The New Year's Date

Chapter 1-2

“Dad! I want some cake!” Cooper shouted, pulling on Paul’s hand.

“Not yet, buddy,” he replied, moving on to the next table. “We have to wait for Melody and Reid to come in and cut it.”

“But I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry.” Paul reached over with his free hand and messed up Cooper’s hair. “I’m sure we’ll have something to eat soon.” He glanced across the room at the table where his mother was sitting with a few of the older ladies from church. It would’ve made sense to Paul for him to be sitting next to her, but that hadn’t been the case. Likewise, he’d seen Casey’s name near the front of the room next to his new girlfriend’s. Since Isabelle had been part of the wedding all along, it made sense she’d be sitting with the wedding party, though not at the front tables where the bridesmaids and groomsmen would sit next to the bride and groom. Casey had joined the wedding party at the last moment, but Paul was sure he still would’ve been seated next to Isabelle even if he hadn’t ended up playing the piano.

“Dad! I wanna sit down,” Cooper whined, giving his hand another tug.

“We will. We just have to find our seats.”

“I wanna sit by Holly.”

Paul wished his son could sit by his classmate, but like the other members of the wedding party, he assumed Holly would be sitting near the front. He hadn’t seen her name on the first few tables, but had neglected to check a third table near the end of the wedding party’s seating. As the DJ began to play a slow version of, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” Paul squeezed between a few seated guests to the table he’d skipped and saw Holly’s name right next to Kate’s.

“Here it is!” Cooper shouted, pointing at the snowflake on the other side of Holly’s. “I do get to sit by Holly!”

“Oh, good.” Paul wasn’t exactly sure what to think of this seating arrangement. While he was glad his son would have a chance to sit near his friend, his brief conversation with Cooper’s therapist, Holly’s mom—Kate—had left Paul a little unsettled. She was a nice enough woman, and it seemed they had some things in common. After all, she had alluded to the fact that they were a few years older than Melody and Reid and their friends. Still, there was something about the woman with the strawberry-blonde hair and striking green eyes that left him feeling more than a little odd. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew things about his son that he likely hadn’t even heard himself, or maybe it was because he wasn’t exactly sure what it was Cooper had told her, but he found himself rather uncomfortable in her presence and had been secretly hoping he could sit on the other side of the room--away from Kate.

Actually, he’d been hoping he could sit in a different room. Maybe his own living room, or near the pool tables in his favorite local hangout, Grifters. He knew that wasn’t going to happen, though. His mother wouldn’t let him ditch, and besides, Cooper did look excited to be here, especially when he glanced at the cake. Reluctantly, Paul pulled out the chair in front of his own snowflake and sat down. The rest of the table was empty, and he assumed, like Holly and Kate, the other occupants must be busy at the church still. He believed the photographer was working her magic right now, capturing all the poses and different groupings from the bridal party. He remembered how long that had taken after his own wedding and wasn’t at all envious of the people over at the church being asked to tilt their heads just so or put their hands on their hips or whatever it was photographers were having their subjects do these days.

Thoughts of his wedding inevitably made him miss his bride, and Paul swallowed back the lump in his throat that always formed whenever he let thoughts of Tonya seep into his mind. She had been absolutely lovely that day. Her father had reluctantly agreed to walk her down the aisle, even though he’d never approved of Paul and hadn’t wanted the wedding to take place. Even on his rigid arm, Tonya had lit up the church. Paul remembered seeing her step through the doors at the end of the aisle and losing his ability to breathe. She’d been so radiant.

He also remembered seeing her lying in a hospital bed, stiff and cold, having left him hours earlier when he was somewhere between West Virginia and Maryland. He hadn’t even known what was happening, not until he received a phone call from a neighbor that Tonya was in the hospital. By then, it was too late. She was already gone. It seemed impossible that someone so vivacious, so integral to who he was as a person, could slip away without the world crying out in anguish and despair the way he had, leaning over her hospital bed that night. But she had slid quietly out of this world and into the next without causing any sort of cosmic cataclysm at all.

“Dad! I wanna eat something. I’m starving,” Cooper moaned, pulling at his collar. Paul hadn’t gone so far as to make his kindergartner wear a tie, but he did make him wear church clothes, and clearly Cooper was uncomfortable.

Paul was just about to open his mouth to explain that they needed to wait when one of the guys Paul had seen at the church stepped over to the mic and said the wedding party would be on their way in a few minutes, and in the meantime, they could all help themselves to the buffet. Paul wasn’t sure what the dark-haired man’s name was, but he thought he might be dating one of the bridesmaids. Apparently, he was also a DJ, which made sense because he had also been the one to turn on the music during the candle lighting ceremony. As Cooper insisted on heading toward the food on the other side of the room, Paul realized he didn’t know very many of these people, which was odd since they lived in a small town and he’d been here for several years. But then, as a truck driver, he’d spent almost as much time out of town as he did in Charles Town, maybe more. Still, if he was going to work for Reid, he should probably get to know these people. The fact that he had no interest whatsoever in being friendly and chitchatting would be yet another obstacle to overcome.

