Page 61 of I’m Already Gone

“Oh, like this one?” I grab a large Ziploc bag from the drawer. He nods.

“Now we have to put it all together and shake it,” he instructs, his voice serious.

“Okay.” I pour the popcorn and candy mixture into the bag and seal it. I start to shake it gently.

“More!” he says, a wide, infectious smile spreading across his face.

I laugh, shaking it harder, then start to bop my head and move my body like I’m dancing, throwing the bag up in the air and catching it, even attempting a clumsy tango step. He throws his head back, a pure, uninhibited laugh bubbling up.

Once it’s well mixed, I pour it back into the big bowl.

“I’ll meet you in the living room,” I say, helping him off the counter.

He carries the large bowl, his hands clutching the sides, toward the living room.

I grab the drinks, a stack of napkins, and some smaller individual bowls, then join them.

Jake is already sprawled out on the chaise side of the couch, looking comfy. I sit beside Maddy on the main part of the couch, and Ollie places the popcorn bowl on the coffee table before settling himself right beside me.

I pass out the drinks and prepare the smaller bowls with popcorn for each of them.

The movie starts with a low rumble of thunder faintly echoing from outside. Ollie scoots a little closer to me.

I look down at his innocent, trusting face, and a soft smile touches my lips. This. This is what I’ve always wanted, even before I knew it.

Maybe Ollie is an unexpected second chance for all of us.

Ethan

“Dad?”

I glance over my shoulder, my coffee mug halfway to my lips, to see Maddy emerge from her bedroom. She’s rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand. She shuffles toward me at the kitchen island. I smile at the sight of her in her Hello Kitty pajamas.

“Morning, sweet pea.” I set my cup down.

“Morning.” A sleepy yawn stretches her mouth wide. She pulls up the stool beside mine, bumping my knee slightly.

“What can I make you?” I ask, reaching out to push a stray, matted lock of hair off her forehead so I can properly see her face.

She leans into my touch for a second before looking up at me, her eyes clearing. “Dad, can I ask you something?” she asks, her voice a little softer than usual.

“You know you can ask me anything, kiddo.”

She takes a shallow breath, then blurts out, “Do you still love Mom?”

I feel a familiar tightening in my chest, a quick, sharp pang. I take a slow, deep breath, letting it out even slower. “I will always love your mother, Maddy. Nothing will ever change that.”

She studies my face, her brow furrowed. “Then why did you leave her?” she asks.

I sigh. “It’s complicated, sweet pea.”

She rolls her eyes, a classic teenage move. “Oh, come on, Dad. I may be fourteen, but I’m not dumb.”

“Never said you were,” I retort.

Her gaze bounces between my eyes, searching, before she lets out a frustrated huff. “Fine,” she mutters, laying her head down on her arm on the cool countertop. “Can you at least tell me the story of how you knew she was the one?”

A smile spreads across my face. “You already know that story,” I say.