Page 105 of Out Of A Fix

“It wasn’t a slap, Vi,” John insisted, but I heard the regret in his voice as he got up and walked into the living room and lay down on the floor like a starfish.

After a moment of all of us staring at him, Luke addressed his mother. “What’s happening?”

“The fact of the matter is, you all are not the only ones seeing a therapist.”

“Nooo,” Luke said, drawing out the word, grinning crazily.

“Oh yes.”

Luke gestured at his father. “Tell us. Please.”

“Well, Dr. Jimenez says that whenever your father regresses to hitting or yelling for no other reason than his pride is challenged,” she said pointedly, “he must then lie down and make himself vulnerable.”

Luke got up from the table, walked over to his father, and stood over him. “So, am I supposed to kick ya in your junk to make you feel better?”

“You’re hysterical,” John said drolly. “Has anyone ever told you?”

“Oh, Dad, sarcasm?” He beamed down at his father. “I’m dying here.”

“It’s not just me, you know,” he grumbled. “Your mother must be completely honest now, all the time. She can’t sugarcoat anything. That’s what she’s working on.”

Luke turned to her. “So from now on, you have to say what you actually want for dinner? You can’t think about what everyone else would like first and then answer?”

She glared at him. “Yes, Luke, that’s what it means.”

“So, Nana, is it okay that I help you with Thanksgiving dinner?” Griff asked her.

“Ohmygod, yes,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “No one ever helps me, and it’s exhausting.”

“That’s because you never want anyone to help you because you’re a perfectionist,” John reminded her.

“And that used to be true, but not for years.”

Luke crossed his arms as he regarded her. “How come you two always come here and never to Pete and Jenna’s or Rick and Brynn’s?”

Because I’d done my reading on the entire family before I showed up in Eena, I knew that Pete was his oldest brother and Rick was the youngest. Luke was the middle child, the peacemaker, the one who, from all accounts, had been overlooked. Pete had played football in college and was now a cardiologist in Aspen, Colorado. Rick went to college on a baseball scholarship and was now a farmer in Le Claire, Iowa.

She took a breath. “Luke, I really don’t think⁠—”

“Be honest!” John called over to her.

“Fine,” she said irritably. “We come here because Jenna hates me and I hate her right back.”

Luke chuckled. “I knew it. Caitlyn always said I was nuts because she loved you and figured everyone else did too.”

“Kids,” she said, addressing them all, “I adored your mother, and I miss her terribly.”

This was all so good and healing, I just sat there and watched, soaking it up as Tatum ran over and hugged her grandmother. When Quinn reached across the table and patted my arm, I turned to her.

“This is amazing, Nash. You should be proud.”

“None of this is me.”

“All of this is you,” she insisted, and as I studied her face, I decided I couldn’t help liking her even though she wanted the same guy I did. She continued, “I mean, not Luke’s folks finally getting therapy—and dear God, did they need it—but you created the space where they could share this with their son and their grandkids. That’s pretty damn amazing.”

I shook my head.

“Take the win, Nash,” she advised me.