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Imet Dad at the front door of our house after the game. I’d been watching for him, impatiently waiting for him to show up so I could play my hand. I knew he was still pissed at me but he’d shown up to the game, which was a good sign that he hadn’t written me off completely.
When I opened the door before he could knock, Dad raised his eyebrows at me. “I expected you three to be out celebrating.”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Booth and Fisher had joined us. They each had a duffel bag in their hands and mine was sitting on the stairs next to them. “Um, yeah. About that.”
“What?” Dad looked at our bags and started shaking his head already. “No. Whatever it is you’re going to ask me, don’t. I’m still pissed at all of you.”
“We need you to take us to Ella’s.” I watched his face drop in surprise. “We’d drive ourselves if we thought there was a chance in hell we could get the address. And we’re hoping that having you there will make it harder for Ella to turn us away.”
Dad laughed. “You’re joking, right?”
“No. We’ve been trying to talk to Ella for a month and we’re not getting anywhere individually. So, we’re going to try to talk to her all together. We want to be with her, Dad. We care about her and there’s something real between us. We’re supposed to be together. Even if you don’t like it. Even if other people won’t get it. We don’t give a shit.”
Booth stepped forward. “We’re desperate here, Mr. Adler. We need to make it right.”
“And you think showing up the night before Thanksgiving is the way to make it right?” Dad looked skeptical but he wasn’t outright refusing us.
“We’re going to think of a plan once we’re on the road. A grand gesture, you know?” Fisher winced. “We’re trying here. We’re here, trying to go to her, after the biggest win of our lives because it didn’t feel like much of a win without her. Take us. Please.”
Dad looked around us at the house. “Well, at least you cleaned up after yourselves. The place looks better than normal.”
“Mallory quit after the party, sir. Fairly.” Fisher managed a wry grin. “We lived in filth for a while but if we’re going to bring Ella back here, we wanted to make sure it was good for her.”
“Dammit. I’m a romantic at heart, boys. Get in the truck. Pee now because I’m not stopping unless it’s for gas once we’re on the road. I’m supposed to be meeting a friend at a cabin in the mountains on Friday and this is going to be a tight turnaround.” Dad squeezed my shoulder. “I’m proud of you for trying.”
“I’m not sure I deserve that.”
“You do.” He pulled me into a hug and sighed. “We all fuck up. It’s how we come back that makes us men. You could’ve gotten your feelings hurt by how much she’s turned you down and given up. You didn’t, though.”
I shook my head. “She’s worth it.”
“Yeah, well, you better know that I love you because you’re forcing me to drive to my ex’s the night before Thanksgiving.”
“I love you, too, Dad. Thanks.” I grabbed my bag and we headed out. It was only once we were on the road that the three of us looked at each other and realized we had nothing in the way of a grand gesture, not even an idea.
Two hours in and Dad had started offering his ideas. Once he suggested we buy her a puppy, we cut him off, though. We were trying to be realistic and I was pretty sure Ella, the busy pre-law student, didn’t have time to raise a puppy. When I started rethinking the idea, I cut myself off.
Somewhere in North Georgia, Dad turned on the radio and we drove another hour like that. When he got out to get gas in Tennessee, Fisher leaned forward from the backseat and pointed at the radio. “What if we did the cheesy boombox outside her window thing? We watched that one movie together with the guy and the lawn mower. Remember? They rode away on the lawn mower together?”
Booth nodded. “She liked that movie a lot.”
“When the hell were you watching movies?” I glared at them for a few seconds and then sighed. “Whatever. Just tell me about the movie.”
Dad was silent as he listened to us agree to singing outside of Ella’s window. He was silent as he listened to us pick a song. He was silent as he listened to us practice the song for an hour straight. He didn’t break that silence until we were right outside of Ella’s hometown. “Well. This is either going to work because she really cares about you guys or it’s going to put the nail in your coffin. There is no in between.”
“What the hell? Dad! It’s a good idea. Right? It’s a good idea, because if it wasn’t, you would’ve said so hours ago!” I looked back at Booth and Fisher with a growing sense of panic. “This will work, right? She liked the movie. It has to work.”
Fisher swallowed and I saw his whole throat bob with it. “It’ll work.”
Booth rubbed his hands over his thighs. “My hands are sweating. A lot. Why are my hands sweating so much?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, I’m feeling a little warm back here. Is the heat on too high?” Fisher grabbed his shirt and pulled it out to fan himself with it. “Wow, I’m burning up.”
“I think I need to reapply deodorant before we do this.” Booth sniffed his armpit and groaned. “I think I’m going to throw up. Whose idea was this again?”
“It’s too late to change your plan now, boys. We’re here.” Dad sounded way too happy about sending us into a full blown panic. “You’d better hurry. If word spreads that Vaughn Adler is back in town, Ella won’t be able to hear you over the screaming.”
I glared at him. “You’re not helping.”
