Page 44 of Icing on Top

“Zoe made it!” Charlie chimed in, already shedding her coat. She almost dropped it right where she stood, but I caught her eye, and she hurried to hang it up on the nearby coatrack.

Mom’s eyebrows crinkled as she looked between the two of us. “Zoe?”

“Yeah! She’s my new hockey coach, remember? Her and Daddy went on a date when I came to spend the night with you,” Charlie answered as if it were obvious.

She continued to ramble on about Zoe as she made her way to the dining room, leaving us no choice but to follow her. Something about Zoe and pickles. I wasn’t exactly paying attention, too busy avoiding my mom’s questioning look as she walked beside me.

I hadn’t told them why I needed Charlie to have a sleepover that night. Not that I was required to as their son. I was a thirty-one-year-old father who could make his own decisions without the opinion of his parents. Add on that it was only a first date, which could have gone terribly for all I knew—thank God, it didn’t. Based on her lingering stare, though, I would be hearing her opinion soon enough, whether I wanted it or not.

Dad entered the dining room at the same time as us, a platter of freshly carved turkey in his hands. Despite it only being the four of us, my parents still prepared an exorbitant amount of food. Charlie and I were always grateful for the leftovers sent home with us, but we could only eat the same meal so many times a week.

“Is that pie?”

Dad had zeroed in on the dessert I still held in my hands, eyeing it my entire trip around the dining table to the kitchen.

“Apple?” he asked hopefully.

“Wouldn’t bring anything else.”

I placed the pie in the kitchen for now alongside the no-bake cookies my mom had made. My lack of baking skills most likely came from her.

Mom left the topic of Zoe alone until after dinner when she cornered me in the kitchen. Coincidentally, just as I was getting a slice of the pie that had started this whole thing. I calmly cut a decent slice and transferred it to a dessert plate before turning to face her.

“So this Zoe…” she started.

I let out a small sigh and took a bite. “Yes?”

Her mouth opened and closed a couple times before she waved her hand around, as if that would help her put together the perfect sentence.

“I understand you wanting to date again, but… involving Charlie in it?”

My brows pulled together tight. “Involving Charlie?”

“Yes! You have to take her into consideration as well, not just your own wants and needs. If things go sideways, she’ll be heartbroken. You can’t just parade women in and out of her life.”

I shook my head, eyes closed as I tried to wrap my mind around the words that had just come out of her mouth. Now I was the one at a loss for what to say; the ability to string together a sentence or even a coherent thought suddenly lost on me. Did she even know me at all? Take her into consideration. Parading women.

“Mom, I’m not parading women in and out—God, it’s—” I set down my plate with a huff, the clattering of porcelain on the counter deafening in the confines of the small kitchen. “I am thinking about Charlie. All I ever do is think about Charlie and what’s best for her. And I wholeheartedly believe that’s Zoe.”

“How can you be so sure? You’ve known her for—”

“Charlie adores her,” I interrupted. “The second Zoe introduced herself at the first practice, Charlie wouldn’t shut up about her. Zoe’s a terrific role model for her. She’s a strong leader, a talented hockey player, and she is so kind and giving. Everything I would want Charlie to be. And Zoe loves Charlie.”

How did I put their bond into words? Let alone in a way that my mother would understand.

“The way they are together…” I shook my head. “When I see them together, it makes me the happiest I’ve been in a long time. Seeing someone love Charlie like that? Someone who has no biological ties to her? It’s all I could ever ask for.”

I took a steadying breath.

“She makes me happy. Plain and simple. She makes me laugh and feel things I didn’t think I could feel anymore.”

The kitchen grew silent as my mother squirmed beneath my unwavering gaze. Everything I’d said had been the truth. The only thing I may have left out was that I was falling in love with Zoe, too. Between the hours spent planning for the women’s rec league together, seeing her at Puffins practices and games, and a handful of dates, the snowballing feelings I’d tried so hard to fight before had turned into a full-on avalanche. And I was done fighting against it.

“I’m sorry,” Mom finally spoke up. “I know I can trust you, but…”

Tears built in her eyes and I didn’t hesitate to step forward and wrap her in my arms. She gave into my touch and settled her head against my chest as she held me in return.

“I don’t want to ever see you two go through heartbreak like that again. I couldn’t stand it.”