I, on the other hand, didn't give a shit about that. I did everything I could to piss them off, including signing up for the Army as a big fuck-you. As their only child, they expected me to attend some prestigious university and enter the corporate world. I hadn't known in high school what I wanted to do with my life, but I sure as hell knew it wasn't that.
It wasn't until my senior year when a recruiter showed up at my high school that I knew exactly how I could stick it to my parents. I didn't hesitate to sign up. I could still remember the look on my mother’s and father’s faces when I told them what I had done.
"What do you mean you joined the Army? Your future is already laid out for you. Your acceptance letter from Princeton arrived last week. You start in the fall." My father's face was so red that I was worried he might have a heart attack right there in front of me.
I didn't bother to look at my mother. I already knew what I would find. Disappointment with a dash of disgust. The thought of her precious son crawling through mud would be enough to disown me in a heartbeat.
"No,that's what you wanted for me,but I never agreed to it. I told you from the beginning I didn't want to attend an Ivy League school, but you refused to listen."
"An Ivy League school is what's expected of you. Expected of our family. All of our friends are sending their kids to similar universities. Do you know how it's going to look on your mother and I when you go away to shoot some guns?"
I rolled my eyes. My parents were what I liked to call fake rich. They lived paycheck to paycheck because keeping up appearances was more important to them than providing a stable life for their son.
"I don't care how it looks for you. It's my future,and I've decided how I want to live it."
I pulled myself back from the past with a shake of my head. That day my parents swore they would disown me and never talk to me again. I was fine with that. It wasn't like I was missing out on much. I would've had to take out huge loans to pay for the prestigious university they wanted me to attend. If they had their way, I would've been living in debt just like they were.
Instead Uncle Sam paved my way, and now that I worked for Black, I had more money than I knew what to do with. Certainly more than my parents ever made.
I hardly thought about my mother and father anymore. If they were okay to never speak to me again, that was on them. I didn't know what kind of son that made me, but I didn't miss them. It was hard to miss something you never had, and my parents weren't exactly winning any awards for their parenting style. They only ever showed up when it looked good to their friends. When I was home, they ignored me like I didn't exist.
I glanced up to the front of the church and took in the scene in front of me. Savannah would never have to worry about a life like I lived. Rhett and Elle already doted on their daughter, and she was barely a few months old. The little girl would know exactly what love was. I didn't have to be a fortune teller to know it. Rhett and Elle were everything a parent should be. Kind andprotective. Plus Savannah had something more. A found family that would lay down their life for her.
Andrew––Graham's son––had experienced it and Savannah would too. We weren't just a team. We were family, and we took care of our own.
Savannah's little wail when water was poured over her head filled the small church and brought my attention back to why I was here today. To celebrate the newest addition to our family and to hopefully get my wife to talk to me after she avoided me all week.
Not that it was hard for her to do. I didn't have her phone number. Sure, I had the means to get it, but Rhett had convinced me to give her time. I think that had more to do with his wife than my friend’s opinion. Rhett assured me Molly wasn't going anywhere, and she would give me the time of day at some point.
I was usually a patient man, but for some reason, my wife brought out a different side of me. One I didn't recognize. I glanced down at the band on my finger. Despite how weird it felt that first day, I never took it off. I didn't want to think about what that meant. Especially since I didn't know what Molly was thinking.
I realized too late that I had missed the entire christening because I had been too lost in my thoughts when Elle, Rhett, and little Savannah made their way over to where our team was sitting in the pew.
"Thank you all for coming today. It means so much to us." Elle barely took her eyes off her daughter as she spoke.
"Of course," Matthew––our team leader––answered for all of us. "We wouldn't miss it for anything."
That was the truth. Black grounded us after our assignment in Vegas. He didn't want to take the chance we would miss out on the festivities. Our boss was thoughtful like that.
"Well, we certainly appreciate it." Elle finally looked up and met my intense stare. "Can you all give me a minute? I would like to speak to Parker alone."
That got my attention. I glanced at my friend and teammate. Rhett merely shrugged. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
I followed Elle across the aisle to another pew and took a seat next to her when she sat down.
"I know you're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to you alone." Elle didn't take her eyes off me.
"I mean I can probably guess." I glanced across the church to where Molly was busy talking to Rhett's sister, Lucy, and her husband.
Elle chuckled. "You wouldn't be wrong."
I knew without even looking back that Elle had a smile on her face. I could hear it in her tone.
"Molly is my best friend, and I only want what's best for her."
This time, I did look away and found Elle staring at me. "And you don't think I'm what's best for her?"
"I'm not saying that. I've only known you a little over a year, and from what I've seen, you're a good man."
