Page 15 of Coming Home for Fall 5
“I agree. I’m thinking maybe we should talk to them on Friday. Sasha will be at work all day, so we won’t have to worry about her interrupting the conversation—that would only make the kids more emotional, I think. We can tell Sasha another time.”
“Good thinking. Plus, Thanksgiving will be over, so we won’t be ruining dinner or anything like that. And they’ll have the entire weekend to process their feelings and ask questions.” He shrugged. “Who knows, maybe they’ll even be okay with it by the time the week is over.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. But I guess it’s a good thing you’re coming at this from a ‘glass-half-full’ perspective, because I’m definitely not. I’m worried if we don’t tell them in the right way, there’s going to be a major fallout. I want to try and mitigate that damage, if possible.”
David rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure there’s a way for us to tell them that doesn’t lead to some kind of fight, unfortunately. In the initial conversation, I mean. They’re just going to be so shocked, you know?”
Callie’s shoulders sank.
“But look,” he went on. “The kids are going to react the way they’re going to react and we just have to accept it. They’re adults, so hopefully they’ll at least not blow up in our faces, butif they do—we can handle it. We got through Mallory’s teenage years, remember?”
“That’s true.” Callie chuckled. “But I think this is going to be worse than that.”
“I don’t know,” David joked. “That was pretty bad.”
Callie said nothing.
“I think our best bet is to be fully honest, answer their questions, and then give them some time to process it all.”
“You make it sound so simple.” She huffed. “And yet, I think this is going to be one of the hardest conversations I’ve had in my life.”
“We’ll get through it.”
Callie nodded, but she wasn’t sure she believed that right then. “Yeah, alright. So—Friday?”
“Friday.”
She smiled despite how many negative emotions were rattling around inside her. “Oh,” she said, recalling their daughter’s big news, “did Ariel tell you about her book deal?”
“She did! Isn’t that something!”
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” she replied. “And Taylor and Erica told everyone about their fertility issues and how they’re thinking about adoption, so we don’t have to tiptoe around that anymore.”
“Good to know. Sounds like our kids are doing well, all things considered.”
“I know.” Callie reached out and knocked her knuckles on the wood of David’s desk. “We haven’t even talked about how Mallory is hanging out with that sweetheart she went to school with, James. Her potentially finding love right here in Ferndale feels like a miracle. All three of our kids seem to be in good places in their lives...”
David raised a brow. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Doesn’t that mean they’re more likely to take this news well?”
“Maybe. But maybe it means that we are going to end up ruining what would otherwise be a perfect week.” She blew a few loose strands of gray hair out of her face. “God, this is stressful.”
He sat back in his chair. “Are you starting to have doubts?”
“No, no. We need to tell them. I’m just trying to talk through some of my worries, so I don’t end up spiraling and backing out last minute.” She sighed. “The worst thing I could do now isstartto tell the kids the truth, change my mind, and lie again or something. It’s all or nothing, don’t you think?”
“For sure,” David said. “All or—”
“Is that my dad’s phone?” Mallory’s voice echoed from down the hall, loud enough that it stopped David mid-sentence and sent a nervous chill down Callie’s spine. She could hear the disdain in her daughter’s tone and knew who Mallory was talking to before she left the office: Sasha.
“Uh-oh,” Callie said, leaping to her feet. “That doesn’t sound good. We better go see what that’s about.”
David followed her out the door and into the living room to hear the full story—at least, Mallory’s side of it.
“I was going into the living room to see if Sasha wanted some tea,” she said, relaying the information to her brother, sister, and Erica. The kids were all upstairs watching a movie in the master bedroom, thankfully. “And I found her snooping on dad’s phone!”
“I wasn’t snooping!” Sasha said indignantly. “It was ringing, and I just looked to see who was calling. I was going to go take it to David afterwards and—”
“Oh, yeah right,” scoffed Mallory. “I didn’t hear it ringing, did anyone else?”
