Page 103 of Eleanor & Grey
I tossed my hands up in surrender. “All right, all right.”
“So Eleanor really grew up, huh? Like, holy hell, she’s fucking beautiful.”
She’d been beautiful since day one. Most people overlooked it, though.
He scratched at the beard he was growing out for his upcoming role in an action movie. “So... is she single?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start, Landon. You aren’t going to sleep with my nanny. Besides, you already slept with her cousin Shay all those years ago.”
“Shay... Shay...” He went deep into his mind trying to connect the dots of a woman he’d slept with named Shay. When it clicked, he slapped me. “Holy shit, Shay Gable?”
I laughed. “Yes, her. Come on, let me get you a drink.”
“I won’t say no to that,” Landon agreed. “Make it anything but EastHouse—that shit tastes like piss,” he joked, making me chuckle as I flipped him off. It might’ve been the first time I’d laughed in months.
Everyone interacted with me as if I hadn’t been a recluseover the past year. They welcomed me back in with laughter and smiles and hugs. I got so many hugs that day.
On a weekend that was supposed to be hard, they all made it that much easier.
Seeing Lorelai having the time of her life warmed me up inside. I swore she was riding the pony for the hundredth time, but Karla opted to stay in her bedroom the whole time.
After the party died down I headed to Karla’s bedroom with a slice of the unicorn cake. My stomach was in knots as I knocked on her door.
She looked up from her computer and raised the headphones she wore. “What?” she muttered, staring at me as if I was the biggest nuisance in the world.
“I, uh, I brought you some cake,” I told her, walking into her room.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why?”
“I just thought you’d want some.” I set it down beside her, and her intense stare didn’t ease. “It would’ve been nice if you were at the party today. Everyone was asking about you.”
“Yeah, well,” she mumbled, going back to her computer screen.
“Karla, I was thinking—”
“Look, can we not do this?” she barked, taking off her headphones. “I don’t know what got into you or if the guilt of being a bad father for the past year has finally caught up with you, but I really don’t have time for it. I mean, yesterday was Lorelai’s birthday, and you sent us away. Yesterday was the anniversary of Mom’s death, and you didn’t even spend it with your daughters. So I’m sure everyone is happy-go-lucky to see you out and about and acting semihuman again, but please excuse me if I’m not interested in whatever it is that’s going on with you at the moment.”
My mouth gaped open, but no words left me. It was as if she’d slammed her fists into my gut and left me breathless. What was even worse about what she’d said was how true it was. I hadn’t been there for her or her sister for the past year.
“Mom would’ve never abandoned us,” she whispered, her voice shaky, and for the first time in a long time, she showed something other than anger—she showed her pain.
“Karla...” I started, reaching out to her, but she yanked her arm away.
“Just go, Dad,” she hissed, putting her headphones back on. “And take the stupid cake with you.”
I took a deep breath and picked up the plate. I wanted to say something else. I wanted to express myself in a way that would maybe make her understand what I’d been going through, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to even begin fixing the damage I’d caused her, the damage I’d caused my family.
I walked away and closed her bedroom door behind me. As I walked down the hallway, I heard voices and looked into the bathroom to see Lorelai washing her hands with Eleanor’s assistance. She was covered in chocolate and frosting, and the two of them were giggling like they were the best of friends.
“I think we got it all,” Eleanor commented, tapping Lorelai’s nose.
“OK, good. I’m going to go get some more cake!” Lorelai hurried out of the room. She paused in front of me when she saw me standing there, and her eyes lit up. “Hey, Daddy!”
“Hey, you,” I said, giving her a small smile.
She rushed over, wrapped her arms around my legs, and pulled me into a hug. “Thanks for the best birthday party ever and the ponies and the cake and the burgers and... and... you’re the best dad ever.” She squeezed me tighter, and thenwhen she let me go, she grabbed the plate in my hand and shouted, “And thanks for the cake!”
Eleanor was about to stop her from running off, but I shook my head. “It’s fine. We’ll deal with the sugar low when it comes.”
