“My grandparents lived four blocks away from me when I was growing up.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh. Really close by. So I’d see them a lot. These were my dad’s parents. They were great people. Ran a family business together. My grandpa was a scientist. He created products for science classrooms and sold them in bulk to school districts and stuff.”
“That’s cool. I guess science runs in your blood.”
“Mm hmm. So anyway, my dad used to help his parents on the weekends. He worked in a cancer clinic in the research department, mining data on clinical trials for doctors. That was his real job. But then on Saturday and Sunday mornings, he’d work with his parents at the warehouse boxing up orders. That’s all it was: counting items and boxing them. So from when I was small enough to count to ten, he’d take me with him. In order to get me to go, he’d bribe me with a targag.”
“What’s a targag?”
“It stands for ‘take a ride, get a gift.’”
“Oh my gosh. That’s really cute.”
“Yeah, he’d buy me a donut or a chocolate bar. Something simple. Then we’d go to the warehouse and just count items out in tens, over and over again. He’d play music on an old stereo—bands he liked, like Fleetwood Mac or Air Supply—and we would work together. My grandma would come around noon and bring us each a pizza slice or a sandwich. Then we’d all eat and go home.”
“I love that.”
“It was only when I was little. When I was around eight years old, I started playing more sports, and then my grandparents finally sold the business and moved to Florida.”
I nodded.
“It was a nice memory, though. It’s funny. I haven’t been able to think much about the good times I had with him. My dad, you know? Like, ever since he left, I’ve been more angry than anything else.”
“I get it. There are two sides to every story, though, right? There’s a little bit of good and bad in everyone.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Hard to think of it that way when you’re the one that gets left behind, though.”
“Definitely. But I’d be willing to bet those targags meant something to him too.”
Beckett shrugged. “Guess I’ll never know.”
“Maybe someday you’ll get to work things out with him,” I suggested. “Anyway, I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean to bring you down.”
He hopped off his float and stood beside me. “You could never bring me down,” he said, leaning in to kiss me. “I don’t mind talking about it with you. It’s in my head a lot, anyway, with the manuscript and all.”
“Your dad really messed you up, huh?” I asked, propping up on my elbows atop my float.
“Yeah,” he replied. “I mean, enough for me to kill him off in my book. But isn’t that what parents do?” he asked. “I think the whole reason therapists exist is so we all have somewhere to go with our mommy and daddy issues.”
I chuckled and scanned the sand, looking for my mom. “Yeah, I’d agree with that.”
“So then. Domino’s for dinner? Ordered to your room?”
“I think that’s the plan,” I replied. “You want to join us?”
“Nah. Enjoy your time together. But can I take you out afterward?”
“I would love that. What did you have in mind?”
“There’s a comedy club in Eagle Beach. Maybe we could go to a show? I can buy tickets at the door.”
“That sounds great. What time?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we grab a cab around eight? Does that give you enough time?”
“For pizza? Definitely,” I smiled. “Tell me, how did I get so lucky?”
