she takes a sip, and then she looks at the boys. “Mitchell, I’ll see you after practice, and Max, I’ll see you later.”
“Later,” Mitchell says, and Max says the same as she grabs her purse.
“I’m gonna walk December out to her car. I’ll be back. You two finish eating then get packed up.” Getting nods from both of them, I walk her outside and kiss her like I’ve wanted to since she walked into the kitchen wearing that ridiculous shirt. By the time I walk back into the house, the boys are in their rooms, so I pick up the kitchen then go back to my room. I jump in the shower quickly then get dressed before taking the boys to school and heading to work.
Hearing my cell ring, I roll out from under the car I’m working on and grab the towel out of my pocket to wipe the grease off my hands as I walk toward my toolbox. When I see Mom’s name flashing on the screen, I pick up my phone and answer. “Yeah.”
“Gareth Daniel Black, I swear to God I’m going to kill her,” Mom hisses in my ear, and I roll my head on my shoulders.
“What happened now?” For the last two days, Mom’s been hanging at the house with Beth and Max until I get home, while December’s been picking up Mitchell from practice and taking him to her place to hang until Beth leaves. Needless to say, this has not been going well. Mom’s never liked Beth, and with her leaving her children, her dislike of my ex has only grown. Having to spend time with her and be nice for Max’s sake is taking its toll on her.
“What happened? What happened?” Mom shrieks.
“Mom, I’m in the middle of work. Can you please just tell me what’s going on without the drama?”
“She showed up with a dog, Gareth.”
“Pardon?”
“She showed up at your house with a dog for Max,” she says. “It’s not just a normal dog either. The thing is huge, and of course the moment Max saw him, he fell in love. So now you have a giant dog who I don’t even think is house broken.”
Fuck me. “Where’s Melbourne?”
“What?” she asks, sounding confused.
“December’s cat, where is he?”
“I haven’t seen a cat. I didn’t even know December had a cat,” she replies, and I shake my head.
“Let me talk to Max,” I say, and the phone goes quiet for a second before I hear her yell Max’s name and listen to her tell him I want to talk to him.
“Dad, I swear I didn’t know.”
“I know, bud, but you gotta do me a favor. Find Melbourne and put him in my room.”
“Oh crap!” he yells, and then the phone goes silent for a moment before Mom comes back on the line.
“I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“It’s December’s cat.”
“Then why is he here?” she asks. “Never mind, stupid question. So what are you going to do about the dog situation?”
“I’ve been thinking about getting the boys a dog for a while now. I just haven’t had time to talk to them about it. So if he’s friendly, we’ll keep him.”
“You’ll keep him? She didn’t even check with you before she showed up with a dog, Gareth. You don’t even know what his story is.”
“Mom, she wants a fight. She wants to feel like she can still get a reaction out of me. The thing she doesn’t understand is I just don’t give a fuck anymore. The boys are happy, I’m happy, and eventually she’s going to see she doesn’t factor into that. Hopefully when that happens, she will get her shit together and find a way to be in her kids’ lives without the drama or disappear, and if we’re lucky, stay gone.”
“I guess you’re right.” She sighs. “I still think you’ll feel differently when you see the dog she brought into your house.”
“What kind of dog is it?” I ask, now curious.
“A werewolf.”
“Always wanted one of those,” I mutter.
“Let’s see if you think this is funny when you get home,” she says, and I sigh. “I have another hour at least until I’m done. Will you be good until then?”
“I’ll be fine. I can’t make any promises about the mother of your children though.”
“Just remember she’s never around for long, and a judge won’t lessen your sentence just because you’re old.”
“Whatever. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“See you.” I hang up and start to set my phone down but stop