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“Max?”
I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Pivoting, I saw the bright red hair and the even brighter smile. “Hi, Fran.”
She was built like a brick house, and yet she moved like a woman possessed. I braced myself for the hug.
“It is you. Oh my God. I was hoping you’d come home for your sister’s wedding. How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m good. Thank you.”
She took a step back, knowing no boundaries when it came to squeezing my arms and patting my chest. “You’ve grown.” She pinched my cheek. “And so very handsome. Come on, take a seat. Let’s get you some food. Bacon burrito, side of bacon, right?”
“You got it.” It was something to know she remembered after all these years.
She bustled around the counter, pouring me a coffee while I took a seat. I couldn’t help wincing when she shouted toward the kitchen. “Dan, get your butt out here.”
The old man shouted back. “Keep your knickers on, woman.”
He came through the swinging door looking more stooped than the last time I’d seen him, but still just as skinny and frail. To tell the truth, I hadn’t been sure he’d still be around considering he was a chain-smoking, whiskey-drinking, watching-your-cholesterol-is-for-pussies kind of guy. “What do you want, woman? I’m busy makin’ bacon.”
Their love language made me chuckle. I hadn’t understood it when I was younger, but now I appreciated fully.
Fran had one hand on her hip and gestured toward me with the other. “Right there.”
Squinting his eyes at me, Dan took his glasses out of his pocket, making me wonder how the hell he cooked if they weren’t on his face. “Maxamillion?”
Only he’d ever used the nickname. “Yes, sir.”
He flashed a dentured grin, one of ten I’d ever seen come from the man. “Come around here, boy, and give these old bones a squeeze.”
I did as he asked, careful not to squeeze too hard. “Good to see you.”
“You too. Boy, did you end up big. What can I get you? Bacon burrito with a side of bacon?”
“I’ve been dreaming about it.”
He scoffed but gave me another smile. “Coming right up.”
Fran put a glass of OJ next to my coffee. “You see your folks?”
The question was expected, but it didn’t make my reply any easier. “Saw my mom this morning. Nothing has changed.”
She tsked. “Never made any sense to me. Knew your dad always had a stick up his ass about you becoming an attorney and going into practice with him, and he’d always been a self-righteous son of a bitch when it came to his way or the highway, but never thought they’d disown their only son for owning a club that doesn’t suit their tastes.”
Orange juice went down the wrong pipe. Her meaty fist pounded between my shoulders until I could breathe again. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
“You didn’t think we knew? Your mom used to be my best friend.”
“Used to be?”
She smiled sadly. “We still talk from time to time, neighborly, but I lost all respect for her the moment she went along with your father in not talking to you. I regret we didn’t stay in touch with you, but please know we were always on your side. Although Dan and I don’t use the Internet or the words on the phones, we’re always here.”
“I’m sorry, Fran. I never meant for our fallout to affect you and Dan.”
Her hand covered mine. “Don’t you dare apologize. It was a long time coming. Your father didn’t much like your mother hanging out with me anyhow.”
My father had always been tough on me and expected perfection, which for him translated into doing what he said without question. But my mother had been the softness to even it out. I’d always considered myself a mama’s boy until the point she decided to quit loving me.
As if Fran could read my mind, she said, “Didn’t come without a steep cost. There’s a heaviness weighing on her ever since things happened.”
