Page 99 of Between Now and Forever
“Thank you, God, for this food. Thanks for everything,” Carter says. “Thanks for my mom and Dylan, most of the time. And thanks for Jay. And please help him learn how to play baseball.”
I peek up and find Jay watching me. He grins.
“And thanks for our old cat, Meow Mix. And please tell Daddy we said hi and that we miss him. Okay? Thanks. Amen.”
“Amen,” I say, releasing a breath. “That was nice, Carter. Good job.”
“I’m the family pray-er,” he tells Jay. “It used to be Dylan, but one time he said a bad word during the prayer, and Mom said, ‘That’s it! Carter is the new pray-er.’”
He shrugs, taking a bun from the package and adding a burger.
“How are you guys liking school?” Jay asks, making his sandwich.
“I love it,” Carter says. “I love my teacher and have lots of friends, and I get two recesses, which is the best thing ever.”
“Nice. What about you, Dylan?”
“Well, I’m flunking woodshop, which I didn’t want to take in the first place. They’re doing the math I did last year, so that’s boring as fuck.”
“Dylan,watch your mouth,” I say, firing him a warning glare that he completely ignores.
“And the cafeteria food sucks,” he says without missing a beat. “It’s just peachy. Thanks for asking.”
Jay lifts a brow and takes a bite of his burger.
Carter goes on a tangent and leads us through his day, hour by hour. Jay listens, asking questions and nodding along. Dylan looks like he could spit nails. I want to go to bed and not wake up until morning.
I knew this wasn’t going to go without hiccups. I knew Dylan was going to resist Jay joining us for dinner. But I didn’t expect my son to besoprickly.
Still, if I block out Dylan’s attitude problem—which isn’t exclusive to Jay being here—and focus instead on the dynamic between me, Carter, and Jay, it makes my heart sing. It’s so nice having someone else here. It’s so nice having a man here. It’s so nice havingJayhere.
And I think Carter agrees.
I glance at Dylan and catch him fuming quietly at me.I don’t think he’s on the same page as me and Carter.
“Hey, Dylan,” Jay says, setting his drink on the table. “If it doesn’t rain tomorrow evening, I will come by and hang the new light your mom bought for the front porch. Think you’ll be around to lend me a hand?”
“Nope,”Dylan says without looking at him.
“Oh. All right. Not a problem,” Jay says. He catches my eye and winces. “Do you need any help with your woodworking class?”
Dylan slams his hamburger down on his plate. “No. I don’t need any help with my woodworking class. I don’t want to help you hanganything. I don’t even want you here, but I don’t have a say in that, I guess, huh, Mom?”
“You are going to stop that right now,” I say.
What on earth is going on here?I’m bamboozled. Sure, Dylan can be a jerk face, as Carter says, but the last time he interacted with Jay, it was much calmer. Respectful, even.What changed?
“Why? Or what?” He rolls his eyes. “This is my house, too, you know. I think expressing my thoughts on unwelcome guests in our house is perfectly acceptable.”
“Well, I like him here,” Carter says, holding a chip in the air. “And I invited him, so shut up, Dylan.”
“Don’t sayshut up, Carter,” I say, the back of my neck pinching. “And you, Dylan, can express your thoughts on anything you want as long as you’re respectful.” I wait until his eyes meet mine. “Knock it off. I mean it.”
He sits up taller in his seat. “I’m not a little kid like you think I am. I know what’s going on. I know this jackass—”
“Go to your room, now,” I say, fury and embarrassment filling my words.
“—is your new boyfriend—”
