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“When are you too going to make it official?” my mom throws out there, looking over at Thad hopeful.
“Mom,” I hiss, sending her a look. I grit my teeth and shake my head. I feel like I’m not even seen at this table, and all three of them are in their own little world.
Thad smiles a big smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Callie and I just have to work some things out,” he says as his eyes roam over my body. I cringe.
He’s delusional, and I glare at him. “There’s nothing to work out,” I say, gritting my teeth. “We’re done.”
“Then someday we’ll have two Dr. Douchets.” My mom smiles broadly, taking a gulp of her wine. She reaches over to pour more, not even paying attention to what I’m saying.
I snort. “That will never happen,” I reply. Oh, hell no. This needs to stop. I’m shutting this down.
Thad ignores me and continues, “Callie won’t need to worry about working when we’re married. She can spend time at the club with you, Cheryl, and do charity work.” Thad waves at the server obnoxiously and points for another drink, not even bothering to use his big-boy words or manners. The server looks like she wants to roll her eyes, and I shake my head, grimacing at him. Her mouth turns up a little at my reaction. He’s such an ass. He’s oblivious to how he treats everyone around him. He reminds me of my dad.
“We will never be a couple,” I say to him. He’s already on his second drink, and we just got here. “Did you drive here?”
“Shut up,” he whispers, then smiles big at my dad. “Hamilton, are we still on for our tee time this Saturday?”
“You bet,” Dad says, reaching for his bourbon.
“I’m not working your shift if you’re scheduled,” I murmur, shaking my head.
For the rest of the boring dinner, my dad and Thad speak about the club and golfing nonstop. My mom fills us in on all the club gossip and upcoming events that I couldn't care less about. I smile and nod politely when needed. I counted down the minutes.
“Callie, you can help me with the upcoming gala for the club,” she says, setting down her wineglass. I noticed she didn’t ask me; she just informed me that I could help her.
“No, thank you. I’m busy with work.” I would rather put a fork in my eye than help her with anything. I have no time for that, nor would I ever want to.
“You need to put yourself out there more with respectable people in town. It would be good for your career, you know,” she says pointedly.
“I’m sure the board will be meeting soon about your position,” my dad muses. “You want to make sure you’re impressing the right people.” I look over at Thad, and he smirks as he takes a sip of the fresh drink his server just set down. I also notice that he doesn’t say thank you again, either.
“Also, I need you to make a little investment in something, Callie. But we can talk about it later.” He waves his hand, his eyes already glassy. I wonder how much he had to drink before he came to dinner.
I have no money for his investments or whatever he’s short on cash for. I’m already exhausted trying to come up with a way to tell him no without him losing it and throwing a fit like he usually does until he gets what he wants. And his idea of an investment really means that I just give him money without repayment or an investment. He likes to remind me that he helped me in college, so I need to help him with his investments. The reality is that they never helped me with college.
“I’ll help you with anything you need, Hamilton,” Thad hedges.
“That would be great, Thad. I’m so glad I’ll get to call you son one day.” My dad drains his glass.
I choke on my iced tea when he says this. “You’re all idiots. How can you all be so dumb? I have repeatedly told you that we’re done. And you sit here with them and do this?” I glare at Thad.
I don’t know if having SJ back gives me confidence or if I’ve just outgrown this and realized that I don’t have to take this anymore. I can stop being the nice person who gives chances. I don’t owe my parents anything. They’re never going to change. I’ve learned with Goldie that the family you create is more important than the family you come from. This one doesn’t deserve me.
I would rather be having a burger right now with Goldie. I’d rather be anywhere but here. This will be the last dinner that I attend with any of them.
“Callie,” my mother hisses, admonishing my outburst.
“I’m leaving,” I say as I stand, feeling disgusted as I toss my napkin down. As I head out, I hear my mom complain about me. “That girl…” Then I hear Thad say something about a little disagreement.No, Thad, you are the disagreement.
I get to the car and check my phone for texts. Nothing from SJ. My heart sinks in disappointment. I’m worried about him and hope he’s doing okay.
I look in the rearview mirror and whisper, “I need to get out of here.” Coming to dinner with my parents and having Thad ambush it just solidified that I want to try with SJ. I owe it to my past self to see if we can fix us. I know what I need to do.
I ignore the calls and angry text messages from Thad blowing up my phone. I hit the block button. Tonight, I’m going to my happy place, the lookout. Thad would never know to look for me there, and it feels good to be done with him. But for tonight? This is my night. I’m not letting anyone ruin it. I’m done letting people walk all over me.
nineteen
SJ
