doctor’s tools. You don’t know where some of that shit goes.”
“Mouth,” I mutter wondering what he’s talking about. “Why didn’t she call and tell me?”
“I don’t think she wanted to do it over the phone.”
Awkward silence fills the room.
God, I feel like even more of a jackass than I did before he got here.
“You uh…you went with her?” I question still too dumbfounded by the situation to process it.
“Yep. Saw the baby on the screen. It’s like a jelly bean.” His description is followed by a huge smile. “I’m hoping it’s a boy. That way I can have a mini me.”
“You don’t need a mini me,” I insist shaking my head.
The Kid having a mini me. If it’s a boy I’d have another son. Really? Another kid? Someone else’s life to be responsible for? How the fuck am I supposed to do that when I’m barely responsible for myself? Hell, bringing the Kid in has been a fucking adjustment that isn’t easy and now a…a…fuck. I can’t even say it.
“Kid, where’s Maxx?”
“I promised Mom I wouldn’t say….”
“You keep calling her that. You like it?”
“It still feels weird every now and again, but with the baby coming I think it would be more weird or confusing for me to call her Maxx, ya know? She already promised that nothing would change. That y’all would still want me—”
“Of course we still want you, Kid.”
“I kinda like calling her Mom. It’s nice to have someone who cares about me like that in a way. Still feels weird calling you Dad—”
“No shit.”
“But…with the baby around…it’ll just be another adjustment to make too.”
Why is the teen more mature about this than me?
“Dean—”
“I can’t tell you. She threatened to ground me until I’m 30, and while I don’t think she can actually do that, it’s just not a gamble I’m willing to risk in or outside of Vegas.” The comment gets a soft chuckle from me and he says, “We saw you fight. It was so badass.”
“You did?”
“Yeah! We both did! Man, the way you socked it to Blackout, was like lights out!” Dean pretends to bob and weave.
Is that supposed to be me? Acting is not on this kid’s strong list. And who says lines like that? That’s not clever. Wait. This means…this means Maxx made it to my first fight in the pros. Of course she did. Because she’s always there for me. Fuck. I gotta fix this.
“Man that was amazing! That was the first time I’ve ever seen you fight live! So much more boss than on You Tube!” The excitement in his eyes and voice swells my chest with pride.
What can I say? It means a lot he was that excited to see me do something I’m not even that excited to do anymore.
Dean starts explaining the fight to me through his eyes.
Good thing I wasn’t there or anything.
After not being able to take another sentence with the word boss in it, I interrupt, “You hungry, Kid?”
“Yeah. Barely ate at the thing. Mom said we were all gonna go grab dinner together.”
“You know, we still can if—”
“No.”
I shrug. “How about room service? I’ll order us a couple burgers and you can tell me all about what’s going on with basketball. Did your coach stop being a dick?”
“Barely,” he mumbles. “I just don’t think he likes me.”
“Well that’s not a fucking excuse to not play you. I mean it, Kid. I’ll come down there and whoop his ass if he doesn’t get his shit together.”
What? Don’t look at me like that. The kid’s been through enough shit, without some dickhead coach playing favorites. Basketball is probably the first thing he’s done because he wanted to do it and not because he had to.
Dean laughs. “Mouth. Like…three times.”
“Shut up,” I mumble and reach for the phone to order us something to eat.
Fine. I can’t get to Maxx right now, then so be it. But I will make this right. I’ll fix this. And then we’ll talk about…well about the thing growing inside her and how the fuck we’re
“Mouth,” I mutter wondering what he’s talking about. “Why didn’t she call and tell me?”
“I don’t think she wanted to do it over the phone.”
Awkward silence fills the room.
God, I feel like even more of a jackass than I did before he got here.
“You uh…you went with her?” I question still too dumbfounded by the situation to process it.
“Yep. Saw the baby on the screen. It’s like a jelly bean.” His description is followed by a huge smile. “I’m hoping it’s a boy. That way I can have a mini me.”
“You don’t need a mini me,” I insist shaking my head.
The Kid having a mini me. If it’s a boy I’d have another son. Really? Another kid? Someone else’s life to be responsible for? How the fuck am I supposed to do that when I’m barely responsible for myself? Hell, bringing the Kid in has been a fucking adjustment that isn’t easy and now a…a…fuck. I can’t even say it.
“Kid, where’s Maxx?”
“I promised Mom I wouldn’t say….”
“You keep calling her that. You like it?”
“It still feels weird every now and again, but with the baby coming I think it would be more weird or confusing for me to call her Maxx, ya know? She already promised that nothing would change. That y’all would still want me—”
“Of course we still want you, Kid.”
“I kinda like calling her Mom. It’s nice to have someone who cares about me like that in a way. Still feels weird calling you Dad—”
“No shit.”
“But…with the baby around…it’ll just be another adjustment to make too.”
Why is the teen more mature about this than me?
“Dean—”
“I can’t tell you. She threatened to ground me until I’m 30, and while I don’t think she can actually do that, it’s just not a gamble I’m willing to risk in or outside of Vegas.” The comment gets a soft chuckle from me and he says, “We saw you fight. It was so badass.”
“You did?”
“Yeah! We both did! Man, the way you socked it to Blackout, was like lights out!” Dean pretends to bob and weave.
Is that supposed to be me? Acting is not on this kid’s strong list. And who says lines like that? That’s not clever. Wait. This means…this means Maxx made it to my first fight in the pros. Of course she did. Because she’s always there for me. Fuck. I gotta fix this.
“Man that was amazing! That was the first time I’ve ever seen you fight live! So much more boss than on You Tube!” The excitement in his eyes and voice swells my chest with pride.
What can I say? It means a lot he was that excited to see me do something I’m not even that excited to do anymore.
Dean starts explaining the fight to me through his eyes.
Good thing I wasn’t there or anything.
After not being able to take another sentence with the word boss in it, I interrupt, “You hungry, Kid?”
“Yeah. Barely ate at the thing. Mom said we were all gonna go grab dinner together.”
“You know, we still can if—”
“No.”
I shrug. “How about room service? I’ll order us a couple burgers and you can tell me all about what’s going on with basketball. Did your coach stop being a dick?”
“Barely,” he mumbles. “I just don’t think he likes me.”
“Well that’s not a fucking excuse to not play you. I mean it, Kid. I’ll come down there and whoop his ass if he doesn’t get his shit together.”
What? Don’t look at me like that. The kid’s been through enough shit, without some dickhead coach playing favorites. Basketball is probably the first thing he’s done because he wanted to do it and not because he had to.
Dean laughs. “Mouth. Like…three times.”
“Shut up,” I mumble and reach for the phone to order us something to eat.
Fine. I can’t get to Maxx right now, then so be it. But I will make this right. I’ll fix this. And then we’ll talk about…well about the thing growing inside her and how the fuck we’re
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