“Studying, mostly.”
“Ah, right.” Her expression changes with my confession, and I feel some of the tension return. We reach the front door, and she gives me a look that tells me she’s about to level with me. “Look, for Dante’s sake, I really want to try this, at least for civility, but it’s going to take me a little time to get used to it.”
“I get that.”
“And I can’t promise friendship.”
Slowly, I nod. “All right.”
“So, we probably need to establish more ground rules.”
“My schedule is rough. But give me a heads up, and I’ll move shit around. Football is going to take up my weekends, especially on away games, and I work every available shift around that, but I’ll do everything I can to be available for you both. I mean that.”
She bites her lip thoughtfully, and I imagine another man kissing it. It doesn’t sit well with me, and I know then I have to stop fixating on a lost cause. “Okay. If things work out, I’m probably going to want to go on more dates.”
“Will you bring him around Dante?”
“I have never introduced any man to my son. You know that.”
“Our son. And I just don’t want to get him confused. I was just introduced, and my own title isn’t clear yet.”
She lifts her hands. “Too fast, Jenner. Just too fast. I assure you I won’t interrupt what’s just started, if you promise me you’ll keep things the way they are for now.”
“Deal.”
“Goodnight.” She nods toward my house.
“So, what does this new guy do?”
“He owns a real estate company. The one who rents our houses.”
“Nice. Good guy?”
She drops her gaze. “I’m tired.”
“Me too. So, is he?”
“He was nice in school. He seems to be now. We’ll see. People change.”
“You’re right. They do.” I lean in using her words to my advantage. Eyes locked, I get a whiff of her perfume. “They absolutely do.”
She rolls her eyes. “Goodnight.”
When the door shuts, I don’t have to look back to know she’s watching me. But I don’t acknowledge it or even entertain any of the possible reasons why. I can’t afford to make any more mistakes.
Lainey’s King Ranch Chicken
Finance Analyst, Omaha
Makes 8 servings
1 hour
3 lb. Chicken – Boiled & Deboned – See Note
12 Corn Tortillas – torn into chip size pieces
1 Onion – Chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper – Chopped
1/2 Stick Butter
1 Can Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chile Peppers
2 Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
4 Cups Shredded, Cheddar Cheese (Mexican Blend cheese is also good.)
Sauté onions and pepper in butter in a large sauce pan until tender. Stir in tomatoes, soups, 1/2 of the cheese, and chicken.
Layer 1/3 of the tortilla pieces in a lightly greased 9 X 13 casserole dish. Top with 1/3 of chicken mixture and a layer of cheese. Repeat layers 2 times.
Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.
Note: To save time, a rotisserie chicken will work just as well. Also, boiling boneless chicken breasts or thighs (or a mixture) in chicken broth & water will be quicker than boiling a whole chicken.
Clarissa
Parker lets Dante out of the booth, loading him with coins for the video games as I recite the rules.
“Stay where I can see you. No talking to adult strangers.”
“Got it,” Dante promises, eyes wide at the number of coins she’s filling his little hands with. “Ahhh yeah!”
“You can do better than that,” I scold.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, Auntie Parker!”
She hugs him tightly to her, and he struggles in her arms while she insists on an embarrassing hug that he would have gladly given her a year ago.
“Are you really almost six?”
“Yep,” he says, wrestling her for his freedom. She kisses the crown of his head before she lets him go and joins me on the opposite side of the booth.
“Jesus. This is not a fat-friendly booth.”
The remark pains me. Parker has always been on the heavier side, but I’ve never seen her the way she sees herself. She’s truly beautiful, and her personality is so endearing, it’s all I ever pay attention to. That is until she comments negatively about herself. Parker and I have been friends since our first year at Texas Grand. She’s been the one constant in my life since my father died when we were sophomores, leaving me orphaned. My mother died when I was Dante’s age. The irony is that my father had been twenty-five years older than her and was the one to die from natural causes.
“Would you stop with that? I hate it when you knock yourself.” I tell her as she grimaces from my reprimand. She nods, ogling the pizza.
“Have another piece if you want it. You’ve only had one.”
She forks a bite of salad and shoves it into her mouth. “I’ll stick to this,” she says, chewing around the bite, “mmm delicious.” It’s sarcasm at its finest, and I can’t help but laugh at her candor.
“You’re beautiful,” I remind her. “If you want the pizza, eat the pizza.”
“Nope.” She lifts a straw full of soda and lets it go covering the rest of the pie in Coke. “Temptation destroyed. Problem solved.”
“What if I wanted to eat that later?”
“You’ll thank me.”
“Maybe, but please stop talking about yourself that way.”
“Fine, fine, okay, I’ve been gone for an eternity. Give me some dirt.”
For the first time in what feels like a century, I have something to report.
“I have a new neighbor.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Troy. He moved in next door.”
She pauses with the straw halfway to her mouth. “What? When?”
“Last month.”
“And you’re just now telling me?!”
“You’ve been busy. I’ve been busy and in denial.”
“What did you do?”
“I’m letting him be the neighbor for now. What choice do I have?”
