Unwoven Ties

by Bethany Lopez

  “It was great,” Blake replied, her tone low. Shy. “I especially liked the new song. Your mom loved it.”

  “Yeah,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat. “I could tell.”

  “Hope I didn’t embarrass you,” Mom said as she came over and put her arm through mine.

  Normally, I wasn’t a big fan of public displays of affection from my parents, but I figured it was the least I could do since I made her cry. Still, once we reached the door, I used holding it open for everyone as an excuse not to walk into the restaurant arm in arm with my mother.

  “How many?” the hostess was asking as I joined them.

  “Four for a booth, please,” Connor, replied.

  “Right this way.”

  “You didn’t embarrass me,” I told my mom softly as we moved through the room.

  She shot me a grateful smile over her shoulder, making me feel like I was the best son in the world, rather than the schmuck who finally invited her to my open mic weeks after she’d been out of the hospital.

  I vowed to do better.

  My mom and I sat on one side of the booth, while Connor and Blake sat on the other. It was uncanny how much they looked alike. With red hair, green eyes, and matching smiles, there was no denying they were related.

  My mom and I, on the other hand, had never really shared much of a resemblance. I looked more like my dad.

  “So, Jake, how are things with Alison?” Connor asked as he opened his menu. “I was surprised not to see her tonight.”

  I cleared my throat and then muttered, “We broke up,” before hiding my face behind my own menu.

  It wasn’t that I missed Ally or anything. I mean, sure, I missed the kissing and the sex, and having someone to talk things out with, but I was pretty confident I’d made the right decision. Especially after seeing her all over Greg, a lousy football player, in the cafeteria. She’d tried to catch my eye and make sure I saw her kissing him, so I knew she was mostly doing it to be a jerk, but I’d sat down with my friends without sparing her so much as a glance.

  No, I wasn’t worried about what they’d see on my face, I was trying to avoid seeing the hope and adoration on Blake’s.

  I didn’t want her to think of me being single as a green light.

  “Do you all know what you want, or need more time?”

  I lowered my menu to see the waitress standing next to me, pad open and pen raised, but not before I caught Blake’s gaze.

  “I know what I want,” she whispered, and I felt her foot on my leg underneath the table.

  Oh, brother.

  I moved my legs farther apart and ignored Blake as I answered the waitress.

  “Can I have the burger with everything, fries with extra barbecue sauce, and an iced tea?”

  I placed my menu on the edge of the table and pulled out my phone as my mom, Connor, and Blake gave their orders.

  When I saw a message from Ally clenched my teeth and opened it.

  I need to see you. Right now. Quit ignoring me and come by my house.

  I bit back a sigh and typed out, Can’t. Having dinner with my mom.

  A few seconds later, my phone vibrated in my hand.

  Jake. Please. We need to talk.

  I didn’t really want to talk to her. I was done with her drama, and I certainly didn’t want to go to her house.

  I can meet you tomorrow. In the park.

  If there was one thing I knew about Ally, it was that she was stubborn as hell. I figured it was better to meet with her and hear her out, rather than have her hounding me until I caved.

  Fine. I’ll be there at 10.

  This time, there was no stopping my sigh as I put my phone away and tried to focus on tonight, rather than dread what was to come tomorrow.

  Twenty-Six

  Sean

  “Can I get you anything else?”

  I looked up briefly and shook my head at the waitress, then put my head back down and went back to the article I was reading.

  It was my lunch break and I was eating alone at a burger place by my new office.

  The food was good, but I was beginning to feel like the town leper. I’d eaten by myself every day since I’d started. I thought about going back to my apartment every day and eating lunch there, but that seemed even more depressing than eating alone at a restaurant.

  The first few days I’d looked at my phone while eating, then I’d tried bringing a book, but I’d started picking up a paper on the way and reading that. I’d found I missed holding an actual paper in my hands, rather than reading digitally.

  There were a lot of things that I was finding out I’d been missing.

  Maybe the saddest part was that I’d started working weekends too, just so I wouldn’t have to figure out to do with my time off.

  I picked up the ketchup and squirted it all over my fries, then picked up my burger and took a bite.

  I’d definitely started putting on some extra weight but couldn’t seem to care enough to start cooking my own meals or making healthy choices while out. A guy needed something to look forward to in his life … right?

  I was about to take another bite when my cell rang. I glanced over and nearly dropped my burger when I saw Jake’s name in the readout.

  I can’t remember the last time he’d called…

  “Jake?” I asked when I answered. “What’s up?”

  I was met with silence. I felt disappointment in the pit of my stomach, thinking he’d hung up, so I said again, “Jake? Hello, are you there?”

  “Dad.”

  I could tell right away something was wrong. His voice was strained.

  “You okay?” I asked, pushing my chair back and standing as I searched for the waitress.

  “I’m at the park … Can you meet me?”

  “Yeah, you bet. Just hang tight and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks,” Jake said, then disconnected.

  I shoved my phone in my pocket as I pulled out my wallet and grabbed some cash. I threw it on the table, knowing it would be enough to cover the meal and tip, then hurried out of the restaurant.

