“He doesn’t deserve that,” Jake mutters.
I frown. “I thought you said you agreed with me.”
“I agreed you should give the band a fair chance. I don’t think you owehima damn thing.”
“It’s just lunch.”
Jake shakes his head. “It’s notjustanything. He walked out almost 40 years ago, and he walked back in when you could do something for him. You called him a stranger, and that’s exactly right. Some people shouldn’t be parents, Darren. And just because he showed up now doesn’t make him one.”
“Maybe he never wanted to be one,” Riley says. “If the pregnancy took them by surprise—”
“Plenty of pregnancies take people by surprise,” Jake interrupts. “Plenty of kids are born long before people have any ideahow to be good parents, and they still stick around.”
“And plenty of those kids would’ve been better off if their parentshadn’tstuck around.”
“It’s selfish to run instead of trying to learn. If they put in the effort, they could learn to love raising a kid they weren’t ready to have.”
“It’s arrogant to think everyone has something to learn,” Riley spits back. “Some of them can love the kid better by not raising them at all.”
“Making that commitment can be so worth it, though.”
“Making that commitment can hurt everyone.”
“Sorry, but I think more parents should stay.”
“And I think a lot of them should go.”
“Speaking from personal experience?”
“Not at all,” Riley tells Jake. “Are you?”
I want to be turned on by watching two of the calmest, most beautiful people in my life get heated like this, except that it’s about me without being about me, and I don’t want either of them to take this too far.
“Hey,” I say, trying to make eye contact with them as evenly as possible. “You know I love you both, and if you want to kiss and make up, I’m here for it. But please let this fuck me up, not you. I’ll have lunch, we’ll audition the band, and then we’ll go from there.”
“Maybe they’ll suck,” Riley muses.
“And maybe nothing else has to change,” Jake adds.
Riley takes a deep breath, then kisses Jake on the cheek. It’s notwhat I’d meant, but I’ll take it.
“Things change all the time,” Riley sighs.
The rest of my strange Christmas night passes quietly, Riley and Jake leaving within minutes of each other, though neither of them bothers kissingmegoodbye. Trailhead stays as slow as I expect after years of experience, and when Zach finally quits a few days later, I can say I expected that, too. We’ll have to find a new bartender, obviously, but business will be slow for at least the next month or so, so it’s something we can handle while we’re looking for a band.
Just before the new year, I meet with V to give her a rundown of my plans to audition bands on upcoming weekends. A handful have already expressed interest, giving me options that have nothing to do with long-lost family. In between, I’ll hire someone to build a simple stage—we don’t need anything fancy, just something that looks worth a small cover charge—and talk to Adrian about helping with some basic promo. He’d set us up before we launched karaoke and trivia night, and even with the gallery keeping him busy, I think he’ll lend a hand if I beg right.
In another week, I’ve got four bands calendared. I’ve also got my father wanting to set up a time for lunch, but as clever as I am, I haven’t decided whether it’s better to meet with him before or after I’ve heard his friends play.
I’d ask Jake for advice, but we’ve barely talked, and I’m not interested in starting a fight he’s already had with someone much nicer than I am.
I end up in a booth with Sage instead.
“Listen to the band first,” she says. “You’re as close to neutral as possible right now, so if you’re gonna give them a real shot, do it before you’ve spent an hour with a man who could sway things in either direction.”
“You really think he could make me like the bandmore?”
“You really think he couldn’t? You’re a softie, Darren.”