How to love

twenty-four: My Jason

"She can keep them." I quipped with a smile. "I think I've read them that many times, I was surprised there was ink left on the pages." He laughs lightly. "And your dad?"

He shrugged. "He was on a call when she rang."

My lips instinctively turned into a frown. "Does he always deal with business? Like, always? Does he not have a day off?"

"I think the last day of my dad had was the day I was born." He told me. "He retired when I was nineteen, he wanted me to take over his business but he was so strict in his ways, he ended up coming out of retirement and taking over again after three months. Leading me to start up my own business - he has a team now, but he still worked much to my mom dismay."

"She must miss him." I mutter quietly. "I couldn't imagine having someone so solely focused on work that they forget who and what's around them. I would want my husband to do his own thing, of course especially if it's their job, but I would hate for them to come home and still be in that work space. When you step through the front door of your home, all baggage and stresses of the day needs to be left on the mat - that's what my mom always told me."

He was quiet.

"But of course it's different with you and your father. You two own the most successful businesses in all of America, it's not exactly easy for you both to switch off."

He smiles slightly, the dimple in his cheek didn't appear and indicated that it was fake. But I didn't push it. We rode in silence for a while longer, the apology crawling up my chest and burning my throat - but he beats me to it.

"So, big mac or McNuggets?"

Two pit stops, a argument over driving and a quick fifteen minute nap later, I stepped into the crunchy snow of my childhood home and feel all emotions hurtling through my chest. Her chair still sat on the porch and I still expected to see our neighbours fluffy ginger cat curled at her feet after she sneakily fed the obese animal.

"Frankie!"

A step more and he would be sprinting towards me. I meet him on the overgrown path and snuggle into his warm embrace, feeling his chest relax beneath my cheek. "I missed you too, dad."

"I didn't think you would make it, kiddo! That snow got pretty chaotic last night and it's only expected to get worse in the next few days!" He tells me, taking a step back. His eyes wandering over my shoulder and he smiles, holding his hand out. "Jason, great to see you again, son."

Goosebumps erupts across my layered arms at my dad's greeting. Paul got called son soon after he and Flo started dating and when he was questioned about it, my dad's response was: "I knew he would be apart of the family one day."

Did he think Jason would be family one day?

"Frankie!" My dad calls. He and Jason already stand on the porch steps and shake their heads. "She always did have a habit of spacing out." He nudges Jason's arm. "Come on! You'll end up like Jack Frost if you stand out any longer!"

I didn't miss Jason's smirk as I hurry behind them, noting that they had already grabbed the heavy load of bags from the crammed trunk. Shivering as I get inside, I shrug my coat of and hang it on the peg beside the front door before following the loud chatter from the living room.

"Auntie Frankie!" Vivian yelps, bouncing from her dad's lap to tackle my waist. "Papa said I wasn't allowed to go out because the snow is too cold."

"Papa was right." I giggle, stroking my hand across her silky hair. "We wouldn't want you to become a snowman would we?"

"I'm not a boy!"

"Alright, snow-woman then." I laugh.

Greeting Flo and Paul, and grabbing two cups of dad's infamous hot chocolate from the kitchen, I return to look for Jason but find him missing from our living room.