Page 9 of When the Time Is Right
So, no. Long story long, I had zero interest in getting married.
Besides, while I was no expert, I assumed dating was required before the whole tying-the-knot thing anyway. I was far from celibate, but the idea of bringing another woman into Jack’s life and flipping our entire comfortable world upside down was a hard no. There was no amount of shit Cal, Lex, or even Lauren could give me that would change that.
“You owe Aunt Lex twenty bucks,” Jack said, falling into step beside me.
“What? Why?”
“Because she bet me you wouldn’t catch that rubber band thing Uncle Cal threw at you. I told her you used to play football, so there was no way you were going to miss. You should have warned me your nickname was actually Butter Fingers.”
I shot him a glare. “First, you’re seven. You aren’t allowed to gamble yet. Second, for the last time, my nickname was Sticky Hands. Get it right.”
He let out a surly scoff, which I chose to ignore in the name of picking my battles while trying to parent a twenty-five-year-old first grader.
“And third, it sounds like you owe her twenty bucks, not me.”
“Oh, no way! You missed it on purpose. That bet was rigged from the start. You two are lucky I don’t get a lawyer.”
I stared at my son, a grin trying to work its way out. It was official. I was raising a monster. A brilliant, stubborn, and hilarious monster, but a monster nonetheless.
“All right, in thirty seconds, if you don’t have all your stuff, I’m going to invite ‘all the guys’ over tomorrow to watch you suds up the grass with the bubble mower. Yeah?”
His eyes flared wide, but his feet got moving.
He stomped straight to our table and snagged his jacket off the back of his chair.
“Pay up, sucker,” Lex taunted with her feet propped up on a chair, a pyramid of empty glasses stacked in front of her.
“You’re a cheater,” Jack accused.
She snapped her fingers and held her palm out. “No. I just know your dad better than you do. I’d like to say you’ll get on my level one day, but the truth is, if you weren’t there to witness the travesty of him wearing leather pants and puka shells in high school, you’ll never truly understand the inner workings of his psyche.” She snapped again. “Grease the palm, Jackie Boy.” A wicked glimmer suddenly hit her drunken eyes and she tapped her cheek. “Orrrrrrr you could pay me with a smooch-a-roo right here. Your call. But a deal’s a deal.”
Jack loved his Aunt Lex. She’d been a fixture in his life since the day he was born. She’d attended every school play, field day, and birthday party. But recently, he’d come to the conclusion that he was too cool for her hugs and kisses.
This explained the disgust and panic on his face as he turned to me and begged, “Dad, you gotta let me borrow twenty bucks. Please. Please. Please.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I’m fresh out of cash. Go hit up your grampa. But make it quick. I need a burger stat.”
He took off in a dead sprint, barreling through a crowd of people to get to Lex and Cal’s dad.
I had no family to speak of, but I’d always felt gratitude that the Lawsons had accepted Jack as one of their own. It shouldn’t have been surprising though. They’d always been like parents to me. But they took the doting-grandparent thing to a whole new level. I’d never forget the tears in Mr. Lawson’s eyes when I’d told him we were using David for Jack’s middle name. He’d wrapped me in a bear hug, slapping my back almost painfully as he’d mumbled around the emotion, “It’s a good name, son. A real good name.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d called me son. It was, however, the first time I’d allowed myself to believe it.
They were good people, the Lawsons. Even the drunk one sitting in front of me, hustling my kid for cash. But if there was ever a day she deserved to utilize an open bar, this was it. She liked to put on a good show, but deep down, we all knew that weddings were never easy on her.
“You ready to go?” I asked.
Lex swung her adoring gaze from Jack to me. “Depends. How much longer till the bar closes?”
“For you? It should have closed two hours ago. But for everyone else, I think they are shutting down shop now.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and dug my keys out. “Come on. I’ll buy you a burger on the way home.”
“Mmmm,” she hummed, her head falling back and her long, auburn hair cascading over the chair. “That sounds amazing. I nearly gagged on that last cucumber creme de la frufru, but I should probably find Craig.”
