Single Dad Seeks Juliet

“What? You said, and I quote, ‘Dinner with Chloe.’ I’m here for dinner with Chloe.”

I shake my head, but I also have to laugh. Garrett has a way of making things fit his narrative. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Not to mention, I texted you about a nanosecond before you burst in. You were obviously already here.”

He pretends to act shocked as he shovels a forkful of chicken and rice into his mouth and smiles. “You know what? You and I need to work on our communication skills. That’s all this is.”

“I think you’re spending too much time with the marriage counselor,” I say as Chloe takes her seat at the table again, this time with an ice cream sandwich from the freezer. She giggles.

Garrett laughs too, but I can tell his heart’s not really in it as he comments, “Or not enough.”

Shit. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.

Thankfully, Chloe is there to bring some sunshine to the mood. “Did Hayden and Sarah get their back-to-school clothes yet? Middle school is such a big deal!”

“They’re going this Friday and…” He points his finger in the air as he tries to calculate the time. “Not this Sunday, but the next. Apparently, there are different sales on different days or something. Hayden is excited,” Garrett answers. “But Sarah drafted a two-page essay of protest.”

Chloe snorts. “Oh my God, she’s the best. She’s, like, the coolest little person. She’s into fashion, though, isn’t she? I thought she’d want to go shopping.”

Garrett shrugs. “She does. She just… Bethanny won’t let them go without her, and she has really strong opinions about what Sarah should get. It usually doesn’t line up with what Sarah actually wants.”

Man, I make it a point not to judge people or relationships that don’t involve me, but Garrett’s wife Bethanny has proven to be a heartless shrew on more than one occasion. He’s worked so hard to make it work, but at a certain point, I’m just not sure it should work anymore.

“I could go with,” Chloe offers. “Play buffer and stuff. Maybe Sarah will end up with more of what she wants that way.”

Garrett leans over and kisses Chloe on the top of the head, and I smile at my girl.

“That would be amazing, Chlo. Sarah would love that so much.”

“No problem! I don’t need an excuse to shop.”

I laugh. “Isn’t that the truth.”

Chloe waggles her eyebrows at me, and I don’t have to think twice about the motive.

“I suppose I could give you an allowance to spend on yourself while you’re there. Just to make the reasoning credible.”

Chloe squeals, jumps up from her seat, and runs around the table to give me a kiss on the cheek. “Woo-hoo! Thanks, Dad!”

Without waiting, she heads for the den to do what I have no doubt is a massive amount of online “pre-shopping,” as she calls it. As I understand, it’s intended to make the actual shopping easier and more efficient when she gets to the store.

I usually just take the shortcut of doing the pre-shopping and leaving it at that. They deliver clothes these days, and it’s amazing. I haven’t had to set foot in the mall to shop for myself in years.

Just like that, dinner with Chloe is over.

I sigh, but I focus my energy on tonight’s uninvited, but always welcome, guest.

“So, what’s up, man?” I ask, knowing that even being the pain in the ass he is, he wouldn’t be here if there weren’t something bothering him at home.

Garrett shrugs at first, ignoring the question, so I take the opportunity to get up from the table and go to the fridge to get each of us a beer.

When I return to the table, I set it in front of him with a resounding thunk. “Come on, man. Talk.”

He scrubs a hand down his face and then sits back, putting the bottle to his lips for a swig before complying.

“She’s just giving me shit about work. I’m supposed to go up north for a couple weeks, battling those two big fires that are approaching the national forest. She says I’m abandoning her and the kids.”

Fucking hell.

“Dude, you know that’s bullshit.”

“Of course I do,” he agrees. “And it’s not like I really get a choice. The captain says we’re going…we’re going. You know?”

I nod. I’ve known Garrett for nearly fifteen years, and being a dedicated firefighter is truly one of the things that makes him tick. Even his beloved facial hair—I’ve never seen a man love sporting a beard more—takes a back seat to his commitment to the job. In fact, that’s usually how I know his schedule—if he’s sporting a beard, he’s on downtime. And his family has always been the most important thing to him, but he doesn’t have a normal nine-to-five job. Bethanny just never seems to understand that—and she’s been with him longer than I’ve known him.