“Sage tells me you found a job in a diner.” Dad looks stern but not intimidating. I can tell he’s trying to read Mars.
“Yes, sir,” Mars says nodding. “I took whatever I could find to start making money.”
“You’re a good man. I hear you’re into art too.” A small smile tugs at the corners of Dad’s mouth.
“Yeah. I’m not like Sage though. I’m just really into graffiti.”
“His work is really good, Dad.” I refuse to let Mars sell himself short so I pull up pictures of his work. Dad looks impressed. I’m not surprised though. Mars’s art is amazing.
“Wow. You’re good, kid. Stop downplaying your talent.” Dad flips through countless pictures in my phone of Mars’s art. After a few extra seconds, I gently take the phone out of his hand before he stumbles across pictures no dad needs to see.
“I can see why you two get along so well,” Dad says. This puts a smile on Mars’s face and he looks at me like I’m the prettiest girl in the room. “So, Mars, how much are your commissioned paintings going for? With a skill like that, you have to charge a pretty penny.”
“Well, um, sir…” Mars stammers.
“Call me Charles, please,” Dad insists.
“Okay, Charles, I never gave much thought to how much I should charge.”
“But you have thought about charging for your work, right?”
“Yes, absolutely. I’d love to do commissioned work one day.” I love the dreamy sound of Mars’s voice when he talks about his aspirations. It makes me fall for him even harder.
“That’s great to hear. I want something original for my man cave. I’ll give you complete creative control. Just tell me how much.” Mars’s mouth hangs open at Dad’s words. I’m not shocked at all though. I know my dad and he goes above and beyond if he believes in someone.
“Mr.—er—Charles, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know talent when I see it. I also nurture talent when I can. When Sage showed interest in painting, I made sure she had a corner in her room where she could let her creativity run wild. I don’t see the difference between nurturing her talent and nurturing yours. Show me what you got, kid. I want a Mars original on my wall.”
“Wow, Charles, that means a lot. I don’t know what to say.” Mars’s gaze drops to the tabletop. I can see a million things running through his mind. I wish I knew what each one was, but I know he’ll tell me later on when we’re alone.
“Say you’ll do it. I’ll make sure you won’t be there when Eleanor is there. Deal?” Dad reaches across the table to shake Mars’s hand.
“Deal.” Mars smiles and they shake on it.
The rest of the evening, we talk about everything under the sun and Mars opens up around Dad. I love the way they hit it off. The entire dinner has me floating on a cloud.
When it’s time to leave, Dad and Mars try to out-gentleman each other and pay for the check. “Why don’t we do this, I’ll pay the check and you can leave the tip.” Dad always has a solution for everything.
“Okay, that works,” Mars says with a chuckle. When I left home to be with Mars, he’d been horrified that my dad wrote a check to help us get our start. Mars is so proud and I know it’s hard for him to accept help from others. But Dad is giving and loves me. With time, I know he’ll love Mars too. Still, Mars insists we pay back Dad every penny.
Once the meal is paid for, we all walk out to the parking lot, and Dad wraps me in a warm hug then presses a kiss to my forehead. Mars hops in The Beast and warms it up while I stand outside talking to Dad.
“Sage, you wanna come past the house and grab some of your paintings? Mom is at a women’s group meeting, so you have a couple hours.” I hesitate for a beat, thinking about being in that house again, but then I nod. I’ve missed my paintings and my easel.
I let Mars know about the change of plans after I hop in The Beast then we follow Dad back to Ashton Hills.
I cringe when I see the yellow sign welcoming us. There’s nothing welcoming about this fucking town. After we’ve been driving for a while, I realize that Ashton Hills doesn’t hold the same energy that it used to.
I used to dread being here. I used to feel crushed by the weight of everyone’s expectations. Now, it feels like I’m driving through a memory.
When we get to Mom and Dad’s house, I suck in a breath and brace myself to go inside. It feels like this place existed lifetimes ago for me.
“You okay?” Mars asks. He brings my knuckles to his lips and kisses them. It gives me the last little drop of strength I need.