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"Alright, I'll pick Mark up and drop him off at the cafe with you before picking them off," I said finally. I didn't have much of a choice.
"I should warn you; I think Dad plans on grilling you. You haven't been here since the day they arrived, so you might want to prepare for that."
I had known there was something wonky about her dad asking for me specifically. I felt my stomach twist. I couldn't be nervous, I wasn't some young teenager picking their daughter up for her first date, I was a grown man with a child who liked their daughter, and I could face them.
***
"Hey Hunter, how's Mark been doing in school?" Mr. Hamilton asked. Becca's father had been quiet the whole ride. Those were his very first words to me since I had arrived at the cafe to pick them up and drop Mark off.
"He's good, very exuberant about learning,” I replied.
"Seems he's exuberant about everything, actually,” Martha cut in. Mark had lost his shy act when I dropped him off this afternoon. He'd moved from Martha to Mr. Hamilton, holding onto whoever gave him the most attention at any time.
"That he is,” I replied, laughing into the silence when no one said anything. It would get awkward in the car fast. Martha seemed preoccupied, she'd been throwing me strange looks since I had arrived, flicking her eyes between me and Becca every time she thought I wasn't looking. But I mean, I was dating her daughter, it was normal to be suspicious.
"And you and Becca, how serious is this?" Mr. Hamilton asked.
And there it was, the grilling I had been expecting all along.
"We're good too, we're just testing the water now, seeing how we fit together, but I like her a lot, I think we could have something good going on."
"So, what you're saying is it's not serious yet?" He asked. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head.
"No, nothing like that,” I replied. I was going to keep my replies short and sweet. I didn't want to hang myself.
"You realize of course that us leaving doesn't mean we won't keep our eyes on our daughter, right? If you mess up, I'll strap my shotgun to my waist and come after you fast," he growled.
For some reason, I believed him. Mr. Hamilton was usually calm and fun, but he could be strict if he had to. I could see him with a gun at his hip.
"I promise I have no intention of hurting your daughter. I swear to you,” I said calmly, looking in the mirror and making sure my eyes caught his.
"You better not Hunter or you'll be the one hunted, I'll haunt you so bad you won't sleep for a month,” he said.
"Oh, stop already, Hunter's a lovely boy, he won't hurt Becca, stop scaring him,” Martha said, smiling and squeezing his hand.
"Well, I believe she's right, and now I'm done with that, I just want to say I hope my daughter makes you happy, the same way you make her,” he said, laughing when I turned a shocked face towards him.
Then Martha joined him and soon enough, so did I. I looked forward and drove down to the airport, thinking he had to be crazy, but then I'd already known that.
"Have a safe flight back," I said to them when we arrived at the airport. I hugged Martha and held out my hand to Mr. Hamilton. He shook me back firmly and smirked.
"And try putting a ring on it, alright?" He said finally before taking his wife's hand and moving away to the plane without waiting for my reply. I shook my head and decided to not even think about it. It was too soon. But at the back of my head was the thought that I hadn't reacted as violently to the thought as I should've. It was almost as if I didn't mind. But that couldn't be true. I just couldn't.
A Getaway
I looked up at Mark's face, his eyes smiling as he shook me awake.
"Dad!" He shouted again. I wondered what was happening even as I sat up on the bed and wiped the sleep out of my eyes. Then I stared over at Mark. Like me, he wasn't a morning person, so it was strange that he was shaking me awake.
"What's wrong buddy?" I asked.
"It's Friday!" He screamed, his body rocking back and forth on the bed. He was so exuberant, I worried he was on a dose of something.
And? It was the weekend, yes, but apart from that, I couldn't think of anything that would get him so excited. Plus, he had school this morning.
"What's happening today?" I groaned out, getting myself off the bed and walking to the bathroom. Mark followed behind him, his hand working into mine. I squeezed it, giving him a small smile.
"Aunt Natalie is coming over. She said I could spend the weekend!" He replied.
