The Funny Thing Is - 12. ...You Have to Take Things One Moment at a Time

The Funny Thing Is… You Have to Take Things One Moment at a Time

There are countless things this situation has taught me. If I had a dollar for each one, I’d be buying Belo and not writing for it. The biggest lesson I was learning every single day, however, was that life is a series of moments. The goal is to weave each moment seamlessly into the next, creating memories out of moments. Every once in a while, though, there’s a moment that sneaks up on you, unexpected, with feelings that don’t fit in to the memory. It was that moment, readers, that caused me to see everything differently.

Getting CJ up for karate every Saturday was like pulling teeth from a baby kitten, and that particular Saturday was no different. I woke the rascal up at 8:30, dragged him out of bed, and practically carried him to the car. By the time we made it to the dojo, he was awake and as alert as you’d expect a thirteen year old to be well before noon.

I swung by the office after picking up a much needed cup of coffee and waded through the handful of late papers that had been turned in. I immediately docked half a letter grade before I even began reading. Some were good. Some were bad. Some were practical cries for literacy help. One creative young man attached the invitation to his brother’s wedding dated for that weekend, as if I’d have sympathy that he was out for a bachelor party instead of working on his assignment.

I read tepid three page essays for a couple hours before swinging back to the gym and picking CJ up.

“How was it, kiddo?” I asked as he loaded himself into the car like a bag of bricks.

“Fine, I guess. I beat the Clark boy who’s been pretty good for a while,” he replied, livelier than he’d been when I dropped him off. “I think I’ll get paired against him at the showcase in two weeks.”

“Two weeks. Showcase…”

“Yeah, Dad. You can’t forget; it’s the big one. If I win, I’ll move up a belt color.”

“I will not forget,” I said. “I’ll have Mason schedule it as soon as we get home.”

“Will you be mad if I invite Mom?” He had to wait until I was a red light to ask me the question. The grimace wasn’t lost on the thirteen year old, and I had to recover quickly.

“It’s one hundred percent fine if you invite your mother,” I said. “I’m sure she’d love to see more of your Capoeira.”

It was a subtle dig, albeit one I couldn’t resist. In her attempt to bring home more money than me with her dental empire, she’d missed several key moments in our kid’s lives.

I pulled into my complex, uneasy about what I’d find there. Surely Liz would be up, and I dreaded having to have the obligatory conversation with her. It needed to be addressed, that was for sure. The girl had deliberately disobeyed me, taken advantage of the fact that the Highland house was empty, and done exactly what we’d punished her for doing to begin with. I had half a mind to ground her for life, but I knew this was something Devon and I would need to be on one page about. What was the use of grounding her at my house if Devon was going to let her do whatever she wanted at hers?

Liz was awake, like I’d expected. That was about the only expected thing I found when CJ and I let ourselves into the house. We were immediately hit with the scent of cinnamon and the sound of crackling bacon.

“Hello my two favorite Carpenters!” she greeted as we entered the living space. With her arms outstretched and her forced smile wide, she resembled my sister Courtney.

“Sweet! French toast!” CJ exclaimed, dropping his bag and running straight to the plate cabinet. Arranged on the bar was a platter of French toast, scrambled eggs and some sort of potato hash. The first batch of bacon was out as six other strips sizzled in a skillet.

“This is quite the spread, Elizabeth.” I approached slowly, seeing right through her little plan. I had been a kid once. I’d woken up and served my mom breakfast in bed, knowing full well that I’d put a ding on the fender of her Camry. “What’s the occasion?”

“It’s a housewarming, Dad,” she said innocently, giving me a sideways hug. She put her spatula down and offered to make me a plate.

“I can make my own plate, thank you,” I said, unable to be mad at her. Nice deflection, I thought. But you’re still grounded. I’d tell her after brunch just in case she got upset and withheld food.

And then it hit me. I didn’t have bacon and eggs and potatoes stocked up in my pantry. I had planned on us all going to the grocery store together to pick up the kids’ favorite things. Liz didn’t have a license or a car, so unless she cabbed it to Ace’s, which I doubt she would have done under any circumstance, she had to have had help.

The thought made its way through my mind like a mice through a cheese maze, and when it finally got to the wheel, it read on my face.

“Dad, okay, let me explain.”

“Where is he?”

“Oh shit,” CJ mumbled as I thumped my plate down on the counter.

“Dad, focus on what’s important here.”