“I’m going over there.”
“Reason number three I didn’t tell you.”
She shifts in her seat. “I give zero shits.”
“Parker, listen to me. Dante still doesn’t know. And for now, we’re going to keep it that way. Don’t come in like a bull in a china shop. We’re treading carefully here.”
She narrows her eyes. “I’m the co-parent.”
It’s the truth. She is. Guilt nags at me as I think of my omission in our conversations in the last few weeks. “I’m sorry. You’re right, but you were in London, and I didn’t want you going postal a continent away.”
Parker was on the fast track to rich and successful the minute we graduated. She stays with us between long stints overseas. When I first had Dante, she’d been my savior and was able to afford everything I couldn’t, which saved our asses on multiple occasions. I don’t know what I would have done without her. She’s everything wrapped in one, a best friend, a co-parent, and the only family we have. Dante and I wouldn’t have survived without her.
“So, is he…is he acting like a Dad?”
“He’s allowed to be a friend, for now. We’re testing the waters to see how this goes.”
“Is he still hot?”
“Jesus. He’s so beautiful.” I follow Parker’s gaze to see Dante playing Skee-Ball. “And I hate him.”
“Yeah, me too. But hate can be amazing fuel in the bedroom.”
My lips lift into a genuine smile. “I’m covered there too.”
She slaps her palm on the table, her inky dark hair spilling over her shoulder as her brown eyes meet mine. “You’ve been holding out all over.”
“This is a new development.” I waggle my brows. “Brett Tompkins. We
had a drink last week. And there was kissing.”
“WHAT!? Oh my God, lady! Is he still hot?”
“Hotter.”
“Than Troy?”
“We’re not comparing the two.”
“Well runner-up isn’t bad, and he’s loaded too. You know that, right?”
“Dinner is all he gets to pay for. And I like him.”
Parker frowns. “You were crazy for him in college, that’s not the case now?”
“I mean, it’s been years since then. I’m getting to know him again. We’ll see. And Troy watched Dante.”
She sits back in her seat. “Let me get this straight. You’ve got a hot as all hell baby daddy as a baby-sitter and a hot as shit real estate mogul after your ass. Woman, you should be walking on a cloud!”
“I am.”
“Gah. Finally. The Lord answered one of my prayers.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get too excited. You know my dating history.”
“I would almost feel sorry for you, but I don’t. Please have sex with them both and make this an epic saga so I can live vicariously through you.”
“Absolutely not,” I snap. “I’m never getting intimate with Troy again. Ever. Are you crazy?”
“Clarissa, he was a kid. He saw your beautiful ass and wanted it. Most guys would lie for a crack at you. You are hot, babe. He didn’t know it would backfire like that. And you said a million times that you both used each other that night.”
“But it did backfire. And if he hadn’t lied—”
“You wouldn’t have Dante.”
“I know.” I swallow the thought. “God, where would I be?”
“I know this. That boy makes you happy. He does. Even if his conception was an accident.”
“So, you’re on Troy’s side?”
“No sides. Not anymore. It’s time you both grew up and did what’s best for your kid. Let old hurts go. Etcetera, etcetera.”
“I am. I think I am. I’m trying, for Dante.”
“Good.” She eyes me, pushing a lock of her long dark hair off her shoulders. “This is about to get fun.”
“Stop. Nothing is going to happen with Troy. He’s still using his penis as a Fun Dip. I’ve watched him walk out two women since he’s moved in. And Brett, well, he’s a damned good kisser, and you know a good kiss is everything for me.”
“Don’t you dare hold back again, I don’t give a shit if I’m in China, which I will be in November.”
“Really?”
“Yep,” she says with a sigh. “And I’m not eating shit there but rice and noodles. They eat dogs, and I’m not going to gamble on mystery meat. No, thanks.” She scrunches her nose. “It will be the best diet I’ve ever been on.”
“Another diet?”
“Clarissa, I haven’t seen my vagina in five years.” A woman walking by our booth gapes at us, grabbing her son and turning him in the opposite direction.
“Sorry,” Parker sputters out apologetically as laughter bursts from me. I shake my head as Parker’s brown eyes come back to mine. “Oops.”
“You are crazy.”
“I’m serious. Our relationship is strained. I would like to get laid again before I turn thirty. China will heal me, I know it.”
I grip her hand across the table. “You’re perfect to me.”
“You have to say that, I know all of your dirty secrets.”
“Shut up.”
When the waitress delivers our ticket, Parker places her card on the table.
“No way.” Most of the time, my pride speaks up and we argue about how she’s wealthy and childless and can afford it, but this time, I slam a twenty on the table and end the fight. “Troy is paying.”
A slow smile covers Parker’s lips as she wipes fake tears from her eyes. “I’m so proud of him.”
I haven’t told her that he’s been trying to step up, especially in the last year or so. Though she did chase him from my parking lot once, thinking it was a rare pop up on his part. When it came to Troy, I always wanted her to believe he was the bad guy, because to me, he was. But my mind is changing with his consistent efforts, the way he dotes on his son, his need to get along with me. He’s kept up his part of the bargain, and that’s enough for now.
