Breaking Ties

by Tracie Puckett

  “That…was so much fun.” Gabe I were both struggling to catch our breath as she bounced on her heels. Keeping up with her had been a lot harder than I think either of us had ever expected. I suddenly had a newfound respect for her mother. Amanda’s little eyes were drawn over to the flattened pile, and most of the leaves were spread right back across the yard where they’d started. “Can we build the pile again? Can we, Gabe? Please?”

  “No, sorry,” I answered, sparing Gabe from answering and being the bad guy. “Your mom said bed by eight thirty, and it’s getting late. You should probably take a bath before you climb into bed.”

  Gabe stood up and wiped his hands down the front of his dirty jeans, but it didn’t do much good. Every bit of his exposed skin was smeared with dirt, and crunched up bits of leaves clung to his shirt.

  “You look awful.”

  “Right back atcha, babe,” he said, winking at me. “Your hair…”

  “Is it bad?”

  Amanda studied it for a second. “It doesn’t look great, Mandy. You could use a brush.”

  “I’ll take care of it inside,” I said, turning back to the house. “Come on.”

  “Does Gabe have to go?” she asked, pouting her lip. “Let him stay, please?”

  “Honey, he can’t stay,” I said. “Maybe the three of us can do something again some other time.”

  She turned back to him with a hopeful stare. “Can we?”

  “Absolutely,” Gabe said. “You girls go do your thing.”

  “But—”

  “Some other time,” he promised again, and that seemed to do the trick for now because she smiled.

  “Okay,” she agreed. “But it has to be soon.”

  “I promise,” he said, kneeling down to give her a hug. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and hugged him. “Goodnight, little one. I had fun.”

  “Me too,” she said, rubbing her tired eyes.

  “So you’re off to Desden tomorrow?” I asked when he stood up.

  “That’s the plan.” He clapped his hands once to knock off the residual dirt. “Doing final check-ins with each district—Desden tomorrow, Oakland on Thursday, and off to West Bridge on Friday. I’ll make it back in plenty of time for the dance, though, I promise.”

  “Busy week,” I said, wanting to reach forward and hug him, but I decided to let the moment pass. Even though I probably wouldn’t see him again until Friday, and I didn’t want him to walk away without a hug, I’d noticed that Amanda was already heading back up for the front door, and I didn’t want to stand out there and linger too long. “Don’t forget about me while you’re out there taking over the world, okay?”

  He laughed. “Never.”

  He reached forward and took my arm, pulling me closer to him. He wrapped me in that hug I’d wanted so badly, pressed a kiss to the side of my head, and then we parted ways. He stood out there on the sidewalk until we were back in the house, and with one last wave, Amanda and I went inside and shut the door.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was late when Haley returned, and instead of accepting the money she kept trying to pass off for my night of babysitting, I left her with something of my own instead: two tickets to the RI dance finale and a promise that her attendance was the only payment required for my services. I left her with a great report on Amanda, and I headed home.

  School flew by with a breeze the next day. I was still somewhere on Cloud 9 after that evening with Gabe and Amanda, and it seemed as if no one or nothing could bring me down. Of course, I knew the end of the high was inevitable. Wednesday night rolling around meant it was time to meet with Mom, Dad, and Bailey—who’d surprisingly decided to show up at school today, acting like her completely normal, social self.

  And even though I’d taken a page from my sister’s book and tried to ignore her all day, I knew it wouldn’t last for long. I rode my high as long as I could, but the evening rolled around faster than I could’ve ever imagined.

  “Come on in,” Dad said, opening the front door just after six that evening.

  Bailey was still in her room prepping for the dinner, probably rehearsing lines for tonight. I imagine the fact that the four of us were getting together had a lot to do with her sudden eagerness to please. After all, getting Dad to agree to schedule the dinner was exactly what she was after, and she’d gotten her way.

  I stood in the kitchen, looking over the food as it baked and boiled. When I heard Mom come in, I poked my head out to better make out their words.

