Page 73 of The Hook Up
Jason frowned. “Asshole,” he offered helpfully, then picked up his ice water and took a swig.
Miriam turned back to Ellie. “I love Ty, don’t get me wrong,” she said. “But what the fucking hell is wrong with him?”
“Well, for starters,” Ellie said, “He was concerned about the effect it might have on Henry to be around an adult who uses profanity.”
Jason and Miriam looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry, we shouldn’t find that funny.” Miriam stabbed her salad again, one hand resting on her belly. The baby kicked in response, making her whole abdomen ripple as Miriam chewed a bite of chicken. “It’s just that if cursing’s what separates the bad parents from the good ones, we’re all pretty much doomed.”
Ellie sighed. “But you don’t curse around Henry.” She glanced at her brother. “Much,” she amended, remembering the time he’d whacked himself with a hammer helping Henry hang a Seattle Mariners poster on his wall.
Jason gave her a small smile and reached across the table to offer a brotherly hand-squeeze. “Sorry, El,” he said. “I’m sorry you have to go through this again.”
Ellie’s throat ached, and she had to look away. She couldn’t face the sympathy in his eyes, or the fact that she’d gone and fallen for a guy who’d done the same thing her stupid ex had.
Dammit, anyway.
Miriam stabbed a crouton. “Honey, you know as well as I do that it’s not about the cursing,” Miriam said. “It’s about Ty’s abandonment issues. It’s him thinking he has no choice but to become his father. Maybe it’s a guy thing.”
Ellie looked up to see her brother nodding and regarding his wife with a thoughtful expression. “She has a point,” he said, turning back to Ellie. “Remember how Dad was always telling me to watch out for you? ‘It’s your job to protect your sister,’ he’d say.”
Jason’s impression of their father’s growly baritone made tears prick the back of Ellie’s eyelids. She nodded. “I remember. I thought he meant sticking up for me on the playground when bullies pulled my pigtails.”
“He meant that, too.”
She looked at her brother, seeing something in his eyes she hadn’t noticed before. Ellie licked her lips. “But also that it was your job to raise me after they died?”
Jason shook his head. “I didn’t do it out of obligation,” he said. “I did it because I love you, dumbass.”
“I love you, too, dumbass.” The tears welled thicker now, and she stopped to dab the corner of one eye with a napkin.
“My point is that a guy can’t help but internalize stuff like that,” Jason said. “The things his dad says to him, the sort of example the old man sets—we soak that shit up like little sponges.”
Beside him, Miriam nodded. “Poor Ty believed he’d never become anything other than a shit-soaked sponge.” She frowned at her salad, then speared another bite.
“You know, it’s actually a good thing he wants to break things off,” Jason said.
Both women glared at him, and Ellie felt Miriam kick Jason under the table.
“Too soon, hon,” Miriam said.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “I mean it’s a sign that his first instinct is to protect you. He feels guilty about not being a good enough father figure.”
Ellie stared. “You’re suggesting guilt is the sign of a good dad?” She thought about that, twirling her fork through a pile of kale salad. “I’m not sure Chuck feels too guilty about short-changing Henry on child support.”
“Exactly!” Jason nodded and polished off the last of his salmon.
“I think you just hit the nail on the head,” Miriam said. “What separates the good guys from the shitty ones is whether they even notice when they screw up. Whether it bothers them when that happens. Because let’s face it— they’re all going to screw up.”
“All of us,” Jason agreed cheerfully, swiping at his beard with a napkin. “How’s Henry handling things, anyway?”
“You mean with Ty not being around?” She shrugged. “He’s asked about him a couple of times in the last week. I guess it’s a good thing it was still so new. Henry only knew him as someone I worked with, so he’s not reading too much into it.”
“Ty was good with Henry,” Miriam said. “Regardless of what the dumbshit thinks, I have eyes. I saw them at that ball game together. Ty might not have had a lot of finesse, but he was kind and genuine. Kids pick up on that.”
“For sure.” Ellie took a sip of tea, wishing her heart didn’t ache with the memory of Ty and Henry together. “Speaking of Henry, did I tell you what he did?”
“Brought a vibrator to show-and-tell?” Jason suggested, earning a swat from Miriam.
