Page 68 of Truth or More Truth
“Might be my fifteen years of experience as your friend, wife, ex-wife, co-parent, and backyard neighbor.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “But don’t deflect. Tell me everything, or I won’t give you my thoughts.”
I look down at my hands. “After the rehearsal dinner, I was driving us back to the hotel, and a deer jumped out in front of us. I didn’t handle it well.”
“Oh, Bobby.” Nanette’s voice is full of compassion. “Panic attack?”
I nod.
“How did Melissa handle that?”
A lump forms in my throat at the memory. “Exactly the way I needed her to.”
“I don’t get the details on that?”
“Not on what she did or said, but …” I close my eyes.
“But …?”
“I didn’t tell her why I reacted that way. I haven’t told her about Kelli or you or the accident.”
Nanette sucks in a breath. “What? Why?”
“To be fair, I was planning to tell her on our way back to Chicago, but then I came here.” I hold up a hand. “I’m not blaming you. I’m just explaining. But I didn’t tell her—and still haven’t told her—because things happened so fast. You know I don’t tell many people about my personal life and why. I do trust her, but I guess I didn’t want the reality of my life to ruin what might be happening between us. She deserves a man who can give her everything, who doesn’t have all these other responsibilities. She’s young, being an instant step-parent of a teenager is not one of her life goals, and she moved back home to Chicago last year to be close to her parents. She can’t move here, and I can’t move there. It’s just too much to ask of her to try to have a long-distance relationship with me when it can’t go anywhere.”
“But you don’t know that, Bobby.” Nanette holds her hand out to me, and I scoot forward on my chair so I can take it in mine. “You haven’t given her the chance to decide for herself.”
“She said she wants to try long-distance, but I can’t imagine a scenario where she’d jump at my offer once she knows the entire truth about my life.”
“You underestimate yourself. You’re not everyone’s cup of tea, we all know that, but since she hasn’t gone running for the hills yet, it sounds like you might be her cup. And I think she’s definitelyyourcup.”
I chuckle. “She is, and I don’t even like tea.”
“That’s good, because I got you a Mountain Dew.” This comes from Kelli, who hands over my soda with a giant grin. “Now, tell me who this cup of tea lady is. And don’t even try lying to me, Dad. You think you have a poker face, and maybe you do at work, but I can always tell when you’re lying.”
Now it’s Nanette’s turn to chuckle. “Chip off the old block.”
I run my hand through my hair and then back down to cover my face. “Do I really have to do this?”
“Yes,” mother and daughter demand in unison.
When I hesitate, Nanette sums up the situation for Kelli. “Yourdad has a friend he drove from Chicago to Arkansas with, and it turns out he likes her a lot. I mean,a lot.”She smirks at me. “But she lives in Chicago, and he lives here, and he doesn’t think she would move here, and therefore he’s giving up and is going to die a lonely, grumpy old man.”
“What?!” Kelli slams her drink down onto the small table and props her hands on her hips. “You can’t give up. You never date anybody. You neverlikeanybody. Scoop this woman up right now!” Her eyes dart to Nanette. “What’s her name?”
“Melissa,” Nanette replies in a sing-song voice.
“Oooo! Melissa and Bobby, sittin’ in a?—”
I slice my hand through the air. “All right, that’s enough from the peanut gallery. It’s not really your concern.”
Kelli’s jaw drops. “Not my concern?Not my concern?Dad, it’s so totally my concern. All you do is work and take care of us. You need some fun and excitement in your life. You need to do things that don’t involve me or sports. You need … you know.” She waggles her eyebrows, and I almost gag at her insinuation. Not that she’s wrong, but she’s mydaughter.She doesn’t need to be talking about my sex life. Sheesh. This conversation has gone off the rails.
Nanette has the gall to giggle before shutting our precocious daughter down. “Kell, that’sdefinitelynot your concern. But you’re right about one thing. Your dad needs some fun in his life, and I think Melissa is just the ticket.”
My answering machine light is blinking when Kelli and I arrive back home, and when I hit the play button, Wendy’s voice fills the air. “Robert Neanderthal Jacobs, if you don’t call Melissa within the next twenty-four hours, I’m telling her everything myself. I don’t care if that means you can’t trust me ever again, because I can’t take this anymore. You said you’d call her, and I know you keep your word, but it’s been a week.A week.The statute of limitations is up tomorrow. Do I make myself clear?” She huffs. “That’s what I thought.” Her tone then switches from sternschoolmarm to concerned friend. “And I hope everything’s going fine with Nanette. Tell her and Kelli we say hi and we’re thinking about them. OK, bye.” I think she’s done but then she adds, “Call her,” in her stern voice again.
“I guess she told you,” my daughter says as she falls onto my leather couch and props her shoe-clad feet on the coffee table.
I nudge her leg with my foot.
