Page 95 of Broken Grump

Hayden

I screwed up, andI know it.

So, the next day, I leave the office early. I made an excuse about a dental appointment, and head out towards Luna’s school.

Perfect. And just as expected. Addie’s car is parked right out front with the rest of the parents waiting for pickup.

When I see Luna’s bright pink coat leaving the brick building, I get out and head over.

My heart is racing as I approach them. I stay back a moment while they hug each other and catch up on their days. But when there’s a lull in their conversation, I step forward and say a friendly, “Hello.”

There was a smile on Luna’s face, but it slowly falls flat after turning around and seeing that it’s me who is standing there.

The same could be said for Addie, her mother. Although, the contentious look on her face is further emphasized with an arched eyebrow.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, folding her arms and pursing her lips.

I hold my hands up. “I—I just wanted to say sorry for last night.”

She tilts her head in the child’s direction.

Right.

I bend over and after looking down at the ground for a minute, I question, “Will you accept my apology?”

“What are you apologizing for?” she quips. By the cheeky look on her face, I realize another thing she inherited from her mother—the pleasure of making people work for anything and everything.

In response, Addie just chuckles.

They really are two peas in a pod.

Taking all of that in, I sigh, but then continue, “For acting terribly last night. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I promiseit wasn’t your fault. I had a bad day at work. But that’s still no excuse. I’m so—”

Suddenly, a voice I thought I tuned out forever comes booming in my head. It’s my father’s and is saying,“Don’t apologize. Just do better.”It was an ironic thing to come from the mouth of a man who hada lotto apologize for. But I found the sentiment to be true, nevertheless.

Taking her tiny hands, I repeat the phrase.

Her quizzical look tells me she doesn’t understand exactly what I’m saying, so I decide that I better show her rather than tell her.

“Can he come to the pier with us, Mommy?” she then asks.

Oh! That has to be a good sign.Although she shied away from my touch at first, she’s now inviting me to join them on an afternoon excursion.

“You sure?”

She bites down on her lip and nods.

Addie inhales through her nose sharply and shrugs her shoulders. “Fine. Hayden, would you like to come with us to the pier?”

“I’d love to,” I respond without missing a beat. The truth is that I have a mountain of work to attend to, but this is more important. “Let me just—hold on.” I take out my phone, messagemy assistant with a make-believe story about molar extractions, and then slide it back into my back pocket.

“All set?” asks.

“Yep. Let’s do this.” I offer to drive my car, but she insists that she’d prefer to.

“Luna’s car seat is already installed—”

“Mom!” She stomps on the ground with her teeth clenched. It’s obvious she doesn’t want any of her school friends to overhear about her protective seating.

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