I started to laugh along with the rest of the group but stopped when I noticed the scowl on Andrew’s face.
“If you’d ever come by the place and see what I’ve done maybe you’d be able to figure that out for yourself.”
The side conversations halted until the only sound in the room was the clanking of silverware on china.
“I suppose I should,” Gerard said, nodding thoughtfully, his eyes on Andrew. “I’d love to see what prompted you to leave an excellent job that had benefits and a path for advancement. Because it must beextraordinary.”
I heard Andrew let out a long, slow breath. When I glanced over at him his head was bowed and his hands were balled into fists on his lap. For the first time ever the mighty Andrew Gibson looked...defeated. Small. Seeing him that way made my heart ache. I was tempted to reach out and give him a squeeze of support, but all eyes were bouncing between the two men, waiting for the next parry.
“How’s the corn pudding?” Aunt Barb finally asked in an overloud voice.
The room came alive with compliments for the monstrosity and even I added that it was the best I’d tasted. Conversations cranked back up all around me, but Andrew remained quiet. I made half-hearted small talk with an intense gray-haired woman on the other side of me whose name I’d forgotten but I knew was a neighbor, shooting looks at Andrew as he shoveled the contents of his plate into his mouth.
Once the table was cleared and coffee was brewing for dessert I walked from room to room trying to track him down. I finally found him leaning over the baby gate in the laundry room near the back door, petting Murray.
“He gets overwhelmed.” Andrew nodded to the dog. “The crowds are too much for him.”
“I get it,” I said, leaning against the wall. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, why?” His tone went sharp and I realized that I was venturing into territory where I didn’t belong.
“Your dad...” I offered then trailed off with a shrug.
“Par for the course. It’s always like that. He thinks I’m a fuckup.” Andrew looked at Murray and massaged his shoulders.
“Seriously?” I quickly tallied the wins in the Andrew Gibson Hall of Fame and couldn’t imagine how anyone, particularly aparent, wouldn’t see them too.
“He thinks Crush is a huge mistake and he’s not shy about letting me know it. Walking away from job security doesn’t make sense to him. The man has worked for the same company for his entire career; obviously he can’t relate.”
I glanced down the hallway to make sure no one was nearby. “So he hasn’t been to see Crush at all?”
Andrew shook his head and let out a gruff laugh. “Not yet, and at the rate I’m going it won’t matter. If the building sells he’ll think he was right.”
I didn’t want to let him know that Samantha and I had talked about him. “Yeah, have you thought about what you’re going to do?”
Andrew stood up. “I’ve been looking around, but there’s nothing that comes close to our building. And even if I do find something comparable there’s the financial hit to rebuild everything in a new space.” Murray jumped so that his front paws were on the gate and Andrew gently pushed him off.
“I’m really sorry, Andrew.”
It was such a foreign concept to me, a father who didn’t support his child’s dream. My dad was my biggest cheerleader. I’d always leaned on him and he’d seemed to relish being my adviser. He was the one who’d told me it was okay to start over after I’d packed up my life and moved to California to help launch a dog boarding franchise, only to discover that it wasn’t a fit for me.
The nagging feeling came back, the knowledge that the solution was there, right in front of me. All I had to do was accept my dad’s gift and we’dbothbe able to carry on. The problem was I couldn’t think about the money without feeling like I had to vomit. It was tainted, no matter how my family tried to spin it. The inheritance only existed because someone I loved dearly had given up.
I glanced out the window on the door and saw that the blue skies had darkened to a stormy gray. “I’m going to go say hi to the goats before the rain. Want to come with me?”
“Yeah, I do. I need to get out of here.” He gave Murray a quick kiss on the top of the head and followed me.
The wind nearly ripped the door from my hand and I wrapped my arms around my body as I stepped out onto the porch.
“You need a coat, hold on,” Andrew said, and jogged back into the house. He returned a few seconds later holding out a black corduroy jacket with a shearling collar. “It doesn’t go with your dress, but at least you’ll be warm.”
I slipped the giant thing on and glanced down. “Thanks. Obviously you’re not cold.” I gestured to his thin navy sweater.
He shook his head. “Never.” He paused to scan me from head to toe. “Hm. You actually make my work jacket look good.”
I hid a blush that lasted all the way down the driveway to the Mean Girls pen. The moment the trio spotted us standing at the fence they rushed over, eliciting a laugh out of Andrew.
“Youarea miracle worker. Never thought I’d see the day.”
