I get behind the wheel of the SUV tuck my bags onto the passenger seat and pull out of the spot to start my trip home.
At the house, I walk in to find Mr. and Mrs. Garrison relaxing in the backyard. They’re stretched out on a couch together. Mrs. Garrison is looking at her phone and Mr. Garrison is watching a sports show on the outdoor television. She looks up from her phone and shoots me a smile as I step outside. “All good?”
“For us, yes,” she replies and holds up her phone. “I’m just watching Dyllie Bear sleep on the app you installed for me. This is so much better than the old monitors they had when Tate and Tenley were little.”
“It’s amazing,” I agree.
“Tate’s having a harder time of it,” Mr. Garrison says and he points to the screen. I look at the headline on the screen under the reporter, who is outside the Quake arena.
Quake forward Landon Casco collapses at practice. Transported to UCLA Medical Center.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
“Tate called,” Mr. Garrison says. “No one is sure what it is yet, but he’s in stable condition.”
“They really shouldn’t have given away the hospital he’s at,” Mrs. Garrison says with a frown. “Fans will swarm the place.”
“It’s Los Angeles,” Mr. Garrison remarks. “If anyone knows how to handle wild fans, it’s the security in this town. Celebrities get hospitalized too, you know.”
“Come sit down,” Mrs. Garrison says and motions to the couch they aren’t on. “I promise we don’t bite.”
“No matter what your parents might have told you,” Mr. Garrison adds and she slaps his chest. He grins and gives me a small wink.
“Can I ask what that is all about? Your side,” I clarify. “Because I know their side.”
“Oh I would love to hear their side,” Mr. Garrison remarks acerbically.
“Jordy! Be nice. Last warning,” Mrs. Garrison warns. She looks over at me, brushing copper hair out of her face. “I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally.”
“I don’t,” I reply. “I love my parents, but I know they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.”
She reaches out and pats my hand. “Well, I’m glad you’re Tate’s cup of tea, Mallory. You seem like a very sweet girl and I’m grateful to you for reuniting Dylan and Tate.”
“Don’t thank me.” I shake my head. “I know Diana would have wanted Dylan with Tate.”
“Then why didn’t she tell him about his son?” Mr. Garrison demands, his voice is gentle but I know he’s upset.
“She had reasons, and I didn’t totally agree with them,” I say. “I was going to make sure Tate knew, even before the accident. Even if it cost me my friendship with Di.”
They both nod and Mrs. Garrison looks at her phone again. “He sleeps just like Tate did. Splayed out like a starfish but with his thumb in his mouth. Oh man, this is a trip. I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my head around this.”
“I appreciate how you’re handling it, though,” I tell her. “You’re not acting disappointed.”
“I’ll be honest with you.” Mrs. Garrison looks up from her phone. “I would have loved it if he had been more careful and waited to be a father until he was older. But… well life doesn’t always unfold the way you’d hoped. I didn’t want to be orphaned at nine years old, but I was and in a way, good things came from it. My sisters and I had to move to Silver Bay, where Donna Garrison took us under her wing, and I met her son and fell in love. So good things can come from unexpected plot twists in life."
“I like that you think of Dylan as a plot twist and not a mistake,” I note.
She grins. “No one in this family is a mistake. Even me who was born to a gallivanting hockey player out of wedlock.”
“I would call your sister Callie a mistake,” Mr. Garrison says and he grins, so I know it’s a joke.
“She would call you an abomination,” Mrs. Garrison shoots back.
There's a cry and Mrs. Garrison's eyes dart to her phone. "Oh, Dyllie Bear is awake!"
I get up. “I’ll go get him.”
“Are you sure?”