  “After I didn’t hear from you for a few days, I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about me,” Mom said, batting her heavy lashes at him as she passed off her jacket. “It was very nice of you to invite me over.”

  She gazed at him, her eyes wide and fixed, and she wore a slight smile.

  I recognized that look. Actually, I knew that look quite well, because it’s one that I’d recently mastered. Mom was looking at Dad the same way Bailey always looked at Jones, the same way I admired Gabe.

  “Oh, God, don’t fall for it Dad,” I said under my breath. I couldn’t believe she was flirting with him.

  “I’m glad to see that you changed your mind about letting me into your home.” She glanced around the inside of the living room. “You’ve made a very nice place for the girls. I’m impressed.”

  Dad let her compliments and flirty eyelashes roll right off his shoulders. Thankfully, she wasn’t getting to him. He’d prepared himself very well for this moment, and something told me he’d spent years preparing.

  “So are the girls here, or is it only the two of us this evening?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” I whispered again.

  “Bailey’s in her room,” he said. “And Mandy’s watching over dinner.”

  Bailey turned out of the hallway right on cue, grinning at Mom.

  My sister nodded to her, something that looked like a failed attempt at veiled encouragement. She was trying to be sly, but both Dad and I saw Bailey’s little nod. As Mom watched my sister, a crooked grin pulled at the edge of her lip, and Bailey’s eyes glossed over with a thin layer of tears. She looked between our parents, watching them quietly for a moment, and then she smiled again.

  Crap.

  I recognized that look, too.

  The two of us have an understanding. It suddenly made sense. Mom had already said that she hadn’t come to Sugar Creek looking for our approval. She wasn’t here seeking our blessing for her impending marriage, which meant there was obviously something else she wanted. I’d known that all along, but I hadn’t figured out what it was that she was after—until now.

  Bailey and I have decided to resume our discussions in private. It made perfect sense why Bailey and Mom were meeting up, talking in private. My sister was smart enough to know that they couldn’t have those discussions in front of Dad and me … not if they wanted a chance to fantasize about the outcome.

  I don’t necessarily condone the secrecy, but she assures me it’s best to keep the nature of our discussions quiet until the other two are ready. Mom had been trying to explain herself from the moment she stepped out of the cab, but it was Bailey who was keeping her quiet. As smart as my sister was, though, it appeared she wasn’t smart enough to know that no amount of time would be enough. Dad and I would never be ready—not to accept the offer they were about to make.

  Mom was here to win back the family, and she’d already won over Bailey. And now my mother and sister were biding their time, waiting until they could finally make their case for the ultimate Parker reunion.

  If it hadn’t been clear before, it was now more evident than ever: this was truly going to be a two-on-two fight to the finish, and someone was going to lose. It wouldn’t be us. Dad and I were stronger together than Mom and Bailey could ever be.

  The three of them sat in the living room, making idle chit-chat for the next ten minutes. I kept hopping between the kitchen and the doorway, poking my nose in and watching their interaction.

  I
wasn’t the only one who saw what was going on; Dad knew what they were up to, too. He could feel Mom coming on to him, and by the way he shifted in his chair, I could tell that it was making him uncomfortable.

  And it wasn’t just Mom giving away the game. He recognized that Bailey’s conversational points were all heavily focused on getting him to interact with our mother. Dad, you should tell Mom about your stint in office and how you gave it all up to go home to California. Remember how much you wanted to go back to California?

  They weren’t being subtle about their attempts at all.

  After five minutes of watching Dad dodge conversation starters, just like those, I called him out of the room and asked for his help with setting the table. One by one, we placed the dishes and silverware in their rightful spots, but neither of us seemed in any hurry. Dinner was ready, and the sooner we set the table, the sooner we were stuck there with Bailey and Mom. But we couldn’t stall forever, and five minutes later, we were all seated together.

