Page 114 of The Blessing

“It’s fine,” I say, bending down to pick up the contents of my basket. Aside from the eggs, everything else seems to be fine. Hopefully, Ronnie won’t be too pissed about this. Travis obviously sees what I’m freaking out about and from what I guess is out of guilt, hands me the carton of eggs he has in his handbasket.

“You can take these, man. Since I fucked up yours and all. I can find some later.”

“Thanks.” Thank. Fucking. God. Ronnie would’ve killed me.

“You cooking?” he asks with a surprised look on his face.

I don’t blame him. I’ve never really cooked before in my life. The fanciest dish I’ve ever made is macaroni and cheese. “Um, no. You know I can’t cook worth a shit, Travis. Ronnie’s at home baking right now. She just ran out of a few things.”

“You having your family over for Thanksgiving?”

“Ronnie’s family, as well,” I add with a nervous laugh and a nod of my head. “We’re having it at her apartment. She’s been preparing for it all week.”

“That’s awesome, man. So, you’re meeting her parents then?”

“Well, just her dad. Her mom died when she was little,” I explain.

“That’s terrible,” he says with a frown. “Are you nervous about meeting him?”

I laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

“Well,” he says with a small smile and a shrug, “I wasn’t going to say anything, but you seem kind of off-kilter.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty fucking nervous.”

Grey makes a few noises and looks me dead in the eyes as if he was trying to form a word again. If he says “fuck,” I’m going to shit myself right here. Luckily, he says, “Dada,” and giggles before going back to looking curiously around the store.

“It’ll be fine,” Travis assures me. “I’m having dinner with my folks. We’ll probably watch football on television or something like that.”

“That sounds fun, man. I’d kill for a low-key night like that.”

“It’ll be all right, Trevor.” He pauses for a moment, and then smiles and adds, “We’ve got to get together soon.”

“I know, man. It’s been a minute. I’ve just been so sidetracked with everything going on.”

Fuck, I’ve been so sidetracked, I’ve barely talked to Travis at all. I’ve sent him a text here and there, but he hasn’t the slightest clue about any of the shit that has gone down recently. I know I need to be a better friend to him. I haven’t had that many good friends in my life, so I don’t have any experience when it comes to people actually caring about me. He’s been a great friend for so long. Sure, he was more of my brother’s friend growing up, but the three of us had been really close before I moved away. Once I moved, my circle of friends was always too high to really care about anything. I know I have to reach out to him. Other than Grey and my dad, he feels like the only piece of Dean I have left. I need to hold onto that.

“We’ll get together soon,” I promise. “I’ll text you about it tomorrow. Plus, you have Grey’s birthday party to come to.”

“Yeah, I’ve got his present already picked out and everything.” He smiles, but it falters as he looks over my shoulder in confusion as he asks, “Who’s that chick?”

I look behind me and try not to roll my eyes. Turning back to face him, I say, “Some woman named Brenda. She was hitting on me earlier when I was trying to get some vegetable shortening.” I notice Travis smile in her direction and add, “You should go for her, man. I bet she’d be interested.”

Travis smiles and shakes his head. “No, man. I shouldn’t be dating. I’m trying to focus on myself right now and fix a lot of stuff in my own life.”

“That’s great, man. I was doing that before Ronnie came into my life, but once I met her, I knew she was too important to ignore. I had to work on myself while I was falling in love with her.”

Travis smiles at me. Probably because I’m grinning like a fucking idiot.

“Well, maybe one day I’ll be as lucky as you.”

I smile at him, hoping that one day he’ll find a girl as great as mine. We part ways after making plans to touch base about getting together later in the week. I pay for my groceries and get the fuck out of the store as soon as I can. Who knew a grocery store on a holiday would be so chaotic? Traffic is a nightmare on the way back also and it takes me an extra half hour to get home. When I do arrive, I’m so fucking thrilled I grab the groceries and Grey before practically running upstairs, so I can see my girl as soon as possible. Is it sad that I miss her after only a few hours?

“Babe, I’m back!” I call out as soon as I walk through the door of her apartment.

Since she’s practically living with me now, her whole living room has been transformed into a dining room for our dinner tonight. Ronnie comes out of the kitchen, now wearing a cotton dress with her makeup done, but her hair is still wrapped in a towel. She gives me an apologetic smile. I only have a second to feel confused before I realize why she’s looking at me in this peculiar way.

A stern looking man with a mustache that looks like it came right out of a seventies porno walks out of the kitchen. He stops short and appraises Grey and me. I feel my stomach drop. I’m fucking speechless as I stare dumbly right back. Even if Ronnie hadn’t told me he was military, it’s obvious by the way he holds himself. He just has this vibe about him that says, “I’ll take you down if you mess with my daughter,” and it’s very fucking intimidating.

“Trevor,” Ronnie says, breaking the uncomfortable silence which descended upon the room the second her dad entered it. “This is my dad, Bryant. Dad, this is my fiancé, Trevor Warren, and his son Greyson.”

I give him a small, unsure smile with a nod of acknowledgement since my hands are full. Unfortunately, he says absolutely nothing.

Fucking, great.