Gavin had asked Thad to arrange the dinner, and he had, reluctantly, agreed.
Tomorrow, they’d celebrate Christmas with Graham’s family—Gavin and Dakota had been invited too—then play a game on the26thin Pittsburgh, attend Cory’s wedding on the 27th, then travel to Philadelphia for a game on the 28th.
It was a lot to cram in a short period of time, but that wasn’t what had Thad’s stomach lurching queasily as Walker and Saundra Racine stood to greet them.
Thad dutifully kissed his mom’s cheek and shook his dad’s hand, and as he took a seat at the table across from them, he wondered why the hell he’d agreed to it.
Why he’d even reestablished contact with them in the first place last year.
At the time, it had felt like the final piece of the puzzle. The final step in righting his life and getting back what he’d lost.
But as the four of them made small talk over appetizers, it all felt oddly hollow.
On paper, Thad and Gavin might be related to these people by blood, but it felt like Thad didn’t know them at all. And the worst part was, he wasn’t sure helikedthem.
He was pretty sure he actively disliked them, actually.
Especially when compared to Graham’s family.
In the past month, Thad had received regular texts from Brody—mostly sports-related, but also what were clearly overtures of friendship, including inviting him, along with Graham, to a low-key bachelor party a few weeks ago thathappenedto fall on a night the team didn’t play.
In Boston, where neither Brody nor any of the groomsmen lived.
A pickleball mini tournament, dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and ending the night at a club specializing in cigars and brandy would never have been Thad’s top choices for how to spend an evening, but he’d gone and had a surprisingly good time.
He’d even allowed Graham to pay for the majority of the night out.
Brody’s friends were fun and, despite their cushy jobs, sounded more envious than anything about Thad’s work for the Harriers. They hadn’t blinked at his relationship with Graham either, and by the end of the night, Thad had exchanged numbers with a few of them, with promises to meet up the next time they were in the same city.
Cory had asked for his opinion about some of the wedding photography poses and he’d offered his input and made a few suggestions she’d liked. During a video chat, she’d told him he was far more helpful than her brother. He’d told her that sounded about right. She’d laughed so hard she'd nearly tripped over a rug.
Thad had exchanged some texts with Paul and Angela too—primarily about wedding-related events and plans for the holidays—but at one point he’d felt bold enough to send her some info about Harlan’s work and she’d responded with what seemed like sincere and genuine interest in learning more.
Thad and Graham would be staying with the Pennington family for the next few days during the wedding festivities and, to his surprise, he was looking forward to it.
But tonight wassupposedto be an opportunity for the Racine family to come together and yet, it all rang hollow.
The condescending way their mom responded to Gavin praising Thad’s accomplishments with the social media department set his teeth on edge.
The way his dad tightened his lips when Thad told his parents how much he liked Dakota grated on Thad’s nerves.
What I wouldn’t give to have Dakota here now, Thad thought with a sense of despair as the waiter cleared their appetizer plates and replaced them with salads. He loved Graham, and having him here would be good too, but Dakota had a knack for handling difficult conversations.
He said as much to Gavin under his breath.
Gavin chuckled. “Welcome to my world. I always wish I had him around. He’s so much better at navigating this tricky stuff than I am.”
But Gavinwantedthis reunion with their parents. So Thad would keep trying to make it happen.
He asked his dad about his work in finance and nodded at his mom’s talk about her volunteer work.
It was the type of volunteering Thad hated.
The kind that was entirely performative and designed to impress people without doing any substantial work or changing much of anything for anyone.
“The girls in my volunteer group have been so sweet. They can’t stop praising how understanding we’ve been about your little”—she cleared her throat—“mistake, Thad.”
“Mistake?” Gavin asked before Thad could get the word out.
