If We Have Each Other

Chapter 25

"How was the sleepover?" his mom asked, backing the car out of the driveway.

"It was really fun," Logan said.

"Really? Usually you're really quiet at sleepovers, and always want to leave," his mom questioned.

"True, but Dallas is....different from Paul and Ashton. Not in a bad way, I'm just saying there's one-on-one contact all the time, where Paul and Ashton usually just talk to each other and I kind of get left out," Logan said, not realizing what he had revealed.

"Can you define 'one-on-one contact' for me please?" his mom asked, giving him a look.

"What do you—" Logan started, realizing his word choice. "I mean talking," Logan quickly said.

"Oh, ok. Thanks for clarifying," his mom said. "Did you have breakfast?"

"Yeah, Dallas's dad made French toast, it was delicious," Logan said.

"Was the recipe any different from regular French toast?" his mom asked.

"I don't think so, other than a little bit of cinnamon," Logan replied.

"Interesting. I wonder what they do differently," his mom thought out loud.

"I'm not sure, I could ask Dallas if you want," Logan offered.

"No, it's fine, I was just curious," his mom replied. A few minutes later, they pulled up to their driveway.

"I'm going shopping, do you want to stay here or should I drop you off at your dad's? You could go shopping with me if you want, but I'm assuming you don't," his mom said.

"Umm, can you drop me off at dad's after I drop off my bag?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, you can unpack first," his mom said. Logan went inside the house, unpacked his things, and returned to the car.

The car ride to his dad's house was silent. It was a very awkward silence. Logan was worried if he breathed too hard, his mom would hear his breath. An excruciatingly long 10 minutes later, Logan was dropped off at his dad's small house, and knocked on the door.

"Oh, hi Logan, come on in," his dad greeted him.

"Hey dad. I just got back from a sleepover," he told him.

"Really? You were at a sleepover?" his dad asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I was. I had a sleepover with Dallas," Logan said.

"Haven't you only known him for a few days?" his dad asked.

"Yeah, but we get along really well," Logan said, hoping his dad would approve.

"Hm. Interesting. Well I don't have any plans for today, unless you want to do something," his dad said.

"No thanks, I'll only be here for a few hours. Or days, however long mom takes to finish shopping," Logan said.

"Women will shop forever if you let them. And they spend all your money. Don't marry a woman," his dad replied. This took Logan off guard.

"Wait, what did he just say?" Logan thought. "Wow, he really said that."

After some judgment of the situation, Logan said back, "I wasn't planning on it." His dad paused, and looked over at Logan.

"Really? I was expecting you to say something else, something along the lines of 'but I want to so I will,'" his dad said. Logan thought about how to proceed.

"I just don't want to deal with women. At least not now," Logan said, regretting he got into this conversation.

"That's fine. I'll support you either way," his dad said. Seizing the opportunity, Logan disappeared to his room, disappearing into the rabbit hole of YouTube. He watched more of the Not Just Bikes channel Dallas recommended, and waited for his mom to pick him up.

Around 4 pm, Logan's mom returned to the house to pick him up. She had texted Logan beforehand to avoid talking to his dad.

"Mom's here, I have to go," Logan said, getting his shoes and coat on.

"Oh ok. I'll see you later then," his dad said, barely moving. Logan finished putting his things on, and walked out the door to his mom's car idling in the driveway.

"Sorry I took so long, Saturdays are always busy," she said.

"It's fine," Logan replied.

"I'm making teriyaki chicken for dinner, are you okay with that?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's fine," he replied. Just like on the ride here, the rest of the car ride home was silent.

Logan stepped out of the car, and held the door open for his mom with her 15 shopping bags.

"Wow, dad wasn't joking," Logan thought.

"Jesus, how much stuff did you get?" he asked her as he closed the door behind them.

"They were on sale, how could I not?" she reasoned.

"Just because something's on sale doesn't mean you are obligated to buy it. Don't you have any self control?" Logan asked.

"What makes you think I don't have self control? I would not have bought these things if I couldn't afford them," she replied.

"Okay, fine. I'm just wondering why you needed so many things," Logan said.

"I didn't really need them, I just wanted some new things," she said.

"That's fair," Logan said, wanting out of this conversation. He escaped upstairs to his room. After a few minutes of watching more YouTube, Logan heard his mother's voice from downstairs.