Page 69 of The Liar in Room 5

I hadn’t expected an apology, and honestly, it wasn’t even necessary, but I appreciated it nonetheless. I gave Henry a small smile, and he returned his attention to Ben, who was still on my lap.

“After I took you away from the office today, it’s expected.”

He gave me a knowing look and covered my hand with his. The unspoken words clearly said that I had lost my damn mind.

“Nah, it doesn’t work like that.”

“Fine, but before I forget, thank you for today. It was so much better because you were with me. Did you like it?”

“I liked some parts a lot.”

“Oh, tell me.”

“So, the relaxing was nice, but it was super helpful for working through some issues on a few case files. I might try it again and see if lightning strikes twice.” Henry looked sheepish at his confession, but if it worked, it worked. “But that wasn’t the best part.”

“What was that?”

“You.”

Oh, for Pete’s sake, this man was going to make me blush like a twelve-year-old with his first crush. I waved him away, but he captured my hand and kissed my fingers. I melted. Full-on swooned and became in desperate need of a fainting couch.

Wrapped up in each other, we’d completely missed that Marc and Ben were in the middle of a face-off. Marc wasn’t winning.

“Have you decided on what you really want to eat?” Henry asked him.

Ben gave Henry a sweet smile, then turned his head and gave his father a pouty lip. “Daddy said no crab legs. I want to use the thingy.”

“The good news is, since Uncle Henry’s paying the bill, Uncle Henry gets to decide what you get for dinner, and if you want crab legs, you’re getting them.”

“See, Daddy? Uncle Henry said yes.”

“And it’s such a waste. You’re going to eat two bites.”

I could see that Ben was gearing up for a full-on temper tantrum, and maybe I shouldn’t have interfered, but it was my birthday. I wanted him to be happy because I adored this kid. Picking him up in the morning and having him give me a pep talk on the way to work was the best part of my day.

“Would it be okay if we shared them?” I asked Ben.

“Yeah, but I get to do the crushy thing,” he countered.

“Deal.”

Crisis averted, we sat at the table and waited for the server to come back and take our order. I was a little surprised they were taking so long, but it was busy, so they probably just got caught up somewhere else. Between the leaves of our vine-covered walls, I could see packed tables of people. But our table had a completely unobstructed view of the water and rocks below. I imagined that in some seasons, the rocks would potentially be used by seals or sea otters for a little sunbathing.

At Ben’s insistence, I returned my attention to coloring cars until, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two servers had returned to the table. Oddly, they didn’t say anything when they got there but just stood quietly for a few moments. I was caught up with coloring, but Marc and Henry had also gone quiet too. When I glanced up, I nearly choked on my own breath.

“Oh my God. Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

I knew I should get up and hug them, but I was rooted to my chair, dumbfounded. My folks stood there grinning at my speechlessness. Henry and Marc were laughing, and Ben was quiet with me, his eyes darting around to everyone as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on.

“Hey, Ben, c’mere so Drew can get up,” Henry said and hauled a protesting Ben off my lap.

With some effort, I pushed my chair back and staggered to my feet. It had been three years since I’d seen them in person. They never had the money to fly out and, well, I had no excuses that carried any weight. There’d always been a reason or excuse.

They looked the same as they’d always looked, but I could tell they’d made an effort to dress up for the occasion. My dad had on his good polo, clean cowboy boots, and nice jeans. My mom’s dress was probably bought at a discount store or at the mall in Wall Lake, but it was summery and pretty, and she’d taken the time to put on makeup, which she never did. They looked nervous, as if they weren’t aware that they were the best, most fantastic, amazing surprise in the world.

“You guys,” I finally managed to choke out.

The shock that kept me standing near my chair finally loosened its hold, and I flew over to them and wrapped my arms around them. My mom and I immediately turned on the waterworks, while my dad sounded suspiciously congested. Hearing about how they came to be there today could wait. Now I just wanted to soak them in. They may not have understood their queer kid and certainly hadn’t always been pleased with the choices I’d made over the years, but I never questioned their love. Hell, lately I’d figured out that I should’ve questioned myself more.