Authors: Theresa Ragan
Sandy thought that was a fair deal. Sandy and Chelsey chatted amongst themselves about football and how much they didn’t know about the game, but how they both enjoyed the uniforms and especially the way the pants molded to the players’ thighs and butt.
Derrick’s gaze settled on the flowers on the counter behind Jill. “Looks like you need to have a talk with the pediatrician.”
Jill lowered her voice. “Which part of ‘I don’t want to be your friend’ did you not understand?”
“I don’t want to lose you,” he said.
“You never had me to lose. And I don’t want to talk about this right now,” she whispered.
“Tell the doctor that you’re taken.”
She angled her head. “Are you for real?”
“You told me you had feelings for me.”
“That was before you made it clear that you still have feelings for Maggie.”
He frowned, but didn’t refute what she was saying.
“You’re confused,” she said.
Once again his large frame filled the doorway. His close proximity made her feel weak in the knees. “There’s something really great happening between the two of us,” he said. “It’s way too soon to call it quits.”
She shook her head at his audacity. “I can’t talk about this now.”
“Fine,” he said before she could shut the door in his face. “I’ll be here,” he glanced at his watch, “by eight o’clock tonight. We’ll talk then.”
~~~
Derrick didn’t bother knocking. Instead, he opened the front door to his parents’ house and led Hank inside on a leash. The dog’s tail wagged, hitting the door with a
thump, thump, thump
. He quietly shut the door behind him, hoping to surprise his mom. Although he’d told her he was coming, he was pretty sure she hadn’t believed him.
A cacophony of voices and sounds traveled from the dining room and kitchen, reminding him of his childhood when all of his sisters and brothers and a few neighborhood stragglers would come together in Mom’s kitchen and set the table or help with dinner, everyone always talking at once.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Jake said the moment Derrick stepped into view.
“Did you have to bring that dog?” Rachel asked.
Derrick patted Hank on the rump and held tight to his leash. “He’s a good dog and he’s lonely at the big house now that Zoey moved back to her place.”
“I can’t believe you’ll let Hank into your house, but not Jim Jensen.” Rachel shook her head. “It makes no sense at all.”
His mom tossed a salad in the kitchen. “Did you call the local veterinarians to see if anyone has lost their dog?”
Rachel snorted. “Look at the animal, Mom. Would you want Hank back if you lost him?”
Jake came to Derrick’s side and pet the dog on the head while Mom looked adoringly at Hank. “Of course I would want him back. What’s not to love?”
Hank wagged his tail.
“I’ve called at least a dozen vets,” Derrick said. “I was hoping all of you could help me make flyers.”
When no one responded, Derrick figured he was on his own.
Dad gave the dog a biscuit and then took the leash from him and led Hank outside. “Let me introduce Hank to Lucky and Princess and see if they all get along.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that, Dad. Where’s the Rad Dad T-shirt?”
“If I had known you were actually going to show up, I would have worn it.”
Derrick laughed as he headed for Mom and gave her a hug. “Something smells good.”
“Pork chops with maple sauce, salmon potato salad, and banana cream cheesecake.”
“Sounds like a winning combo.”
“How’s your knee?” she asked, ignoring his teasing.
He frowned. “Who told you I was having problems with my knee?”
“I’m your mother. I know these things.”
Brad sat at the booth in the kitchen. “We’ve all noticed you limping around in pain at some point or another. Have you talked to your coach about it?”
Frustrated, Derrick raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m back on the field next week. Nobody will ever know.”
“You can’t play football forever,” Jake reminded him.
“I appreciate everyone’s concern,” Derrick said, which was a big fat lie since he plainly did not like them nosing in on his business, “but I’ve got it taken care of.” He did a little dance. “See? The leg is as good as new.”
His brother Cliff came in from outside, followed by Dad. Derrick was thankful for the interruption.
“Hey, bro, how’s it going?” Cliff asked. “Good looking dog you found yourself.”
They hugged and patted one another on the back and Derrick actually found himself wondering why it had taken him so long to join them on Wednesday night for dinner.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Zoey added as she appeared from down the hall.
“For what?” Derrick asked.
