Theo rolled his eyes. Ollie had a sudden vision of what he’d be like as a teenager and made a mental note to look into cryogenically freezing his kid before that could happen. “’Cause that’s what Mel said. Duh.”
Mel.Mel?“When did you talk to your cousin?”
“At recess.”
The shirt only had one little stain, near the cuff of one of the sleeves. If Theo wore a zip-up hoodie with it, no one would ever know. Ollie held up the shirt and received a nod of approval. “Okay, well, Mel doesn’t know everything about me. I love your grandparents.” He could’ve gone withIt’s complicated, but Theo was eight. One piece of the truth at a time. “I thought you weren’t ready to meet them yet. You didn’t seem like you wanted to.”
Theo put on a thorny face. “I can change my mind.”
“You sure can.” Ollie still wasn’t sure how Theo not going to brunch would’ve saved Ollie from his parents, but it didn’t matter. “So, ifIlove your grandparents, andyouwant to have brunch with your grandparents, then canweget ready to go have brunch with your grandparents?”
“Okay,” Theo said, tugging on his shirt, “but can I get pancakes?”
“As long as you promise to eat some protein with your sugar.”
By some miracle, they made it to the restaurant only a few minutes late. The hostess at the front looked vaguely familiar; she smiled when she saw them. “Ollie Kent.” She was his parents’ age, but she reminded him of one of his high school friends—someone’s mother, definitely, but he was having a hard time placing her. “Welcome back to town, sweetheart. Thank you for your service.”
Ollie hoped his return smile looked more natural than it felt. “Uh, hi.” He never knew what to say to that.You’re welcome? Ollie hadn’t done it for her, or for his country. He’d signed up for the Army in part to escape his parents and in part because he thought he could make the world a better place, and he’d made it home in one piece physically because—well, if he had to hazard a guess, probably because the universe had a sense of humor.
“And this must be your son.” Her eyes widened a little. “Don’t you look just like your father. Ollie, you’re meeting your parents, right? They’re right this way.”
Ollie’s parents were seated in a booth by the front window, which made Ollie twitch—a table would’ve been better—but the restaurantwas pretty full with the after-church crowd, so they’d have to make do. He smiled at the hostess and finally remembered—“Thank you, Mrs. Robinson”—and helped Theo get settled.
“Hi, Mom, Dad. Sorry we’re late.”
His dad smiled carefully at Theo as his mother waved off his apology. “No, nonsense, Ollie. I remember what it was like trying to get you and your sisters anywhere on time.”
“Hello, Theo,” Ollie’s father said. “I’m your dad’s dad. I’m really happy to meet you.”
He meant it too—Ollie could tell by the way he said it, but also from the fact that he didn’t say something likeI’ve been waiting for months.
Theo squinted at him like he was sizing him up and then held his hand out across the table to shake.
Ollie mentally awarded his dad ten points for not bursting into laughter. “Hi.”
“Hello, Theo. Do you remember me?”
Theo looked at Ollie’s mom and said, “You were at the park. And at the school.”
Ollie’s dad gave his mom third-degree side-eye, so she apparently hadn’t been forthcoming with her husband about that encounter. “That’s right. I’m your grandma.”
Theo nodded seriously and asked, “Do you like pancakes?”
Ollie could’ve exploded with pride. Look at his kid, carrying on a conversation with grown-ups without any cues from Ollie.Everybodywas getting points this morning, even Ollie. A good night’s rest could do wonders.
It didn’t take long for his dad to cajole Theo into a conversation about baseball—Ollie mentally congratulated himself on the wardrobe selection—and the two of them hashed out Friday night’s disaster at length while Ollie’s mom looked on with a well-disguised pout because she preferred football.
Ollie thought the introductions went well. His parents didn’t overstep any boundaries, even if his mother did give him a look when Theo put in his pancake order. “With sausage, please.”
She wasn’t the one who’d have to deal with Theo’s energy crash and subsequent nap this afternoon, so she could keep her comments to herself. Either Ollie managed to convey as much with his eyebrows, or she decided it simply wasn’t worth the argument. Either way, Ollie counted it asprogress.
He was so busy basking in the success of the moment that he missed the signs Theo was steering the conversation into dangerous territory until the whole thing hurtled off a cliff. “Dad, can Grandma and Grandpa come over to our house after lunch? I want to show Grandpa my signed baseball.”
Two sets of shrewd eyes zinged in Ollie’s direction. “Ollie, you didn’t tell us you found an apartment! Where is it? Are you going to have a housewarming party? We’d love to get you something.”
“I’m impressed you were able to find a backup plan so fast,” his dad added. “If you need any furniture, we can lend you some. We still have your old bedroom set from when you were a kid.”
And now they were being allreasonable. That made Ollie feel like an asshole for not telling them sooner, but he knew the general reasonableness level at the table was about to plummet.
