowed, and he hadn’t done enough yet to deserve that privilege.Or maybe he was overthinking all this and Gen was stressed simply because something had happened at the hospital.
Gen’s shift at work had meant Minnie had been the one to bring Bella, and that had gone down about as well as a lead balloon with his parents.
Mom had sighed.“That woman always looks like she’s smelled something bad.”
“Now, now, Philippa,” Dad had cautioned.“Play nice.”
But as Kyle had gone to greet them, and worked hard to not let Minnie’s glare slash his own resolve to be pleasant, he wished things could be simpler.That Mom didn’t have to “play” at being nice, but simply was.But then easygoing kindness had never been her jam.
After the dinner out, his mom hadn’t held back.“I do not like that Minnie creature.So demanding, so controlling.So incredibly pushy and ambitious.”
How ironic that she couldn’t see how alike they were.Still, “Nobody can deny she’s worked incredibly hard to support Gen in reaching her potential.”
She’d sniffed.“I suppose.”
Exasperation flared; he fought to tamp it down.“Mom, would it really kill you to admit that Gen becoming a doctor after being raised by a single mom in a trailer park is an impressive feat?It’s actually really impressive.Both women are,” he now realized.
Because Minnie might not like him, but he could see things from her perspective.He’d been the rich boy, the popular jock, and from the outside it must’ve looked shady the way he’d loved to hang out with Gen, something his later actions had only proved.So the way she’d supported Gen when he hadn’t been there to do it, to keep believing in her daughter and helping out with Bella despite it all, made her willingness to tolerate him now all the more humbling.No wonder Gen had gone on about her mom’s sacrifice so often.Minnie was likely still working at least double the hours his mom ever had, but as a cleaner.
His heart panged anew with regret.He should make it up to them somehow.Or at least try to.Maybe offer to replace that bomb of a car with something brand-new.
