“You’re not coming by?”
His father paused his show, focusing his attention directly on Adam.
“No. I have plans this weekend and I need to take care of some work stuff too. But I wanted to make sure y’all were set until I could do a full shop for you on Monday.”
“That’s my sweet and thoughtful boy.” His mother stood with a warm smile, taking the bags from his hands.
“Mama, I’ll do that. Just sit back and relax.”
She hesitated for a moment before she acquiesced.
“I can put away groceries, Adam.”
“Yes, Mama. I know you can. But I’ve been gone a long time. Let me enjoy spoiling you.”
The happy gleam in her eyes brightened the room. Returning to his hometown so many years later wasn’t the easiest thing Adam had ever done, especially when it had been a choice he’d had to make under duress.
Getting to do nice things for his parents like take them shopping, do odd jobs around the house, or make sure his father got to physical therapy, those moments were gold.
He took the bags in the kitchen and stocked the pantry, the fridge, and the freezer. When he was done, the sound of the door opening made him turn around, and to find his father shuffling into the room with his walker.
“Dad, if you needed something, you could’ve just gave a holler.”
“Boy, I might can’t walk on my own anymore, but I can still move with this walker.”
Adam’s brow pulled together as he watched his father move farther into the kitchen, sitting down at the nearby table.
Hearing his father speak those words peeled back some of the worry he carried about his father’s recovery.
Grady Henderson was an ornery old man who subscribed to toxic masculinity like it was a super vitamin. In his eyes, he was a man’s man and leaning on anyone was considered weakness.
He’d fought almost every type of assistance offered to him because, in his words, he didn’t need any goddamn help, including the walker his doctor insisted he use.
Having him stand there and admit he needed it, that wasprobably the most progressive thing he’d ever heard or would hear in the future.
Not wanting to rock the fragile peace, Adam simply nodded and folded the reusable bags that were on the counter.
“Did you need something, Dad?”
“Just wanted to see what you’re getting into this weekend. It’s not often you don’t come around on your days off, so I wanted to make sure everything is all right.”
The door opened again and his mother walked through.
“What your father’s trying to ask is, do you have a date this weekend?”
Adam shook his head as his stomach dropped. He was a forty-something man; the last thing he intended to ever talk about with his parents was his love life. That was especially true when it came to his father. A man who’d pushed him to marry his then girlfriend immediately following his rookie year in the NBA.
“I have work. I need to start grant writing to find outside funding for the district. I also have a meeting with the PTA president to discuss fundraising for some of the extracurricular programs.”
At the mention of the PTA president both of them stared intently at him, and Adam realized he’d given them too much information.
“Isn’t Janae Sanders the PTA president?”
Adam’s temple throbbed in frustration the moment his father’s question reached his ears.
Anytime Grady Henderson probed into his life, Adam was on alert. A seemingly innocuous question from Grady was the starting point of every successful attempt the man had made to navigate Adam’s life.
He’d run away to New York to be free of his manipulations. But Adam couldn’t run anymore. Not just because he’d dropped everything in New York to come back home. But also because Janae was here.
