“What do you think, Dad?”
His father gave a half shrug. “You got a nice place here.”
A compliment? We’re making progress. “I like it too.”
His father stroked his salt pepper beard. “How long do you plan on staying with Seth?”
“I’m looking at a few places; I haven’t found the one that feels like home.”
His Dad gave him a skeptical look. “Your mother’s hinted at you staying with us.”
Cole’s smile gave him away. “I’m a grown man. She knows that, right?”
“Not to her. Both of you boys are still her ‘babies.’ I’m glad you’re out of the house. You boys could pu
t away some food.” His dad laughed.
Cole’s mother was an exceptional cook. How could he deny her appetizing meals? He patted his flat stomach. “I have to watch it now. I can’t put that food away as I used too.”
His father gestured his thumb to the lunch bag on the chaise lounge in the room’s corner. “So, you’re going to throw away your lunch? Your mother thinks you’re wasting away as it is.”
Cole hustled to the lunch bag, ready to inhale his mother’s tasty roast beef. “I am eating. She didn’t see my plate on Sunday. I had two servings of her broccoli cheese casserole.”
His father raised his hands in a surrendered gesture. “I’m only the messenger. At least you get her roast beef sandwich. I’m stuck with a kale salad.”
“Want to share? I’ll split my sandwich for half of your salad.”
His father’s eyes sparkled. “My boy. I knew there was a reason I came here.”
“I thought it was to bring me lunch.”
His dad waggled his thick eyebrows.
Father and son sat across from each other, exchanging portions of their lunches like kids in a school cafeteria. Cole didn’t mind the kale salad, even though it left a faint aftertaste in his mouth. He didn’t blame his dad for complaining.
“Good to have you home, son,” his father said in between bites.
“Thanks, Dad.” His shoulders tensed. The conversation a complete one-eighty from the last one they had.
Cole wiped his hands with a napkin. He recalled the pain that gripped his chest that day.
“You really think you can make a living taking pictures?” his father had asked.
When Cole had insisted he’d make his own way, his father had given him a frosty look, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “Fine, Cole. Do what you want.” Then he’d walked away.
“See any of your old friends since you’ve been back?” His father’s voice brought him back to the present.
Cole took in a deep breath. “A few, like Tom and Jeremy. I heard Jake moved to California and I haven’t talked to Axel since high school. I… I saw Leah at church.” He rubbed his forehead feeling dizzy. “I’ll be seeing her around soon. She wants to hire me.”
His father’s eyes widened. “It looks like your business has paid off.”
Cole cleared his throat. The comment stung like a frozen lash. “You honestly didn’t think it would?”
His father dismissed his son’s comment with a wave. “Now don’t get all defensive. This is your thing. Let’s say your career wasn’t what I expected.”
Cole’s annoyance flared. Doctor or lawyer. Those where his options as a kid, so his choice of photography left his dad perplexed. Did it not matter he had found his niche? He sighed as he chewed the last of his sandwich.
****