“It’s important that you tell him to come out,” I commanded in an even tone. I had the capacity to do this like an adult, not losing my temper and appearing reasonable. They’d obviously come up with a big, elaborate plan; the least I could do was hear them out.

“Okay, Dad. But you have to promise not to be psycho about this.”

“Elizabeth, that kid is in my house. I can’t promise I won’t be psycho, but I will promise the longer he hides, the worse it’s going to be.”

My daughter held her hands out as CJ snuck behind her and took a seat at the table, front and center.

“Okay. Okay. I just want everyone to get a plate of food and sit down and be comfortable.” She gave me the patented Devon stare that I was powerless against. Where and when she’d learned it, I wasn’t sure, but it was effective. It made me calculate my next action, and so I took a deep breath, spooned eggs and bacon on to my plate and had a seat next to CJ.

Once I was situated, Liz nodded, retreated to the downstairs bathroom and pulled Mike out. He looked like a complete idiot with his tight v-neck shirt, tapered pants, and oversized boots. It was both retro and ridiculously trendy at the same time. I heard myself get ready to say things about his appearance that my dad had said to me, and luckily, I filtered at the last possible moment.

“Mr. Carpenter,” Mike said, extending an arm.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mike.”

“Okay. I just… I feel awkward calling you Uncle Cooper when I’m about to ask you if I can date your daughter.”

He had a point. We might have outgrown this ‘It Takes a Village’ mentality now that our kids were fornicating.

“Just sit down,” I said, my eyes firmly planted on him. He turned to Liz, looked at the buffet bar, and then back at his seat.

“Sit down,” she hissed, pushing him down. I wasn’t sure what these two were angling at. Liz knew she was in trouble about last night, and bringing Mike over wasn’t going to negate that. But he’d said he wanted to ask me if he could date her. It seemed like a nice deflection of what the real issue was, and the fact that their relationship was progressing inappropriately fast.

“Um, Uncle C….”

“CJ, take your food to your room.”

“Dad, come on,” he replied, his mouth full. There was no way he wanted to miss the show that was about to occur.

“Go, now.”

He was up and out in three seconds flat, mumbling under his breath the whole way. I didn’t give either of the two remaining children a chance to speak. I had to lay my foot down, instill the fear of God in Michael, and make him understand he’d see my daughter on my terms, regardless of how close our families were.

“Now you listen to me, son,” I said in my best fatherly voice. “The two of you have started this whole thing on the wrong foot. Liz knows better than to lay around in bed with a boy while no one’s home. Liz knows better than to miss curfew. Liz knows better than to sneak off to an empty house with a boy. And because Liz knows better, I know for a fact that you know better.”

“Uncle C…”

“Just a second. If you two want to start talking or dating, there are some ground rules you will adhere to starting right now, or so help me God, I will dismantle every limb from your body and mail them to your mother one by one.”

I took a pause for effect and watched him swallow hard. I didn’t even look at Liz, who I’m sure was mortified by my aggressive demeanor.

“Elizabeth, first of all you’re grounded until I decide you aren’t. That means no parties. No dates. No trips to the movies or the mall… or wherever you kids go. That means school, cheer practice, and football games. No exceptions. ”

“Do I get visitation rights?”

“Why don’t you try being grounded for a while before you ask for perks? How about that?”

“Dad…”

“Did I indicate that I was somehow finished talking?”

“No sir,” Mike responded for Liz, turning his head to cut her off.

“You will not spend all hours of the night on the phone. Phone hours end at midnight.” Liz looked like she was going to respond again, so I plowed through. “If either of your grades slip an inch, we’ll start deducting phone time, is that clear?”

“Yes.” Liz rolled her eyes.

“What about when Liz isn’t grounded?” It took me a second to push aside his audacity in asking that question.

“Are you… are you dumb? Liz is grounded until I can trust that you two aren’t sneaking off together every chance you get. Trust me when I say this, Michael Fitzpatrick Kennedy, if I find out you two have snuck somewhere like you did last night, you will need a team of surgeons to put your face back together again.”

I held my gaze for a solid minute, enjoying the fear that emitted back to me.

“Feel free to tell your parents I threatened to pull your face off with my bare hands, because I’m almost positive they’ll agree with everything I’ve laid out. And don’t think things will be a free for all at your mom’s house,” I added, turning to Liz. It was the first time I’d referred to the space in Highland as a separate entity and not an extension of myself.

