Page 5 of Seeing You

“I can’t do this,” he said quietly, as he did his best to breathe. “I thought I could, Max, I really did. I drove four hours—I’ve got a bunch of my stuff packed up in the back of my car—so you know my intentions were good. I’ll help you in any way I can, but…not here. Just…not here.”

When he turned back to his car, he believed he’d made his point.

“Your mother used to hate it when the two of you fought.”

Everything in Marcus froze.

The voice wasn’t as robust as it used to be, but he’d still know it anywhere.

Slowly, he turned around and spotted his father standing on the front porch. He looked…old. Frail. The man staring back at him was a shadow of the man who’d raised him.

“You’re good at walking away,” Max said solemnly. “How about making an attempt at staying, even when things get hard?”

Marcus was about to respond when his brother gave him one last hit.

“Maybe if you had been man enough to understand someone else’s feelings so long ago, you wouldn’t be alone right now.”

Turning his head, he glared at Max. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll stay for the night. If things go as poorly as I can almost guarantee they will, I can leave in the morning and will handle whatever it is you need from my place back in D.C.”

“That’s fine. But you have to at least try. Don’t go in there with a shit attitude and then blame it on Dad. Look at him. Most days it takes everything he has just to get himself dressed.”

“You’re not going to make me feel sorry for him, okay? So don’t even try.” Straightening, he cleared his throat. “Let’s get this over with.”

Almost defiantly, he strode up the porch steps, briefly making eye contact with his father before walking into the house. And then…it was like stepping back in time. Everything was the same.

Every. Damn. Thing.

His father and Max walked in and walked right by him. “We’ve got dinner waiting in the kitchen,” his father said.

With no real choice, he followed and found the table set and waiting for them. “What the…?”

“You texted when you were leaving, so I kind of worked from there,” his brother said. “It’s nothing fancy, but I figured we couldn’t go wrong with ordering from the steakhouse. They’re under new management and have a chef who really made a tremendous difference.” He walked over to the oven and began pulling covered dishes out of it. “I just got back less than five minutes before you got here, so I’m hoping everything’s still hot.”

For a minute, he just stood there and waited for his father and Max to sit before joining them. It felt weird and yet familiar. As he sat down in the chair that had been his since he was a small boy, he got comfortable. He was about to make his plate, but his father bowed his head and began saying grace.

So, Marcus bowed his head and did the same.

“Amen,” the three of them said before they began passing the variety of dishes around. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many great options—baby back ribs, fried fish, pot roast, mashed potatoes, a fresh vegetable medley, mac and cheese, and a tossed salad.

“The only reason I didn’t get steaks was because I knew they’d get overcooked if you ran late,” Max explained. “We canmaybe eat there one night and have them fresh, but for tonight, I thought this was a good option.”

Picking up a rib, Marcus took a bite and nodded. “Damn. These are fantastic. I can only imagine how wonderful everything would be when you dine in.”

“Like I said, one night this week. Right, Pop? Won’t that be fun?”

Looking over at his father, Marcus saw him shrug. He also noticed the way his hand shook as he tried to eat a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Casually, he looked over at Max, who gave him a small nod.

So things were worse than he thought.

Shit.

As he ate, he continued to look around the kitchen because it felt like he’d stepped into a time capsule. Nothing had changed. His mother’s collection of Disney mugs was displayed on a shelf. The bowl of fake fruit sat on the countertop. The only remotely new things were the pink bakery boxes.

Nodding toward them, he asked, “There’s a new bakery in town?”

“Oh, yeah,” Max said. “Books & Beans. They serve the best coffee I think I’ve ever had, and their bakery items are sensational!”

“Wait, so it’s a coffee house and a bakery?”

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