The box of CDs he wanted was at the back and covered in a thick layer of dust.
Today had been a disaster from top to bottom, but maybe he could salvage it by putting together a box for Will’s Vintage Media Lab.
Twenty minutes later, he had his laptop out, surrounded by memories. His plan had originally been to rip the music off the CDs to keep in .mp3 form before he donated them. But he was having a harder time parting with some of the plastic jewel cases than he thought he would.
It didn’t make any sense—that box had been in the crawl space since he bought the house. Nostalgia worked in strange ways.
He heard Becca’s car pull into the driveway, then turn off. The headlights flashed, then he heard her footsteps on the stairs. When the door opened, he waved from the couch. “I’m here.”
“Oh my God, Dad. What are you doing?”
“Going through my old CDs for Will’s Vintage Media Lab project.”
Becca dropped her bag on the floor, then joined him on the couch. She had a cardboard box full of fries. “Hungry?”
“I’m good.” He glanced at the fries, then at his daughter. It was a full box, and they looked fresh. He’d been home for at least a half an hour, and Mac’s was a two-minute drive away. Fries weren’t the only thing she’d gone out for, but Will’s caution rang in his ears. She would need to make her own decisions, and learn from them. “How was your day?”
She shrugged. “School was fine.”
That was it. He poked further. “And you told your uncles about the baby.”
“I said I was ready to start telling people.”
“I know.” He took a deep breath. “I guess I wasn’t completely prepared.”
“Did they both descend on you at the same time?”
“One-two punch. Adam first, then Will slid in for a good ol’ guidance counselling session.”
Becca giggled. “He’s good at that. I got it, too. He suggested some college programs that are all distance education.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I dunno. Don’t get your hopes up. One thing at a time.”
Owen laughed. “Hopes properly stored at a very low level.”
She leaned over and picked up the album on the top of the pile. “Lonestar. You used to play this when I was little.”
“Stop making me feel old.” But he didn’t mean it. Every year with Becca had been full of memories just like that.
“You aren’t old,” she said softly. “You’re pretty much the same age as the other moms on the pregnancy groups online.”
He didn’t miss the weird note in her voice. He set the CDs aside and looked at her, really close. “How you doing?”
“Oh.” She shrugged. “You know. It’s fine.”
“Two words often used to describe things that are not, in fact, fine.”
She blew a raspberry.
Owen frowned. “Do you need something?”
She shook her head. “No.No. And I don’t want—” She stopped, raised her hands as if to reset the conversation. “It was just a down-in-my-feels moment. I’m all good. Let’s talk about the CDs. Are you getting rid of all of them?”
“They aren’t going that far. But actually, I think I’m going to keep a few.” He held up a Rascal Flatts album. “Like this one. Speaking of taking me back. I listened to it a lot when I was away at school, when you were a toddler. That wasmydeep-in-my-feels period. I missed you so much, and I just wanted to find the path that would bring me home to you.”
Becca’s eyes welled up. “Dad!”
