Page 22 of Finding Us
“I’m not used to feeding hungry young men,” she says as she makes another batch of scrambled eggs.
“My dad doesn’t eat much,” Harper explains.
I don’t think anyone in her family eats. They’re all so thin, except for Harper who has more of a muscular, athletic body.
“Morning everyone.” Kiefer walks in wearing workout shorts and a t-shirt. He gives Kelly a kiss, then grabs a bottle of water from the fridge.
“What time will you be back from your run?” she asks.
“Probably in an hour.”
“The kids will be gone by then, honey.”
“Oh. Well, then I guess I’ll say goodbye now.” He goes over to Harper who gets up and hugs him. “Bye, sweetheart. Call us later so we know you made it home safe.” He kisses her cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
He comes over to me next. “Jade, it was a pleasure meeting you. You’re welcome to stay here anytime, even without Harper. Same goes for you, Garret. We have plenty of room.”
I glance over at Sean, who’s staring down at his plate.
“Thanks,” I say. “And thanks for inviting us to the party. It was fun to see so many celebrities.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He picks up his bottle of water. “I’ll see you two at the wedding.” He smiles at Garret and me, then walks right out the side door, not even acknowledging Sean.
Harper looks hurt but she forces out a smile. “I’m going upstairs to finish packing.”
She takes off and I follow her to her room. “Harper, are you okay?”
“Jade, what are you doing here?” She turns around and I see that her eyes are wet. “Go finish your breakfast. I’ll be right down.”
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
She drops down on the bed and starts crying.
I close the door and sit next to her. “What’s wrong? Is it your dad?”
She nods. “He hates him. He hates Sean. And I don’t know why. Sean’s polite. He always offers to help. He treats me well.”
“When did your dad start acting like this? I thought he liked Sean when you guys were here for spring break.”
“He did. But for the past month or so, whenever we talk on the phone, my dad says bad things about him, like he’s trying to get me to break up with him.”
“What was he saying?”
“I don’t remember. It doesn’t matter. The point is that he doesn’t like him and I don’t understand.”
“Maybe it’s hard for your dad to see you growing up. I mean, Sean is kind of taking his place as the man in your life and your dad’s probably not ready for that.” I have no idea if that’s true but it sounds good.
“My sisters have had boyfriends in the past and he wasn’t mean to them. And he wasn’t mean to any of my boyfriends in high school.”
“Yeah, but you’re more serious with Sean. Your dad might be thinking you’ll marry Sean someday. That’s a big deal. He didn’t have to worry about that with your other boyfriends.” I spot a box of tissues on her dresser and bring it to her.
“You think that’s it?” She takes a tissue and blots her face with it. “Because that kind of makes sense. My dad and I are super close and maybe he thinks he’s losing me.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it. He’s just not ready for his little girl to grow up and get married.” I know nothing about her dad or her relationship with him but my explanation seemed to help, so whatever works.
She hugs me. “Thanks, Jade. I needed to hear that. You’re really smart, you know that?”