  “So are you ever going to tell us why you’re here?” I asked, pretending that I hadn’t tuned into the Bailey and Vic Show the moment the two of them started in on Dad this evening.

  Mom looked between the three of us and perked up.

  “I wanted to see you again.”

  “That’s it?” I asked. “You wanted to see us?”

  “I did.”

  “Well, you saw us on Saturday,” I said. “I saw you again on Monday night. And if Bailey’s behavior is any indication, I’m going to take a wild guess that she’s seen you a lot more than the rest of us.” Mom and Bailey looked to one another for a quiet second, and then I continued, “If that’s all you came here for, then you could’ve gone home. You’ve seen us.”

  It wasn’t the friendliest thing I’d ever said to her, and I knew I had to try to be nice, but I didn’t know how. I was torn between wanting to shut her out and hear her out … because even though I’d told Gabe that I’d become numb to all-things-Mom, it wasn’t entirely true. I wanted to hear what she had to say, even though I wouldn’t like any of it.

  “Amanda, why is it so hard for you to believe that I would want to see my own children?”

  “Because you abandoned us.”

  “Pointing fingers and placing the blame isn’t going to make this dinner go any smoother,” she said.

  I took a deep, cleansing breath, and let it out with a mental count to ten.

  “Okay. Fine. You wanna know why? “ I asked, steadying my voice. “It’s hard for me to believe because you just showed up. You haven’t seen or spoken to us in years, and it seems odd to me that you would show up now with such a flimsy excuse. I know you. You could’ve come around at any point in the past four years, so why now?”

  “Sure, I get it,” she said, shaking her head. “You think I’ve been a terrible mother, and I have been. I won’t argue that.”

  “I don’t think anybody would,” I said under my breath, and then I stopped when I felt Bailey and Dad turn to me with shameful looks.

  “How’s the hotel life treating you?” Dad asked, changing the subject quickly.

  He propped his chin on his fist, trying to play it cool, and all I could see was my father hoping to divert my attention. He didn’t want me lashing out at her, and if I kept talking, chances were very high that I would say things without a single thought. If that was the case, I’d find myself talking out of spite, saying things that I couldn’t take back after the damage was done, and I had to be the bigger person. I had to get my wits about me, and Dad knew that as well as I did. He was trying to buy me time.

  “Did you get a good view of the city?”

  “It’s beautiful,” Mom said without a beat. “I have a south facing view, looks right onto the University. It’s a little loud at nighttime, but that’s what I get for staying so close to campus”

  “What do you think of it, Bailey?” I asked, turning to my sister. “I know DU doesn’t necessarily hold any special place in your heart, but I’m sure even you can appreciate a gorgeous view.”

  “Mandy,” Dad said. “You don’t—”

  “No,” I said, my eyes still burning on Bailey’s guilt-ridden expression. If they wanted to get together, if they wanted so badly to have this dinner, then we were going to talk. The truth would come out. Bailey was going to come clean about the lies and secrecy, and Mom was going to admit what she hadn’t been saying. “I want to hear her answer.”

  Bailey looked down to her fork. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Really?” I asked, leaning closer to her. “Bailey, we have every class together at school.”

  “Okay, it’s not her fault,” Mom said, taking the fall for my sister. “Yes, we’ve spent time together.” She turned to Dad. “You said if the girls wanted to contact me, they were welcome to.”

  “Yes, I did,” Dad agreed.

  “And Bailey reached out. We arranged a web-chat Saturday evening after I settled into the hotel. She wanted to see me, but she didn’t think the two of you would approve.”

  Dad and I shared a look, both of us acknowledging that that was probably true. Neither one of us would’ve been anxious to see Bailey run off and enjoy any time with Mom, not when she’d bombarded us on our doorstep.

  “On Sunday morning she called and said you were both out,” Mom said. “And she hadn’t changed her mind about wanting to get together. She didn’t have a car, so I arranged for a cab to pick her up. After that, every time she showed up, day or night, it was by her own free will. What was I supposed to do? Tell her to leave? My daughter wanted to see me. I wasn’t about to turn her away.”

