“Fancy seeing you here,” Keith grins as he approaches us. “I didn’t know you’d be out here today.” Hmph. I bet he didn’t. He knows this is the town I work in.
“Not as surprised to see you.” It’s an unnecessary dig, but I’m on edge.
Keith shrugs his shoulders. “I figured we’d get out of the city for a bit, and I saw something about this fair online. I was hoping to try out the bar and grill you work at, but was bummed to see they aren’t open on Sundays.”
“We like to give our employees a break, and we don’t have to be open on Sunday.” Eric adds in his two cents. I don’t blame him. He’s one of the managers and takes a lot of pride in the bar.
“Oh, do you own the bar?” Keith asks. His eyes bounce between the two of us trying to puzzle out why we’re here together.
“No,” Eric shakes his head. “I’m a manager, but Angie & Carlos take care of us.”
“I see.” He says as his eyes widen, and he figures it out. It’s not that hard considering our proximity. He turns toward the kids and hands them some money. “Why don’t y’all grab a snack.” After they run off in the direction of the food trucks. His attention falls on me. “Joan, can we talk for a moment?”
Eric takes a step forward, but with a shake of my head he stands down. He doesn’t know the dynamics of our family unit. How could he? I’ve shut down any sort of conversation he’s wanted to have about the kids. Maybe I should have filled him in.
I follow Keith to an open space, and wait until he turns around to face me. “What do you have to say, Keith?”
“You realize he’s practically a child, right?” I knew this was coming. It shouldn’t since I haven’t said anything about some of the women he’s dated, or brought around the kids. It’s his heart, and how he chooses to go about it is on him.
“Not that it’s really any of your business, but he’s in his mid-twenties. I don’t understand why it matters.”
“I’m just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Most kids his age know nothing about dating single parents.” The way he puts emphasis on kid is annoying, and the fact he refers to Eric that way.
“Look, I don’t judge your dating decisions, and I’d like the same in return. You don’t know anything about him.”
“Do Isaac and Abby know anything about him, yet?”
“No.” It’s not entirely true. “Well, Abby guessed I was seeing someone. She noticed a change in my mood, and put two and two together. Isaac doesn’t know.”
“You should probably tell him soon. You know he doesn’t like being taken off guard.” He’s not wrong. He didn’t handle our divorce well, and even though he’s cordial to whomever Keith is dating…he doesn’t exactly like them.
“I was waiting to make sure something was going to turn out from this before I said anything, but I’ll talk to him tomorrow night when they come home.”
“Okay,” he runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry I overreacted, it just took me by surprise.”
“I get it,” a soft laugh escapes. “He took me by surprise too.”
“Abby is right, though. You look happier, and less stressed.”
“Thanks.” I think. “We can head out if you want to enjoy the day with the kids.”
“It’s okay,” he waves my comment away. “I was going to let them ride a few rides before we headed out. They want to go bowling with their friends.”
“Be prepared to separate them because the competitiveness is absurd.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know.” He gestures to the spot we just left. “Shall we?”
We turn back to the area we left Eric, and I’m shocked to find him talking to the kids. Hopefully he hasn’t told them anything I’m not ready for them to know.
“Hey, what did you get?” Keith asks as we approach them.
Abby holds out a plate. “Funnel cake. I think it might be better than anything I’ve ever tasted.”
She tears off a piece and holds it out to her dad. He takes it and nods. “You know, you might be right.” He holds out a hand to Eric. “I’m Keith, it’s nice to meet you.”
Eric warily takes Keith’s hand and shakes. “Eric, likewise.”
They release hands at the same time, and Keith points down the street. “Want to see what rides they have?”
