Page 79 of Bending Under Pressure

I spend the next few hours preparing dinner. Mom will know something is up the moment she gets here and sees me cooking, but I don’t care. Plus, I don’t have anything else to do. Maybe this will help when she realizes I’m not coming down with something and I really had no reason to leave school. God, it’s been a stressful day. I’m ready to grab a book and get lost in someone else’s problems. Let them be the stressed ones.

“Haley?” Mom’s voice carries from the front door.

“In the kitchen,” I call back.

“You cooked?” Walter asks and I nod as he comes to inspect the food, now sitting on the table. Mom is already eyeing me with suspicion. “Thanks, Haley. That was sweet of you.”

“Yes, it was,” Mom agrees. We sit down at the table. “What did you do?”

I laugh. “Mom, what if I’m only trying to be nice?”

“Then I’ll apologize. Are you feeling better? Or is that what you did?”

“That’s not it, but yes, I’m feeling better.” I wait until we’ve plated the food. I was hoping to hold off longer, but Mom is watching me too much. A heavy sigh deflates my chest. “Apparently, Dad is getting married and he invited me,” I blurt out.

They both calmly set their forks down, which worries me. Walter glances between us, keeping quiet for now. Mom doesn’t look surprised though. In fact, neither of them seems too shocked by my news.

“You knew?” I ask incredulously. “Why am I always the last to know what’s going on! Why didn’t you warn me before I had lunch with him Sunday?”

Mom takes a deep breath. “An invitation came shortly after we moved here. I knew what it was the moment I saw the envelope. I trashed it because that’s not the way to tell you he was seeing someone else and remarrying. He was barely around and I wasn’t doing that to you. I didn’t warn you because I didn’t know that’s what he had planned Sunday.”

I drop my fork and lean back in the chair. Why can’t I figure out how I’m feeling?

“Are you going?” Walter asks.

“I said I would,” I grumble.

“Because you want to or because you’re trying to please your father?” Mom wants to know. I shrug because it could be both, but I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. “When is it?” When I tilt my head, she adds, “I never looked past the wedding bells at the top.”

“Next month. Keelan is going to be my date; I just have to tell Dad. But I don’t know how I’m supposed to go.”

“What do you mean?” Walter seems confused, so I explain the situation. He surprises me when he provides the solution. “We’ll book a hotel room and drive y’all. That way we’re there if you need a pair of getaway drivers,” when he winks, I can’t help but laugh. “You won’t have to drive home that late. Think it’ll work, Rita?”

She nods. “It seems like the only option.” She picks up her fork and points it at me. “But I’m telling you right now, if your father screws this up for you somehow, he will be hearing from me.”

My mouth is begging to open and defend him, but I can’t. He still can’t fulfill his promises and commitments to me. Not completely anyway. So, I nod. Walter starts talking about tennis. They’re both going to attend my last game since it’s at home.

“Are you looking for a tennis partner with the season ending?”

“Maybe. Why?”

“I thought I’d give it a try.” He pats his gut. “It would help get me in shape, right?”

“Really? You want to play? Do you know how?”

Walter laughs. “No, but I figured if my stepdaughter can play for her high school, surely she can teach me the basics. What do you say?”

Stepdaughter. I gulp because he’s never said that before. How do you have a stepdad and a dad? Half the time, I don’t know what to make of my relationship with Walter. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it. Sometimes, it feels like a betrayal to my dad to like Walter and to let him be a sort of father figure for me. He’s staring expectantly, so I answer him. “Let’s see if you have any potential before I agree to play with you.”

He and Mom laugh, making me smile. I like Walter. He seems like a decent, cool enough guy. Maybe I need to take what happens as it comes since I don’t know what else to do. It’s not necessarily bad if Walter is supportive, interactive, and can keep his promises. It’s only bad when Dad isn’t. Right? I don’t know.

Thankfully, I can stop thinking about it as they take over the conversation. Since I cooked, they relieve me of dish duty. Well, Walter takes over, sending Mom and me into the living room. We sit next to one another on the couch and she wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“How are you doing, really?”

“I only said yes to please him,” I confess. “And I don’t know if I want to meet his new family.”

“You’re still his family, too.”

---