“Now,” I concluded, my voice still firm, but tempering. “Go get your brother, and let’s all enjoy a wonderful brunch, shall we?”

The rest of the morning went off with nary a hitch. The kids were tentative at first, but as my scolding wore off, they became more comfortable. It wasn’t that they were bad kids or latently untrustworthy. It was that I feared they didn’t take their actions into consideration. They were young. They had years and years to explore, and I didn’t want my daughter jumping into something simply because she thought everyone else was doing it.

On the other hand, part of me was glad she liked a guy I knew. It was easy for me threaten Mike because our families were so close. I knew how he was raised, and I could mostly appreciate the kind of kid he was. If anything happened, however, I knew exactly where to find him.

Forty minutes and four pancakes later, Mike drove home, CJ went back to bed and Liz and I cleared the kitchen.

“How do you like the apartment?” I asked after a minute of awkward silence.

“It’s nice, Dad. Very bachelor.”

“Oh, come on. It’s homey.”

“I guess. I like it. I like the openness of the ceiling and the catwalk,” she commented, handing me a glass to put into the dishwasher. “And the color in my room is spot on.”

“I didn’t pick it out,” I said, seeing my opportunity to bring up Chase. “A friend of mine actually helped me put the place together.”

“Chase?” she asked knowingly. I stopped in my tracks and squinted at her. “CJ told me.”

I couldn’t read her expression. She’d obviously had time to process, so any overt emotion was put firmly in check.

“Yeah, Chase,” I said, gathering my wits. “He’s a great guy.”

“I’m sure.” There was the attitude I was waiting for.

“You know I didn’t do any of this just for him, right? It’s not like I was picking one person over you guys.”

“Yeah, that’s what CJ said, too.”

“When did you and your brother start talking to each other?” I asked, surprised they’d had a conversation with that many details. She shrugged her left shoulder and stacked the breakfast plates into the dishwasher.

“We talk.”

“Okay, well. Since he did all the priming, I was curious. How would you feel about meeting Chase?”

There was a pregnant pause following my question. I was glad she was actually considering the option, as opposed to answering flat out.

“I know he means a lot to you, Dad. At least I’m assuming,” she began.

“He does,” I answered truthfully.

“I feel like it would be super awkward though.”

“As awkward as me being bum rushed by your boyfriend this morning?”

She gave me a cutting look, punctuated with a grin.

“I guess, if it shaves some time off my punishment, I wouldn’t be opposed to meeting him,” she answered with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk.

“You are a little sneak,” I said, wiping my hands on a dry dish towel and tossing it to her.

“I drive a hard bargain, Dad. Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll think about it,” I replied finally. “But it’s not like you can escape to anywhere if I invite him over, Ms. Grounded-For-Life.”

She tossed the towel aside and walked out towards the stairwell.

“When you’re right, you’re right, Dad,” she called as she ascended. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that had been. I sighed with relief, finished the dishes alone, and then called Chase.

My thoughts were to hang out that night around the house, maybe play charades and give the kids a chance to ask him questions. I hoped they’d be impressed with his international celebrity status. I was positive it would give him and CJ something to bond over.

But the ever extravagant Chase had something else in mind altogether.

“It’s a beautiful Saturday. The weather is going to turn in a few weeks. Why don’t we get a boat on Lake Lewisville and sail for a few hours.”

The idea was a good one. My kids loved the lake, and we hadn’t been out to our lake house in a few weekends. But still, I felt the idea of doing something so over-the-top would defeat the purpose of them getting to know him.

“Come on, gamin. Think about it from my point of view. I want them to like me, and so I need to impress them. Let me take them on the lake. We can have a quiet night after.”

And that is how he talked me into it. Two hours and two beach bags later, my kids and I loaded the car and drove out towards Lewisville.

“Does he look French?” CJ asked, barely taking his eye of his game console, as I sped up Highway 35.

“What does French even look like to you?” I asked him.

“Hairy,” Liz chimed in.

“I didn’t say he was French. I said he spoke French. He’s from California.”

“Don’t tell me he’s like a weird vegetarian or anything,” Liz said, flipping through her tablet. “My friend Jackie is from California and she never eats anything when we go out.”

“That’s not because she’s from the West Coast,” I replied.

“It just means she’s ano,” CJ cut in.

“She’s not ano, you idiot.”

“Right, that’s you.”

