Page 130 of Hound Dog
I was pretty sure my face went whiter than the foam on top of Mom’s latte.
And since my poker face sucked, Mom’s smile twitched, a knowing twinkle in her emerald eyes. “So, itisyou,” she said.
“Who is me?” I asked innocently.
Her cheek dropped to her shoulder. “Hound Dog: Sign up today for the perfect Dog Date Afternoon.”
Well, I guess Mom had heard me and Chloe that day at family dinner, after all. Though, I had to admit, that was a great tagline Chloe came up with.
I sighed and dropped down onto the bench once more. Lady tilted her head with a quiet whimper before dropping her chin to my knee, awaiting some scritches. “Alright, fine. You caught me. I’m a matchmaker.”
I felt the weight beside me on the bench as Mom sat down, too. “Why would you hide that?”
“I don’t know. It felt pretty ridiculous.Me… as a matchmaker.”
“What’s ridiculous about that?”
I snorted. Whatwasn’tridiculous about it? “Well, for starters, I’ve never been in a real relationship.”
“What about Amy?”
Amy. My girlfriend freshman year of college. “Eight months of dating while she screwed every one of my fraternity brothers behind my back isn’t exactly a relationship to brag about.”
Mom pressed her lips together. “I didn’t know all that.”
“It’s not exactly something you usually share with your mother, you know?”
“Is she why you never really got serious with anyone again?”
I nodded, even though it wasn’t the whole truth. “Kind of. But mostly… I don’t know. I just don’t think I’m made for commitment.”
Mom’s exhale sounded just like a horse, and when I dared a glance at her, she was rolling her eyes hard at me. “Nowthat’sridiculous.”
“Isit? Dad’s on his sixth marriage. He’s tried his whole life to commit to a family and failed every time.”
Mom’s hand fell to my back and moved in slow, reassuring circles. “Your dad has a lot of faults,” she said. “I’ll give you that. But we don’t know his story. We don’t know what happened with those other marriages.”
I looked up at the sky, slowly streaking less with orange and more with the inky, royal blue of the night. Crickets chirped in the park nearby. “I can’t believe you’re so understanding about the man who left you with four young kids to raise.”
She laughed at that, but there wasn’t a lot of humor in the sound. “Believe me, it’s taken a long time for me to get here. And I don’t understand him leaving his family. Not for a second. But I am capable of forgiving him.”
“He has to apologize first before he can be forgiven.”
She nodded. “That’s true. Knowing your dad, he’s probably wanted to reach out for years and was too ashamed to try.”
Anger percolated deep in my belly. “So now, not only am I the one who was left by him, but I’m also the one who has to initiate the repair of the relationship? How is that fair?”
“First of all, you don’thaveto do anything. But if you someday do want a relationship with him… or this new sister of yours… itismost likely going to fall on your shoulders. Unfortunately.But...” She held up a finger and pointed it in my face. “Just because your dad hasn’t been able to stay married, doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be able to have a long, healthy relationship.”
I shook my head. “You don’t know that.”
“Lack of commitment isn’t a genetic trait, Finn,” she said, chuckling. “And even if it was, your father is only half your genes.”
I scrubbed at my eyes. “Mom, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not exactly the shining example of moving on and having a long-term relationship.”
“What are you talking about? What about John!?”
“John?” I racked my brain. “Who the hell is John?”
