After Hours

Chapter 9

My parents invited me over for dinner so after finishing up at work, I drive towards their house while talking to Jackson on the phone. "I'm only late when I'm dating you," he accuses.

I chuckle. "It's your fault. You never want to get out of bed."

"You don't make it easy," he sighs.

"Well, I happen to enjoy our morning play time. It makes me happy," I say.

"Me too," he says. "I guess I'll just have to set the alarm earlier so I'm not late every day."

"Sounds good to me."

There's a moment of silence before I hear movement in the background. "Are you at your parent's house yet?" he asks.

"No. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Are you going to tell them about us?" he asks.

I frown. The thought has been bugging me since they invited me over. "They don't even know that Noah and I broke up. I don't want them to think I jump from one man to the next."

"Just tell them the truth. Tell them he cheated, you broke up, and now you're seeing me."

If only it were that easy. I pull onto their street and take a deep breath. "Alright. I will. I'm almost there so I'll call you back later."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

Hanging up, I pull into their driveway and park my car off to the side. I enter the front door and announce my presence by yelling, "I'm here."

"We're in the living room," my dad calls back.

Sauntering into the living room, I give them each a hug while noticing the smell of dinner. "That smells delicious," I say with a smile.

My mom heads towards the dining room while glancing over her shoulder to talk. "I made steaks, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and veggies."

"Sounds good," I say, taking my seat at the table where the food is waiting.

We begin serving ourselves and passing around dishes while making small talk. "How is work?" my dad asks.

"Great," I smile. "We just got a big project recently. The construction will start any day now. They just had to get permits and stuff first."

"That's good," my mom says. "How are things with Noah? Is he still home?"

I bite my lip. "We actually broke up," I admit. "While he was away he cheated on me. At first, I thought we could try to fix things between us but I realized that it wasn't worth it. I am much happier now."

My mother frowns while pushing around the food on her plate. "Love isn't easy. You have to work for it."

"He cheated," I repeat. "If he did it once there's a chance he'd do it again. I won't allow it."

"People change," she says, glancing at my dad across the table before staring down at her food.

My jaw drops as I look at my dad who is also looking down. "I can't believe this," I say, shaking my head. "That may have been your decision but it wasn't mine. I have moved on."

"Moved on?" she asks.

"I am with Jackson again," I state. "And I am happier than I have ever been. He has always been the one - I just didn't believe we would work back then but now I know we will."

There is a long moment of silence before my dad speaks. "As long as you're happy, Emery. That's all I care about," he says. "I've come to realize that we haven't been there for you in ways that we should. I wish I could go back and be a better parent and husband but I will spend my entire life making it up to every one of you. In all honesty, I liked Jackson better than Noah. Seeing you in these relationships makes me think about the day you get married and I know I don't deserve to walk you down the aisle but I would like nothing more than to do that."

My heart just about bursts. "Of course you can walk me down the aisle, dad. I would never take that opportunity away from you."

"Glad to hear," he says, picking up his fork. "So did you hear about the Tiger's game last night? They won."

I chuckle because I know this is his way of changing the subject so he doesn't get choked up. "Yeah, I caught the ending of the game."

"Cabrera hit a home run," he says happily.

"That reminds me," I say, reaching down in my purse. "I got you an early birthday present."

"You shouldn't have," he says. "Just a nice dinner would be fine."

I smile, retrieving the envelope from my purse. "This is much better," I insist. "I got you an mom tickets to watch the Tigers versus the Yankees."

His face lights up. "Really?"

"How will we get there?" my mom asks.

"I've already planned everything. You guys will fly to New York and a chauffeur will take you to your hotel and to the game. He'll take you wherever you want to go. You'll be there for two nights and the food was included. All you have to do is pack your bags and drive to the airport."

My dad stands to give me a hug. "Thank you, sweetheart. This means so much to me."

I smile, patting his back. "You're welcome."

He takes his seat and we continue eating our dinner with him talking about baseball the entire time. My mom isn't the biggest fan of baseball but I also included a spa treatment for her. I know they'll both have an amazing time and I'm glad I could make my dad so happy. This night turned out a lot better than I expected and I can't wait to tell Jackson about it.

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