  “You know what? Just stop,” Bailey said, looking over to me. “We don’t have to explain ourselves. She’s my mother. Stop acting like it’s the crime of the century that I wanted to spend time with her. So what, I snuck out of the house a couple of times? Big deal, I skipped some classes. It’s not the end of the world. I know you may not believe it, but this is for real this time. Mom’s back. She wants us back.”

  There it was. One of them had the nerve to admit it, and I couldn’t believe that it had come from Bailey.

  “She’s right,” Mom said, sharing a heartfelt look with my sister. Then she turned her attention to Dad and me. “You want to know why I’m here? That’s why. You’re my family. We should be together.”

  That silenced the room at once. Even though I’d already figured it out, I was still shocked to hear it come out of her mouth.

  “I’m not naïve,” she continued. “I understand that this will take a lot of time and a lot of discussion, but I will do whatever it takes to make you three understand how committed I am to making this work. We could do this; we could be a family again.”

  “Vic,” Dad said, almost speechless. I couldn’t read his expression—hurt, stung, happy, or sad. I couldn’t tell. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I want you to come home,” she said. “All of you.”

  No. No way. She’d had her chance. We were there, she had us, and instead of appreciating what was right in front of her, she threw us away like garbage. How could she sit there, thinking that something as little as a few heartfelt words were going to undo years of damage?

  “When did…” Dad looked between the two of them. “How did this alliance come to be, exactly? At what point did you two—”

  “She called me last week and asked if she could visit,” Bailey said. “I knew you guys wouldn’t be happy, but of course, I said yes. I mean, I hadn’t talked to her in years, and there she was—ready and willing to fly all the way out here to see us again.”

  I stared at my sister, recalling how speechless she was when Mom showed up. She was shocked by Mom’s arrival, and it seemed so genuine. And now here she was, telling us she’d known about Mom’s plans since last week. How had she managed to fool me?

  “We were on the phone last Wednesday night, planning her trip. We hadn’t discussed her intentions or what she was after, just that she wanted to co
me here and talk. I was over the moon, but then she dropped this huge bomb on me … ”

  “I was trying to tell her about the wedding,” Mom said. “I called things off with Ronnie.”

  My eyes met Dad’s. I waited for a reaction, maybe even a hint of a smirk, but his expression never changed. Maybe he’d already assumed the wedding was off. It made sense, if she was here to get her family back.

  “I didn’t let her get that far, though,” Bailey continued. “She said something about Uncle Ronnie and their wedding, and I stopped listening. I thought I’d figured her out. I thought she had only made plans to come here because she wanted our blessing. But Ronnie? I didn’t know … ”

  “I thought she knew,” Mom said quietly, looking to Dad. “I thought you told them.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to pretend that I knew as little as my sister did … unless, of course, Mom had told her about the affair. I doubted that she would’ve been stupid enough to do that, though. It would’ve been the one thing Bailey could never forgive.

  “So she let you down?” I asked, giving my sister a hard look. “That’s why you were on such a tear last week? And before you knew about Ronnie, you weren’t the least bit upset about hearing from Mom, were you?”

  “I knew it was going to be hard for you,” Bailey said through tears. “That’s the only reason I never told you we were talking. I know how you feel about Mom and California, and I knew you would be angry if you thought I was betraying you. It was never my intention to hurt you. I wanted you to see her again. I thought if you saw her and took some time, then maybe you would come around. I want you to want this as badly as I do, Mandy.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said quickly. “What about all that stuff you said out there?” I asked. “What happened to you never wanting to see or speak to her again? What happened to leaving her in the past where she belonged? What about you having no idea what she wanted?”

  “I didn’t know what to say,” Bailey said. “I was angry when I found out about the wedding, so of course, I said terrible things. Things I didn’t mean,” she looked to Mom at once. “I said it, but I never meant it.”