AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cassie watched Joanne go, and made her excuses, following the other woman to the bathroom.
“I am so sorry you had to see that,” Joanne said. “I … it’s always been tense between those two.”
“Slade told me that Hank cheated on you.”
Joanne laughed. “He’s always had an issue with Hank. So tell me, how long have you been in love with my son?”
Cassie stared at his mother and knew she couldn’t lie to her. “Since I’ve gotten to know him. At first, I didn’t like him, and we never got on. When he showed me the real side of him, who could help but fall in love with him?”
Joanne smiled. “That’s the best answer I could have hoped for.”
****
“You want me to divorce your mother? After all this time.”
“You don’t deserve her,” Slade said, glaring at his father. He’d not liked how Hank had put Cassie into the same group as the women he’d screwed around with. Cassie was worth more than that. He was screwing everything up with her, because the truth was, he loved her.
There, he’d admitted it to himself on the way over. He was in love with Cassie Love, and he wanted her all to himself.
“You think I don’t know that?” Hank said. “You think I don’t sit here, and see the men look at my wife, and know that I fucked up. That there was a time several years ago when I nearly lost her completely?”
Slade stared at his father, for the first time seeing remorse on his face.
Hank looked around the restaurant, and straightened his suit jacket. “Your mother and I, we’re working on a lot of things. I would appreciate it if you didn’t spend the rest of this night pointing out my faults. I know I have them. I know you’ve seen a lot of them. I’ve not treated your mother the way she deserved to be treated.”
Slade folded his arms and stared at his father. “What do you mean you nearly lost her?”
“You’d not long moved out, when I came home from work, and everything of hers was gone. She hadn’t even left me a note. She had just left. One of my old affairs had turned up at our house demanding money. It was the final straw. Since then, we have been to couples’ therapy. I realized when she had left me and the divorce papers came, that I couldn’t lose her. I loved her, and the thought of not waking up next to her, was unbearable. I’d nearly lost the one good thing my life. She’s one of a kind.”
Slade thought about the letter he’d read from Cassie’s mother. “You’re in therapy?”
“We’re repairing the damage that I caused. Your mother, she’s had to put up with a lot. We’ve made a lot of progress. I have moments though, like just now, when things get out of hand. I’m asking you to not … speak of anything else, and for us to have a good meal.”
He stared at his father, and he actually saw a good man there. “All right. I’ll do it. I won’t do it for you though. I’m doing this for Mom.”
“Whoever you do it for, just let us have a good meal.”
They were silent, and Slade looked toward the bathroom. He’d always had a strained relationship with his dad.
“You’re in love with that woman, aren’t you?” Hank asked.
He didn’t want to talk about his feelings for Cassie with his father. Turning his head to look at him, Slade sighed. “Are you going to bust my balls over this?”
Hank held his hands up. “For part of couples’ therapy we had to talk about you, and how our relationship impacted your life. I thought you were fine. You were just like any other kid. You’d grown up, screwed around, canceled an engagement. Then Joanne said that she believed our broken relationship had caused you not to connect with other people.”
This caused Slade to roll his eyes.
“I’m being serious here, son. I was already married, and had a son at your age. I was making mistakes all the time. I thought I was trapped in a marriage that I didn’t want. The truth is, I wanted it. I wanted it all, and I had it all. I just didn’t see it. That doesn’t excuse my behavior. Nothing does. I don’t want you to hold people back because you’re scared of turning out like us.”
Slade tapped his fingers on the table. He wanted to ignore what his father said, but he couldn’t do it.
“I’m in love with Cassie. She’s my neighbor, and a colleague, and I fucking love her. I’m terrified,” Slade said. Never had he been open with his father. The truth was he’d never trusted him with stuff like this.
“Why are you scared?”
He stared at Hank and released a breath. “Because we’re just having a lot of fun. She doesn’t want to fall in love, or be my woman.” He frowned, and hated himself as he said the next thing. “I fucked other women in my yard, and she could hear. The man she first knew wasn’t a good man. I was an asshole. I was a … fucker!” He gritted his teeth.
“I know we’ve got a lot of work to do, you and I. I’d say any woman willing to come and eat with your parents, and go shopping with you, I think there’s a lot more going on than you think.”
