Page 10 of Come to Me

Joe scanned the table. “Are the newlyweds skipping breakfast again?”

“I’ll save them some. Sit down, Joe before breakfast gets cold,” Lori said, putting a platter of eggs and bacon on the table.

“My paw paw can fix your window,” Tate said to Patrick.

“What’s wrong with the good doctor’s window?” Joe served himself bacon.

“I broke it.” Tate looked down.

“How?” Joe’s jovial demeanor morphed into concern.

Tate mumbled so low Micki couldn’t hear it much less her father at the other end of the table with failing hearing.

“Look at me when you speak to me,” Joe said, in a stern voice Micki recognized from when she was a kid. Her father was an aging, disabled man, but he hadn’t lost his authoritative voice when needed.

Tate’s eyes looked at his grandfather, but his head stayed bowed. “I threw a rock.”

“Oh Tate.” Lori shook her head. “You know better.”

“I’m sorry for my grandson’s actions,” Joe said to Patrick.

“It’s nothing that can’t be fixed.” Patrick shrugged and cut his bacon. Micki watched entranced. They didn’t eat bacon with their fingers in the city?

“We’ll cover the cost of course,” Joe continued.

Micki held her tongue but wondered how they’d pay for it. A nice vehicle like that had to be expensive. Surely it was insured.

“I’m sure it’s insured,” Patrick said unconcerned as he scooped up eggs on his fork.

“Well, Tate still needs to make amends. You can’t go around throwing rocks just because you don’t get your way.” Joe shook his finger. “You’re lucky I don’t tell you to go out and get a switch.”

Patrick’s brows lifted. “Hitting the boy isn’t going to fix my window.”

Micki tensed. Parenting was like politics and religion; topics that shouldn’t be discussed among strangers.

Her father was more bark than bite. She and her brother Logan had been spanked a few times growing up, but never with a switch.

“It might make him think again about throwing a rock,” Joe said.

“I doubt it.” Patrick turned his attention back to his food.

“Do you have children?” Lori’s tone edged towards offended that Patrick would have an opinion about how they cared for Tate.

“I don’t. But I don’t need to be a parent to know about children any more than your gynecologist needs to have had a baby to do his or her job.”

He had a point. Micki looked at her parents hoping they’d drop it.

“And what does all your fancy schooling have to say about Tate?” Lori asked, although Micki was sure the right answer would be for Patrick not to give his opinion.

Patrick looked at Tate who turned to him, his expression a mixture of interest and worry.

“Tate has trouble managing intense feelings like anger. He seems to have separation anxiety from his father. It’s normal for children. When the feelings get the best of them, helping them learn to cope works better than a switch.”

Lori’s lips pressed together in a thin line. Joe’s jaw clenched. Micki too, was a little irked that Patrick had criticized them even if he was a shrink. She knew all about his sister’s attempt at hurting Mitch and Sydney, so while he might be book smart, he clearly didn’t know how to help people.

Micki glowered at him. “You don’t know us, Dr. Andres.” She purposefully used his title and surname, as the friendliness from the night before dissipated.

Patrick jerked his attention to her as if he knew the use of formal name indicated a change in their opinion of him.

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