Page 12 of SCRUMptious

I fisted my hands, fighting back my rage over all the ways my dad had wronged our family. It’d been a long time since I’d been confronted so explicitly with his misdeeds, and because Lauren was the one doing it, I didn’t know how to channel my frustration. It used to be that I’d tell the person to fuck off—or plant my fist in their face—but I couldn’t do that toher.

Eoin was really the only other person I’d talked about my dad with, but if I was going to persuade Lauren to be my girl, she needed to know me—the real me. After all, I knew all about the trials and tribulations she’d endured when her dad died, and then later when she’d had to drop out of university to take care of her mother. It was only fair I share my history with hertoo.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my fists. Taking a drink from my cooled coffee, I said, “I have a half-brother from our housekeeper. And several other secret siblings no one ever talks about.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Fuck, I hated talking aboutthis.

She reached across the table and rested her hand over mine and gave it a soft squeeze. “I’m sorry. That must have been difficult.”

“My dad can be the greatest guy you’ll ever meet or the biggest fucking asshole you know. It all depends on your point of view, I guess.”

“And what is he toyou?”

I stared down at the beat up table for a beat, scraping the thumbnail of my free hand back and forth until I’d carved out a notch in the wood. Then, raising my eyes back to hers, I said, “A little ofboth.”

After a few moments of silence, Lauren slid her hand away and clasped her hands in front of her like a prim and proper school teacher. “I love my mom, she’s amazing. But sometimes I resent hertoo.”

I sucked in a startled breath and my head shot back. “What?”

“I just want you to know you’re not alone. Not every family is perfect.”

“Your mom didn’t cheat on your dad,” I reminded her with a cynical laugh.

“No, she didn’t. But … never mind.” She looked away and her cheeks colored. “Forget I said anything.”

“Oh no you don’t,” I said, enveloping her clasped hands in my larger ones. My eyes flicked between Lauren’s, begging her to keep talking. I’d been surprised by her admission, but this was the most real we’d been with each other. For a minute there, it had felt like we’d been connecting on a deeper, more meaningful level. “Don’t go shutting down on menow.”

Her head swung back around and our gazes locked. “I’m not dumb. I know it’s not the same thing—your dad and my mom. I just meant that I get how exhausting and frustrating it can be to have a difficult relationship with one’s parent.”

I slid my hands away and cupped my mug. Spinning it in my hands, I said, “It wouldn’t be so bad if people didn’t sweep his sins under the rug because of who he is. And you would think he’d have learned his lesson by now, but I doubt he ever will. It’s only a matter of time before the next baby mama comes forward.”

“I don’t mean to be insensitive, but hasn’t he ever heard of condoms?”

I laughed. “Believe it or not, I’m the result of a broken condom.”

“No way,” she laughed along with me. “Okay, so not condoms. What about a vasectomy or something? If he can’t keep it in his pants, surely he’s considered other methods of birth control.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “I don’t think he cares, to be honest.” I went back to scraping the table with my nail. “He’s fucking loaded, so he just pays the women off and sets up a trust for the kid for when it turns18.”

Lauren shook her head with a sigh. “Shit, all I can say is I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“It does,” I agreed. “But let’s stop talking about my asshole dad. Tell me what it was like at Harvard.”

And so she did. For the next two hours, we sat huddled together at that little table in that warm café and I fell even harder.

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