Brooks’s jaw worked back and forth. I’ve noticed that with guys. They don’t cry. They just flex their jaw, and then their Adam’s apple goes up and down. That’s what Brooks’s did too.
“Is it your parents?” I asked. I had my suspicions. I mean, one and one make two, and in a marriage, my parents had always said, if it’s not positive then it’s negative. I had a feeling this was oneminusone in the Mason household today.
Brooks looked down at his coffee and picked at the edge of the black plastic top. “Mom and Dad are having issues.”
“I’m sorry,” I breathed. Then I bit my tongue so I didn’t talk too much and accidentally make Brooks shut up.
“They have for a long time.” He lifted his eyes.
“Are they—”
“Getting a divorce?” he finished, then lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know. I thought they might two years ago. Then things got better. Then Dad got the job here, and we moved, and—it’s been tense.”
“Do you and your dad get along?” I had to ask. Brooks hadn’t talked about his dad. He seemed a bit terrified of mine—although, could I blame him? Dad was intimidating.
He shook his head. “Not really. I mean, everything’s fine, he just doesn’t—we don’t have much in common. Not like Reece and your dad.”
“They’ve always had baseball in common,” I offered a small laugh.
“Yeah,” was all Brooks said. He said it in a kind of wistful way. I wondered what it’d be like if Reece and Dad didn’t have anything in common, and I could see right away how that’d be tough. I mean, they were guys, so it’s not like they showed a ton of affection, but they did things together. I mean, Dad and Reece just vibed off each other. A dad-and-son type of thing. It seemed weird to me that Brooks didn’t have that.
“Whatdoyou have in common?” I tried. I thought I might help Brooks identify something that would make him feel more hopeful.
Brooks gave a short snort. “Nothing.” He shook his head. “Dad is a professor of literature at the college.”
It all made sense then. In that moment. Like an epiphany. A light going on. A gong sounding. We had a college in town that was an extension of the University of Wisconsin. It was, in a way, an educational piece of community pride. Not all smaller towns could boast college campuses, and I knew the professors there took their positions very seriously. But literature? And Brooks was almost failing Lit?
“Is that why you don’t like to read?” The realization dawned on me.
Brooks offered a small laugh. “When I was little, Dad would read meThe Odysseybefore bed. We finished it by the time I was five. Then he moved on toIvanhoe—it did put me to sleep.” Another laugh. “I hated it. I had no clue what any of the books were about. Then, when I was eleven, Dad started grounding me if I didn’t get my required reading done on time.”
“For school?” I clarified.
“No. This was required reading Dad assigned me. He believes a person needs to stretch their mind because it’s their greatest muscle.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. He’d probably like you,” Brooks smiled sadly.
“Probably not when I admitted I read mostly romances.” I tried to offer it as a peace offering.
It must have worked. Brooks laughed then, for real this time.
For a second, he was quiet, and then he lifted his eyes. We stared at each other for a moment, and suddenly, I couldn’t look away. I didn’twantto look away. This was more. This was bigger than just a guy I’d dreamed up with AI who then happened to be real. This was broader than a fake dating scheme that was necessary for an extra credit project and to get me through an interview. This was about Brooks. Theguy, Brooks. A real guy who loved baseball and couldn’t share that with his dad. A real friend whose parents were on the fritz, while I pretty much had the best ones ever.
Brooks needed me. I could see it in his expression, even though I think he was trying to hide it from me. He needed a friend.
I started to reach out for his hand, but then I pulled back, too nervous to carry through with it.
He must have seen me, ‘cause then he moved his hand and his fingers folded, warm and a little bit desperate, around mine.
“Thanks,” he murmured.
“I didn’t do anything,” I countered.
“You’re here.” Brooks’s expression made me want to cry. “And that’s more than I can say for a lot of people right now.”
Chapter 16