“Mom told us you and Jill finally hooked up.”
Derrick looked at Mom, who merely waved a dismissive hand and went on with whatever she was doing now. And then he remembered why he rarely came to these get-togethers.
“I like Jill very much,” Rachel said as she placed a fork next to every plate on the table in the dining room.
Dad handed him the salt and pepper shakers. “Put those on the table, would you?”
Derrick did as he was told and then he glanced at his watch.
“Don’t even think about it,” Mom said as she patted his forearm.
Damn
. She was on to him.
“So when are you going to move back into your house in Malibu?” Dad asked.
“And more importantly,” Zoey said, “when are Jill and Ryan going to move in with you?”
“First comes love,” Mom told his sister as she passed the glass bowl filled with potato salad, gesturing for his sister to set it on the table. “After the love part, we can all discuss the moving in part.”
“
We
?” Derrick asked. “
We
don’t discuss my love life or decide what’s best for me. Jill and I will discuss our love lives and our future together without any help from the likes of you all.”
Were they all insane
?
“A little testy, aren’t we?” Jake asked.
“He’s sensitive,” Mom corrected.
Of course they were all insane. Why was he even questioning it
?
“He’s obviously in love,” Rachel chimed in as if he wasn’t in the same room.
His dad came up close to Derrick for a better look. “How can you tell?”
“He just talked about discussing his love life with Jill,” Rachel said. “Why would anyone discuss their love life if they didn’t have one?”
“You’re a clever child,” Dad said, tweaking her nose as if she was five-years old.
Derrick winced. “Dad smells like cigars again, Mom.”
“Phil. You didn’t?”
His dad narrowed his eyes at Derrick in warning. “I want to hear more about this falling in love stuff,” Dad said to get him back for tattling, “and how
WE
are all going to figure out what you and Jill—”
“Hey,” Derrick said, cutting him off, “did you all hear Connor’s taking Sandy out this Friday night? What about that!”
His mother’s eyes widened and his sister motioned for him to be quiet by slicing a hand across her throat. “What?” Derrick asked, truly baffled.
Jake’s face reddened just before he headed out the sliding glass door, shutting it firmly behind him.
Zoey sighed. “Jake has a crush on Sandy and ever since he discovered Connor had an eye on her, too, he’s been upset.”
“And you call me the sensitive one?” Derrick shook his head.
The click of the front door told him they had more company. When Maggie walked into the kitchen, all conversation came to a halt.
Derrick wasn’t sure if everyone stopped talking because they were waiting to see if Aaron was going to walk in behind her, or if they just didn’t know what to say to her since Aaron had up and left her.
The last time he’d seen Maggie she’d been red-nosed and puffy-eyed from too much crying. Tonight though, she looked back to normal: all creamy skinned and beautiful—pint-sized and bright-eyed.
Derrick approached her first and took her hand in his. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I wanted to apologize for the way I acted the last time I saw you. You came all that way to offer me support and I treated you rudely and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”
“You never have to apologize to me. You know that. You’re going through some tough times and I want you to know I’ll always be here for you. Anytime of the day or night just give me a call and I’ll be there.”
As she smiled at him, the family surrounded them, everyone wanting to give Maggie their love and support.
By the time they sat for dinner and the food was passed around the table, Jake had reappeared and had taken a seat between his sisters. His brothers, Garrett and Lucas and, of course, Aaron, were the only people missing, and for the next few hours, everybody laughed and reminisced, talking about everything from sports to ebooks, and a splash of politics without the bickering.
Maggie sat next to him and when he talked about the adoring way in which his son looked at him, she reached out and touched his arm in a gentle and loving manner, just a simple brush of the fingers across his wrist.
Derek felt something very strange happening.
In that very moment, instantaneously, something bubbled and awakened inside of him. It was almost as if a part of his childhood flashed before him, showing him what he’d failed to see all the years before, revealing the truth, the answer to the question that had been nagging him for all the days of his life.
It was the strangest thing.
