Page 117 of Seasoned
Tyson took the flyer but couldn’t focus on the details. All he saw were the words from Jackie’s text, emblazoned in his mind.I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to keep in touch.
“Hey, something wrong?”
He met his son’s worried gaze.
“I could pay if you want, since you’ve been treating the whole time,” Kendrick added.
“No, I don’t care about the money.”
“What’s wrong? You looked…strange for a minute, like you were upset.”
“I’m not upset, and believe me, a seventy-five-dollar tour is not going to break me. I was thinking about something, but…never mind.”
“Jackie?”
Tyson’s chest deflated, and he handed back the flyer. “Am I that obvious?”
“Most of the time you’re present, but every now and again you go somewhere else in your head. Last night at the restaurant, I had to call your name twice before you noticed the waiter was ready to take your order.”
“I hope I’m not spoiling your time here.”
They started strolling down the avenue.
“Nah, I’m good. But I understand. Jackie’s quite a woman.”
“Don’t do that shit,” Tyson groaned. Kendrick had already teased him several times about Jackie.
Kendrick laughed, a welcomed sound despite the reason for it. The past two weeks, his son had become more relaxed around him. They’d shared plenty of laughs, engaged in thoughtful conversations, and he’d learned more about Kendrick’s dream to become an actor. A teacher had initially stoked his interest by pointing out his innate talent, and he’d secretly taken acting classes two years ago to work on his craft. What Tyson had assumed was an impulsive hobby, his son had clearly put a lot of thought into and was very serious about.
“But it’s true, she is an amazing woman. Fine, smart as hell in business. Definitely driven. The two of you are alike in that way.”
Tyson came to a stop with the other pedestrians waiting to cross the street. “Yeah, she’s something,” he murmured, thinking back on the night at the beach, when she looked up at him and he saw the promise of a future together in her eyes.
“So what happened? Because it’s obvious something is wrong,” Kendrick said.
“Let’s grab a bite here,” Tyson said, pointing. “They’re supposed to have great cheesecake.”
“So you’re not going to tell me?”
Tyson didn’t answer right away, but a side glance at Kendrick made it clear that his son expected an answer. “All right, I’ll tell you, but let’s have a seat first.”
They were lucky enough to get a table outside so they could people watch. While they waited for their coffees and cheesecake to arrive, Tyson opened up and told Kendrick about Jackie’s adoption plans and the last text he received from her.
By the time he finished talking, they had their food in front of them. Kendrick dived into the New York cheesecake with cherry topping, but Tyson couldn’t touch a bite of his strawberry cheesecake.
“I have a question for you,” Kendrick said, putting down his fork.
“Shoot.” Tyson sat back and readied for an inquisition.
“Do you love Jackie?”
“Yeah, I do. I fucking do.” He rubbed both hands over his bald head to stem the pain that overcame him at the thought of losing her again—this time for good.
“So why are you willing to walk away?”
“I’m not willing to.”
“You are. You told me—”
