"Same thing." Ethan didn't look away.
Kevin took a breath. "Ethan. I'm still your father. When I get married, I want my son standing next to me."
"You mean Tessa wants everyone smiling for the cameras like we're one big happy family."
Kevin's face flickered. "That's not?—"
"I heard you on the phone with her. 'It'll look better if he's there.' That's what you said." Ethan's voice cracked. "You don't actually care if I'm okay with it. You just need me to show up so everyone thinks we're fine."
"That's not fair."
"None of this is fair." His voice rose. "You think I wanted to spend every other weekend pretending I'm fine with your girlfriend making me smoothies? You think I didn't figure out the timeline? You introduced me to her three months after you left."
Kevin opened his mouth. "If your mother hadn't?—"
"Don't." Ethan's voice went hard. "She didn't do anything. This is just how I feel. You moved on. I didn't. And you can't make me."
Silence.
Tom stepped between them. "Maybe this isn't the time. Everyone's emotions are running high. Give it a few days?—"
"A few days?" Kevin turned to him, the smooth facade cracking. "So my son's mother has more time to work on him? So he can have more therapy sessions to convince him I'm the villain?"
"That's not what I said."
"You don't get to tell me how to handle my family." Kevin stepped toward Tom, close enough that Carrie's pulse spiked. "This is between me and my son."
Tom didn't move. "Ethan's a minor, and he's clearly upset. That concerns everyone in this house."
"He's my son." Kevin's voice dropped.
"And he's asking you to leave."
The standoff held. Then the front door opened, and Lori walked in with grocery bags in both hands.
She stopped just inside the door, taking in the scene. Carrie watched her shut down.
"Kevin." Her voice was flat. "I didn't realize you were coming today."
"I had an opening." He didn't take his eyes off Tom. "I came to talk to our son. Apparently that's not allowed anymore."
Lori set the grocery bags on the floor, moving slowly. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened." Kevin finally turned to face her. "I came to discuss the wedding, and I got a lecture from him"—he jerked his head toward Tom—"about how to parent my own child."
"I didn't lecture anyone," Tom said mildly. "I suggested we all take a breath."
"And I'm suggesting you stay out of it."
Lori looked at Ethan. He nodded slightly. Then she turned to Kevin.
"Ethan's allowed to have feelings, Kevin. That's not me. That's him."
"Right. Because nothing that comes out of his mouth has anything to do with what you've been telling him for three years."
"I haven't told him anything."
"You didn't have to. You made it clear with every silence, every sigh, every time you looked at me like I was something you scraped off your shoe." Kevin's voice had gone sharp, the polish falling away. "You think I don't know what you've been doing? Turning him against me piece by piece? Making sure he picks your side?"