A hand went flying to the back seat. I swerved, CJ squealed, and it continued like that for twenty-five more minutes. The fact that I had even briefly thought this situation had brought them together meant I was the one who needed to be committed, and yet it was my kids who were so clearly crazy.

Just as we exited the highway and merged onto the road that would take us straight to the marina, my phone rang.

“Dad, it’s Uncle Spencer,” Liz said, looking at my screen.

“Don’t answer it,” I replied. She gave me a puzzled look, and then punched ignore on my phone. A minute later it rang again.

“Dad, he’s calling again.”

“Why are you ignoring Uncle Spence?” CJ asked.

“I’m not ignoring him, I just…”

Liz took my denial as a go ahead to hit connect. His faced popped up on the screen and his voice boomed over the speakerphone.

“What the fuck did you tell Kyle?”

“Hello, Spence!” Liz shouted. It took him a second to register who had answered the phone.

“What the… hello kids,” Spencer said, clearly perturbed. “Could you put your father on the phone, please?”

“He’s on. You’re on speaker and he’s driving.”

“Cooper, please take me off speaker phone. Right now,” Spencer threatened. I could have very easily driven with one hand, but then I would have had him blasting into my ear about selling him out to Kyle when, in fact, he had sold me out to Kyle.

“No, I’m good. What’s up buddy?”

“Fine. Fine, you know what. You’re an asshole and you shouldn’t have thrown me under the bus like that,” Spencer said.

“Umm, am I missing something?” I responded, pulling into the entrance of the marina. “You told Kyle that I told you about the election. I never said anything about his marriage being an arrangement and yet somehow he thinks those were my words to you.”

“Uncle Kyle is getting married?” CJ whispered. Too frustrated to even attempt to find parking, I circled to the front and got into the valet line.

“Yeah, but now he thinks I came up with that theory and he’s pissed at me.”

“And you’d rather him be pissed at me?”

“Newsflash: he’s always pissed at you. You should have taken one for the team.”

I didn’t have time for Spencer’s ridiculata. How it was okay for Kyle to jump down my throat, but how he couldn’t possibly be in hot water with his best friend was a dynamic of our foursome I would never understand.

“Listen, I’m sorry Kyle is pissed at you, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“Well we’re all meeting for dinner so he can talk to us,” Spencer said, his voice dripping with unresolved annoyance. Let him be annoyed, I thought. I had already gotten bitched out about spilling the beans. I didn’t need it from another source as well.

“I can’t. I’m at the lake.”

“Eagle Mountain?”

Before I could answer, CJ chimed in with the full detailed itinerary.

“No, Uncle Spencer. We’re at Lake Lewisville because Dad wants us to meet his new boyfriend Chase.”

I could have died right then and there. Luckily, as he said the words, I was putting the car into park. I reached over and grabbed my phone from Liz, clicked off of speakerphone just as Spencer was beginning a long rant of colorful terms.

“What the fuck are you thinking? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re taking them to meet him like he’s some trumped up step dad? Are you actually fucking crazy?”

“Okay, I’m not crazy,” I said. I motioned for the kids to get out of the car and unload their beach equipment. “He’s not doing anything today. We’re not doing anything today. I told you this was happening.”

“You said it like it was happening in some distant, I don’t know… abstract future. You didn’t say it was happening now.”

“Spencer, it has to happen eventually. If he can’t handle kids, I’d be wasting my time.”

I let that simmer for a second. I followed the kids out of the car and handed the valet my keys. Did I really just acknowledge that this could be a major deal breaker? If today didn’t go well, I would have a lot to think about. And the truth was, today had the potential to not go well at all.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Spencer concluded.

“I have no clue, actually,” I replied, circling the car towards the entrance of the marina.

“Ugh, Cooper. I just… I hope this isn’t a huge premature mistake,” he lamented. “Do you want me to come up there? Just in case?”

It was sweet of him to ask, especially since five minutes ago, he was screaming down my throat.

“No, Spence. This will be fine, trust me. He wants to meet them. They want to meet him. Kind of. I just… if this is going to work between us, there can’t be two separate lives. He has to get folded in eventually.”

There was a long pause as I followed my kids inside the building. It was set up like the country club house with a welcome stand as soon as you walked in, rows of tables and chairs and a buffet line with piping hot brunch foods lining the wall. The carpet resembled that of a civic center or banquet hall, and it had been the exact same since I had started coming to Lake Lewisville’s private marina.

“Okay, well. Since you can’t do dinner tonight, I’ll tell everyone we’re doing brunch in the morning. Let’s say Anaria’s at eleven.”