  Jake hadn’t specified the park, but I knew which one he’d meant. We’d spent many days at the park by our house. When Jake was a toddler, then when he played baseball, and I knew it was still where he often went, either with friends or to write songs.

  I got to the park in record time, swinging my car left when I saw Jake’s Jeep parked down by the pavilion.

  I’d barely put the car in park before opening the door and jumping out.

  “Jake,” I called, my head swinging right, then left, before landing on my son’s form.

  He was sitting on top of a picnic table, his head in his hands.

  Shit, I thought, my heart pounding as I wondered what was wrong.

  Was it Kelly? Had she somehow had a relapse?

  Was Jake in trouble? In school? With his mom?

  A myriad of possibilities were filtering through my brain as I hurried across the grass.

  “Jake,” I said again as I got closer.

  His shoulders bunched and I saw him take a deep breath before turning around.

  His eyes were red.

  I hopped up on the picnic table next to him and waited quietly.

  I knew my son, and any attempt on my part to force him to talk or push him into revealing what was wrong before he was ready would just make him clam up. So, I waited, my heart in my throat, for him to tell me what was happening.

  “Ally and I broke up,” he began a few seconds later, and I felt relief that it wasn’t something more serious. Not that I didn’t understand the crushing devastation of teenaged angst, but I was happy it wasn’t something we couldn’t work through.

  “I’m sorry, I know how you felt about her,” I said softly, because although I wasn’t around much when it was just me and Jake at home, I’d seen the way they were with each other.

  “It’s not that,” Jake said, turning his tear stained face to me. “She asked me to meet her
here today, said she needed to talk. I thought … shit, I thought she was just going to try and get me back, thought I’d prove how cool I was about it all and let her think I didn’t care about seeing her with that football player…”

  It was hard for me not to butt in at that point, urge him along by asking questions, but the crux of my bad relationship with Jake was that I wasn’t there for him. Not when Kelly was in a coma, and not since she’d been awake.

  I was hoping there was still time to change that. So, I waited.

  “But, that wasn’t it. When I got here, she was sitting right in this spot. I could tell she’d been crying and braced for her to beg me to take her back, but instead she started yelling. Screaming about how I’d ruined her life, how her parents hated her, and she was going to be the laughingstock of the school. She called me a burnout loser and said she wished she’d never come and talked to me after the accident.”

  Jake inhaled a shuttered breath, then dropped a bomb I’d in no way expected.

  “She’s pregnant, Dad,” Jake said, his voice sounding like a little boy’s, rather than like the man he was becoming. “We’re having a baby.”

  My heart stopped and my stomach dropped like a lead weight, and the first thought that struck me was, Kelly and I are going to be grandparents.

  Twenty-Seven

  Kelly

  “Can we meet up? I have something important to discuss with you. It’s about Jake.”

  “Of course,” I told Sean, looking around the bookstore without really seeing anything, as I talked into the phone and worried something was wrong with our son. “Want to meet me at the house at six, or would you rather go somewhere else?”

  “The house would be best. More privacy,” Sean replied, and my stomach clenched.

  “He’s okay, right?” I asked.

  I’d seen him before school this morning, or rather, the back of his head as he ran out the door.

  But that wasn’t unusual. Jake wasn’t a morning person and often slept until the last possible minute, then rushed around in order to make it to school on time. I hadn’t realized anything was wrong, and he hadn’t said anything to that effect.

  “Yeah, it’s nothing like that … he’s not sick or injured or anything, but I think it’s best that we talk about it in person, okay, Kel?”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll see if I can finish up here a little early. I’ll let you know if I can.”

  Worry for my son had me wanting to leave the shop immediately and go to school to see what was going on. But, knowing Sean had been the single parent for our son over the years had me trusting his judgement and forcing myself to be patient.

  If it was serious, life threatening, Sean wouldn’t make me wait until six o’clock to hear about it.

  I went about my day, making sure shelves were stocked, customers were happy, and our next order was ready to go in, but, honestly, my heart and head weren’t in it.

  For the first time since I’d taken over, I left Escape in a Book before five o’clock.

  I knew I wasn’t focused and decided it was better for me to go home and wait for Sean than only be halfway present at the store.

  When I got home, I shot Sean a text letting him know I’d left early, then busied myself with making a lasagna. It was something I’d done a million times and didn’t require any thought or focus, plus the act of cooking calmed my nerves.

  The doorbell rang right as I was putting the lasagna in the oven.

  I set the timer, then hurried to the door, glancing at the clock on the wall as I moved. It was five-thirty, but I still hoped it was Sean.

  “Hey,” I said with relief when I opened the door to see him standing there, looking sheepish.

  “I, ah, wasn’t sure if I should come in or knock, so…”

  “Oh, yeah, I guess we never really talked about it, um, I’m not sure…” I didn’t want us to be the focus of this conversation, I needed to find out what was going on with Jacob. “Come on in.”

  “Thanks,” Sean said, looking a little crestfallen at my brushoff of the question.

  “Would you like anything? Coffee? Water?” I asked, with manner that had been ingrained in me since birth.

