4
KALVIN
“Spill it,” Ky says as we sit across the table from one another in the clubhouse. I quirk a brow as I sip my beer. “I know this morning’s shit performance isn’t because you have lost your golf swing overnight. I know when you’ve got something on your mind, so let’s hear it.”
“It’s that obvious?” I trace my finger around the rim of my glass.
“I know you, brother. There hasn’t been a single cheesy dad joke told the entire round. That tells me everything.”
I flip him the bird. “My dad jokes are legendary. The kids might pretend to hate them, but they secretly love them. You’re just jealous.”
Kyler holds up a palm. “I only want to help, but if you don’t want to talk, that’s cool.”
I drag my lower lip between my teeth as I stare absently out the window at the gorgeous greens below us. Coming up to my brother’s Connecticut cabin for the weekend was a great idea. I already feel less stressed than I have been all week, and I hope it has the same effect on my wife. “Lana is most likely telling Faye this, so I might as well tell you too,” I say, swinging my head around and eyeballing my brother. “Lana had a miscarriage three weeks ago, and she’s taking it real hard.”
Compassion splays across my older brother’s face. “I’m so sorry, Kal. I didn’t even know you were trying for another.”
“We weren’t,” I truthfully admit. “It was a surprise. I was ecstatic, but Lana wasn’t fully on board at first. Now, she’s devastated, and I don’t know how to help.”
“Selena and Keanu’s news must have been difficult to hear given the timing.” His observation is astute.
“We’re really happy for them, but, yeah, it’s made it a little tougher for Lana. We were going to tell everyone last week, but we couldn’t then.”
“How areyoufeeling?” my brother asks, before taking a mouthful of his beer.
“I’m upset too but trying to keep things together for Lana’s sake. It doesn’t help that we had another full-blown argument with Hewson this week.”
“I thought things might have settled down there. He looked happy at dinner.”
“He is happy, most of the time. The only time we fight is when he ignores his curfew and comes home late or we catch him sneaking out like we did Wednesday night. Grounding him doesn’t work or taking his car keys, which I hate doing ’cause he only just got his driver’s license, but he can’t keep disrespecting us.”
Kyler chuckles, and I momentarily consider punching him. “Do you ever find it funny we’re the ones laying down the law now?”
“All the damn time.” I let a grin slip free. “Adulting is hard. Just wait until the twins become teenagers. You think it was hard when they were little and could do nothing for themselves? That’s a freaking walk in the park compared to the shit we’re dealing with. The thing is, Hewson thinks he’s a man. Fuck, he damn well looks like one, and that’s half the problem, but we can’t just let him do whatever the fuck he wants. He has to have rules.”
“Let’s get real. We were doing way worse at sixteen. You especially. Your son is practically a saint compared to the shit you were pulling.”
“Probably, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set boundaries and discipline him when he steps outside of them. I love Mom and Dad, and I know they were doing their best, but they let us get away with far too much. I don’t want that for my kids. I want them to respect authority and to understand boundaries are there for their protection. Hewson might believe he’s a man, but he’s not an adult yet, and he still has so much to learn.”
“Pity he didn’t come this weekend. I could have spoken to him. He might talk to me.”
“We had to leave him with Mom and Dad because he was throwing a hissy fit at going out of town for the weekend.”
“School starts back in a couple of weeks, so I get he wants to make the most of the end of summer break.”
“I think it’s more to do with whatever girl is on the scene. Not that he tells me jack shit, but I think he must be dating, and I suspect it’s serious. I see him messaging on his phone all the time, and he’s always sneaking outside to take calls and coming back with the biggest lovesick expression on his face.”
Kyler chuckles. “Man, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes for all the money in the world. I’m glad I have my girl and I’m done with the whole dating scene.”
“Fact.” I wholeheartedly agree. “I tried talking to him honestly, explaining what a dick I was back in high school and how I didn’t see the love of my life when she was right under my nose because I was too busy trying to prove something to myself.”
“How did that go down?”
“About as well as you’d expect. I got the whole “that’s you, not me” and “don’t project your failings onto me. I’m my own person” speech. Part of me was proud. The other part pissed.”
Ky drums his fingers on the table. “This whole parenting gig is hard. Cathal has no filter, and he regularly gets into trouble at school for speaking his mind. He got in a physical fight with some other kid at Little League, which really isn’t like him, and now Faye is worried there is something driving his behavior.”
“What do you think?”
