Page 25 of Sticks and Stones
“Don’t embarrass your mom,” he warned. “What do you need?”
“I could use a little help with my world history homework.”
“You got it,” Gianna said, jumping up.
She could use a little breather. Besides, she wanted to be the one to answer her daughter’s questions about what was going on between her and Gunnar.
“You sure?” Gunnar asked, grabbing her hand. “I don’t mind helping her with that. I loved history.”
“No, I got it,” Gianna assured him, withdrawing her hand from his.
She waited until they were upstairs with the door closed before Gianna asked, “Okay, do you really need help with your homework or did you just want to grill me about your dad?”
Keegan laughed as she jumped on the bed, tucking her legs under her. “What do you think, Mom? History’s my best subject.”
Gianna pulled the desk chair closer to the bed and sat on it. “You know I’ve always tried to keep the lines of communication open with you guys. I want you to feel free to talk to me about anything, but the truth is, I don’t know what’s going on with your dad. We’re… figuring some things out, I guess.”
“I thought you were done with him. Isn’t that what you told us when you left him?”
“I was done with him,” she said, looking at the photo of Gunnar their daughter kept on her nightstand. He stood between the two girls, smiling like being with them was all he’d ever need. If only that were true. “I was done with the selfish, driven, ego-maniac he was when we split.” While she tried not to speak badly about Gunnar to their kids, it was no secret to them their dad was no saint. “But I’m not sure he’s that guy anymore.”
“You mean he’s more like the guy he was when you fell in love with him?” she asked, smiling.
Gianna laughed. “Are you kidding? He was crazy ambitious back then. He was on the rise, for sure, but he was still an opening act. He knew it could all still be taken away from him.”
“But it can’t now, can it?” she asked. “Be taken away from him?”
“No.” He’d earned more money than he could ever spend. He’d sold more albums than most. Had platinum albums lining an entire room. Enough memories to satisfy ten lifetimes. No one could ever take any of that from him. “But he’s thinking about moving in a different direction now, musically. That would mean he’d be starting all over again, trying to build a new fan base in a new genre. It would be a lot of work.”
“And you were hoping he was done working hard?”
“I had no expectations when he came here.” She picked up the photo, looking closer. It had been taken a few years ago, when she’d still had hope they would get their happy ending. “I thought he’d stay for a couple of days, catch up with you and your sister, and head back home.”
“But he hasn’t mentioned anything about going back home, has he?”
“No.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. I’m confused.”
“Understandable, given what he’s put you through.”
“Your dad hasn’t put me through anything, honey,” Gianna corrected. “I stayed with him because I wanted to, because I loved him. I always had the choice to leave.”
“Why did you finally leave?” she asked. “Was it the whole marriage thing or was there more to it?”
Her daughters had always been like her best friends and Gianna knew she told them way more than she should about what she was thinking and feeling, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to be their confidantes and knew it had to be a two-way street if she expected them to trust her with their secrets.
“That was part of it,” Gianna said, setting the photo down with a sigh as she leaned back, propping her elbow on the desk. “But the biggest thing was our differences. I’d always felt we were very different, but I thought when he got a little older he’d finally be ready to slow down.” She shrugged. “That didn’t happen when he turned forty, and I started to wonder if it would ever happen.”
“Does he know how you feel?”
“We’ve been talking,” she said, though she wouldn’t share every little detail with her teenage daughter. “He knows why I left and I know why he let me. Now we’re just trying to figure out where we go from here.”
“Any idea yet?” Keegan asked, looking hopeful.
“No. I think right now we’re just taking it one day at a time.”
