Chapter 10 - NOBODY WANTED HIM THERE
Apparently Brandon’s “decision” to return early happened after Mason punched him.
Not hard.
Not some dramatic bar fight.
One shove.
One punch.
Enough to split Brandon’s lip.
I learned that from Kelly Saturday morning.
“Mason feels terrible,” she said.
“He shouldn’t have hit him.”
“I know.”
“But I understand why he was angry.”
“So do I.”
The trip collapsed after that.
Chris and his wife left for a hotel.
Leah disappeared before breakfast.
Mason told Brandon he could either get another ride home Sunday or take the rental car back himself Saturday night.
Brandon chose Sunday afternoon.
Because even after everything, he still didn’t want to pay to change the flight.
I almost admired the consistency.
Dad stayed another night.
Saturday became strangely peaceful.
Sadie’s medicine helped.
June kept her bottles down.
I slept for two hours in the afternoon.
Dad made grilled cheese sandwiches.
We watched half of an old crime movie before both girls started crying at once.
Dad picked up June.
I picked up Sadie.
And we moved automatically.
No argument over whose turn it was.
No sighing.
No scorekeeping.
Just two adults taking care of two babies.
That should not have felt revolutionary.
But it did.
Around eight, Dad asked, “Are you scared for him to come home?”
I thought about it.
“No.”
“Angry?”
“Yes.”
“Sad?”
“Yes.”
“Still love him?”
That took longer.
“Yes.”
Dad nodded.
“Those things can all be true.”
I looked at him.
“You got philosophical.”
“Age.”
“You used to think yelling louder made you more correct.”
“I also used to own a pager.”
“Fair.”
We smiled.
Then I asked the question that had been sitting inside me all day.
“Do you want me to leave him?”
Dad’s smile disappeared.
“No.”
That surprised me.
“You hate him.”
“I don’t respect what he did.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Dad leaned forward.
“I want you to make a decision you can live with when nobody is standing beside you.”
My throat tightened.
“I already tried that.”
“What?”
“Living when nobody is standing beside me.”
His face changed.
He looked down.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
Silence filled the kitchen.
Then he said, “I should’ve tried harder with you.”
I shook my head.
“Dad—”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I thought respecting your boundary meant disappearing. Maybe part of me was also afraid you’d reject me again.”
My eyes burned.
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
We sat with that.
Two stubborn people who had wasted seven years waiting for the other one to move first.
Upstairs, one of the babies made a noise.
Neither cried.
Dad stood.
“You sleep tonight. I’ll take the first feeding.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
That sentence.
I know.
Not everything had to be done because it was required.
Sometimes people helped because they loved you.
My phone lit up.
A message from Brandon.
Landing at 6:10 tomorrow. I’m coming straight home. Please don’t have your dad there when I arrive.
I stared at it.
Then showed Dad.
He read it.
“What do you want?”
I looked toward the living room.
Toward Brandon’s chair.
May you like
Then at my father.
“Stay.”
