from me. Ellie laughs at us from her seat next to his and starts cleaning up the damage Eric Jr. has left behind. Spaghetti sauce is everywhere, including all over Eric Jr., but I don’t let that stop me from cuddling my nephew. I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks and I’ve missed him.
My mom frowns at the doorway to the hall; clearly she’s not expecting anyone, and she hurries out of the kitchen to see who’s here.
The baby starts pulling at my hair, and I’m just trying to detangle myself from his tight grip when I hear footsteps behind me and turn around.
My stomach drops through the floor when I see Brett standing there beside my mom.
“A friend of yours, Abigail,” my mom says.
Brett smiles at me. “Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask quickly, and I hear a tut of disapproval from my sister at my rude greeting.
Brett either doesn’t care about my greeting or chooses to ignore it because a smirk covers his face. “You invited me to dinner, remember? Wanted me to meet your dad.”
My body turns slightly cold as I realize what this is. I haven’t followed through with his request to introduce him to my father despite him mentioning it a couple of times now, he’s refusing to be put off by attempts to introduce him to someone else at his firm, and I told him earlier this week that my dad was going to be home this weekend.
I glance to my mom, but I can’t read her face. She’s not exactly welcoming him into the house with arms wide open, but looking at her, I can’t tell if she’s annoyed.
Brett’s eyes are dancing with a sort of mischievous victory like he thinks he’s tricked me, but I can’t return his smile as my stomach twists when I realize he’s about to see my parents in all their messed-up glory and I won’t be able to hide from it or pretend they’re not how they are.
Brett turns to my mom and holds out the flowers in his hand. “These are for you, Mrs. Baker.” He looks over at me and gives me a conspiratorial wink, like he’s remembering what I told him about showing up somewhere new with a gift.
My mom looks at him like he’s just handed her a soiled diaper, and her lip curls in distaste as she takes in the small bouquet of carnations and chrysanthemums, which are still in the plastic wrapping of whichever gas station he picked them up from. “Oh. How…” She pauses, making it perfectly clear to everyone in the room what she thinks of them. “Charming.”
An awkward silence settles over us as my mother turns away from him and places them on the counter behind her. Brett’s eyes dart to me, for the first time uncertain, and I hate my mom in this moment for making him feel uncomfortable.
“Hey, I’m Ellie, Abbie’s sister.” Ellie steps forward and shakes Brett’s hand warmly. “It’s good to meet you. You go to school with Abs?” I feel a rush of love for her trying to make him feel welcome.
“Abs?” He looks over at me, and he’s back to smirking. “Yeah, I go to school with Abs.”
My mom tuts from behind them. “Ellie, you know I don’t like you calling your sister that.”
Ellie rolls her eyes and sends Brett a conspiratorial wink before announcing that she’s going to put Eric Jr. down in the cot we keep in Ellie’s old bedroom before we start dinner. They’re both staying here tonight. I’m trying not to think there’s anything weird about that even though I know Eric is back at their house.
At the moment, I’m just grateful I have one family member here who can act like a normal human being.
Brett walks toward me, and despite how nervous I am about him being here, I can’t help but feel a slight flutter at the sight of him. He’s clearly made an effort with dark jeans and a crisp white shirt and has even switched out his sneakers for dark shoes.
He looks handsome.
It’s honestly beyond me how I went nearly four years without knowing who he was.
“Thought I’d invite myself,” he tells me quietly, a smile playing on his lips, “since you seem to have forgotten about our deal.”
Our deal…to meet my father.
The thought of it makes me feel ill.
“I, um…I don’t…I think…let’s go out for dinner. My treat.”
He frowns just as my mom appears at my side. “Abigail, may I