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“What’s going on here? Is it a birthday party?”
“Are you Brooklyn?” Cody asks and she nods. “That’s the girl I said was hot, right, Dad? When we were eating pizza and I was telling y’all about the threesome fight?”
“The what?” my stepfather Stone asks, amused and oblivious to my inner turmoil.
“Never mind,” Boone mutters. “Yeah, Cody, that’s the same girl. But let’s keep our voice down, shall we? I have a feeling Uncle Cash is about to come to some sort of epiphany.”
“This is your daughter?” I ask Hadley, trying to make sense of the situation.
Hadley nods once, her eyes jetting over to her daughter quickly before returning to mine. “Yes.”
I look at Brooklyn. A conversation I had with my brother several months ago coming to mind.
“Can I tell you who I thought that Brooklyn girl reminded me of?”
“Of course.”
“Hadley.”
Brock seems to think it over, trying to remember who I could be talking about. “Hadley… the one you had a fling with like fifteen years ago?”
“That’d be the one. I’m surprised you remembered her name.”
“You’ve mentioned her a time or twelve,” he teases but I don’t smile. I feel like I’ve just looked straight into the eyes of someone I let walk out of my life and have regretted it every single day since.
“Something about Brooklyn. I don’t know. She just seemed familiar to me. Maybe it was her coloring or something.”
But it was more than her coloring.
My gaze shifts back and forth between her and Hadley, my brain slowly catching on to what’s happening. The similarities between Hadley and Brooklyn is uncanny but I see something else in Brooklyn. Or, someone else. My mom. My stomach is in a knot and I feel like it’s possible I’ll throw up right here on the floor of the diner where my brother just proposed to his girlfriend.
“Think we have some stuff to talk about, don’t you?”
Hadley also looks like she could throw up which means I have reason to be feeling the way I’m feeling. At least, I think I do. Maybe I’m way off the mark here. It’s not like dark hair and eyes is especially unique.
Naomi whispers, “Uh, I think I’m missing something.”
“Cash, I…”
“We need to talk, Hadley,” I interrupt her, my voice a little harsher than I intended but there’s clearly a lot I’ve missed over the past fifteen years. Gone are the feelings of excitement over seeing her, now they’re replaced by anxiety and a bit of anger. Anger that I may not even be justified to feeling which is why I need to get this cleared up immediately.
She sighs heavily and looks over at Brooklyn. “Yeah, I think we do.”
“Can someone please explain to me what’s happening here?” Mom demands.
“Later, Mom.”
“I’m not sure what’s happening, but why don’t you two use the office?” Dorothy suggests. “Brooklyn’s okay here with me.”
I stomp that way without seeing if Hadley’s following.
The second I get into the office, I spin around and cross my arms over my chest, immediately assaulted by how beautiful Hadley is, even when she’s doing her best not to look at me. She was beautiful fifteen years ago and nothing’s changed. Except, maybe, she’s gotten even more beautiful.
Hadley quietly shuts the door behind her then turns to face me, keeping her eyes downcast.
“I’m going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer. I don’t care how you think I’ll react because you don’t know me well enough to know that. What you’ll realize is that no matter what your answer is, I won’t be an asshole about it. So please, God, be honest with me. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
