Slamming my door shut, I reach in the back seat to unstrap Poppy. It’s late in the evening. I should be getting her ready for bed, but this is the only time I have in my schedule. And since I couldn’t bring myself to do it over the phone, here we are.
As I make my way up what should be a walkway but is so overrun with weeds, you can’t tell, I hoist Poppy higher and reach back to take Gabby’s hand. “Careful on these stairs.”
Once we’re safely on the stoop, I knock.
“Go away, fucker!” my father bellows from the living room. “I told you I’d pay rent next week.”
Charming. Not the town.
“Dad, it’s me.” I called him earlier to tell him I’d be by, but there’s no telling he remembers. If he did and laid off the booze, this convo will go down easier.
I try the front door. It’s unlocked.
My old man is sitting in his ancient recliner in his underwear and a stained t-shirt. A half-dozen beers litter the coffee table.
I clench my jaw. “I brought a friend. Maybe you should get dressed.”
He doesn’t bother to look away from his TV. “I’m fine.” Tipping back his can of shitty beer, he gulps it back. “So ya finally getting ’round to see me, huh? Who died?” He scratches his balls.
Fuck, this is humiliating.
“I have some news that I didn’t want to give you over the phone.” I clear my throat. “Thought you’d want to meet your granddaughter in person.”
He blinks. Then frowns. A full sixty seconds later, he turns toward us.
His bloodshot eyes flit from me and Poppy to Gabby and back again. “All you had to do is play football. Just one thing, and you can’t even do that right,” he mutters in between belches. With his chin, he motions to Gabby. “This the girl you knocked up?”
Christ.
“No, this is… uh…” Do I call her my girlfriend and make this worse? Goddamn it, why didn’t I figure out what to say before we got here?
Gabby steps forward and introduces herself. “Hi, Mr. Kingston. I’m Rider’s neighbor, and I babysit for Poppy sometimes.”
He squints at her, then me. “Poppy, huh? Couldn’t have come up with a better name?”
I wince, ashamed my father could sink so low as to ridicule a baby. Once again, Gabby saves me from having to speak. I’m not sure I can right at this moment.
“She’s a really good girl.” Gabby takes the baby from my arms and kisses her forehead. “Say hi to your grandpa, Poppy.”
He barely glances at her before he returns to the TV. “How do you know it’s yours? Any dumb bitch can say you knocked her up.”
“I did a paternity test,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Why did I pay all that money for you to play sports when you were just gonna blow it before the draft?” Spit flies from his mouth as he slurs the words.
“When have you ever paid for anything in my life? If it weren’t for free meals at school, I would’ve starved. My friends’ parents felt sorry for me and gave me hand-me-downs. Coaches paid for my shit with their own money because Hank Kingston couldn’t get his head out of his ass and think about someone other than himself for two minutes.”
“You sound just like her.” Her.My mother.He always goes there.
I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off. “And don’t you defend her. Who stuck around after she left? Me!Nevertrust a woman, Rider. I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again. The pretty ones will fuck you over.” Turning to Gabby, who’s standing so still I’m not sure she’s breathing, he yells, “Even this one with her pretty little voice, and pretty little face, and pretty little manners! I see how she looks at you. You’re telling me you’re not fucking her too?”
Shame like I’ve never experienced before explodes in my chest.
I can’t believe I asked Gabby to come with me today. That I brought my daughter to meet this asshole. That I was dumb enough to think my father would fucking care he has a granddaughter.
He sneers at Gabby. “Let me guess. You’re helping him outta the kindness of your heart.” A maniacal laugh bubbles up out of him. “But you’re probably just waiting for his big payday like every other slut.”
Fisting his disgusting t-shirt, I wrench him out of his chair. “Don’t fucking talk to her like that. This woman has kept my ass out of trouble all semester. What have you ever done but suck my bank account dry?”
