“Are you sure it’s okay?” He looks at Tide.
“It’s fine with me.”
“Thanks,” Dad says.
“Do you need anything from inside, since we’re already here?”
“It probably wouldn’t hurt to pack a bag.” He opens his door, and Tide and I get out as well. Once inside the house, we help him up the stairs after he attempts to make it on his own but falls twice. When we reach the top landing, I start leading him toward the master bedroom, but he stops me. “My room is down here.”
“Right,” I mutter, taking him into what was the guest room when I was a kid but is obviously his room now. With the state he’s in, I make him sit on the side of his bed, then grab his travel suitcases from the top of the closet and ask what he wants me to pack. It doesn’t take long to gather stuff from the bathroom, a couple of suits, and a pair of pajamas. After zipping up his bag, Tide takes it from me, and we head back downstairs.
“Is your car parked at the bar?” Tide asks him when we’re getting into the truck, and Dad mumbles in the affirmative. “Give me your keys, since we’re gonna pass by there on the way out of town. Aria can drive it to the house. That way, you’ll have it tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” Dad passes the keys up to the front, and I take them from him.
When we reach the bar, Tide parks behind my dad’s Jaguar and I open my door. “I’ll follow you, baby.”
I nod, hop out, and get into my dad’s car. It takes me a minute to get everything adjusted before I back out, and as I exit the parking lot, I glance in the rearview mirror to make sure Tide is behind me. As I head for home, I try to figure out how I feel about everything I learned tonight, but it’s too much to process on the fifteen-minute drive to my house. And really, I think it’s too much to process without the help of a psychologist.
I pull into the driveway, parking my dad’s car next to mine, and Tide pulls up next to me. Before I even have a chance to open my door, he’s there helping me out, then wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.
“I needed that.” I sigh, and he pulls back just enough to look into my eyes.
“I love you.”
“I needed that too,” I say quietly.
“Your dad passed out on the way here. I’m thinking it might be better if we head on in and make up his bed, or he can sleep in Olivia’s bed, since she’s not here.”
“He’s not sleeping in Olivia’s bed,” I deny instantly, and he smiles like he thinks I’m cute.
“All right, then let’s make up the couch, and I’ll come back out to get him.”
“This is a mess.” I drop my forehead to his chest. “Why didn’t we just take him to a hotel when he suggested it?”
“Because he’s your dad.”
“That’s a stupid reason,” I mutter, and he laughs.
“You’re doing the right thing, baby.” He urges me back and cups my cheeks. “And I’m proud of you for being honest with him.”
“He probably won’t remember anything I said.”
“Maybe not, but you will.”
“Yeah,” I agree, and he leans in and kisses my forehead, then takes my hand in his, and we head into the house. It takes the two of us a good ten minutes to figure out how to set up the pull-out in the living room, and another ten to make the bed. And not surprisingly, my dad never wakes up, not even when Tide carries him into the house bridal style, or even while we put him to bed.
________________
I take a sip of my coffee and smile over the rim of my cup at Tide when he winks at me after catching the pancake he just flipped into the air.
“You’re such a show off.”
“You love me.” He laughs, dumping the pancake onto a plate and handing it over to me.
“Morning.” We both turn at the sound of my dad’s voice, and I sweep my eyes over him, finding him a little worse for wear with his hair a mess and his clothes wrinkled from sleeping in them last night.
“Morning.”
“Can I use the restroom?” He glances around, seeming lost and uncomfortable, and I wonder if he remembers what happened last night or if he just feels awkward being here. It’s probably the latter. Whenever I would stay at my parents, my dad would normally be gone for work before I would even get up, and by the time he got home he’d be his happy drunken self which meant we were never really around each other when he was sober.
“There’s a half bath down the hall there.” I motion with my coffee mug to the door a few feet away. “And a shower upstairs, first door on the right. Your suitcase is in the hall up there.”
“Thanks.” He nods before heading up the steps, and a minute later, I hear the shower start up.
“Eat up, baby, before your food gets cold,” Tide orders, and I pick up the syrup and drown my pancake, then take a huge bite, watching him grin. “So I was thinking. Today, we could go to my place and look around, decide what we should sell and what we want to move over here.”
“What?” I ask around my mouthful, and he brings his coffee over and puts his elbows to the counter in front of me.
“If I’m living here, there’s not much of a reason for me to keep my place. We just need to decide if we want to sell it or rent it out for a little extra income.”
“You’re moving in with me?” I ask after I swallow a gulp of coffee and the food in my mouth.
“Baby, I already moved in with you. You just weren’t paying attention,” he says, and I laugh while he leans toward me. “I just think it’s time we make it official.”
“Right,” I say quietly before he leans in to place a soft kiss against my lips. Smiling, I take another bite of pancake, then once I chew and swallow, I ask, “Do you think it would be better to rent your house out? I know there’s not many properties available to rent in town, especially in your neighborhood.”
“We can talk to a realtor and see what they think.” He shrugs.
“You have a house for rent?” my dad asks, and I wonder how I didn’t hear him coming down the steps, especially with his suitcase that is at his side. I watch him walk into the kitchen, dressed in his suit, with his hair styled and his face clean of the scruff that was on his jaw when he woke up.
“We might,” Tide says. “You want some coffee?”
“Yes, thank you.” My dad looks at me, his face going soft for a moment, and I swear it looks like he wants to hug me. It’s something I don’t ever remember him doing, so I’m not completely disappointed when he clears his throat and focuses on Tide instead. “I might be interested in looking at the house you want to rent.”
“For what?” I ask, and he turns to me.
“I’m leaving your mother,” he states easily while accepting a mug of coffee from Tide and my stomach bottoms out.
“You’re leaving Mom?”
“Yes, and I’m sorry if that upsets you.” Since I know jumping up and down and giving him a high-five would not be the right reaction, I nod, trying to keep my face neutral. “I doubt she will make things easy, so I’ll probably have to find a place to live while we get things ironed out between us.”