  “Coffee would be great.”

  “Come on back,” I said, hurrying back to the kitchen and setting up the Keurig.

  Unable to wait another second, I spun around and faced Sean.

  “What’s going on with Jacob?”

  Sean reached behind his head and grabbed his neck in a gesture he always used when he was trying to figure out how to break something to me gently.

  “Just say it,” I urged, my mind going to a million different scenarios. All of them awful.

  “Ally’s pregnant,” he replied, laying it out.

  My breath came out in a surprised whoosh and my right hand moved to cover my stomach.

  “It’s Jake’s?”

  I had to ask.

  Sean nodded. “He says it is. He just found out about it yesterday and called me to talk about it.”

  “Oh my gosh, he must be so scared,” I said, my eyes filling. Partially with worry for Jake and partially because he hadn’t felt he could talk to me about it. “It’s good that he came to you.”

  “Kel,” Sean began, reaching for my hand. “He’s worried about upsetting you and that you’ll be disappointed in him. You guys are building your relationship back up and Jake doesn’t want to do anything to damage that.”

  “He couldn’t,” I said vehemently.

  “I know that, and he does too, he’s just scared right now.”

  Sean squeezed my hand gently, conveying his support.

  “Thanks for letting me know. He won’t be mad, will he?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t supposed to try and hide the fact that I knew.

  I didn’t know if I was a good enough actress to pull it off.

  “No, he asked me to tell you.”

  Sean dropped my hand and rubbed the top of his head.

  “I have to say, I was surprised, but pleased, that he called and opened up to me. I hate the reason, but I’m hoping this is a turning point in our relationship.”

  I nodded and asked, “So, what’s next?”

  “He’s going to go with her to the next doctor’s appointment, and I was wondering if maybe we should contact her parents and have a sit down.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” I said, then closed my eyes tightly and cried, “God, Sean, they’re so damn young.”

  I felt Sean’s arms come around me and leaned into him, accepting his comfort. It felt good, familiar, so I stayed there until I felt a bit steadier.

  “Thanks again, Sean, I really appreciate it,” I said, letting him go.

  Sean smiled gently and nodded.

  “Well, I should…” he began, just as I said, “I’m making lasagna, want to stay for dinner?”

  We both laughed, then he looked at me gratefully and said, “I’d love to.”

  Twenty-Eight

  Jacob

  The last few days had been awful.

  I’d been walking around like a zombie, just dialing it in at school and blowing off everything except work … I didn’t want to get fired.

  Every time I’d passed Ally in the halls, she’d looked just as bad, and her eyes were always red-rimmed, as if all she did was cry. I’d tried talking to her once, but she’d simply shaken her head and ran away.

  I couldn’t sleep, and didn’t feel like eating, which was making my mom crazy with worry, but I didn’t know how to change things.

  We’d done this, Ally and I, and now we were paying the price for that one time we’d had sex without a condom before she’d started taking birth control pills. I’d felt like a man then, taking her in the back of my Jeep after the Homecoming game.

  But I didn’t feel like a man now.

  I felt like a reckless child who made bad decisions that he’d be paying for the rest of his life.

  My parents had been great. Surprisingly so, especially my dad.

&n
bsp; I’d half expected him to kick my ass and ground me for life. Instead, he’d listened. Let me bawl all over him and tell him how scared and sorry I was I’d fucked up.

  And my mom kept saying everything would be all right. That babies are a blessing, not a curse, and we’d figure everything out.

  I was so grateful they were with me now, sandwiching me in on Ally’s parents couch, while her folks glared at me from their matching recliners. Ally was sitting on the floor, crying.

  The last time I’d felt this helpless is when my mom had rushed to pull Connor out of his car.

  “Listen, we know the situation isn’t ideal, but…” my dad was saying.

  I watched Ally’s father’s face get beet red, before he yelled, “Ideal? Ideal? My daughter’s future is at jeopardy because your son couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”

  “Henry,” her mother chided, but she looked just as pissed.

  “Now, listen here, there’s no reason to throw around accusations. I’m pretty sure it takes two to tango, and both Ally and Jake are responsible for what happened.”

  “Well, regardless of how it happened, Ally is the one who’s paying the price. It’s not like Jake has to worry about his body being ruined or being the laughingstock at school. And, because of that, our family has decided that Ally is not keeping the baby.”

  “What?” my mom asked, her hand grasping my knee and squeezing.

  I looked at Ally, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “What exactly do you mean by not keeping the baby?” my dad asked, voicing the question I couldn’t.

  “Exactly what it sounds like,” Henry fumed.

  “But, do you mean an abortion or adoption?” My mom whispered each option like she couldn’t bear to say them out loud.

  “Well, we haven’t actually decided yet. Henry and I think an abortion would be best, but Ally said she’d rather give it up for adoption. The only thing we agree on right now is that the last thing we need is for her to be alone raising a baby at seventeen.”

  “She wouldn’t be alone, ma’am,” I said, embarrassed when my voice shook. “I fully intend to be with her every step of the way and help raise our baby, if Ally wants to keep it.”