“Deal.” He high-fived me and asked, “What would that make you to me if you married my mom?”
“I’d be your stepdad, technically. But to me, that’s no different than a father.”
“What would I call you?”
“You could call me whatever you want…as long as it’s not a curse word.” I chuckled. “You could still call me Simon, or you could call me Dad if you want. Or maybe you reserve that term for your father, Ben, and call me something like…Pop. It’s what I call my dad from time to time. Because really, Brendan, I hope you look at me like an additional dad not a replacement. I could never replace your father.”
He took a few moments to ponder my suggestion then said, “Pop. I like that. Pop for my father here and Dad for my daddy in Heaven.”
Rustling his hair, I smiled. “I think that’s brilliant, son.”It took me more than a month, but I finally figured out how I was going to do it.
When we first met, Bridget had mentioned that she’d never been to WaterFire in Providence. My plan was to take her on a gondola and propose to her on the ride. Then, the next day, we’d head to Newport for some family time with Brendan to celebrate the engagement—have the party he wanted.
It was the Friday evening of the proposal. Both Bridget and I had the entire weekend off. She was getting dressed while I paced in the living room, practicing what I was going to say to her later. It surprised me how nervous I was. I wanted it to be perfect.
My cell phone rang, disrupting my thoughts.
“Hello?”
“Simon, it’s your mother.”
“Mum? It’s late there. Is everything alright?”
“Yes, son. Everything is lovely. Your father and I just landed in Boston.”
“What?”
“Don’t sound so thrilled.”
“You’re here in the States?”
“Your dad is renting a car. So, we’ll be driving up in your direction. Are you still living with that woman? I just punched the address from your Christmas card into the navigation.”
Shit. This could not be happening.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
I let out a long breath. Ever since my last trip home, my relationship with my parents had been strained, particularly with my mother. The few conversations I’d had with her were all about how I was going to regret my decision to be away from my family forever. My dad kept quiet overall, but I knew he agreed with her. I was an only child, and they wanted me to carry on the family legacy in Leeds, take over their properties. My mother was convinced that Bridget wasn’t right for me for the sheer fact that she’d been married before and had a child. And as much as I hated to admit it, I knew it was also partly because she was American. The only thing I ever kept from Bridget were my conversations with my parents. I couldn’t burden her with their nonsense. It would’ve broken her heart. The problem with that, though, was that now she wouldn’t be the least bit prepared for any kind of confrontation.
“Your father and I thought it was about time we came to check things out.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell me you were coming first so that I could’ve prepared?”
“We knew you’d discourage it. Dad had some miles that were going to expire next week, so we decided to call British Airways on a whim. And here we are. We’ll see you in about an hour.”
Bloody hell. This was going to be a nightmare.Simon stood at the doorway as I put my earrings on. When I turned to him, I could see from the look on his face, that something was wrong.
“Simon?”
“I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans tonight, luv.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this…but my parents are on their way over.”
“What? They’re here? In the US?”
“Yes. They landed in Boston and are driving here as we speak.”
My blood was pumping.
“Oh my God.”
“I’m so sorry that we have to cancel our date. You have no idea how much.”
“Are you kidding? We can always go to WaterFire. It’s not every day your parents are here. I’ve always wanted to meet them. I just expected a little more warning.”
“Bridget, there’s something you should—”
“I have to run to Shaw’s.” There was no time to talk. I needed to food shop. “We have nothing to offer them. I can’t have your parents here with an empty fridge.”
He followed me around in my frenzy. “Why don’t we just take them out?”
“I can’t do that. These are your parents. I need to welcome them into our home, need to cook for them.”
“Bridget, we need—”
“There’s no time!” Panicking, I grabbed my purse and ran out of the bedroom. “I’ll be back.”At the grocery store, I’d run into every problem imaginable. Ingredients I needed weren’t in stock, causing me to have to substitute. The lines were long.