I said okay, and quickly hung up.

“Hi,” I said to the hostess at the stand. “Um. We’re meeting someone. He might be here. Pallendrino, Chase.”

“Oh, Mr. Pallendrino is getting the boat prepped,” the blonde sixteen year old smiled wide and spoke with an affected northern accent. We followed her through the club-house and out the back to the rows of boats of all sizes. I saw him wave as soon as we hit the water walk. As we approached, he jumped out of the boat and met us on the deck.

“Cooper,” he said, giving me a hug. As per my instructions, he was wearing blue board shorts more appropriate for surfing than boating, and a pinney that successfully downplayed his ridiculously sexy body. The only thing anyone would pine over where the arms, and unless I planned on putting him in a turtleneck sweater, there was nothing we could do about that.

“This is ours,” he said smiling at me and pointing to a small one motor boat that could comfortably seat eight. It had a captain’s deck in front and then two seating areas, both at the front and at the back of the boat.

“Cool,” CJ shouted. He hopped in, tossing his beach bag to the front.

“Careful, kiddo. Don’t touch anything.”

“Ah, he can’t hurt anything. I’ve got the key.”

“Okay. Um, this is Liz. Elizabeth,” I introduced.

“Elizabeth. You’re a little stunner, aren’t you?” he charmed. She gave him a polite smile and jumped on to the boat after her brother. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I shrugged my shoulders at him.

“You’re trying,” I whispered, taking his hand and following him onto the boat. “Keep it up.”

I could tell he was uncomfortable. I could tell the only reason he was there was for me. He didn’t have to say it, but I knew that the boat idea stemmed from his self-awareness. He knew he wasn’t good with children, and by doing something extravagant, he thought he could win them over without any real effort on his part. It was his M.O. across the board, and this was no different.

“Alright,” he said as he bound towards the driver’s deck. “There are coolers under there with sodas and sandwiches. Coop, I got you some wine, wasn’t sure.”

“Yes, please.”

“We have two tubes and a pair of skis. We can do anything ya’ll wanna do.” It was awkward watching him make the effort. CJ barely responded, and Liz’s face was buried in her phone. Before I could even step in, the boat revved and we pulled slowly away from the dock.

I watched him maneuver the boat like an expert, even if the rig was rented. He took up so much space on the captain’s deck, and yet somehow, he looked like he belonged up there. As we approached open water, he turned to me, smiled and winked. A second later, we were off, leaving white waves in our wake.

As the boat revved faster, becoming too loud to hear much, I sat down next to Liz and got comfortable.

“Can you try engaging, please?” I shouted. I’m sure she barely heard it.

“What? You said I had to come. You didn’t say I had to like it.” Her hair blew violently behind her as she shouted right into my ear.

“Come on, Liz. Lighten up; you love the lake.” No response. “You know, I haven’t set the time for your punishment. I can be very strict, or I can be very understanding.”

She gave me a dagger through the eye and then slowly put her phone away.

“Thank you,” I shouted as she crouched over to get a Coke. I used the rail to stand up and inch my way towards Chase, who was in full swing captain’s mode.

“CJ!” I shouted as loud as I could. He was sitting at the front, squinting out over the water and letting the wind blow his features back. I motioned for him to come over.

“Teach him to drive it, will you?” I asked right into Chase’s ear. He slowed the boat down as CJ approached, as I went to the front of the boat to fish out some wine, I heard Chase ask if he’d ever driven anything before.

It took a little while, but by the time I reached over to pour a second cup of wine from the paper carton, CJ and Chase were yapping away. I could tell CJ was in his ear with questions, probably about the Olympics or something of that nature, while Chase patiently fended them off and let CJ drive. I knew first hand how annoying a talkative teenager could be, and I felt like Chase was being a good sport.

By the time we turned the boat off and pulled out some sandwiches to eat on the back deck, I could tell that CJ and Chase were bonding if at all not already bonded. I hadn’t worried about those two getting along. CJ never met a stranger, and I knew he’d be into Chase. It was the other tough cookie I had hoped would crack.

“So Liz, your Dad tells me that you’re into cheerleading,” Chase said taking a roast beef hoagie straight to the face. “How’s that going?”

“Good.”

“Is the football team any good?”

“It’s fine. Better than last year.”

“Cool.”

“It’s not like she pays attention to the game. She just stares up into the crowd at her boyfriend,” CJ jumped in.

