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“You’re quiet tonight,” Jerry says and I glance up at him as he works in the kitchen. With a shrug, I stand up and grab the plates to set the table. One thing Jerry has always insisted on, since the moment he came into my life, was a weekly family dinner. When I was younger, I would roll my eyes and pretend to hate it, but the truth was, it was what I’d always wanted. “Something on your mind?”

“Nah. Not really.”

He chuckles, leaning back against the counter while the spaghetti sauce simmers on the stove. “Come on, Kid. You’ve never been that good of a liar.”

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout, Jer,” I tell him and he nods with a smirk on his face as he turns back to the sauce. He doesn’t buy it and I know it but I’m not sure I want to talk about it. Not that it really matters to Jerry. He’ll probably manage to pry it out of me before I leave tonight. It’s kind of annoying but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. After everything I’ve been through, I know how lucky I am to have him in my life.

Jerry met my mom when I was twelve years old and I’m pretty sure the dude fell head over heels as soon as he looked at her. He was so different than all the other guys she had been with and he accepted me as his son so easily when he didn’t need to. I could have just been his girlfriend’s kid but that isn’t Jerry’s style. He showed up to the house with a baseball and a pack of cinnamon gum and because of him, I finally had a family. At the time, he owned a restaurant in town and he provided us with a stable life – something else I’d never had before. Plus, he cherished my mom, treated her like a queen but it’s like no one ever thought to tell her most men don’t talk with their fists and she started questioning his motives. Everything he did made her suspicious.

Jerry doubled down and just tried to love her through it until she believed his feelings for her were true, but she never gave him the chance. One night just after my fourteenth birthday, I came home and she was throwing all his stuff out on the front lawn. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes as he packed his things that night, like his soul had just been shattered. Mom was never the same again either. She never went out on another date and she started finding her comfort in the bottom of a bottle. Just before I turned seventeen, she got drunk in the bath and drowned. Luckily for me, Jerry had been keeping tabs on us and petitioned the court to become my guardian the moment he learned about Mom’s death. As far as I know, he’s never dated again either. Even with all her faults, my mom was the only one for him.

“Food’s on,” Jerry says, snapping me out of my thoughts as he sets the pot of spaghetti down on the table and hands me a beer.

“Thanks.”

He nods, gesturing to my plate as he sits down. “Dig in.”

We’re quiet as we each dish food onto our plates and start eating.

“All right,” he says after a few moments. “Spill.”

“Spill what?”

He shoots me a look and I sigh as I push the pasta around on my plate. How can he still make me feel like a damn kid sometimes? “I met someone.”

“Ah, I see and this is bad because?”

“It’s not bad,” I reply, shaking my head. “Just complicated.”

He nods, indicating for me to continue.

“Storm’s pissed at me. He’s dating her friend and he thinks it’ll screw up what they have if I mess things up with this girl.”

“Storm will get over it. Boy’s always acted first and asked questions later.”

I nod. “Yeah, but what if he’s right? I haven’t ever been able to commit to anyone.”

“What about Trixie?”

My jaw clenches and I shake my head. “Trixie was a mistake. And the exact reason this isn’t exactly a good time to be starting something with someone else.”

He watches me quietly for a moment. “Do you regret meeting her?”

“No.” I could never regret anything that happens with Carly.

“Well, there’s your answer right there. Look, before I met your mom, I’d never had a serious relationship, but everything changed for me when she walked into my life. Your past doesn’t define your future, Chance.”

I nod, mulling over his words. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Now, I just have to convince her. She’s a little…difficult.”

“Son,” he says, laughing, “The best things in life always are. Is this girl special?”

“I think she is.”

He nods, smiling warmly at me. “Then you do what it takes to make her yours and never give up. One of my biggest regrets is letting your mom walk away. Don’t end up like me.”

I grab my beer, taking a pull as I watch him – hating the sadness in his eyes. “You ever thought about giving dating another shot, Jerry?”

“No. Your mom… she was the one for me.”