“He could do it, you know,” she whispered.
“What are you talking about?”
“Average rent in Chicago is about two grand, depending on the area. The average annual salary of a fry cook is just shy of forty thousand. If Wally finds himself a roommate and splits living costs, he’d get by just fine.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I work —worked— for an investment firm, remember? It’s literally my job to understand what people earn and how they can maximize their dollar.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want my son toget by just fine, Vivian. That’s no way to live. I just want what’s best for him.”
“By pushingyourdreams onto him?” Vivian asked quietly. “Look, this is none of my business. Or maybe it is, I don’t know. I get that you think you’re doing the right thing, but if you don’t stop and put yourself in Wally’s shoes, you might push him away forever. I don’t want to see that happen to you. To either of you.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Vivian had a point. Maybe Iwaspushing my dreams onto Wally.
“I grew up with nothing,” I said. “I don’t want Wally to know what that’s like.”
Vivian stepped forward and entered my space, reaching up to brush her fingers across my jaw. “You’re a good father, Jesse. Take it from someone who knows firsthand what a shit parent is. I understand you’re trying to protect him, but at some point, you need to let Wally make his own choices.”
I kissed her palm. “How’d you get to be so wise?”
She shrugged. “I read a lot.”
“I’ll talk to him. But I think we both need to calm down first.”
“That’s a good idea.” Vivian turned toward the stove, hands on her hips. “Now. How about some pancakes?”
“I don’t have pancake batter.”
“Okay. What kinds of cereal do you have?”
“Raisin Bran.”
She wrinkled her nose in pure disgust. “What iswrongwith you?”
I chuckled. “How about you get back into bed and I’ll order us something for breakfast?”
“Alright,” she said coyly. “But don’t you dare feed me something weird like tofu toast.”
“Actually, I know a fantastic spot that has that on the menu.”
“Absolutely not.”
“It’s delicious.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Have you even tried it?”
“Nope, and I don’t have to. I’d like eggs benedict or bust.”
I kissed the tip of her nose. “I guess I can brave runny eggs for you.”
“My hero,” she said dryly, but her bright smile gave her away.
I was about to tell her to lose the clothes when my phone started to ring. I didn’t want to answer, not with the promise of Vivian naked in my bed dangling before me, but I answered the call off muscle memory alone. “Hello?” I greeted gruffly.
“I ran into an error while implementing the new server,” Devin said, launching into his spiel without so much as ahow do you do. “I had to do some overhauling last night.”