“We don’t have to go. I didn’t agree to it. I told him that I would talk to you and he said he would wait for us to show up. He can rot there for all I care,” I say, getting to my feet and walking over to him. I put my hands on his shoulders and rest my cheek against his bare back and sigh. I won’t force my child to do anything he doesn’t want to do because that’s not the kind of parent I am.
“I wanna go,” he finally says.
“Are you sure, Luke? I’m just fine with us having a night in,” I assure him.
He pulls away from me, then turns to face me. “It’s okay, Mom. I want to meet him at least once.”
There’s something in his eyes that’s telling me I should more than likely send him back to his room, but I can’t deny him this opportunity.
“Alright,” I reply. “He said he would be there at eight, so we can get there before or after—whatever you’re most comfortable with.”
“Guess I should go chill in my room for a while before it’s time to go then,” he says with a distant look in his eye. “Thanks for not hiding this from me. I know you could have, and I wouldn’t have hated you for it, but now I won’t have to wonder anymore.”
Around seven-thirty Luke comes out of his room. His hair is neatly combed, he’s wearing a brand-new black t-shirt, and a pair of slacks. He’s got on his best shoes and he even smells slightly of aftershave even though his face shows no signs of having recently being shaved.
He’s trying to impress his father, I think, but in a way so am I. I’m wearing a blue and yellow sundress, beige colored wedge sandals, and have my hair pulled back in a loose French twist.
“Well damn, Mom,” he says with a sly grin and a nod. “You look really pretty.”
“Thanks, baby. You look exceptionally handsome tonight,” I reply, reaching for his now extended arm. I’m just under his chin now with the extra added height and I can tell he’s amused by it.
He reaches into his pocket for a moment then nods. I heard the jingle of his house keys, so I knew he was making sure that we’d have our way back in.
Here goes nothing, I think nervously as we step outside.
We walk in silence all the way to the town center, and Luke’s grip tightens on my arm once the diner begins to come into view. He’s trembling slightly, and I can’t tell if he’s nervous for himself or for me. Nothing seems to ever bother him, but just the prospect of knowing that his father might be waiting for us seems to have stirred something in him.
“I’ll go first,” he offers quietly as he gently pushes me behind him on our way up the walkway. After all of these years, he’s still trying to protect me from possibly getting hurt again.
Once we’re inside, Luke puts a hand on the booth and waits for the hostess to finish her phone call.
“Two tonight?” she asks, barely glancing at us.
“No. We’re here to meet … um,” his voice trails off as he cuts his eyes toward me and I step in without missing a beat.
“Trenton Miller.”
&
nbsp; She nods as she looks over the small dry erase board sitting on the pedestal and then checks off a box with a red pen.
“Your party is already here. Follow me.”
We wait patiently while she reaches down for two menus then leads us toward one of the booths in the back of the diner. I can see him nervously sitting in his chair, hands gripping his drink tightly, and glancing at the time on his watch.
Luke stops short of the table and turns around to face me, blocking Trenton’s view as he grips my arms tightly.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Mom? I couldn’t care less, but I have a feeling this is helping you more than it would me,” he says, searching my eyes.
“Oh honey. I’m doing this for you, not me. Trenton doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I just wanted to give you this chance so you wouldn’t always wonder, you know?” I reply as I reach up and gently lay a hand on the side of his face.
Luke lets out a deep breath and nods. He reaches down and grabs my free hand before turning around and leading me the rest of the way to the booth.
Trenton is on his feet now and the hostess is standing by him, waiting for us to take our seats. The closer we get, the more his eyes widen, never taking them off of his son. When we finally get to him, he extends a hand to Luke who stares at it for a moment before he scoots me into the booth, then sits down.
“Mr. Miller,” he greets him with a nod.
Trenton bites his lower lip nervously before he looks over at me and gives me a forced smile.