Such a small thing. One touch of his wrist—crazy really, the light brush of her fingertips against his skin—that’s all it took. He saw green eyes and a small nose. He saw a big smile and a cute little dent. He saw ridiculously large pink slippers. It was Jill he saw in his mind’s eye. Maggie was touching him and yet he only saw Jill.
He needed to see Jill, in the flesh. Not tomorrow, not tonight, but right now.
He pushed his chair away from the table and stood. “I have to go.”
Maggie did the same. “I’ll get my things.”
He lifted a puzzled brow.
Mom happened to be looking his way and she filled in the blanks. “Maggie had a friend drop her off. I told her you’d give her a ride home if you came since the apartments where you’re staying are the closest to Maggie’s place.”
Maggie touched his shoulder. He felt it again. Clarity.
“I hope you don’t mind?” she asked.
“Not at all. And I’m sure Mom and Dad won’t mind if I leave Hank with them for a few days.”
Dad opened his mouth to protest, but Mom was quicker to the draw and she said, “Make it a week. He’s such a lovely dog.”
Derrick pointed a finger at Dad and grinned.
By the time he and Maggie said their goodbyes to his family, Grandma Dora and her new boyfriend had made an appearance.
Didn’t they understand that he was in a hurry
?
He felt the minutes and then hours ticking by at a snail’s pace. It was just almost eight o’clock by the time they arrived at Maggie’s house. If he hurried, he would only be a few minutes late to Jill’s.
He pulled up to the curb and shut off the engine.
Derrick climbed out of the car and came around to open the door for Maggie.
“I can’t thank you enough for the ride,” she said as she stepped out. “Sorry about the extra stop. You’re a godsend.”
“No more apologizing, Maggie. I’m the one who should be saying I’m sorry. If I had left you alone when you asked me to, Aaron would still be here. I had so much I wanted to tell you on the way here, but I couldn’t seem to find the right words. It’s the strangest thing, but tonight, when you—”
“You just can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” a deep voice came from the shadowed porch.
The voice was slurred, but familiar. Derrick turned to see Aaron heading toward them.
Maggie stepped past Derrick and grabbed hold of Aaron’s arm. “Aaron, what are you doing here?”
“Surprised?”
“Under the circumstances—yes. You’re drunk.”
“I’m still conscious, which means I’m tipsy at best.”
“I better go,” Derrick told Maggie, ignoring Aaron.
Aaron pulled away from Maggie. “Don’t you move.”
Derrick put his hands up in surrender. “This isn’t what you think. Maggie and I both happened to show up for dinner tonight at Mom’s and I brought Maggie home because Mom asked me to.”
Aaron laughed. “Do you know how many times I’ve gone to dinner on Wednesday night?”
Derrick shook his head.
“Too many times to count. And guess what? You were never there. Not once. But suddenly this
one
time I’m not there and I’m supposed to believe that lo and behold it’s just a coincidence that you happened to show up. Did you two sit next to one another at the dinner table?”
Maggie touched Aaron’s shoulder. “That’s not important—”
“It’s important to me.” Aaron shrugged her hand off of him and stepped toward Derrick. “I saw you sitting here the other day—last week—waiting for Maggie. I had come for the same reason, to talk to her, but once again you beat me to the punch.”
“You should have told me you were here,” Maggie said.
He gave her a tight smile. “And then what?
“I’ll tell you what,” Aaron continued before Maggie could respond. “If I had moved back in with you, it never could have worked because every time you walked out that door,” he said to Maggie as he pointed to the entrance to their house, “I would have wondered where you were and if Derrick was with you. I can’t trust him.”
“But you can trust me,” she said, clearly exasperated.
“I just can’t do this anymore.” Aaron shook his head. “Seeing him here the other night and then again right here, right now—” He slapped the side of his head with the palm of his hand. “What’s it going to take for me to finally get it?”
“What
is it
going to take?” Derrick asked him, his voice calm. “Because I get it…I do…I finally get it, Aaron. I’ll stay away from both of you for as long as it takes. I’ll get a new lawyer. I’ll go to court and get a restraining order against myself and I’ll sign it, Aaron. I’ll do whatever it takes because I didn’t figure it out until tonight, but everybody was right all along…I’m not in love with Maggie.”