“Cutest name ever,” Ellie says.
I smile, heartened at how well she’s getting along with Jenna, how she’s making her feel welcome.
A small pang of guilt hits me. I never made an effort to get to know my dad’s wives and girlfriends, since I knew they would eventually split up. But maybe I should take a page out of Ellie’s book and be a little warmer.
“Your dog is really sweet, Jenna,” I say.
She gives me a kind smile. “Thanks, Camden.”
My dad flashes me a grateful look.
“How’s the car?” I ask him. “Running okay?”
“Oh, yeah. The Mercedes drives like a dream.” He pats my shoulder and smiles at Jenna. “Can you believe my amazing son bought me a Mercedes for my fiftieth birthday? He surprised me with it. Had a big red bow on the hood and everything.”
Jenna beams at me. “Oh wow!”
Ellie gives me a warm smile. “That’s so thoughtful of you.”
I shake my head. “It was nothing.”
“Oh, don’t be so modest, son. Cam’s a generous guy. Surprising me with my dream car was the greatest gift.”
“It’s the least I could do for all the money you put into my playing hockey for all those years,” I say.
He chuckles. “Oh, come on now. I’m your dad. I’m supposed to pay for that stuff.”
As much as I dislike my dad for cheating on my mom, he always paid for my hockey gear, fees, and extra coaching. That was tens of thousands of dollars over the years. And he always showed up to my games and cheered me on, just like my mom did. I wouldn’t be playing hockey now if he hadn’t invested so much into my career from an early age. Surprising him with his dream car was the least I could.
“So how did you and Timothy meet?” Ellie asks.
Jenna beams at him. “I was his realtor.”
“She sold me my townhouse.”
“Aww that’s a sweet meet-cute,” Ellie says.
Jenna pats my dad’s arm. “He sent flowers to my office the day after we signed the deal and asked me out.”
“Very smooth,” Ellie says.
“Now I’ve just gotta move all my old stuff to make room for Jenna’s things,” Dad says. He leans closer to me. “I found a bunch of your mom’s old trinkets packed up in my boxes. When you’re back in town, you think you could pick them up and take them to her? I’d reach out to her myself, but you know how she gets when I try to talk to her.”
I scoff, then cover it up with a cough. “Yeah, fine.”
“I’m just not in the mood to be yelled at,” Dad says as he sips more sparkling wine. “I mean, it’s been almost thirteen years since we separated. You’d think she’d be over everything by now.”
The muscles in my shoulders tense as I hold in another scoff. He’s leaving out the reason why she’s angry—why they split—like he always does. Probably because it makes him sound like the bad guy. Because in my parents’ marriage, he was.
“Every time I talk to her, she has to turn everything into a fight.” He just shakes his head and chuckles, like he’s telling a funny story. “You know, one time, after we got into it at one of your college hockey games, I told her that maybe she’d be happier if she gave dating a shot.”
He chuckles again, then lets out a low whistle. “Oh boy, was that a mistake. I thought she was going to punch me. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut.”
I glance at Ellie and Jenna. Ellie’s frowning at him while Jenna is staring at her lap, her smile gone, clearly uncomfortable.
Jesus fucking Christ, I thought my dad would have finally learned to read people better after all these years. I guess not.
“You should have kept your mouth shut,” I say, my tone hard.
