“Of course, I don’t mind. My home is your home, and I mean that.” He walked over to the wet bar, putting about an inch of whiskey in thetwo glasses. Then, he handed me one. He held his out, looking for a toast. “You can do this without me but know you don’t have to. I’ll be right by your side the whole time.” He swallowed the whiskey in one gulp.
I did the same thing, felt the warmth of the liquor through my body and the tingle of someone who cared about me right on top of that. I felt lucky that I didn’t have to face this alone. “I need to change my clothes before we go.” I grabbed my bag and headed towards the bathroom.
“Where are you going?” He looked at me.
“Going to wash up and change my clothes. I have construction dust all over me.”
“Use our bedroom.” He looked down and turned red. “I mean our room. Oh god. Just shut up, River.” He refused to look me in the eye. “Use the room where the bed is.”
“Good idea. I’ll just get changed in our room.” I looked at him and smiled. I could have tortured him more, but he was so distressed over what he felt was inappropriate that I gave him a pass. He was adorable when he got all awkward and embarrassed.
I changed my clothes, putting on slacks and a long-sleeved dress shirt. Rodney arrived on time with fresh fruits, vegetables, and raw meat. “I brought food for the dragons, which I will use for their dinner. Do you mind if I use the kitchen to cook my dinner?”
“Please make yourself at home,” River said without a second thought. “There are drinks and snacks. I have ten different flavors of toaster pastries.”
“Seriously? I didn’t even know there were ten flavors. “How did you find yourself in possession of so many?”
River turned his head slowly at me.
“Oh.Yeah, Uncle Aaron likes to give gifts. It makes him happy to do for those he loves.” He turned and looked at me with big eyes like he had just given away a secret.
“That I do,” I said. “Thanks for coming over. I'm unsure when we will be home, but I will text you when we head this way. We are just going to the fancy burger place a couple of blocks over.”
Rodney walked over to me. “It’s going to be okay, Uncle Aaron. You are the best man I know. You stepped up to be my father when my sperm donor left my mom alone. I am sure Tanner saw that, too.” I could feel the stinging in my eyes and wanted to cry.
“Thank you.” I needed to hear that. My voice cracked. “Are you ready for this?” I turned to look at River.
“I am ready when you are.” He held his hand out palm up, and I weaved my fingers between his. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
I drove us in my truck instead of taking a car. I just felt like if I needed to escape, it would be nice to have my vehicle. When we got there, I took a deep breath. River came around the other side and gave me another comforting hug. I took his hand.
When we reached the front of the restaurant, I saw Tanner’s grandfather, Douglas, sitting outside. He stood up and shook my hand. I introduced him to River. “I’d like to talk to you before you go in.”
River offered to excuse himself. I held on to his hand tighter. I didn’t know what this conversation would be about, but I needed him with me. All three of us sat on the planter.
Douglas sighed, “Aaron, I am sorry for what my son did to you. For the last eight years, he has used men for their money. I can’t begin to tell you how many there were. We told Stephen that we wanted custody of Tanner the year after you two broke up, which meant he would have to give up his parental rights. As you know, Stephen wasn’t interested in his son’s well-being. When Tanner was ten years old, hewas still asking about you. We explained to him that you had moved on with your life. Our hearts ached for him.”
“I tried.” He held up his hand and stopped me from interrupting.
“I was going through a box of papers in my garage three years ago. I found the letter where you offered to fund his business to keep in touch with Tanner, and I found where you begged him to spend time with Tanner. All the letters you sent Tanner were there, too. It looked like every letter you sent remained sealed. I saw the court documents where you tried to get access to Tanner legally. I also saw where you ran out of hope.” His eyes looked sad as he told me how I tried and failed.
“You must understand that I love him as my son. Stephen just wasn’t willing to budge. I could never figure out why. As you said, he didn’t seem to be all that interested in what was going on in his son's life. The only answer I could come up with was that he wanted to punish me.”
“I suspect you are right. I considered reaching out to you when we found the documents. I wasn’t sure how Tanner felt then, and I didn’t want to disrupt his life. For the first time, he had stability. When he turned sixteen, he asked if we could talk. He told me that he always wondered what happened to you. I told him I could try to make contact. You were, of course, easy to find with your successful construction company. It took me months to work out how I wanted to approach this. Honestly, I don’t know what Tanner will say to you or how he will act. I know that he is just about to turn 17. After dinner, I will decide whether to share the documents with him.”
I thought I understood what he was saying. He had let his grandson make his own choices since he was nearly an adult.
“Aaron, I believed my son when he told me you kicked him out and didn’t want them anymore. I believed it was the truth until thosedocuments. I want to help make this right, and it’s up to you two now.” He didn’t know what Tanner was thinking or wanting, but we would find out together.
“I want to get to know him and catch up with his life if he will allow me, but I am prepared for him to hate me and tell me how I hurt him.”
“Sounds like you are as ready as I am then.”
River squeezed my hand. We stood up and headed into the restaurant. We weaved our way to the table in the back. I saw Tanner sitting on the edge of his seat, and his knee bounced up and down. He was nearly a man now. He stared in the direction we were coming from.
“DAD!” I then had a teenager with his arms wrapped around me. “I’ve missed you so much. Thank you for coming.”
I couldn’t believe he was thanking me. “Let me look at you.” He was a little shorter than me. He looked happy and healthy, and that made me feel good. That’s what I wanted more than anything.
