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Does that mean…?
He opens his mouth, but I clear my throat, remembering there are people waiting for us.
“Well, okay,” I say.
It is occurring to me now that we are standing inches apart and his face is about four inches from mine. “After you.” He gestures to the door and drops my arm. “We’ll see who breaks first.”
I force out a laugh, though I am not confident at all. I don’t know what he means by break first, but I’m not saying jack squat.
Lucas follows me out back and takes his seat while I sit down reluctantly, waiting for the first opportunity to grab Jadon and run. Dad has had a few beers, it seems, and starts blabbing about the football team with Lucas. Jadon sits in his lap playing with a toy dinosaur and I catch Lucas staring at him every so often.
Better not get any ideas.
Although, I wouldn’t mind seeing my dad punch him in the face if he figures it out. I’m just not sure if he would be so happy with me, though.
Lucas glances at me every so often with this expectant look, as though I’m just going to pipe up randomly and break the news.
Nope.
He didn’t have the decency or extend the courtesy of asking my name when we met. Why would I break the news? If anything, I’ve done more than enough. And I still don’t know what he meant by breaking first, but I’m not doing it, whatever it is.
It is my son who does me dirty in this, though.
“Look. His eyes.” Jadon points to the devil incarnate across the table and breaks the standoff Lucas and I certainly were not having. “Like mine!”
It’s my fault. I should have kept him out longer. Waited until I knew Lucas was gone.
“What?” My dad chuckles and kisses Jadon. “You’re silly. Lucas doesn’t—”
You know the moment when you realize something so profound that you take a moment to just pause? My dad is having that currently while Lucas and I both shift in our seats. The cells in his brain are slowly putting things together, but he may not believe it. Maybe he’ll blame it on the three beer bottles resting on the table in front of him.
Yeah, maybe that will work.
“One gray, one blue.” Jadon continues to rub salt in a wound he doesn’t realize is there.
My father, the tough but fair coach, the semi-strict parent, and the friendly man of our small town everybody knows, has developed a twitch in his left eye that won’t stop the longer his eyes go between Lucas and me.
Okay, so no miracles tonight, I guess. Time to go. I break. I’m done. Lucas wins.
“Jadon, why don’t we go upstairs and—”
“No,” Dad says firmly. “Jadon, please go get changed and wait for your mom upstairs. She will be up shortly.”
Jadon jumps off my dad’s lap and sprints upstairs without realizing he probably signed my death warrant. But that’s a lot to put on a small child when I dug my grave here.
“Is this what I think it is?” Dad asks. “Or is this just a coincidence?”
“What, exactly, do you think it is?” I clear my throat. No, I don’t feel like a bug under a microscope.
“Allison.” He warns me and then glares at Lucas. “Did you know?”
Lucas clears his throat. “I just found out today, sir.”
He turns to me, but then back to Lucas. “Wait. You’re the one that threw my daughter out of your car? Is that why you were asking about Jadon’s father? You’re the guy that treated my daughter like discarded trash when you were finished with her?”
Lucas stills.
“Is that why you tried to get a job with me?” The questions roll out of my father without room to be answered. Lucas waits for him to finish, but he’s not even close.
