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For a moment, my heart fluttered a bit, and then I pushed it back down. He was probably smiling at Wendy. I had to remember they were good friends.
“Gerry’s here,” Wendy said. “I’ll need to go say hi to him before we leave.”
“Are those his parents?” I asked.
Foster parents,” Wendy said. “Super-nice people, apparently.”
“Oh. I didn’t know he was a foster kid.”
“Yeah, he had a really rough childhood, actually,” she said. She leaned forward to kind of whisper talk to me and Dee, who also leaned in.
“His biological parents are both addicts. Really terrible parents, used to leave him alone for days with no food in the house, that sort of thing. It’s a miracle he didn’t end up getting into trouble,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons he and Finn connected so well. They both had similar background.”
“I didn’t know that about Finn,” I said.
“He doesn’t tell many people,” Wendy said. “I mean, you guys are family, so it’s fine, but he doesn’t talk about it much. But Gerry had a very similar kind of life. Really tough stuff. He was taken away as a toddler, but then they got him back. He was back and forth between them for years. When he was fifteen, he was taken away from them for good and met his foster parents.”
“Oh wow,” I said.
“Yeah, it was bad, but his foster parents, Lana and Hank, they’re great people. And they helped him straighten out and get into college and supported him ever since.”
“Do they live close by?” Dee asked.
“No,” Wendy said. “They all lived in Quebec, as I’m sure you knew.” I laughed. That accent certainly stuck out. “But once he got the job here, they moved to Massachusetts. I think one of their families are from there.”
“And they drove all the way down to spend time with him?” I asked.
“Yup.” Wendy suddenly dropped her fork to wipe more syrup off Olly’s chin. “He’s been excited about it for a bit. Enough to miss the bonfire last night.”
“Wow,” I said.
My heart broke for him. He was such a nice man, so genial and quiet. How someone could mistreat him, I didn’t know. And how he ended up being as sweet and helpful as he was. It struck me how lucky both he and Finn must feel to find someone else that had a similar background. Gerry also made it out without losing his soul in the way a lot of kids who suffered that way did.
I caught another glimpse of him from across the diner. He looked so happy with his parents there. They were sitting across from him, their hands linked on the table and laughing with him. He was smiling wide and talking as Janet came up to the table and took their drink order. It looked like they were going to get the same treatment we did. I was happy for him that he got that too.
I felt a little bad for finding out about his family history the way I had. I knew Wendy said that we were family, and that they were so close that it wouldn’t matter, but it still felt like I had somehow acquired information that was private.
Finally, Janet came back and picked up the plates as Olly sat back in the booth and happily rubbed his belly. He was so cute that I laughed, and Wendy dabbed at his face with the napkin one last time.
“Alright, guys,” Wendy said. “I’m going to go say hi to Gerry and his parents. Do you mind watching the kids for a second?”
“No, that’s fine,” Dee said. “Olly, want me to come over there and sit with you?”
“Yes, please,” he said, wiggling so he was lying down in the seat beside his sister.
Dee stood and went to the other side of the booth while Wendy made her way over to Gerry and his parents. I watched as she talked to them, and he introduced them to her. Once or twice, it seemed like his eyes flickered over to us, and I had an impulse to go over and say hi as well. But we were watching Wendy’s kids and didn’t really know him like that. It would be extremely presumptuous.
Eventually, Wendy came back and gathered the little ones, though Olly was insistent he wanted Dee to hold him. They made their way to the door, Wendy holding it open as I began my hobbling march behind them. Wendy and Dee were in mid-conversation when Finn came out to kiss her one more time and say goodbye to us.
I tried to pay attention to Finn, but behind him, Gerry was at the table with his parents, and they were laughing again. I was struck again by how sexy Gerry was. He was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, a look I hadn’t seen him in, but he was so relaxed, so cool. I was enamored with looking at him. Suddenly, I realized he was looking at me too.