“Oh please,” she retorted.

“Maybe your dad will take me to a home game here pretty soon,” Chase added. “Watch you cheer.”

“That’d be fun,” I said, trying to pull anything more than three words out of her.

“Yeah,” was all that we got.

“Is something wrong with your sandwich sweetie?” I asked, unable to curb my growing attitude. All I had asked was for her to make the effort. CJ was doing just fine, proving it was possible. I couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for Liz.

“It’s fine.” She took a little nibble.

Something was clearly wrong, and I immediately regretted letting Chase talk me into this. We were in the middle of the fucking lake, my daughter was being a snot, and there was nothing I could do except endure her attitude until we were back on dry land.

The rest of the eating portion of the meal was as awkward as you’d imagine. I asked a few leading questions, but they were met with one word responses. Chase completely shut down after failing to crack into Liz. He wasn’t used to people not being impressed by him, I was sure. A grueling twenty minutes later, he and CJ decided they wanted to swim around for a little.

“Don’t cramp,” I called as the two new best friends did a tandem cannonball into the deep blue water under the boat. I gathered the empty plates and sandwich wrappers.

“Okay, so he’s gone. Care to tell me what’s you eating you up?”

She picked up a couple empty cans and brought them over to where I was gathering trash.

“Nothing’s wrong, Dad. He’s great. And he looks at you like you’re the only person in the world.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“There’s no problem.” She raised her voice in the way that indicated that there was, indeed, a problem.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Obviously this was a bad idea.” I felt like a complete idiot. Who the fuck was I kidding thinking that this would, in any way, turn out less than excruciating?

“I don’t know what you expected,” she mumbled, echoing my thoughts.

“I got it, thanks.” I took a deep breath. “But, sweetie. Would it kill you to try to be nice?”

“What do you want me to do?” She was on the brink of shouting now. “We used to go to the lake with mom and now we’re out here with some Ken doll, and it’s weird, Dad. I’m sorry. He’s a nice guy, I’m sure. But we’re not one solid, happy, boat skiing family with him. It’s weird. Give up.”

The words stung like ice cold water. At first, for a split second, the attack felt unfair. We hadn’t been a solid, happy, boat skiing family in years. Devon and I hadn’t taken the kids out together in as long as, I’m sure, CJ could remember. Trips to the lake were reserved for weekends when one of us was gone and, when the anger flashed before me, I realized that that happy, solid family was a distant memory.

But it was a memory nonetheless, and Liz hadn’t seen it crumble the way I had. Devon and I, no matter what we were going through, always appeared to be a solid unit. Our kids didn’t see the cracks until they had fully formed into earthquake causing fault lines.

And until I pulled the rug out from under each of us, that memory Liz was holding on to was also a possibility. What she saw melting away was the possibility that we’d ever be happy like that again. I knew, long ago, that that possibility had ended, but for my very young, very sensitive daughter, that was a brand new realization.

I took a deep breath and soaked in everything she said. I took her hands, sat down, and pulled her down with me.

“Listen to me,” I said, unsure of what I could possibly say in this situation. As soon as I realized that there was absolutely nothing that would come out positively, I continued. “I know that I messed up. I know that this whole experience is difficult and… unexpected. I never should have put you in this situation, and I apologize.”

She nodded and I could see the tears forming slowly in the back of her eyes.

“If I could go back in time and build a way to protect you and CJ from this, believe me, I would do anything. But sweetie, at some point, we’re all going to have to move forward. It doesn’t have to be today, and it might not be with Chase, but we’re going to have to move forward, alright?”

“Yeah.”

“It might not be you and me and your mom and your brother on a boat ever again being a happy go lucky family, but things will get better. They will smooth out and return to normal, and I need you to believe that.”

“Okay.”

I could tell my heart-to-heart moment had reached its expiration date when Liz pulled her hands away from me slowly. She gave me a weak smile, and I realized things would be good eventually. I couldn’t tell when, but at some point, they would be.

I decided I had two courses of action at that point. I could give up, throw in the towel, and let the fear and uncertainty that we were all feeling to a certain degree seep in and win. Or I could tackle this awkward situation head on. I thought for a split second, saw that Liz wasn’t carrying her phone, and in a swift motion, I picked her up and threw her overboard.

The scream curdled so loud, I was sure the coast guard would come around in a second to investigate. She managed to tuck into a ball before she splashed into the water.

