Page 79 of Rhett

“Good morning. Can we go to breakfast? We haven’t been in a while. That’s kinda our thing.”

I grin. “Thatisour thing. Yes, we can go. You have fun?” I pull away from Kaylee’s house. Our favorite restaurant is only about five minutes from here.

“Yeah. We played cup pong and did face masks. Kaylee’s obsessed with this boy, and I was helping her figure out what to say to him when they were texting.”

Well, that’s an opening if I’ve ever heard one, but instead of taking it, I find myself asking, “What about you? You don’t have to share that kind of thing with me if you don’t want to, but I hope you always know you can.”

Her brows pull together. “Of course I know that. I can tell you anything.”

My chest swells. “Yeah, you can, Meadow-bug.”

She doesn’t say anything else about it, and I don’t push her. It’s important to me that she knows she always has the option to come to me but never the obligation to share something she’s not ready to share.

It’s not until we’re sitting in our booth at the back of the restaurant, which is thankfully quiet, without anyone around us, that she says, “I don’t know if that will be a thing for me while I live here, ya know?”

I know exactly what she’s talking about, and it hurts my heart. “I’m sorry. That’s not very fair.”

“It’s what a lot of queer people have to deal with, Dad. We talk about it in the online groups, and with my therapist too. A lot of those experiences, we start later than others.”

“Yeah, I know. Sometimes I wonder if we should have moved when—”

“No. I don’t want to do that. I want to be by our family. I’m only thirteen. Are you trying to marry me off already?”

I laugh. “No, but I don’t want you to ever miss out. On anything.”

“That’s because you’re you.” She shrugs. “Most of the time, I don’t feel that way. Sometimes I do, but right now, I don’t even know whom I’m interested in. I think probably girls, but I have time to figure that out.”

“You do.”

“You’re grinning at me, Dad.”

“That’s because you make me proud.”

She rolls her eyes, which feels like a very thirteen-year-old thing to do.

The waitress arrives, and we put our order in—pancakes for her and meat-lovers omelet for me. When she leaves, Meadow says, “You know, the same goes for me.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“You can tell me anything.”

And there it is, the opening I need. When we make eye contact, I have a feeling she’s not going to be surprised by my news.

“Rhett and I…we’re together. I actually…ah, hell, Meadow-bug. I’m in love with him.”

She doesn’t even try to hide her smile, the little shit. I swear it takes over her face.

“You knew,” I accuse.

“I assumed and was fairly certain I was right. You look at him like Kaylee and Jasmine look at the boys they’re crushing on.”

A chuckle tumbles from my mouth.

“Seriously, Dad. It’s a little weird and shmoopy. You get heart eyes. I’ve never seen you with heart eyes before.”

My laugh grows. “Heart eyes, huh? Does he look at me the same way?”

“Yes. Absolutely. He looked at you that way first.”

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