Whiskey & Vows

T E N

C H A P T E R  N I N E || LOOK AFTER YOU

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It seemed like Deja vu to sit in Derek’s father’s office once again but this time, for something else. Derek’s leg kept bouncing up and down, as if he couldn’t handle the situation we were throwing ourselves into. Honestly, we probably weren’t making any great decisions. This one, however, had nothing to do with our well-being, it’s about Andy.

I should have known Derek wanted Andy to stay with us, from the way he behaved at the accident to spending everyday at the hospital with him, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. I still could not wrap my head around the words once they left his mouth.

Did Derek have any idea what we were doing?

I explained to him exactly what we were going to do if Andy ended up in our care. Not only is it a lot of work to raise any child, but it was going to be hard to take care of a child that may not stay with us. There were many things I brought up to Derek about Andy, his medical situation, his school life, needing to be home with him, having him understand his situation, and even being present in his life. Derek didn’t seem to mind, he wanted Andy home with us.

Honestly, it’s hard to picture Derek being a father figure. There’s no doubt he would be a great one, he’s just so...college. Not to mention he’s only twenty-two; he’s got a lot to learn about bringing a child into an accidental marriage.

I do support him. I couldn’t stand to know Andy is juggling in different foster homes, or having a hard time understanding his situation. He’s got the biggest support system from Derek, I couldn’t imagine it being ripped away. So when Derek called his father that night upset, I didn’t object.

“If you don’t want to do this, you need to tell me now.” Derek blurted as he stared at his father’s desk. I whipped my head around, looking at the dipshit. Nervousness filled him and I’m positive if we waited any longer, he was going to explode.

“We already talked about it.” I smiled.

“Yes, but now we’re actually doing it.” He countered. I rolled my eyes and pulled my chapstick out of my pocket.

“Derek, will you shut up?” I groaned. “If I didn’t want to do this, would I be here?”

“I just know you want our marriage fixed-”

“Derek, when did you actually get nice?” I laughed. His cheeks turned pink and he looked away from me and at the windows.

“Look, who knows what we can do, but we’re going to try.”

“What about the marriage?” He asked for the hundredth time.

“We’ll figure that out along the way.” I shrugged. “Honestly, we haven’t killed each other yet, so I think we’ll be okay.” Derek grinned and looked back at his father’s desk.

“You think we can do it?”

“I think it’ll be interesting.”

***

“You have to register through the foster care system.” His father said, setting the paperwork down on his desk. He ran his hands over his eyes and looked between us.

“Are you sure this is something you want to do? Derek, I know you care for this kid, but taking care of a child is a giant responsibility.” Derek’s eyes turned cold as he stared at his father and clenched his jaw.