I shrug. “I will be. Right now, I’m still in vacation mode.”
“Yeah, me too,” Mack replies. I look down the row at him. He’s drinking the can of soda, almost as if he’s an adult sucking down a beer.
“Aren’t you still in school? In season?”
Nick sighs. “He is, but he’s on this teenage kick of growing up faster than he needs to.”
“Keep him away from Betty Paige,” my dad mumbles. I second that notion. I remember puberty all too well and there was only one thing I cared about, aside from sports, and that was the attention I got from girls.
“Your dad and I thought we’d plan your bachelor party.”
“Quinn isn’t here,” I point out to Nick. ?
?I’d like him to be involved.”
“Is he your best man?” Mack asks.
I nod, realizing at this moment that I want Quinn to stand next to me. “I’m going to ask him when we go camping. I figured that’ll be a good time. I just hope he says yes.”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Dad asks.
I look at him, wondering if he wanted to be my best man. “Quinn’s not really a flashy guy and being a best man puts him on display. He’ll have to give a speech.”
Nick and my dad laugh. “I think there will be plenty of speeches at your wedding.”
“When is it?” Mack asks.
Going silent, I shrug. “Peyton and I are still working out the details. I’m hoping soon.”
“Do you know where at least?” Nick wants to know.
“Here, definitely in Beaumont. She wants to be close to her father and where we grew up. Says this is our home and where we should get married.”
The dads seem to be in agreement, which is always nice. All the wedding talk though has me itching to get a date set, and I’m hoping after meeting with my mom, Peyton finally opens the calendar and puts her finger on a date. I don’t care when, I’ll be there.
As soon as I finish my beer, I toss it down to the bed of Nick’s truck. I don’t know why, but the sound of breaking glass is very satisfying. At least, I thought so until Mack speaks.
“I can’t wait until I can drink beer.”
Nick’s mouthful of ale sprays out of his mouth. My dad laughs, until he starts choking. “Mack, you have a long way until you’re of age.”
“How old were you when you had your first one?”
I look at Nick, who knows the answer won’t be good if I say something. “Drinking isn’t cool, Mack. You should focus on school and sports.”
“And girls,” he says. “Well, at least one.”
I bite my tongue. I remember what it was like, being his age, but this boy has a set of cajones on him like no other, saying this stuff in front of my dad. I’m just glad I’m not in his shoes.
5
Peyton
The flowers I picked up at the local market smell amazing. Across the way, there’s a funeral going on. I wish I could remember the day we buried my father. Was it raining? Did we sing? Did my mom cry? In my mind, I think I know what went on, but I can’t be certain. I do know that Liam sat next to me and held my hand. He became the man I could count on until my dad took over that role. Still, with Liam poised to be my father-in-law, I couldn’t have asked for a better man.
I clear away grass clippings from my father’s tombstone. My fingers instantly go back to his name, tracing the letters. The memories I have of him from when I was little, have all faded. It’s the memories from a few years ago that haunt me. I see my father when I sleep. He invades my dreams. He’s there when I’m staring out a window lost in thought or sitting in the oversized chair that I love so much. Whenever I find myself daydreaming, he’s there.
Thankfully, I can say he’s not floating in and out of my walls or trying to scare me at night. Still, I can’t explain what he is, a ghost, spirit, a figment conjured up in my mind. He’s just there. I can feel him, see him sitting on the couch. Sometimes I sense him when Noah’s home, when we’re together watching television. I can hear his laughter.