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I was glad to see Drake give her shoulders a squeeze as he passed by. She jumped at his touch. I was sure they hadn’t shown each other any affection in years—physical or emotional.
“I don’t hate you, son,” she whispered.
“You should.” He headed to the kitchen with Jameson.
“Can I get you some coffee, Nora?” I offered. Poor woman was as pale as a snowflake.
“Please,” she practically begged.
Izzy sat with Nora while I met my boys in the kitchen. They were already searching for food in the stainless-steel commercial-size refrigerator. I took a moment to take in the scene. It hit me that this was going to be my life. Days of waking up to Jameson trying to convince Drake that cupcakes were a good option for breakfast. I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but that was a no go. I didn’t need the kid hyped on sugar already. Besides, there were plenty of treats to be had at the upcoming ball.
“Mom votes no on the cupcakes,” I had to say. Drake wasn’t going to hold strong.
“Aw, man,” Jameson snarled.
“How about eggs and toast?” I offered.
Jameson shrugged but grabbed a carton of eggs for me.
“Thank you, sir.” I took the eggs from my son, then gave Drake a peck on the lips. “How are you hanging in there?”
“Good.” He sounded nervous.
“I know it’s a big day for you and your parents.”
“It’s going to be interesting, to say the least,” he responded.
Interesting was right. Like right now.
“Nora,” a deep voice grumbled, loud enough for us to hear through the wall dividing the kitchen and dining hall.
Drake darted out the kitchen door.
Jameson squinted his eyes. “Is that my new grandpa?”
“Yep.”
“I want to go meet him and tell him what kinds of things I like.”
I tugged on his sleeve. “Hey, kiddo, let’s wait a minute. He hasn’t seen your dad for a long time.”
“How come?”
That was a great question. “How about we discuss this after school?”
Jameson didn’t respond, other than to rush out the door. I followed anxiously.
We entered the dining hall to find a major staring contest taking place between Nora and Calvin.
Izzy popped off her seat and grabbed Jameson. “How would you like me to take you to school? On the way, we’ll grab doughnuts and hot chocolate.”
So much for no sugar, but I was grateful for Izzy. More than she would ever know.
“Yes!” Jameson threw a fist in the air before he set his sights on Calvin. “Hi, you’re my grandpa. I’ll tell you all about me later.”
Leave it to Jameson to ease some of the tension that permeated the room like a thick fog.
Calvin peered at Jameson, almost as if he were seeing ghosts of the past. “I’d like that,” he stammered.
Jameson waved at everyone. “Bye, Mom and Dad.” I loved hearing those words together—Mom and Dad.
“Bye, honey, I love you. Make good choices today.”
“You make good choices too.” He rushed off.
“Thanks, Izzy,” I said, most gratefully.
That left four on-edge adults wondering where to go from here. I think this called for copious amounts of coffee.
Chapter Thirty-One
Drake and I sat on the couch in the parlor, staring at his parents—who sat separately on the oversized chairs across from us—sipping their coffee and looking as if they would like to crawl out of their skins.
My insides were buzzing like I’d already had ten cups of the beloved drink.
Drake gripped my hand like a vise while he ran his thumb over it repeatedly.
“How about those Lakers?” I blurted. Someone needed to break the years and years of ice that had built up.
I got a few appreciative grins.
“Do you still like the Lakers?” Calvin asked Drake, with meaning.
I wondered if Drake’s love for basketball came from his dad. If that’s why he had been so eager for Jameson to love the sport too.
“Yeah. Do you ever catch any of their games?”
Calvin scrubbed a hand over his gray-stubbled face. “When I can.”
“Maybe we can go to a game together,” Drake offered. “I can get courtside seats anytime I want.”
“That’s too fancy,” Calvin brushed off the offer.
Drake hung his head.
“Don’t be like that,” Nora admonished Calvin.
Calvin flashed her a seething look that was reminiscent of Drake’s. “Don’t be like what?”
She returned his glare with one of her own. “Don’t be so damn stubborn. That was always your problem.”
“And you’re taking his side, just like you always did,” he growled.
Nora looked ready to rip into him, but she took a deep breath before she spoke. “You’re right, I did that far too often, but sometimes it needed to be done. You needed to be softer. Just like now. Our son is offering to take you to a game. A sport you both love. Why in the world would you refuse him?”
Calvin thought for a moment. “It should be the other way around. I should take him, but . . .”
