“Feel bad for you, bro,” D said through a chuckle.
“Don’t feel too bad. He might be an east coast liberal but he fucks like a redneck and is built like a pro wrestler so I might not have a handgun in the house to protect my family and defend my property but there are tradeoffs where I’m not complaining.”
“That puts an end to that pity party,” D joked, but drew in breath and got serious. “I hated what you went through.”
“I know you did,” Tommy replied.
“I wish that I’d—”
“Man, there was nothin’ for you to do. That wasn’t your deal. It was mine. And you stood beside me the only way you could. It meant a lot to me, Diesel. You could have turned your back. And coming from you, that would have been worse than all the other assholes who turned their backs, because you were you and you were who you were to me.”
“Yeah,” Diesel muttered.
“Also,” Tommy continued, “seein’ as it would be you gettin’ where I was at, walking right into the closet and shutting the door, shutting me out. You might not have shouted from the rooftops we were fucking each other stupid any chance we got, but I don’t give a shit you didn’t. What purpose would it have served? It wasn’t your time and now I know how you felt back then because I hear the shit comin’ at me from whatever you took from your mom and I wish I could do something about it. But I can’t. Except to let you know that love always wins, Diesel. In the end, and it took time, and it wasn’t without pain, my parents pulled their heads out of their asses and it wasn’t because they wanted to be a part of their granddaughters’ lives. It was because they missed their son. And your folks might get there. I don’t know. The only thing I do know is, if they don’t, there’s no love in that, so there’s no love lost, so you really haven’t lost anything but shit that weighs down your mind and heart and your soul. Just let that weight go. Live the light. It’s not easy to get to that point, but when you do, it’s all good.”
Halfway through this, the back door opened and Mad came through.
He was on his phone, speaking quietly, but walking Diesel’s way.
“Now that you’ve laid the wisdom on me, and no fuckin’ with you, Tommy, I heard you and I appreciate it, but are you gonna answer my question?” D asked as Maddox sat in the slider D usually used.
“What question?”
“You haulin’ ass out here for our commitment ceremony?”
“Oh. Right. Yeah. I’d be down with that. You could meet Harvey and the girls. Harvey could golf. I could have a variety of opportunities to give him shit about golfing. Total win. But do me a favor, have it when it’s not a million degrees. It gets cold as fuck in Boston in the winter. It’d sweeten the deal we could vacation in the desert when everyone here is freezing their tits off.”
“I’ll put that to Molly,” D replied, holding Maddox’s gaze. “But Mad came out and I think something’s up. Sorry, but gotta let you go.”
“No worries. Glad you called. See you for your Valentine’s Day or Halloween or Thanksgiving commitment ceremony next year.”
“Fuck off, and yeah, I hope you do. Later, brother.”
“Later, Diesel.”
They disconnected and Diesel raised his brows when he heard Maddox say, “Yeah, okay . . . but D’s off the phone. Yeah?”
He listened for a second then held his phone out to Diesel.
Diesel saw on the screen it said Mom.
He looked straight at Mad but took the phone and put it to his ear.
“Hey, Erin, everything cool?”
“You are loved,” she stated clearly, forcefully and more than a little pissed off.
“Erin,” he said quietly.
“And they’re jackasses,” she snapped.
“Honey,” he murmured.
“So . . . so . . . so . . .” she stammered, “fuck them,” she bit out.
D pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t burst out laughing.
Erin wasn’t immune to a swear word but he didn’t think he’d ever heard her drop the f-bomb.
“I’d adopt you but that might get a bit weird, me adopting you when you’re going to be my son’s husband,” she declared.
“Yeah, that might get a bit weird,” he agreed.
“But whatever, you’re my son anyway.”
Diesel shut his eyes tight and dropped his head again.
Shit, that felt good.
“You hear that, Diesel?” she asked irately.
“I heard it, Erin.”
“Love you, boy. Bob sends his love too, I’m sure, but right now he’s building a ship in a bottle or putting together some model airplane or I don’t know what the heck he’s doing in his man cave. I’m worried he’s addicted to sniffing glue. Everything he does is all about the glue. But at least it frees me from having to fight to watch my programs so I let him. Tell Molly I send her my love and Maddox too. I’ll make my Mexican lasagna for you soon. Love you. Bye.”
And with that, as was Erin’s way when she was done saying what she had to say, she was gone.
He opened his eyes, watched the screen blank out, lifted his head and handed the phone to Maddox.
“Mexican lasagna soon, brother,” he told him.
“Excellent,” Maddox replied, then immediately asked, “Who’d you call?”
“Tommy.”
Maddox nodded like he totally understood, and D had a feeling he did.
“He good?” Mad queried.
Diesel nodded. “Yeah. And thinking about bringing his brood out here for our ceremony, if we have it when it’s cold in Boston.”
“We totally have to have it in the summer. No one will show but locals. Less people we gotta feed, more money for the honeymoon.”
Diesel grinned at him but felt the grin fade.
“Your mom rocks, bud,” he told Mad something he definitely knew.
“Yeah,” Mad agreed.
The door opened, Molly came out with a look on her face that D wasn’t sure how to read and she came right to him, collapsing in his lap in another way he wasn’t sure how to read.
He still wrapped his arms around her.
She didn’t keep him guessing.
She grabbed his face on either side and said, “Right, okay, she’s mad and I don’t know your mother’s number, so I couldn’t give it to her when she demanded it, but Mom wants her number and she’s pretty ticked. In other words, if your mom is listed, shit might happen, and I’ll apologize in advance for Mom calling her and telling her to go fuck herself.”
Diesel stared down at her pretty face.
But whatever, you’re my son anyway.
I’ll apologize in advance for Mom calling her and telling her to go fuck herself.
He burst out laughing.
Molly was smiling tentatively at him when he quit.
He gathered her closer and she let his face go and snuggled in when he did.
“So, babe, this commitment ceremony we’re doing, is it gonna be a summer thing or a winter thing?” Diesel asked.
“Totally winter. That way everyone will want to come to escape the snow and it’ll be a huge party,” Molly answered.
D looked to Mad.
Mad sat back, shaking his head but smiling.
D sat back, holding Molly close and smiling.
And yeah.
What happened with his mother happened.
And now it was just this.