Rae shook her head. “His order actually sounds nice. Can you make two of those?”
My eyebrows rose. “That’s a lot of food.”
“And you apparently underestimate how much of it I can put away.”
The waitress scribbled on her pad. “All right. Two double cheeseburgers with everything, two chocolate shakes with extra cherries, and two double orders of extra crispy fries. Anything else?”
A hotel room to properly work this meal off with the cutest girl alive.
Rae shook her head. “I’m good.”
“Me, too. That’ll be it, thanks.”
The waitress gathered the menus. “I’ll be back with your shakes in a few minutes, guys.”
I sighed. “So is that guy I saw with your mother D.J.?”
Rae paused. “No, actually.”
I leaned back. “That happen often?”
She nodded. “Every time they get into a fight. She rebounds with some guy, they fight again, D.J. showers her with gifts so she’ll come back, then the cycle starts all over again.”
“I’m sorry, Rae.”
She shrugged. “Shit happens.”
“Do you remember anything about your dad?”
“Wow. You really just wanna dive in there, don’t you?”
“I mean, do you have anyone else to talk about it with?”
“Allison and Michael.”
“Have you ever talked with them about it?”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I won’t.”
I quirked an eyebrow, listening to her sigh. “You know I’ll understand.”
“Why don’t we start with what happened to your mother?”
I nodded. “All right. What do you want to know?”
“What really happened, Clint?”
I sighed. “I wish I knew. One day she was okay. And the next, she wasn’t. Painkillers are a bitch, but when you put it together with postpartum depression, it becomes a big issue.”
“Your mother struggled after having you?”
“My mother struggled all the time. I think the reason why Dad put up with it, too, was because of her looks. He’s into the whole ‘trophy wife’ thing. And Mom didn’t mind pumping out kids so long as she could shop and keep up with her plastic surgery addiction.”
“I’m sorry, Clint.”
I shook my head. “I truly do believe Dad ruined her. I mean, there are pictures I’ve come across of her from time to time, and the smile on her face is just—”