Page 73 of Unforgettable

I turned around and scanned the large room, expecting to see him hovering near one of the several eye-catching exhibits, but he was nowhere to be found. Navigating around people and exhibits, I retraced our steps, searching for his face in every blond-haired guy over six feet tall.

It wasn’t until I stepped into the room we’d wandered around before that I saw him tucked into a corner. Between an oversized tank filled with a variety of fish and a cutout of a shark, Josh pressed his phone to his ear. A scowl contorted his features, and in the few seconds I watched him, he rolled his eyes, shook his head a few times, and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

For a moment, I contemplated approaching him.

His frustration had waned throughout the day. By the time we’d made it to the aquarium, bought our tickets and began exploring, his frustration with my attendance was nearly nonexistent. We even shared a few laughs at Amanda’s expense, as usual.

But Josh had been on edge since Amanda refused to speak to us the week prior, and I was concerned that one misstep on my part would put him right back into that mindset. Because although Amanda ignoring us wasn’t completely my fault, he’d acted like it was. Just as she was ignoring us, he ignored me.

Not to mention, Josh, who was normally carefree and wore a smile ninety-nine percent of the time, hadn’t been the same since Hazel and Luke’s wedding. We were all eager to have him back to normal. Me most of all.

So, when he turned deeper into the corner and gripped the back of his neck with his hand, I headed to him. Politely smiling at a couple and their little girl that sprinted around my legs, I approached Josh just in time to hear as he laughed humorlessly and quickly ended the call.

“Let me guess,” I said by way of greeting, “Sam?”

Josh whirled, startled, but quickly righted himself when he realized it was just me. He shook his head as he pocketed his phone and leaned against the wall behind him.

“How’d you know?”

“When y’all argue, you always have the same look on your face. Kind of like you’re constipated and seriously hungover all at the same time. But not a regular hangover, I’m talking a whole night of drinking nothing but Jäger. That kind of hungover.”

He cringed and then let out another sad chuckle. “That’s kind of how it feels too,” he said with a sigh I felt in my bones.

I’d been there through all of it. When he started dating Sam, when he found out she was pregnant, when Zach was born, when they tried to make it work, and when it all went to hell. To say that we were all surprised they’d ended up where they were would be an understatement. It wasn’t until almost two years before that they’d finally figured out co-parenting enough that they could stand the odd conversation about their child’s well-being or manage a change in their schedules.

“What’d she have to say?” I leaned against the wall next to him, crossing my arms over my chest and preparing to wait until he was ready to spill.

With another sigh, his head fell back to the wall and he groaned. “She called me last week sometime and asked if I wouldn’t mind picking Zach up on Saturday morning instead of Friday after school as I usually would. Apparently they had this engagement party thing with their friends and wanted him there. I told her yes, and when I picked him up this morning, she said she wanted him back early tomorrow for something else they were going to do with her family. She wants me to drop him off tomorrow morning instead of at six. But I can’t do that. That means I’m missing so much time with him after he’s been gone an entire week. We ended up compromising that I would drop him off at her parents’ house at two instead of dropping him off at their house at eleven tomorrow morning. But I just don’t understand why everything has to be so hard. I get why she wants him there, but I don’t want to give up my time.”

Never having been in the situation he was in, I knew my words wouldn’t do much to console him. I didn’t have any life-altering advice, and I was fresh out of words of wisdom.

So, I settled on, “That’s really rough, dude,” which felt ridiculous and wholly unhelpful the second it left my mouth.

But Josh did laugh, and it was a genuine one that I hadn’t heard in a while. He even smiled wide enough for the lines that usually gathered around his eyes to appear.

I eyed him suspiciously but laughed along with him.

“It really is. And honestly, I got lucky with Zach. I didn’t think in a million years I’d have a kid half as freaking awesome as him. But at the same time, I wish the circumstances were different. I’m worried Sam and I are going to fuck him up with our bullshit.”

Before he even finished talking, I was shaking my head. “No, that kid is just as lucky to have you, too. And I know Sam isn’t always the best co-parent or whatever, but she is a good mom. And you’re a great dad, so you shouldn’t be concerned. He’s happy, and from the little I know about parenting, I do know that’s like the golden rule.”

His smile faltered slightly, but he nodded. He began to speak, but shrieking children running by us and heading directly for the octopuses, octopi, whatever, interrupted him. We both cringed at the sound as they faded into the distance. The sound of screaming was replaced by high-pitched voices, excitedly talking about the colors and sizes of the animals.

“I appreciate that. Being a parent is fucking terrifying. Every second I’m with him, and even when I’m not, I’m terrified I’m going to screw him up.”

“Nah, there’s no way you will.”

“You seem pretty sure of that.”

“I am,” I said, looking him in the eye, so I knew he saw how sure I was.

A brief look of recognition, and maybe belief in my words, washed over his expression. We weren’t more than a foot apart, if that, and I could clearly see that his eyes were greener in the dim lights than they usually were.

And this foreign feeling weaved its way through me, tightening my chest and circling my stomach, when our stare finally broke, only for his eyes to settle on my mouth. My lip twitched under the weight of his attention, and I ran my tongue along it to eliminate the sensation.

Abruptly, he looked past me like I’d slapped him or like someone had called his name.

“Well, at least that’s something you have over me.”

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