Page 176 of Promising You
“I went to the gas station to fill up and they’d just delivered these so I thought I’d get some as a going-away gift.”
“Thanks. I love donuts.”
“I know you do, but drink some orange juice so you at least get some nutrients.” He sets a glass of it in front of me. “I made scrambled eggs. You want any?”
“Yeah, I’ll have some.”
“Morning, everyone.” Frank comes into the kitchen. His hair is still wet from his shower and he has on jeans and an old green sweater. “You ready to go back to school?”
“I guess.” I pass him the donuts.
Ryan sets a plate of eggs in front of each of us, then joins us at the table. “Come on, Jade. We know you can’t wait to get back. You miss Garret. You’ve been moping around all week, counting the hours until you could see him again.”
“That’s not true! I’ve hardly thought about him all week.”
Frank and Ryan both give me an eye roll.
“Fine. Maybe I miss him a little, but it’s not like I have to spend every minute with him. I can date him and still be independent. And for the record, I was not moping around all week.”
“You were totally moping,” Ryan says as he eats his eggs. “Even Dad noticed.”
I look at Frank to deny it but he doesn’t.
“It’s okay to miss him,” Frank says. “You love him. It’s normal to want to be with him.”
“I don’t love—” I stop because I can’t even say it. I love Garret so much that I can’t even pretend not to.
Ryan laughs. “Jade’s in love.” He sings it like an annoying little kid.
“Shut up.” I punch his arm and he keeps laughing. “You’re in love, too.”
“Yeah, but at least I admit it. You’re over there trying to hide it, like it’s some big secret.”
Frank sighs. “You two will both be married off by the age of 25. I guess I’ll be a young grandpa.”
Ryan chokes on his eggs. “Grandpa? I may be married when I’m 25, but there aren’t going to be any kids for a long time. Chloe and I have to get through med school, then a residency before we even think about having kids.”
I take another donut. “And I’m not having kids, so don’t look at me to help you out with the grandpa thing.”
“Oh, please. You’ll have kids,” Ryan says. “Maybe not by the age of 25, but you’ll have them.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? Do I seem like a kid person? I don’t even like kids. They’re loud. They think they know everything. They don’t listen.”
“Yeah. Just like you.” Ryan laughs. “You’ll get along great with kids.”
I punch him again. “You better stop this right now or I’ll kill you before we make it to Illinois.”
“All right, you two. No fighting at the table.” Frank’s face breaks into a smile as he says it. “Someday you’ll both have kids and you’ll both come back to visit and your kids will be here fighting at the table instead of you two.”
I sling my arm over Ryan’s shoulder. “We’ll still be fighting. We’ll just fight in a different room.”
Frank looks at Ryan and me. “Even with your fighting, I’m so proud of you two, and I love you both.” His eyes get watery.
I get up and give him a hug. “Frank, don’t make me sad before I leave. Saying goodbye is hard enough.”
He wipes his eyes. “I just wanted to say it.”
“We love you, too, Dad,” Ryan says, biting into a donut. “But you’re still not getting grandkids anytime soon.”
