“Mom, you want some champagne?” Tyler hollers from the kitchen, bottle in hand.
Her gaze flits to him. “Oh, my favorite!” She hurries over. He pours glasses for the two of them, then hands the bottle to Declan.
I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful for my brother’s interruption. I glance around Mom’s house, at the crowd of relatives mingling and eating and singing karaoke. My chest aches. Becca would love this. I picture her laughing and sharing champagne with my mom, singing along with my little cousins at the karaoke machine, chatting with my aunties and uncles.
I glance at my phone and pull up our most recent text conversation, when she asked if we could talk. I read over my response for the hundredth time.
Me: I just need some time.
When she texted me a few days ago, I was surprised. Shocked, actually. After the way she told me to leave her place last week when we argued, I didn’t think she’d reach out to me anytime soon. But she did. And a part of me was so damn excited to hear from her.
But the other part of me is so upset about how she thinks I should just forgive my dad. I think back to the day we fought in her apartment, that look of pure confusion and disgust on her face when she overheard me telling off my dad.
I think about how even after I explained how I felt and how I reminded her of how he fired me and cut me out of my life, she thought I was being too harsh on him.
I’m just saying that your dad made a mistake—just like we all make mistakes…Maybe he’s changed. Maybe he’s more understanding.
I close my eyes as the memory of what she said to me cuts me yet again. I feel a bump on my leg and glance down at my cousin Walter’s five-year-old daughter, Alodia, looking up at me.
“Uncle Gage, can I have some chicken nuggets, pwease?”
I smile. My first genuine smile in days. “Of course, sweetie. Here.”
I lean down, scoop her up, and walk her into the kitchen, where a massive spread of food sits on Mom’s kitchen table. I set Alodia down and grab a paper plate and load up some chicken nuggets for her along with some fruit and veggies so her dad doesn’t go off on me for only letting her eat junk food. I set her up at a nearby table, where a couple of my other cousins’ kids are sitting and eating.
She shoves a nugget in her mouth and says a muffled, “thank you,” her mouth full.
“You’re welcome.” I kiss the top of her head and check on the other kids to make sure they have enough to eat and drink. I refill their cups with juice right as Tyler comes up and slaps me on the back.
“Room for one more?” He kneels down, champagne bottle in one hand andlumpiain another. He takes a gigantic bite oflumpiaand chews loudly, making the kids laugh.
“You’re so funny, Uncle Tyler,” Alodia says while chuckling.
“Aww, I am, aren’t I?” He ruffles her hair before elbowing my leg. “Uncle Gage on the other hand is being Mr. Grumpy Pants today.”
The kids laugh again. Tyler looks up at me, his gaze focused, like he can tell something is up with me. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been pretty cagey with him ever since things between Becca and me went to hell. We’ve met up at the gym a couple of times to work out, and he’s asked about her both times. Both times, I gave evasive non-answers about us being too busy to see each other lately.
“Becca’s not here?” he asks when he stands up.
“Nope.”
“That’s too bad. Millie was hoping she’d bring some more ice cream.”
“Of course she was,” I mutter.
He turns back to the kids. “Did you guys know that Uncle Gage has a girlfriend?”
I shove his shoulder. “Dude, shut up. You think they wanna hear about that?”
Annoyed, I walk off. Someone hollers that they need more ice for the drink cooler in the backyard, so I head to the garage to grab another bag out of the deep freezer. Behind me, I hear footsteps. I spin around to see Tyler shutting the door.
He looks at me and crosses his arms. “What’s up with you?”
I grit my teeth and shove open the deep freezer. “Nothing’s up with me, other than being annoyed by you, but that’s not new.”
“Ha-ha. I’m serious, Gage. What’s going on? Where’s Becca?”
I yank a bag of ice from the freezer and slam it shut. “She’s not here,” I mutter.
