Page 3 of The Long and Winding Road

“See? Even Caden thinks it’s dumb.”

“I think you should go,” Molly said as she finished loading the dishwasher. “You never know who you might run into.”

“Why are you acting all mysterious? What do you know?”

“Nothing,” Molly said, laughing. “I just have a feeling that you should go. Besides, when was the last time you had a night out with friends? It’s been ages.”

“I have a night in with my best friend every night.”

“Max, that’s lovely,” his mother said, “and you know we think you’re a wonderful father, but you need to take some time for yourself, too.”

“I like things just the way they are. My buddy and I have everything we need, don’t we, Cade?”

“Yep. We got stuff to make pizza tomorrow night, and that’s my favorite.”

“I can’t imagine anything better on a Friday night than making pizza with my best pal,” Max said.

“Your mother is right,” Linc said, “and you know how it pains me to admit that.”

Molly snorted with laughter. “That’s because I’m right all the time.”

“Yes, dear.” Linc gave his wife an indulgent smile. “About the reunion, though, I think you ought to go. Your mother pushed me to go to my fiftieth reunion, and we had the best time. Remember?”

“I do remember,” Max said.

“I reconnected with so many old friends, people I used to enjoy who I hadn’t seen in fifty years. To be honest, I’d forgotten about most of them until they were standing right in front of me, reminding me of the good fun we used to have. It was a great night, and I think you’d enjoy yours more than you think.”

“It’s one night,” Elmer said as he joined them, “and right here in town. If it’s lame, you can leave.”

Max was smart enough by now to understand when he was outmatched and outnumbered. “Fine, if you guys want me to go so badly, I’ll do it, but I bet I’m home and in bed by nine.”

“Care to make it interesting?” Molly asked as she began preparing for their annual Thanksgiving pie-making marathon.

“How so?”

“I’ll bet you a hundred dollars you’re still out at midnight.” She extended her hand. “What do you say?”

Max shook her hand. “Be prepared to pay up.”

“You’re going to be paying me.”

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

How in thehell had he let his parents and grandfather talk him into attending a reunion he didn’t give two shits about? The last thing he felt like doing the day after Thanksgiving and following a ten-hour workday was attend a high school reunion.

Ten years.

Max had to admit he found that hard to believe. How in the hell had he been out of high school forten years? He’d done a lot of living in that decade, completing college at UVM in Burlington, becoming a father at twenty-two and then transitioning to single fatherhood when Chloe, Caden’s mother, bailed out shortly after his birth. Max’s entire life was set up to accommodate his son, and he liked it that way.

Caden was amazing—a happy, sunny, funny, sweet miracle. Every day, he did or said something new, something that made Max cry laughing or want to weep from the sheer joy he brought to every minute.

He would so much rather be making pizza with him than trying to figure out what to wear to a reunion he didn’t care about. And it had costa hundred bucks. For a crappy buffet at the Grange. Ridiculous. He and Caden could do a lot of skiing on Butler Mountain for a hundred bucks.

In his current mood, Max would probably be better off staying home than inflicting himself on his former classmates, but there was that wager he’d made with his mom. He didn’t need to be outanotherhundred bucks over this stupid event, so he put on jeans and a sweater and got into the dark green F-150 he’d bought new three years ago to head into town.

Caden was spending the night at the barn with three grandparents who’d spoil him rotten. Knowing his son was safe and happy, Max decided to at least try to enjoy having a night to himself. That didn’t happen very often, which was fine with him. Was there something wrong with preferring the company of his son over just about anyone else?

He had to admit his mother might have a point about how one-track Max’s life had become since Caden was born. His days revolved around work at the sugaring facility and Christmas Tree Farm and whatever his son wanted or needed. That was about the extent of it. Having their huge family around kept things interesting. There was always a get-together or a birthday party or something going on in the family between their Sunday dinners that had gotten so big, his parents had added on to their already enormous house to make space for everyone in the dining room.

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