Ain't that the truth.
~ * ~ *
"Did you find out what your dad was calling for?" I asked Dex from over a bowl of veggie pad-thai.
He was digging a cut of chicken from his own bowl, a small crease lining his forehead at the question. "Yeah." He chewed thoughtfully until finally looking at me. We'd originally started sitting on opposite ends of the couch but over time, he'd scooted over to end up on the cushion next to mine. "Ma finally served him with divorce papers."
I almost spit out the noodles in my mouth. "Hasn't it been a really long time?"
Dex nodded, the look on his face as incredulous as the one on mine I could only assume. "Fourteen years. I've been tellin' her for fourteen years to lay his ass out but she kept blowin' it off."
"Why?" It took all of a split second to realize how much of a hypocrite I sounded asking that. Hadn't my own mom stayed married to a man that left her? Yeah, she had.
He shrugged but it wasn't casual. By the lines of his shoulders, it seemed like there was something about what Debra was doing that genuinely bothered him. "I've been tellin' her since I was a kid to divorce his worthless ass. And all this time she kept spewin' this ridiculous shit about marryin' under the eyes of God and promisin' to stick by him forever." He snorted at his bowl. "Bull fuckin' shit."
Oh lord. That sounded exactly like my own mom.
It felt so personal to admit that to him but then again, wasn't he telling me this out of trust? Didn't I owe him the same and more? "My mom used to say the same thing. It drove me crazy. I mean, anybody would've been lucky to be with her, but she was so hung up on my dad. I didn't see a problem with it at first but after a while...after I saw how much it pained her...I didn't get why she wouldn't let go of him. Maybe I’ve blown it out of proportion but I don’t think you leave someone you love because you don’t like having responsibilities."
Dex nodded slowly, his eyes still down on his plate. "I know, babe. Trust me. I know. If my pa cared about anybody else half as much as he cared about himself, then all of our lives could’ve been a lot easier. Ma knows that but she kept holdin' on to those dumbass beliefs." He snorted. "And she doesn't even go to fuckin' church unless it's Easter or Christmas. It's stupid as shit."
I wasn't going to disagree with him.
"I used to think that if my mom would've gotten over my dad maybe she would've... I don't know. I always just thought that her being hung-up on him made her even sicker. But I'm glad your mom is at least doing something about it."
His face softened just a bit and he sighed. "Me too, babe. Pa's losin' his mind but he doesn't fuckin' get it. He's never gonna get it."
Another moron member of the Widowmakers. Go figure. Maybe it was just something with the older members?
I poked Dex in the hard muscle of his thigh. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for her. I can screen her phone calls if she wants." I smiled at him.
He snorted. "And hang up on my pa? I'd be all about that, honey."
I poked him again but this time he caught my finger in his fist. "I’m sure you would.”
He grinned. "Don't think anybody's ever hung up on him before but me."
"And you? Has anyone ever hung up on you?" I asked.
"Nope," Dex answered a little too proudly.
"There's always a first for everything."
When his grin grew a little too wide, a hint of lewdness crossing his eyes, I realized the interpretation he chose to pick up on my words and groaned.
"I know all about that, babe."
I made a face. "Shut up."
His laugh was louder than the movie playing on the television, and way more entertaining. "You gonna sleep with me tonight?"
The thought both scared and excited me, but it probably scared me more. "I don't know." I paused. "I talked to Sonny earlier and he wasn't exactly happy or mad when I told him that I...uhh...you know."
The jerk raised both his eyebrows. "No clue. What?" he egged on.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you ignoring his calls, too?"
Dex shrugged. "I don't need to talk to him to know what he's gonna say. I don't really give a shit what he wants."
That wasn't exactly surprising and it wasn't the first time he'd said the same thing.
"We'll deal with it when he gets back," he said. "You gonna sleep in my bed?"
Relentless. The man was relentless. That weird mix of excitement and fear flooded my stomach again. "I don't know. I kind of feel like I'm in over my head with you. Like I just learned how to swim and you want me to compete in the Olympics, and I don't want to disappoint you. Does that make sense?"