“What point of view is that?” Both Lucas and Marilyn turned to see Christen and Tyler standing at the kitchen door. “How could you, Mom?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she cursed stepping back from Lucas. “Listen to me, you three. This is my house and my marriage, what your father did is forgivable, and you should not hold it against him. He’s a good man and has been a good father to you three. All I’m asking is for you guys to remember in between passing yourjudgments that I almost did the same. I might not have slept with her, but I wanted and needed her in my life at that time.”
“Almost and doing is not the same thing, Mom,” Christen countered.
“You’re all acting like children.” She walked back over to the counter, picked up the roast, and walked out of the kitchen while calling everyone to dinner.
“What do you think?” Tyler asked him.
“Fuck if I know,” Lucas said honestly.
“Well, I don’t like it. I mean Seth seems like a good guy, but I can’t forgive Dad for cheating. Not yet,” Christen said.
“We agree on that,” Lucas said to his brothers. “As much as I hate to say this, we have to hope Mom knows what the fuck she’s doing.”
“Did she think we’d all become one big happy family?” Christen asked.
“No,” Tyler answered. “I think she expects us to act like the adults we are and hear Dad and Helen out. Then make a decision on our own whether we want them in our life or not.”
“You’re right,” Lucas said just as his stomach growled.
“It seems someone is hungry,” Tyler said chuckling.
“By the looks of him, two someone’s. He’s almost as big as Ethan, since he’s having twins,” Christen added and Lucas was happy his little brothers had their backs turned or they would have seen his blush.
When he walked into the dining room, Zoi was sitting on Tucker’s lap holding on to his shirt, a sure sign she wasn’t comfortable with the unfamiliar guests in the room. He sat down beside his husband refusing to look at his father and knew that it must have hurt him. But he was still coming to grips with the fact that his father betrayed his mother.
“Are you all right?” Tucker whispered in his ear.
“I will be,” he answered.
“I’m here for you,” Tucker said, kissing him on the side of his head.
“Thanks.”
* * *
Tucker wishedhe was anywhere else but sitting at the Hamilton dinner table. The room was thick with tension that even the kids who were usually very talkative were as quiet as churchmice. Zoi refused to leave his side and kept narrowing her eyes at the newcomers as if they were invading her happy space. Lucas and his brothers hadn’t looked at their father, and the conversation grated like nails on a chalkboard. Not even Mark, the man of many words or fun stories to tell, could seem to break the tension.
Poor Ethan looked the most uncomfortable considering that he should have had his twins already and hadn’t given birth yet. Ethan and Tyler had announced a couple of months back that they were expecting twins and they weren't going to reveal their gender. It prompted Lucas and Tucker to keep their news a secret a bit longer, letting Ethan and Tyler soak up the attention.
“All right, that’s it,” Marilyn said. “Kiddies, Grandma left cookies cooling on the counter, how about you guys get some with a cup of milk?” Their eyes got wide as they got up from the table and ran out of the room without sticking around to hear more. Tucker wished he could run out of the room with the kids. “Okay, now that the kids are out of the room, let’s put everything out on the table.”
“All right,” Christen said breaking the icy tension. “I’ve been trying to reason why or how it could have happened. You’ve always been in control of everything.”
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m not allowed to make a mistake?”
“Dad, I don’t think that’s what Christen is saying,” Tyler interjected.
Tucker looked at Lucas who remained silent while pushing his food around his plate. He had a feeling what Lucas might be thinking—that it was a mistake showing up for dinner and dealing with family drama.
“Then how should I take, Son? I get that you’re hurt and upset and I’m not asking for your forgiveness. Nor am I making excuses. What happened between Helen and me does not concern you and your brothers.”
“The hell it doesn’t, you had another child,” Lucas snapped looking at his father for the first time. "Dad, I get that accidents happen, I really do. Hell, I’ve made a few mistakes myself. What I can’t get is how your dick accidentally or mistakenly ended up inside someone else other than Mom. The only thing I can come up with is that you really wanted to hurt her.”
“Yes, mistakes happen, and I’ve forgiven you for every single one of them!” Asher yelled, silencing the room.
“He wasn’t thinking of me that night,” Helen said speaking up for the first time.
