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She thinks for a moment. “I wouldn’t mind getting married again, but it has to be right.” She pauses for a moment before adding, “And before you ask, I don’t know if I want any more kids. If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have told you that I was ready to get my tubes tied, but now, I’m not so sure.”
“What’s changing your mind?” I ask. “Or potentially changing your mind.”
“Well, this past month has showed me that nothing is as sure as I thought it was. I realize that I don’t know quite what the universe has in store for me, and maybe I should be open to anything.”
My phone interrupts us again, but I see this time it is Duke, not my mother. Although I normally wouldn’t answer, Duke NEVER calls me. Ever. He is the epitome of radio silence most of the time.
“It’s Duke,” I say before putting the phone to my ear and answering. “Hello?”
“Hey, Tanner, what’s going on?”
“Uhhh, not much. You okay? You never call me.”
I hear Avery in the background say, “See? I told you that you were going to freak people out by calling them.”
“Oh, hush,” he tells her before turning his attention back to me. “Everything is great, actually. Next weekend, Avery and I have decided to tie the knot.”
“No shit? Congratulations, man.”
“Thank you. I thought it was time I make an honest woman out of her.” Next, I hear, “Ouch, Avery don’t hit me. I was just kidding.”
It’s so weird seeing my super stoic brother having a sense of humor.
He says, “Anyway, it’s going to be a really small thing here at our house. I’d love for you to come. And Mom says you’re dating someone now. I’d love for you to bring her too.”
“Uh, yeah. I’d love to be there. I’ll have to check with Erin, but if she’s free, I will bring her too. Just let me know what time.”
We say our goodbyes, and Erin sits wide-eyed, waiting to hear what I have to say.
“Duke and his girl, Avery, are getting married next weekend. We’ve both been invited.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice.”
I realize that maybe I shouldn’t have volunteered Erin to go without talking to her first. “Shit, I’m sorry, Erin. If you don’t want to go, I will just say that you’re busy with the kids. No big deal. I don’t want you to feel weird being around my mom or anything.”
She gently squeezes my hand. “I’d love to go with you.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Erin
“Tanner,areyougoingto come to my game tonight?” Alex asks. “I want to try to do one of those bicycle kicks that we’ve been working on.”
Before Tanner can say a word, I interject. “Oh, sweetie, I don’t think Tanner can make it tonight. He has to go out of town for work tomorrow, and we don’t want to keep him out too late.”
Alex just gives a sad, “Oh,” and walks back out of the room.
Tanner looks at me. “Hey, it’s no big deal for me to go to his game. I’d love to see him play. And I’ll only be gone for one night. I’ll be okay if I miss a little sleep.”
“I know,” I say. “I just think it would probably be better if I went to the game alone.”
“Want to tell me why?”
I wipe down one of the counters in the kitchen while explaining, “Well, Judd will be there, and—”
“And you don’t want him and me in the same place?”
“Something like that.”
