“You look rough,” Angus says, eyeing me. “You get any sleep?”
I rub the back of my neck with my hand. “Not a lot. What’s up?”
“I heard back from the memory care place in Minneapolis. They’re willing to review Tricia’s records, see if she’s a good fit for them. I don’t know if this is still relevant.”
“I don’t know either,” I admit.
“You didn’t say much yesterday, other than that Summer had an emergency with her mom. But I know you pretty well, and something happened.”
“She left,” I say blandly. “I mean, she left me.”
“What did you do?”
“Fuck if I know.” I back into my room and sink onto the couch.
“What happened?”
I give him an overview without any details. Mostly because I don’t know any.
“I have no idea what set her off. I mean, yeah, her mom’s situation, but it could have happened even if she was in town.”
“So, then this was an excuse.”
“Apparently.”
“Her trauma or yours?”
“Mine?” I glance up in annoyance. “What are you talking about?”
“Your shitty childhood. Emotionally barren parents. The fear that you’re going to be a shitty dad. Come on, this is me. I know all your bullshit.”
“I’ll never be like my parents,” I say with a grunt. “Fuck that. If Summer tries to keep me from the kid, I’ll fight her.”
He smiles.
“What?” I ask, annoyed.
“In the midst of all the chaos, did you fall in love with her?”
“What do you think?”
“Look, I’m not a lot older than you, but enough to have been around the block a few more times. And from where I’m sitting, that girl loves you too. Ryleigh said so too. There were practically stars in her eyes every time she looked at you. You can’t fake that, buddy.”
“Could have fooled me,” I mutter.
“Look, she was in panic mode. I’m sure she felt guilty. She’s out here traveling the world, having a blast, and her mom is who-knows-where, potentially dead in a ditch. Not to mention?—”
“Don’t you dare bring up pregnancy hormones,” I say. “That’s just an excuse at this point. The things she said…the way she called me a mistake, that wasn’t just a Freudian slip. She doesn’t see me as her husband, just the guy who knocked her up and did the right thing.”
“Or maybe she’s protecting herself the same way you are.”
“Even if you’re right, what am I fighting for? She doesn’t want to move to Minnesota, and I don’t really want to live in upstate New York. Away from the band and?—”
“But is it a dealbreaker?”
“What?”
“Is living in New York a dealbreaker? If you guys work out everything else, and it’s all really good, would you end things because she doesn’t want to move?”
