Page 51 of Operation Annulment
twenty-one
COMMANDMENT #22: THOU SHALT NOT INVITE THEM TO MEET THE FAMILY
Kate
“Did she say what this was about?” Nate asks me as we drive to Dakota’s house.
I shake my head. “No. She just said to come for dinner. Maybe she wants to apologize for her behavior?”
He makes a noncommittal noise and focuses on the road again. I hadn’t heard from Dakota in two weeks when she called me out of the blue.
She told me how much she missed me, and the ice around my heart thawed almost instantly. I’d missed her too. I’d even take hearing about comics every day if it meant things were good between us.
Nate and I have been making the best of our situation. He works all the time. I don’t know if I knew how demanding his job was before when I thought he was a struggling tattoo artist.
Sometimes, he comes home and wants to know all about my day. We’ll go back and forth with our twenty questions, tiptoeing around more sensitive subjects while trying to keep our clothes on. Othertimes, he comes home and wants nothing to do with me. He’ll give one-word responses, seemingly upset at the world and me.
We move two steps forward only to take three steps back. He’s always on call, and it seems they conveniently page him when we’re starting to open up to one another.
Every day that passes leaves me with more questions than answers. In all fairness, I’ve still yet to tell him that my dad is alive or that Dakota is pregnant. It’s still too much for me to wrap my mind around, much less a stranger.
Except for Jeremy, who was seemingly unbothered by all of it.
Jeremy.
I haven’t yet found the courage to tell him about Benjamin or Jeremy. I’m going to… I just need more time, though.
“Hey, you okay?”
I realize we’re parked in front of Dakota’s house and push my thoughts aside. “Yeah, sorry. I got lost in thought.”
He takes my hand and kisses it, and I forget my troubles. “Let’s go face the firing squad, babe.”
We walk hand in hand up to the front door and I pray that Zane won’t be walking around shirtless this time. I don’t want to get distracted by the wall of muscle. I’m here to make up with my sister, not ogle her superhero boyfriend.
Little Ricky answers the door. “Hola, Hail Mary. I see you broughttumaridothis time.”
He thrusts out a hand to Nate. “Hey, I’m Little Ricky. My mama was a fan ofI Love Lucyand named me after Ricky Ricardo, Jr.”
Nate’s eyes widen, but he reaches out and shakes Little Ricky’s hand. “Nate. Nice to meet you.”
I pat Little Ricky lightly on the arm. “It’s a lovely story, but you don’t have to share it with everyone upon meeting them, do you?”
He laughs good-naturedly. “Hail Mary, I’m not ashamed of where I come from. You shouldn’t be either. Come on inside.Caparina’sjust finishing up with dinner.”
I wrinklemy nose. “She cooked?”
Zane comes around the corner and meets us.
Thankfully, he’s found a button-up shirt to cover those muscles. He laughs at my question. “Cap cook? The smoke alarm would be going off. No, she used the grocery store caterer and is unpacking it all in the kitchen.”
A caterer?
I push the bitterness back down.
Maybe Zane paid for it.
Maybe Zane should’ve been paying for it this entire time.