The tables set up alongside the back of the room were full of all kinds of delicious looking sandwiches and other finger foods. Paul’s wedding reception had been similar. He remembered Tonya’s mother making a big deal out of not serving a huge meal, but Tonya had insisted simpler was better. There was also a table full of desserts that Paul knew Cooper would be coming back to. It looked like there was plenty of food for everyone, and a few women in uniforms stood nearby to offer assistance and possibly refill anything that was consumed before the bridal party arrived. Clearly, Melody and Reid had hired someone to take care of the food, even if it wasn’t gourmet cuisine.

“Dad, can I have a brownie?” Cooper asked, spying the dessert table.

“After you eat some of these sandwiches. And there are plenty of different kinds of salads, too.”

“I hate salad!” Cooper sulked, but one sharp look from his dad and he straightened up. Paul remembered a totally different boy than the one he’d been reintroduced to a few weeks ago when he’d pulled his head out of his job and began to realize his child was languishing without him. The Cooper he’d known before Tonya died would’ve never even considered talking back to either of his parents. Still, the fact that he’d changed his attitude meant that all of the hard work put in by many adults to straighten him out had been working. Paul just needed to be one of those adults more often.

He carried his plate over and set it down next to Cooper’s. “I’m going to go help Grandma, and then I’ll bring you a drink, okay?” His mother’s poor vision often prevented her from doing some of the things other people took for granted, and he knew she’d likely stay seated, rather than attempt walking across unfamiliar flooring toward the buffet.

By the time Paul returned to the table, Cooper was nearly done eating, and the crowd had started to fill in. The wedding party still wasn’t present, but another couple was sitting at their table, and the woman was chatting with Cooper.

Paul took a deep breath and decided he needed to at least pretend to be friendly. “Hi there,” he said, forcing a smile. “I’m Paul. Cooper’s dad.”

“Right—Casey’s brother?” Paul nodded, wondering when the roles had reversed; growing up, since he was the oldest, everyone knew Casey as his younger brother. “I’m Macey Edwards.” She offered her hand, and Paul shook it. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” She had a genuine smile on her face, as if she really meant it, as if she hadn’t heard the whispers of how he had abandoned his son after his wife died.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Paul said, hoping his smile didn’t look forced. Turning to the man sitting next to her, who was obviously her date, he accepted his outstretched hand as well.

“Sam, Sam Abernathy.” He looked friendly enough, and Paul thought he had been one of the ushers at the wedding. “Cooper and I are pretty good friends. I teach fifth grade.”

“Sometimes I get to go to Mr. Abernathy’s room when I’m good,” Cooper explained between bites of his last sandwich.

The name did seem familiar, now that Paul had more information. “I really appreciate everything the teachers are doing for Cooper.” He’d hoped to circumvent any sort of conversation about Cooper’s behavior, but it seemed it was unavoidable. Pulling out his chair, he took a seat, trying not to meet Sam Abernathy’s eyes.

“Oh, no. It’s nothing,” the teacher replied, running a hand through his light brown hair. “Coop is a great kid. I love having him in my class. He teaches my fifth graders a thing or two, don’t you, Cooper?”

“Yep. Once I showed them how to do the floss,” Cooper giggled. Paul didn’t know what that was, but he smiled along with them.

“Maybe you can do some flossing later, once Holly gets here,” Sam suggested. “I wonder if Alec is going to keep playing this sappy romance music all night, or if he’ll play some dance music.” Sam nodded toward the DJ, and Paul tried to store the name of the man spinning the tunes away for later.

“I’m sure he will. Alec is an amazing DJ,” Macey said. “Well, what do you say we go load up our plates? I’m starving.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Sam replied. “Can I bring either of you anything?” He was already up, pausing to lean over his chair for a moment in anticipation of an answer to his question.

“A brownie!” Cooper didn’t hesitate.

Paul could only shake his head. “Give me a minute, Son, and I’ll go with you.”

Sam chuckled. “All right. We’ll be back.”

Despite Cooper’s insistence that they needed to get to the dessert table before all the good brownies were gone, Paul took his time cleaning his plate, and by the time he approved Cooper going back for sweets, most of the tables were full. Still, there were plenty of brownies left, and Cooper chose a huge one. “One brownie and nothing else for now, or no cake.” Cooper’s eyebrows knit together but he turned, and headed back to his seat without a remark.