“Which one are you thinking about?”
“Troy. I pray I’m not screwing up. I don’t know if I want someone capable of doing such a horrible thing to raise my son. You know?”
“I understand your grudge, I do, but people change, they grow up. What he did was a bold move. A move he wouldn’t make if he wasn’t serious. See it for what it is, he’s desperate to know Dante. And Dante’s old enough to deserve a choice. This is something Dante may not forgive you for later.”
“I know. I just hope I don’t regret it.”
Parker winks. “I have a good feeling.”
“Last time you had a good feeling, you had me wearing assless chaps.”
“And if I recall, that was a damned good night. Grand Girls stay Grand,” she holds up her glass in a toast, and I clink mine.
“4 Eva.”
Corry’s Quiche
Dog Groomer, New York
Makes 6 servings
45 minutes
1 Deep Dish Pie Shell
Line Pie Shell With:
Ham or Bacon – Cooked and Cubed
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1/4 Lb. Swiss or Cheddar Cheese – Shredded
Mix and pour evenly over ham and cheese:
2 Eggs
1 Cup Light Cream (Half & Half)
Salt
Pepper
Dash of Cayenne – if desired
Bake on bottom shelf of oven at 400 degrees for 35– 40 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes before cutting to serve.
Clarissa
“Good morning, birthday boy!” I stand at Dante’s door with a tray in hand as he sits up in his bed with a budding smile on his face. Once I bring the brightly lit pancakes into the room, his smile widens.
“Oh, wow, Mommy. Thank you!”
I set the breakfast tray across his lap. “You’re so welcome, Peanut. Happy Birthday. Make a wish.”
Dante closes his eyes, and it’s then I see his face, Troy’s face. It’s unreal how close they are in likeness. Anyone in the same room with them could easily draw the right conclusion, which makes me nervous. I’m not ready to uncap the truth just yet. It’s only been a couple months. I’ve decided to wait Troy out. Though he’s presenting himself in a capable and more responsible light, this is still new. He could get bored and decide family life is too mundane for him. If that’s the case, he’s still just a neighbor. It’s the safest way to play this.
Dante blows out the six candles easily.
“Are you going to tell me your wish?”
“Nope.”
“Good. I like that you’re superstitious.”
I smile down at him as he digs into his pancakes. “So tonight, Auntie Parker is coming over. Are you sure you don’t want to invite kids from your class to your party?”
“Nope. But can I invite Troy?”
“I’ve already invited him. He’s coming.”
He looks up at me. “You told him to come over?”
“Yeah, why not? He’s a new friend.”
“Is Troy your boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Because you’re too old?”
Blink.
Blink.
“Yes, because Mommy is old, and her skin’s no longer supple.”
“What’s stupple mean?”
“That’s supple. It means I’m a weathered old fart who has nothing on the coeds.”
“What’s a coed?”
“Eat your breakfast. I’ll pull a towel for your shower.” I kiss the crown of his head and leave him to it. He catches me on the way out.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby?”
“You’re still pretty, even if you’re old.”
“Dante, I’m twenty-nine. I’m not old.”
<
br /> “How many times is that more than what I am?”
“Almost five.”
His eyes widen. “You’re five times as old as me?”
It’s a good thing we don’t build our self-esteem off kid compliments, I’d be under psychiatric care.
“Yes, Dante.”
“Well, if you want, I’ll pretend you aren’t old at my party.”
“I’m not old!”
“All right!”
Stomping out of his room, I open the bathroom door and rip his towel from the cabinet. “Little turd.”
“I heard that.”
The doorbell rings and I know it’s Troy. It’s the first birthday he gets to spend with his son, and I have a feeling he’s going to go all out. I march my geriatric ass to the door and open it to see he’s fresh-faced, looking like a million bucks, even at the early hour. Due to the natural wave in my hair, and the fact I haven’t showered to tame it, I look freshly electrocuted.
“Troy,” I say by way of greeting. My mood rapidly souring.
“What’s with all the yelling?”
“What?”
“I heard you two going at it.”
“Oh, yeah, that.” Mom of the year, right here. “Dante and I were just discussing age.”
“Is that Troy?” Dante calls from his room.
“Yes, eat your breakfast!” I yell back.
“Well, tell him to come back here!”
“Eat your breakfast!”
“You two need an intercom,” Troy chuckles deeply, and I ignore the draw of the sound.
“He needs a muzzle. He’s far too observant, and outspoken.”
My son refuses to be left out of the conversation from his bedroom. “Troy, did you know Mommy is five times as old as I am today?”
Troy winces. “Ah, I can see why that didn’t go over well.”
“She’s too old to be a suppled coed!”
Troy crosses his arms. “What exactly were you two discussing?”
“She’s too old for you!” Dante supplies, humiliating me. “So, you can’t be her boyfriend!”
Briefly, just briefly, I imagine using Dante’s pillow to silence him.
The Underdogs: The Complete Series Page 33