Page 37 of The Blessing

“I think he’s got a crush on you,” I tease her as she follows me out to my truck.

“I guess you’d know a lot about what it’s like, wouldn’t you?” she teases right back. “With the way you constantly look at me I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you to contain yourself.”

I stop walking to regard her for a moment. She pauses her steps for a second—just long enough to wink at me—before continuing on toward my truck. I can’t help but to burst out into laughter. She’s so funny. I’ve never really known a chick who had a sense of humor. I never knew I liked that in a woman. I reach and gently pull her into my arms, giving her a quick kiss before letting her go. I find that she gives me more than pleasure—she gives me comfort as well.

The drive across town is too fucking short. We arrive at my parents’ house to find the street littered with cars I don’t recognize leading up to the driveway. It looks like they’ve invited the whole fucking town to this party. I can’t even fathom how they know all these people. I end up having to park on an entirely different street. As we walk toward my parents’ house I wonder if my mom literally invited every person she’s ever fucking met.

I look over at Ronnie—who’s obviously uncomfortable in her heels—and frown. “Fuck, I’m sorry, baby,” I comment as we trudge toward my parent’s home.

“It’s fine,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders. She’s never one to complain, she’d rather suffer in silence—just like me. “This is why I never wear high heels.”

“Well, you look beautiful, baby. But you look beautiful in anything you wear.” This is the first time I’ve called her “baby” and she doesn’t seem to mind it. In fact, she looks quite content by the way she’s blushing at me. I love calling her that because she is my baby.

Ronnie smiles and grabs my free hand to hold tightly in hers. “I love it when you call me that.”

“‘Baby’? I’ve been wanting to call you my baby for a while now, but I didn’t want you to freak-out on me.”

She laughs at my response and quickly retorts, “I’d never freak-out on you. I like being your anything.”

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind.” Feeling confident, I wink at her, enjoying the way this night is going already.

Unfortunately, that enjoyment is short-fucking-lived. As soon as we walk into my parents’ home, I find the party is exactly as I expected it to be. I recognize absolutely no one. Grey’s staring at all the unfamiliar faces in wonder, but as soon as people start to direct their attention at him, he makes a frustrated groan and hides his face in the crook of my neck.

“You ready to meet my parents?” I ask my girl as I spot my dad in the kitchen surrounded by some of his colleagues.

She smiles at me, but I can tell she’s trying desperately to hide her nerves. I don’t know what she has to worry about, it feels like she could accomplish just about anything. I hold her hand as I lead us through the crowd, appreciating the warmth of her palm against mine. I feel everyone’s eyes on us as we part through the masses, but with Ronnie by my side, I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. Their stares range from being curious or dubious, to disbelieving as they watch as I cross the room with a baby in my arms and the hottest woman alive at my side. However, I know they aren’t really staring at the baby nor the woman next to me; they’re staring at me. Covered in tattoos—I look rough in their eyes. In this moment, I realize that no amount of changes I’ve made in my life will alter anyone’s initial perception of me.

When we finally reach my dad, my agitation dissipates, happy he’s talking to someone I recognize. With a beer in hand, he looks more relaxed and happy than I’ve seen him in a very long time. I stare at the ice-cold drink as it sweats in his hand and feel my mouth go dry with want. I lick my lips as I imagine the hoppy taste quenching my thirst. What could one drink hurt? It takes all the power within me to reel myself in and not grab a drink for myself from the bar setup in the kitchen. My strained eyes meet my dad’s gaze, and he gives me an odd look—as if he were trying to decipher what the hell was running through my mind. He knew I liked to party—but I don’t think he realizes the depth of my problems. Hell, I can’t blame him. I’ve never had the balls to tell him about my struggles. The way he sees straight through me, though… It’s obvious he knows now. I give him a small, tight smile and give his colleague a polite wave “hello.”

“Dad, this is my date, Veronica Clark; Ronnie, this is my dad, Arthur Warren.”

Ronnie reaches forward to give my dad a polite handshake. He rewards her an impressed smile as she gives his hand two firm pumps before pulling away.

“So, you’re the beautiful, young lady my son can’t stop talking about.”

“Dad,” I say, sounding pissed and shocked all at the same time. Way to play it fucking cool, Dad. Don’t feel bad about embarrassing me or anything like that. Next, he’ll be telling her all about how I came to him for relationship advice. I turn to Ronnie, who’s blushing at my side, seemingly pleased by my dad’s comment.

“I’m just joking, Trevor. It’s very nice to meet you.” When he notices I’m still glaring at him for practically outing me in his previous comment, he smiles at me and continues, “So, how did you two meet?”

I give him a grateful smile and he winks at me before taking a sip of his beer.

“Well, I saw him around town a few times but I was always way too shy and nervous to approach to him. So, when I saw he moved in next to me, I knew I finally had my chance.”

She wanted to approach me long before we ever spoke? “So, you wanted to talk to me long before you saw me move in?”

Ronnie gives me a small smile and says, “Well, you’re kind of hard not to want, Trev.”

Fuck, I feel like I’ve fallen in love with this girl all over again! I wasn’t sure about my feelings before—mostly because I was too frightened to admit them to myself—but now, as I see her confidently smiling up at me while she informs me she’s been into me for some time—I know I’ve fallen in love with this girl. I’m completely fucking smitten.

“We started talking when Grey was teething and I heard his cries,” Ronnie explains to my dad as I stand quiet at her side—too shocked by the realization of my feelings to contribute to the current conversation. “So, I stopped by and helped out and it progressed from there.”

“Well, that’s great,” Dad responds with an approving look on his face. “Trevor needs a girl like you in his life.”

Ronnie blushes and I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close against my side. My mother enters the room, and all the relaxed energy quickly disappears. She gives me a terse smile before walking towards us. I swear, even when she’s happy and attending an event which should give her some enjoyment, she still finds a way to be overtaxed. Her posture is rigid as she crosses the room. She greets me with a forced smile and doesn’t even bother to acknowledge Ronnie. I can’t help but cringe. Still, I decide to put my feelings aside because I want to at least say I tried with her.

Wanting to put the past behind us, I hand Grey to Ronnie and put my arms around my mother to give her a quick, birthday hug. Our embrace is one-sided, but I’m patient, waiting for her to relax in my arms and hug me in return. I feel dad staring at our interaction, observing us as if we were two strangers. I wonder what we must look like to him—his son hugging his wife’s rigid body without reciprocation. Once reality sinks in and I realize her ice-cold demeanor is unwavering and she’s not going to return my embrace, I pull back to look at her face. I find absolutely nothing. Her expression is blank and her eyes are dead. I look to my dad, who’s staring at me with a look I don’t want to begin to understand. He looks at my mother as if he was seeing her for the very first time and then looks back to me, his features softening slightly before he gives me a smile that is filled with grief.

Wanting to break the uncomfortable silence, I introduce my mother to my girl. She looks dazed as she automatically reaches out to shake Ronnie’s hand. She seems almost traumatized by the hug I gave her.