Page 60 of Substitute for Love

Gabe paused. “Did you mean to end that sentence with a preposition?”

Her mouth gaped and she laughed. She did not expect him to even know what a preposition was—a lot of people didn’t. “Are you serious right now? How did you know?”

“I may not be a good writer, but I know my parts of speech.” He tried not to smile but failed. Okay, there was the old Gabe back again.

She smiled at his playfulness. Somehow, even doing something like paperwork was fun with him. “Let me rephrase the question. WITH what do you need help?”

Gabe let out a big sigh, paused for a few seconds, and kept taking a breath like he was about to form a word only to hesitate yet again.

She leaned towards him, her patience running thin. “Out with it!” she finally said. “Whatever it is, I can help.”

He closed his eyes. “I need you to help me know what to say when I call my parents.” He opened his eyes, looked down and offered a cringed expression.

“Okay.” She waited. “And?”

He sighed again. “They’re the ones I’m sending the paperwork to. You know, to ask for money.”

Avery made an “oh” with her mouth and nodded. That did complicate things. He had said they lived far and didn’t have the best relationship.

“And I hardly ever talk to them,” he added quietly. “Because I’m a terrible son. Person. Pet owner. Boyfriend. Everything.” He put his head down.

Where was this all coming from? He’s only ever been Super Sub, the Gabe everyone loved at school.

“Gabe.” She placed her hand on his back, only to lift it immediately, afraid to come off as too flirty. “You sound stressed.” More like, he sounded like his life was falling apart and needed therapy, but she wasn’t qualified for that kind of thing. “Why don’t we take it one step at time?”

He lifted his head, his eyes slightly wet and nodded. “Yeah.” He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m all over the place. I feel bad asking you to help me do something I should already be doing.” His eyes were soft and sad.

Avery searched Gabe’s face, finding a man who seemed so determined yet scared. He was being so vulnerable about something he wasn’t good at. Apparently he wasn’t good at everything, which wasn’t as comforting as she thought it might be.

“So, you’re not a superhero after all?” she said tenderly.

He looked up and smiled, but not his all-out happy Gabe type of smile. There was something still sad behind it.

“It’s totally fine if family relationships are hard. I don’t talk to my dad much,” she added.

He perked up a bit. “Really? You, the super daughter?”

Is that what he thought of her? Interesting. She had moved back to help her mom, but it was also to get away from Marshall. She didn’t see that as very heroic.

“We can’t be all things to all people. I learned that the hard way.” She thought of Marshall and his visit this coming weekend. She was so dreading it, but apparently he had something important to tell her.

“I guess that’s true,” Gabe said. “So, Miss Writer Lady, what should I say?” He opened the notebook on the table and grabbed a pen. Part of her wanted to put her hand on his, help him feel better, maybe even… no.Stop it, Avery. This was a friendship, not anything more. Even if Gabe and Claire weren’t together, Avery still has a lot of things to figure out.

“Why don’t you tell me what your parents are like?” Avery asked.

Gabe fiddled with the pen, flipping it around in his fingers. “They love to travel. Uh, what else?”

“They sound adventurous?” she prompted. Like Gabe was.

He nodded enthusiastically.

“Well that’s good. Are they hard-working?” she asked. Again, they sounded like Gabe.

“Very,” he said.

“Do they value the discovery and preservation of antiquities?” Avery asked.

Gabe smiled. “That was a very studious way of saying it. I mean, yeah, I think so.”

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