Glancing between the two of them for a moment, I finally said, “Just stop. Think about what you two have.” I reached for Cal’s hand and laced my fingers through his. Cal’s eyes met mine. “Aiden apologized. He’s sorry. Cal, he needs you. Please accept it and let’s move on.”
“Why are the two of you even here together?” He asked.
I was taken aback for a moment. Was he accusing me of something?
“I saw Abby swinging by herself,” Aiden said. He got out of his swing. “I took the opportunity to tell her I was sorry for everything. I don’t want to be like him, man.” His eyes were locked on Cal. “That statement you made in your kitchen has been eating me up inside.” His voice broke again like it had earlier when Aiden was apologizing to me. “I hurt her like he hurt me. I couldn’t stand it, Cal.”
Aiden was full blown sobbing now. Cal released me and tugged Aiden into his arms.
“I’m so sorry,” he cried. “I don’t know why I was so angry. Coach has been talking to me after school just us. He’s helped me a lot to see how badly I hurt Abby.”
“Physically, Aiden. You left bruises on her.”
Aiden stepped back and wiped his face on his sleeve. “I know,” he said. “That is killing me, man.”
I got out of the swing and wrapped my hands around Cal’s bicep. “Please Cal. Forgive him. Then, he can forgive himself.”
He looked down on me. “You’re too good for either of us, you know, that right?”
I shook my head no. The snow began to fall harder sticking to Cal’s hair. “Come on,” he said. “Before you get cold.”
He took my hand and we started to walk away. Aiden didn’t follow. Cal stopped walking and looked back at his friend. “Come on Aiden. You’re hiding out here because of your dad, aren’t you?”
He nodded.
“You can come to my house too.” I slipped my arm inside his jacket and squeezed Cal. “This is all that it takes to make you happy?” He asked.
“I hated it that you weren’t speaking to your friends because of me,” I whispered.
He kissed my temple never missing a step then he corrected me, “It was never because of you. It was because of them.”
I sat between them in the Impala. The ride was quieter than if we were in school taking a test. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable. It just took some getting used to.
In the driveway, Cal asked me to go inside. He wanted to talk to Aiden alone for a minute. I was hesitant about leaving them unaccompanied. Then he told me to go on. So, I went into his parent’s house.
“Calvert, where did you go?” Dana asked stepping into the doorway of the kitchen. Then she smiled. “You came in time for dinner too.”
I told her about our fiasco at the house. Mom pretty much kicked me out the door. I ran before Dad had a chance to change that situation. She held her arms open to me and I hugged her. She was genuine and happy to see me. She kissed my cheek.
“Cal is having a hard time,” she whispered. We both leaned back. “Danny is leaving in a week.”
Her eyes took on a sadness that I had never seen before. “It was one thing to leave me with a pack of kids. It was something else to leave them. It was something he never understood. Calvert took it the hardest of all of our kids.” She squeezed my shoulders. “Where is Cal?”
“We ran into Aiden. They are talking in the driveway.”
Dana looked over my shoulder. “Oh boy. Do I need to send Danny out there?”
I looked over my shoulder as Cal and Aiden walked through the door. “I guess not.”
“Good. Want to help me with the rest of dinner?”
I had never done that at home. I did though when Gram and I cooked. I wondered why Mom didn’t want my help when Gram always asked me to assist her in the kitchen. She reached out to me. Always looking for ways for us to connect.
That is where Mom and I failed. We neither reached out to the other one searching for anything that would draw us together. She was athletic like Tyson. They had ways to always talk to each other where she and I didn’t. We always struggled to find common ground, but I didn’t with Dana Cooper.
Cal and Aiden went to the garage where Dan was with Cal’s grandfather. In the kitchen, Dana gave me the job of whipping the potatoes. She dumped the ingredients into the big pot while I used her hand mixer to blend them together. Tons of butter, half and half and sour cream. My mother would die at all the unhealthy stuff Dana was putting into these potatoes.
Rhonda joined us shortly. “She’s put you to work already. That means it’s official. You’re part of the family.”