Page 99 of Afternoon Delight
“I thought you guys broke up,” he said defensively. “I didn’t know you were still...” His hands floated through the air, searching for a term without touching anything too personal.
“We’re still friends. We text.”
“That’s actually called sexting.” He put on his best dad voice. “Are you aware of the dangers of sending nudes online?”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“I don’t know. You haven’t dated since before they invented the telephone.” He shut off the microwave before it finished and brought his plate to the table. “Dad hasn’t figured out how to have safe sex. Maybe you need a refresher too.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I pushed my half-finished plate aside to lean forward as Roddie sat down. “Please tell me you’re not saying what I think you’re saying.”
“Yeah.” Roddie let his jaw drop dramatically, eyebrows lifted like he was preparing to release a nuclear bomb. “Wanda’s cookin’ another one.”
“I’m speechless.” I was. “On purpose?”
“I don’t think so. That’s the real reason I came home tonight. They had a huge fight last night.” He grimaced at the memory. “I had to watch Freddie while Dad ran after Wanda ’cause she walked out.”
“Without Freddie?”
“Yeah. But they came back a couple of hours later. She’d calmed down a lot. I guess Dad was being Dad and wouldn’t set a wedding date. They’ve got one now. June fifteenth.”
“Oh. That’s good.” I guess. I mean, I kind of wanted to host a small intervention and ask Wanda if she really knew what she was doing, but... “Were you okay by yourself with Freddie? You could’ve called me.”
“I’m sure Wanda would’ve loved to come home and find you giving Freddie his bath,” Roddie said, grinning as he shoveled food into his mouth. “It was fine. There was a thing of breastmilk in the freezer and Shelby texted me, so I fed him and talked to her until they got back.”
“She told you she’s not coming back this summer?” Shelby had called me the other night to say she’d been accepted into a work-study program that would keep her in Alberta.
“Yeah. It sounds cool. Hopefully she can still come to the wedding.”
That was very much for Joel to work out with his daughter. I was super proud of myself for acknowledging that.
“Grandma will probably be here then. She’s getting a couple of rooms painted, then staging the house. I told her once she lists it, she should come stay here so she doesn’t have to worry about keeping it clean for viewings.”
“That’s a good idea. What about when she moves? Zak has that big truck.”
“I’ve already booked movers, but yeah, he offered to help.” And had promised to fuck my brains out while I was in town, which I was planning to encourage.
“If—” Roddie started, then paused, fork down, silent as he looked at his nearly empty plate.
“What?” I prompted. “This?” I passed my plate to him. “Sure.”
“No.” He scraped my leftover rice onto his plate, though. “I was just wondering...” He rolled his eyes to the ceiling in a long-suffering way. “I’m trying to respect your privacy, but I’m also wondering why you didn’t tell me that you and Zak are still together. I like him. I’m wondering why you left if... Is it because of Dale?”
“No. Not really. Obviously, Zak needs to stay with Dale and I live here, so in that way, yes, it’s a little bit about Dale.”
“But you don’t have to.” He frowned. “Live here, I mean.”
“I’m sure you’d love to have this place to yourself, but?—”
“No. Mom.” He was sounding very adult and borderline patronizing.
“No. Rod,” I said more firmly. “You live here. You’re my kid, and we’ve had a lot to adjust to over the last few years.” Losing Dad. Shelby leaving for university. The divorce. Him coming out. “Now your dad is having another baby. I’m not going to drop you into that without a safety net. You need stability. Something you can count on. I’m trying to find the same thing for myself, to be honest. And—” I drew a breath, choosing my words carefully. “When I married your dad, I loved him. I have no regrets about the life we made with you kids, but I cannot move across the country for a boy again. Whatever life I build now has to be one that works for me.”
“I get that, but...” He chased a few grains of rice with the edge of his fork. “You know how you were obsessed with getting Grandma out of her funk and into a better place? I feel the same way about you. I mean, I thought you’d had a full psychotic break with reality when you quit your job and started working for Georgia?—”
I sputtered a laugh, but he didn’t crack even the tiniest smile.
“Oh God, you’re serious.”
