The Line Drive

forty-five

Mackenzie

It's Thanksgiving morning, and I am shockingly nervous about seeing Dane's father again, and meeting his step-mom. We arrive at his father's house bright and early, and I take in the very neatly manicured bushes in front of the house. Dane notices me looking at them.

"He's obsessive." Dane tells me. "Has to have them just right." 

"Well-- they look nice." I say. Dane chuckles. 

"You nervous?"

"As fuck." I mutter.

"Me too." Dane squeezes my hand. "But not because of you." 

"What if he doesn't like me?" I ask, as we sit in the car and stare at the front of the house.

"He likes you. I told you what he said about you."

"What if he was lying? To be nice?" 

"Mack--" Dane lets out a sigh, clearly trying not to laugh. "My father is many things, but a liar is not one of them." 

The door to the house flies open and the man himself is standing there.

"We've been spotted." I observe. 

Dane's father gives us a wave and a small smile. Dane and his father have talked on the phone once since Dane called him at the hospital, and from what I gather, it went pretty well. Dane still seems pretty nervous to be here though, since apparently Thanksgivings have been awkward in the past. 

"He looks weirdly cheerful." Dane mumbles under his breath as we hop out of the car. 

"Good morning!" Dane's father greets us. "Jack." He holds his hand out to me. 

"Mackenzie." I shake the offered hand, noting that he has a strong grip that he's apparently not afraid to use on me. I'm not sure exactly what to say, since the last time we met I was yelling at him to care about his son. 

"It's nice to meet you." He says. 

"Likewise." I manage. Dane's father shakes Dane's hand and then leads us inside. We're bombarded by Henry and Jadyn, who gather me into a group hug that excludes Dane. I hear Dane sigh in resignation, but then he gets the same treatment as Jack introduces me to Dane's step-mother, Mellie. 

Mellie is on the shorter side, and quite slim. Unlike Jack, she doesn't seem scared to show that she's happy. She wears a massive grin as she hugs me. 

"I'm making breakfast!" Mellie announces to all of us. Jack, Henry, and Dane all groan. "Only joking, Jadyn's making it." 

Jadyn retreats into the kitchen as I get a house tour. The last place we visit is Dane's childhood bedroom. There are baseball posters tacked up, and a ton of framed photos of him with baseball players. There's a baseball in an acrylic box on the dresser, and I can see that it was signed. The comforter on the bed is navy, and also has baseballs all over it. Jack retreats, leaving me and Dane alone. 

"I'm sensing a theme." I tell Dane.

"Yeah. Younger me really knew how to grow an obsession." Dane grins. "Wait 'til you see the closet, though."

Dane flings open the closet for me. It's a walk in closet, but it's mostly empty, save for a couple of jackets. The door is covered with pictures of DNA and articles that I don't have time to look at very closely. You can't even see the paint on the walls, because there are so many pictures of cells taped up. Mostly close-up pictures of cells, but there are some diagrams as well. 

"I--" I'm speechless, so I shut my mouth again.

"My mom was a biologist." Dane says. "That's why I like it so much. She--" He takes a deep beath. "She was born in the US, her parents came here from Mexico when my grandma was seven months pregnant. She was a first-generation college graduate." I glance up at Dane as he blinks rapidly. "Her research was in cancer biology. It was kind of ironic that she died from cancer." He lets out a sad laugh and I reach over so that I can squeeze his hand. "Anyway-- the biology obsession started young, too. It just--" He searches for words. "It made my dad sad, I think."