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“We’re in a relationship.” She tensed a little and glanced at me, unsure I would approve of the terminology.
But I liked it.A relationship. It wasn’t something I’d ever expected to find at this stage in my life—I had thought I was just a single guy forever, and I’d been okay with that. But Alison had changed everything for me.
“You’re not in a relationship,” Henry objected. “You can’t be.”
“We are,” Alison said. “We settled everything last night. We’ve had feelings for each other for a while, Dad.”
“He’s nearly twice your age!”“I’m an adult, though.”
“An adult,” Henry scoffed. “You’re barely out of grad school, Alison. He’s almost old enough to retire. What are you talking about?”She sighed. “I knew you were going to take it like this.”
“Andyou!” He rounded on me. “What the hell do you mean by it? Mydaughter? Are you kidding me, Brian? I knew you were a player, but this is beyond the pale!”
He suddenly realized that we were sitting just a few inches apart. “Get off my couch!” he exclaimed.
I started to stand up, but Alison grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. “Don’t be an asshole about this, Dad,” she said. “It’s happening whether you like it or not, but you can be decent about it. You don’t have to act like some cartoon version of an overprotective father.”
“Alison, be quiet,” Henry snapped. “You have no idea what you’re doing here.”
“Yes, I do,” she said sharply. “You can’t get away with treating me like a child anymore, Dad. Didn’t you notice that I’m twenty-six years old, and I’m an FBI agent?”
“Twenty-six—that’s nothing! He’s in his forties! You think you can be in a relationship with each other?” He scoffed and shook his head. “What do you imagine that’s going to look like? You don’t even have any common interests!”
“We do, actually,” Alison said. “But that’s something for us to figure out together. And if your only objection to this is that you don’t think Brian’s going to be willing to watch reality TV with me—”
“I’ll watch reality TV with you,” I cut in. It was fair to say I’d never cared about that nonsense type of program before, but if Alison did, I was all in. I’d make her dinner, and she could explain all the petty dramas. That sounded like an enjoyable evening from where I was sitting.
“No, that damn well is not my only objection,” Henry said. “The two of you are at different stages in your lives, Alison. You’ll want to find someone to settle down with before long. Maybe start a family. And that’s not where Brian is. That’s notwhoBrian is. He’s exactly the type of guy in a different girl’s bed every night.”
“Hey,” I protested.
“Don’t fucking start, Brian. You know it’s the truth.”
“Dad,” Alison said. “Brian and I aren’t as far apart in our life plans as you think.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
She drew a deep breath. “I’m pregnant, Dad.”
Henry froze. He looked positively shell-shocked.
“It’s okay,” Alison said quickly. “This is a good thing, I promise. Breathe, okay? Don’t start yelling again.”
“You’re pregnant?” His voice was low and ominous.
Then he turned and looked at me. “What the fuck did you do?”
“Don’t talk to Brian, Dad. Talk to me. I’m your daughter. And it takes two, you know. I did this every bit as much as he did.”
“You’re just a kid. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Oh, yes, I do,” Alison said hotly. “And if you’re going to be like this about it, Dad, I’m not going to stay here and try to talk to you about things. You’re the only one who’s behaving like a child. So, calm down and accept this for what it is, or else Brian and I will leave until you’re ready to have an adult conversation.”
“You’re lecturing me about being an adult?”
“Well, you aren’t acting like one,” she said. “I’m sorry this has come as such a shock, but nothing shady has happened here. Nobody has done anything wrong. We just discovered that we were interested in each other, and we acted on it.”
Henry’s jaw worked. I could tell he was struggling not to start yelling again, and I appreciated the effort. I felt like I understood, more than Alison seemed to, just how hard this was for him to accept.
