He's The Boss

18

"I think it's finally sinking in now," Haley tells me after work a few days later, as we sit on a train that goes into the suburbs. We're side by side, her bags at our feet. Somehow, she convinced me to help her move back into our old house, although I insisted repeatedly that I was not going to stick around to make chit-chat with Dad.

"What is?" I ask. I think I see someone out of the corner of my eyes – one of Rocco's men – but it's just a look-alike. I try to tell myself to calm the fuck down.

"The fact that it's over with Maya."

"I'm sorry, Haley."

"It's OK." She exhales heavily. "I wish I had my own Nate."

I look sharply at her. "Right. Is that why you set up that little date?"

"It seemed like a good idea."

"It wasn't."

"I don't know. You two seem to be getting along a lot better since that night."

I don't respond because I know she's right.

"You know, if you like him, you can tell me. I'll keep your secret safe."

"Please."

"He told me you're going to be his date tomorrow. At his mom's wedding."

"Yeah. It's a one-time thing. Kind of like helping out a friend." Plus sex.

"Sureee," she goes, wearing an infuriating smirk on her face.

I pull out my phone, taking a peek – no calls, no texts. Haley cocks a brow at me. "Expecting word?"

"No." I sit up straight, clearing my throat. "Honestly, I think he should have asked Anna to be his date instead of me. She's going to be there anyway. It makes a lot more sense."

"I'm sure he had his reasons for choosing to ask you."

The train slows down, easing into our stop, and we file out with a few other people. We catch a cab to our old street, the sight of that big, old house striking up way too many memories inside me.

Dad comes outside at the sound of the car, a big smile on his face. He's a little paunchier, his hair a little grayer, and his eyes are light with joy at seeing us. Even me. Maybe ... especially me?

"Look at that!" he greets, extending his arms as we come up the walk. "My two girls, finally come home!"

He sucks us into a big hug, and I wonder if it's just me who feels awkward about all this.

"Come on in, come on in. Haley, I did my best to make up your old room, you know. I even managed to find those same yellow cushions your mom threw away that time, can you believe it? Oh, I also bought a whole bunch of that ice cream you used to like. You still like it, right? Of course you do. And I was thinking, maybe later we could ... " he chatters away at a mile a minute as we follow him inside.

Tentatively, I look around the interior, finding it surprisingly clean and neat for a fifty-something man living alone. Or maybe it's not that surprising after all.

Together with Dad, I help carry Haley's bags up to her room, then wander off while they're still talking. I move through the kitchen, where Mom rarely cooked – and if she did, it was always a hilarious disaster – before exiting into the garden. Unlike the house, the yard is wild and unkempt, and a strange sorrow opens up inside me at the sight of it.

Gosh. What would Mom think? Or is she already looking at this now, shaking her head in that sad, disappointed way of hers?

A knock behind me makes me turn around, and I see Dad standing there, with my sister at his back, on the phone with someone.