Page 76 of The Fun Part
“Do you want some time off, Sutton?” I ask. “Given the circumstances.”
Sutton lifts her chin. “I’ve wasted too much time on John as it is. I’m going to take that job.” She turns to her dad. “If it’s okay with you.”
“It’s okay with me.” He looks toward the ceiling for a long moment before meeting Sutton’s eyes. “Mom’s okay with it too.”
Sutton blinks back tears. “Thanks.”
My throat chokes with emotion. The great love he must’ve lost. He’s still living with a ghost to find comfort. It’s at once beautiful and heartbreaking.
“You can stay with me for a while,” Cal says to Sutton. “I’ll take the couch.”
“You’re welcome to stay with me too,” I say. “We have a couple of spare bedrooms. I share a house with my cousin Harper.”
Sutton gives me a watery smile. Cal jumps up, grabs a tissue, and hands it to her. “I’ll stay with Cal, but thanks.”
Cal sits on the edge of the sofa and puts an arm around his sister. “You can stay with me as long as you need to. I’ll help you pack. We’ll video chat with Dad every week. Okay, Dad?”
Bill keeps a stiff upper lip and nods once. His eyes are red.
Sutton rests her head against Cal’s side and sighs. He kisses the top of her head and gives me a relieved look. I wish I could hug them all.
Cal
I changed my flight to Monday so I could fly back with Sutton. Mackenzie did too. That gave us the whole weekend with Dad. Mackenzie jumped right in with my family, supportive and just the right amount of sympathetic with Sutton. She even organized Dad’s kitchen and made meal planning easy with ready-made grocery lists. But the topper—she baked apple pie for him. I had no idea she could make pie from scratch. He’s in love.
As I dig into my slice of pie, sitting across the table from Dad, I’m starting to think I’m in love with her too. My heart jumps at the thought, but the usual panic feeling doesn’t follow. The sound of female laughter reaches us from the living room. Mackenzie’s a miracle worker. Getting a laugh out of Sutton the day after her eight-year relationship ends is not something I could pull off.
Dad points his fork at me. “This is the best pie I’ve ever tasted. Hang onto that one.”
“Sure, that’s a good reason to be with someone. Pie.”
“I’ve seen the way you look at her. And I can’t imagine she’d come all this way, taking care of all of us, if she didn’t feel the same way.”
“She came for Sutton.”
“Come on, Cal.”
“It’s complicated.” That’s what Mackenzie said about us when we were fake dating. I don’t know what we are now, but complicated about sums it up.
Dad takes my pie from me.
“Hey!”
“You get this back when you get your head on straight.”
“What? I suck at relationships.”
“Or maybe you’re afraid you’ll get hurt, so you blow them up before they can go anywhere.”
“No, that’s not it.”Is it?I reach for my pie, and he takes a bite of it. Dammit.
“You don’t deserve her pie.”
I throw my palms up. “What do you want me to do, be like you? Marry someone, make them the center of my universe, and then lose everything?”
“I didn’t lose everything. Mom’s still with me. She’s here with you too, watching from above.”
I drop my head in my hands. I’m glad it makes him feel better to believe it, but I just can’t. She’s gone, and he has to live the rest of his life without her. He’s never been able to move on or let go. He hasn’t even donated her clothes. They’re all in the dresser and closet exactly as she left them. Her muddy shoes are still by the back door.
