“I will, Dad. Where are you this time?”
“Pittsburgh.”
She looks behind me. Another day, another hotel.
“And your mom?” I remind her.
“Mom’s good. She has a new boyfriend.”
Oh? That’s news. “She does, does she? Do I need to be worried?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow.
Kyra sighs dramatically. “No, He’s really nice. Boring, actually.”
I laugh a little under my breath. Well, then. “You’ll let me know if there’s ever a problem, right?”
“Yes, Dad,” she answers, rolling her eyes. “Hey, I need to go. I’m supposed to be studying.”
Right. Sounds to me she has better things to do than talk to her dear old dad. That’s fine. I’m glad I got to talk to her. She seems to be doing okay. But I’ll be having a conversation with her about her classes. And her personal life. Dollars to donuts, there’s a boy, and she probably won’t tell me about him. So I’ll ask her mother. She’ll know if she does or not. And if she does, then I’ll be talking with said boy. And if said boy hurts her, I’ll break his fingers. And maybe a leg. Depends on what he does.
“Okay, sweetheart. I’ll let you go. Tell your mom I said ‘hi.’ I love you.”
“I will. Love you, too, Dad,” she replies, ending the video chat. Aww, to be young again.
Next up, FaceTime with Deacon. And, as luck would have it, he answers. I’m 2 for 2.
“Hey, D! How’s it going?” I ask, excited to talk to both my kids.
“Hey, Dad. I’m good.”
“Tell me what’s new. How is baseball going?” Immediately after I ask, I cringe inwardly. I hate that I’m not there for all his games. I would love to be, but I can’t because of my career.
“Aww, not much new. It’s only practice.”
“How’s your arm?” He’s been having a bit of soreness.
“Better. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
He’s a pitcher. And his coach doesn’t like to let him rest. It’s a small bone of contention between me and his coach. I try to respect the man’s decisions, but he also needs to remember who is a former MLB player. I know how these things work. “That’s good to hear. Don’t let coach work you too hard.”
“I won’t.”
“How’s your mom?” I want to see if Deacon will tell me about his mom’s new boyfriend.
“She’s fine. She’s been seeing this guy.”
“Oh?” I say, acting surprised.
“He’s, um, he’s fine. He treats her well. Takes her out. That kind of stuff.”
He seems to be okay. So far, anyway. “Anything else about him?”
“No,” he answers, shaking his head.
“How’s school?”
“Fine, I guess.”
“Are you still dating that one girl…” I can’t remember her name. He changes girlfriends like the wind changes direction. All the damn time.
