“Well, you can eat bacon or you can be alive, I guess,” I said. Ouch. That came out harsher than I intended. “I’m sorry, that was supposed to be funny, but missed the mark.”
“No, no, you’re right. If this is what I have to do to be there for my girls, then this is what I have to do.” He made plates for the three of us and once it was on the plate, it didn’t look too bad.
Mom swept by on her way out to make sure that Dad wasn’t sneaking bacon out of the trash (she’d gone through and taken out all the “bad” foods and was already ordering organic salmon and wheat grass powder), gave him a kiss and thanked me for the spa day again.
“Go, have fun. Relax. We’ve got this. If he goes for the bacon, there are two of us to take him out.” She laughed at me and headed out the door.
“Just one piece of bacon?” Dad asked, picking up his fork and starting in on the egg whites.
“Nope. Mom’s Orders.” He grumbled under his breath and then we started eating.
Okay, it wasn’t horrible. It didn’t have a ton of flavor and I would have loved to add some cheese or something to it, but I kept my mouth shut and didn’t complain. If Dad could do this diet, then I could suck it up and deal with this for the few times a week I’d be here.
Dad mumbled and grumbled his way through brunch and it was like trying to get a child to eat their vegetables. He was worse than Gracie and Fiona when their mother tried to get them to eat their green beans. When he finished his plate, Lucah volunteered to deal with the dishes while Dad and I went back into the den and he sat down with a sigh.
“It’s a whole lifestyle change. I’ve seen a few of my friends at the Club go through the same thing and I never thought I would be one of them. But, what can I do?” He rubbed his hands together and then leaned back in his chair.
“Are you going to start exercising?” I didn’t want to be a nag, but I wanted to know what his plans were. He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, as if asking for help from the man upstairs.
“Yes, yes. That mother of yours has already started clearing out a section of the basement for a home gym and ordered just about every workout tape ever recorded. The only thing I’ve refused to do is Jazzercise.” I snorted. I definitely couldn’t picture Dad grooving like that with a sweat band and neon leggings.
“I totally get that,” I said as Lucah came in with a tray of tea for all of us.
“Green tea is extremely healthy,” he said, putting the tray down.
“So I’ve heard,” Dad said, picking up his cup. Mom was obsessed with tea as one of her cure-alls for whatever ailed you. She was probably going to be forcing three times as much down Dad’s throat now.
“Did someone say something about Jazzercise? Or did I hear that wrong?” Lucah asked, joining me on the loveseat. Dad laughed and sipped his tea.
“Yes, my lovely wife has purchased every exercise video known to man and is going to pester me until I start doing them.” I still couldn’t get the image of Dad doing silly dance moves out of my head.
“I can come over and work out with you, if you want,” I said. I wasn’t much of a fan (at all) of exercising, but I could suck it up for my dad.
“If you want a weight training partner, I’d also be up for that,” Lucah said.
“You crazy kids. What better way to make me feel older than to work out with the young people,” Dad said, chuckling. “I’ll do it on my own. I’m a grown man. I can work out by myself like an adult.” I stifled a laugh.
“Okay, Dad,” I said, reaching forward and patting his knee.
“Don’t patronize me, Rory Girl.” He pretended to be stern, but I knew better.
“Fine, fine. But be careful with that Jazzercise.”
Fourteen
When Mom came back from the spa that night, she was glowing and had a smile on her face like she’d had some pharmaceuticals.
“Feel better?” I asked as I set dinner on the table. It was maple-glazed salmon, brown rice and broccoli. Pretty damn good, actually. Lucah had been the one to cook most of it, but I’d helped. Well, he’d let me strain the broccoli and fluff the rice with a fork, so that was something. I asked him how I was ever going to learn how to cook if all he let me do was fluff the rice, but he just ignored me and kept humming.
“Yes. So much better.” She gave me a serene smile and sat down in her chair with a contented sigh.
“This looks delicious.” Dad came in with a bottle of wine and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“You’re looking radiant, my love.” She blushed a little and patted the side of his face.
“Thank you, Walter.” They shared one of those looks that made me feel emotional. I knew how rare it was to have parents who were still this in love at their age. In a way, it gave me a lot to live up to. I pictured Lucah and me, years and years down the line looking at each other like that. I couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like, to be with him for that many years. To be adored for that many years, and to love him back in the same way.
“You okay?” Lucah said, putting his hand on my back. I’d been standing there, holding the bowl of broccoli over the table without setting it down.