Page 50 of In a Pickle

“You will?” Mary Grace sounded disbelieving that Liana was even considering giving her a chance.

“Yes. I mean, I love Tori and all, but I just moved back to Miami, and it would be nice to have more people to hang out with.”

Mary Grace smiled. “Okay, cool. Let’s go back outside now and give those idiot boys the silent treatment. And, you totally don’t have to let me, but… your mascara got a little smudged when you washed your face just now. Can I help you fix it?”

“Sure,” Liana said. “Thanks.” And she was surprised that she meant it.

Chapter 31: James

After twenty minutes of frantic pacing, James was about to lose his mind when Liana and Mary Grace finally emerged from the bathroom together. Surprisingly, they were laughing like old friends.

“Liana,” he started. But Mary Grace wrapped an arm around Liana and led her away, telling James, “We’re just having a girls chat for a minute.”

James had kicked Brock out of the event and had emailed the head of the PHCC to suggest that he be barred from future club events. Now, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself if Liana wasn’t going to talk to him. He didn’t have it in him to make small talk with the guests — not when he’d screwed things up so badly with Liana.

As he stood there like an idiot, his dad approached him. “Son,” he said quietly. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

James’ first thought was to say no. But then again, how could this day get any worse? He may as well let his dad talk while he was already in a bad mood.

“Sure,” James said, and they walked a short distance away from the other guests.

“I watched your whole semi-final,” his dad said. “I saw everything that happened. If you hadn’t kicked Brock out, I would have.” A sad smile on his face, Peter said, “I declared the Huntingtons the winners of the tournament. I hope you don’t mind. They won the other semifinal, and you didn’t appear in any state to play them for a final match. So I gave the Huntingtons the trophy. They were quite pleased.”

“Thank you, Dad. That was the right thing to do.”

A silence stretched between them. Finally, James’ father sighed. “I owe you an apology.”

James started, sure he had heard his dad incorrectly. As long as James could remember, his father had never apologized for anything in his life, not to James and not to anyone else.

Peter ran a nervous hand down his face. “I’m not great at apologies, as you know. But after watching everything today, and talking with Liana this morning… well… I may have misjudged things, son.”

James fought to keep his face neutral, determined to see where his father took things. But when Peter didn’t continue, James asked, “What did you misjudge, Dad?”

“Well… Mary Grace, for a start. Anyone who would associate with someone like Brock may not be the best judge of character. And, when Don McMahon called me the other week, to talk about that sales job he had for you, he made it sound like you and Mary Grace were just on a little break and would get back together eventually.”

“I’m sure that’s what Mary Grace thought,” said James. “But I told you we were done, Dad. I told you several times that I wasn’t getting back with Mary Grace. Why couldn’t you believe me?”

“I made a mistake, son. I — I guess I have this need to control things. I know I need to let go sometimes, to trust people to make their own decisions. Especially you. Your mother tells me this all the time.” He offered a half smile to his son. “I really liked you and Mary Grace together, at least in high school and college. But I have to realize, you’ve grown up a lot since then, and people change. Maybe things changed between you two.”

“They did, Dad.”

His dad nodded. “I do trust you, James. I hope you know that. I want to let you make your own decisions. I shouldn’t have meddled — not when you told me you weren’t with Mary Grace anymore. And for what it’s worth, I really like Liana. I don’t remember her from high school. But from what I’ve seen of her so far, she’s kind and stays calm in stressful situations. I think she’s good for you.”

“Thanks, Dad. Not that you have any say in whom I choose to be with.”

“That’s right. I don’t.”

“Is that all you want to apologize for, Dad?”

Peter chuckled. “I’m sure there are many other things I need to ask your forgiveness for. But what are you thinking of in particular?”

“How about the fact that you’ve never respected that I love pickleball? How about not respecting my career choices?”

Peter shook his head. “You’re right. I have to say, I still don’t understand some of those choices. Is this your long-term plan, son? To coach pickleball and play in some tournaments?”

“I honestly don’t know. But don’t you see? This is the first time you’ve ever asked me that question. I would hope we could have a conversation about my job and my plans before you hoist a job offer on me that we’ve never discussed.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.”

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