“I messed up dad.” I say after a while, breaking the comfortable silence. “I saw something and immediately thought the worst and now…”
“Aw sugarplum don’t cry. Tell me what’s up and we can fix it.” He soothes, his bony arms enfolding me for a split second before mama wrestles me away and shoves my face into her breasts.
I choke out a laugh and snort when the action brings on comfort instead of the horror I’d previously met it with. Mama’s got some big knockers and if I’m not careful I’ll be trying to climb my way out of them for the next year.
“Tell mama who hurt you and I’ll kick their asses.”
“No. Not…I did something dumb and now I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to fix it.”
I tell them everything, everything, though it’s mortifying to admit a one night stand to your parents and then have to confess that you’ve been living with a man who you treated like a piece of meat.
“Sooo…”
“Oh Sugarplum, you are so much like your mama I can’t stand it!” Dad laughs, his shoulders quaking so hard I have to grab him and keep him from falling off the chair and onto his ass.
“Would you stop laughing, this is serious.” I yell, throwing a cookie at him and rolling my eyes at mama. “The father of my child, who you so owe an apology to by the way, is ready to cut me loose and you’re laughing. Go freaking figure that I’ll fall for someone and mess it up.” I mutter, glaring when he laughs harder and wipes his eyes on a sigh.
“Darling, your mama pulled one of them one night stands on my ass the first time we met. I woke up to an empty bed the next morning and an ache in my heart that cut me deep.”
“An ache in your heart Brandon Slade? Is that what we’re calling it these days?” Mama snort, casting a glance at his junk.
“Oh gross mama. Seriously gross.”
“Now, now baby, I told ya’ll before, you weren’t found under a cabbage leaf. You were made-”
“Oh stop! I endured four months of barfing already, don’t make me start again.”
That gets dad chuckling but he sobers quickly and gives me a look that tells me he’s going serious on me.
“Like I was saying, we had one night of passion and the fool woman got it in her head to run. By the time I found her she was knocked up with Greyson and spitting mad at me for getting her that way. I spent a long time convincing your mama that I wasn’t looking for a quick lay and a few visitations with my kid.”
Mama snorts indelicately at that and gives him a slow eyed once over and I grimace.
“Seriously? You’re telling me about how you seduced my mother?”
“No baby, I’m telling you that it took a lot of effort and one very unfortunate incident-I was young and stupid and horny-to get my head outta my ass and just go full throttle. Your mama kicked me out of our bed and went to see a lawyer about divorcing me after three months of marriage.”
“No.”
“Oh yeah sugarplum. I fell for her and then did something really dumb and she kicked my ass to the curb. Hurt my pride I’ll tell ya that. I hurt her and she did her damn best to hurt me in return. So I thought about giving up and letting her be, like maybe she deserved more than a man who couldn’t give her what she needed.”
“What did you do?”
I ask because obviously something worked and as much as I love Ry and Day, those boys have made some diabolical plans for me and I’d really rather avoid that humiliation thank you very much.
“Well, I went and got drunk and ended up at home, staring at my old man and the boot he was ready to plant up my ass. I told him everything and know what he said? He said if you know that you’re no good for her let her go, but if you think you have it in you and you know that no one will love that girl the way you do, then you shouldn’t give up. I knew that no one would ever feel half of what I did for your mama so I swallowed my pride and did what I had to do.”
“And it damn well worked. The man swallowed every scrap of the damn stuff and followed me around like a hound dog. He’d tell everyone within spitting distance that he belonged to me and then he said that he’d love me forever even if I never felt the same way.” Mama finishes, leaning over to kiss him sweetly. “Best decision I ever made letting go of all my anger and giving him another chance.”
“Wait, are you telling me you…what exactly did you do, besides putting the moves on her?” Iask, shivering with revulsion at the thought of my pops giving mama the same looks Dev used to give me.
“I slept in her bed everynight, even when she turned away or flat out ignored me. I told her I loved her every chance I got and on that last night, well let’s just say the country club got an ear full of my feelings when I got down on my knees and begged her not to leave me.”