“Dad!” she screamed when she resurfaced. I could see CJ grinning out of the corner of my eye. A second later, I jumped in after her and swam out to where she was. CJ and Chase were both in tow.

“You’re dead,” she said to me, lunging and trying to pull me under. She caught me by the arm, but couldn’t drag me below the surface. I swam slowly away with her dragging and kicking behind me.

“Help me!” she called to no one in particular. A second later, I felt Chase’s strong arm reach over and push me under the water. I plunged down, trying to close my eyes and stop my breath at the same time. I could hear them laughing faintly at the surface. The next thing I felt were huge feet standing on my shoulder and keeping me from coming up.

When Chase finally let me up for air, I wiped the water and snot away from my face, gasped for breath and croaked.

“You’re both going down.”

Before long, it was CJ and I against an Olympic athlete and my spritely daughter in a full on water war. They won the total tally with more dunks and dives than we could repay them for, but CJ and I put up a decent fight considering.

It didn’t happen that afternoon, and honestly, as we drove back to the city, everyone smelling like outside and lake water, I couldn’t calculate when it would ever happen. But for those brief moments when everyone forgot how we’d ended up there, I could tell it would happen eventually.

The kids disappeared almost as soon as we got back, Liz to the shower and CJ to take a nap, I was certain. Chase insisted on coming up and helping me unload the car, even though all we had were a couple of beach bags and a cooler.

We collapsed on my bed, spent from a long afternoon. I was careful to lie a foot away from him, disregarding my natural instinct.

“That was fun, gamin,” he said, turning his head and looking me straight in the eye.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Until you almost killed me.”

“Death by drowning,” he replied. “How ironic would that be?”

I could tell where he was going with that, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d used ironic wrong. If he died by drowning, maybe. I just kept looking in his eyes, getting more lost with each passing second.

“What’d you think of the kids?”

“CJ is… talkative.”

I chuckled. “He is. He really is.”

“And Liz is just… she’s beautiful, Cooper.”

I smiled. “Yeah, well, that’s the danger. Having a beautiful, smart, and charismatic teenage daughter. God, I’m already losing sleep and she’s only fifteen. I’ll be bald by the time she graduates.”

Chase stretched, landing him just a centimeter away from my face.

“I’m sure she’s a smart girl. And she’s feisty as shit,” he smiled.

There came a moment when it all became perfectly clear; that moment was then. Lying in bed next to him made perfect sense. I looked him deep in those deep blues, and for a moment, I didn’t want to look anywhere else.

The moment right after, I shot up and pulled my hands to my face.

“You should go,” I said.

“Cooper.”

“There’s still 26 days, Chase, and I’m not caving. If you stay here… you should go.”

“Cooper,” he whispered. He touched my hand, barely, and I felt an electric current jump from his skin to mine. It was almost like the stickiness from the lake was melting us together, creating a heat I hadn’t felt in a long time.

A million thoughts swirled as he gently moved his hand up my arm and tugged me to lie down next to him again.

Kyle. Devon. Spencer and Sebastian. My children. I was powerless, as one by one, every excuse, every reason I had to build up a wall against him began to melt away.

“I love you,” he whispered when my head hit the mattress next to his. “I love you, Cooper.”

I craned my neck slowly. It must have taken almost a full minute to reach his lips, and the second I did, I didn’t want to let them go ever again.

And then he kissed me. It was something like an earthquake moving under my feet, and it felt like the sky was actually going to tumble down on top of us. Four days I lasted without touching him, and the second he touched me, I melted.

I knew it was completely wrong. I knew it was 100 percent stupid. My reservations were still very much alive, and my reasons were still solid reasons.

But when someone like Chase Pallendrino plants an earth shattering kiss on you, those reasons fly away and you forget every single reservation. And that’s what I did.

For a moment.

And as quickly as it came, I pulled away, cupped his face in my hand, and smiled down at him.

“Now you should go,” I repeated.

He nodded, clearly disappointed but trying not to show it. He didn’t want to be the dick that pressured me, that told me waiting the allotted month was a stupid and useless idea. He had to respect that, and for that, I gave him credit.

As I watched him stand and walk away, I couldn’t fight the final urge that had been lingering inside of me.

“Chase.” He turned and faced me. I could read the hope in his eyes. He looked like a schoolgirl on a first date, wondering if her guy was going to ask her up. His hope was hot.

“I love you too.”

And at that moment, that was the best I could do.