Page 82 of Antagonist

He nods. “I’m picking up my last few things, and then I can hand you the key.”

“It was good having you here, man. I’ll miss you.”

He laughs. “You mean you’ll miss my cookies?”

I shrug. “First man I met who didn’t ask me to put out in exchange for cookies.”

He snorts.

“Do you need a hand?” I ask.

“Yeah, that would be great. Levi would have come, but he’s looking after Ava and Megan.”

I help him take a small chest of drawers he bought when he moved upstairs and a few boxes of linens to his car.

When we’re done, he hands me the key.

“Fletch, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

He looks like he’s thinking about how to phrase it. “How do you feel about Fran being back? She seems to be hanging around this time.”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Maybe because she’s like a category four hurricane leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. Your friends worry because they care. We’ve seen how you change when she’s here, and you don’t take a breath until she leaves.”

“I thought you liked her.”

“I do, Fletch, but I don’t share a kid with her. I know she loves George, but I think she loves herself and her life more. She’s also still in love with you, which puts George in what? Third, maybe second, in her warped list of priorities?”

I think about what he’s saying. Is he right?

“Can I offer you a coffee?” I ask.

“I’d love one.”

We head back inside. My head is still spinning, but Arlo knows me well, and he’s someone I trust to confide in.

I grab two pods for the coffee machine and gesture for Arlo to sit at the table.

“Ugh, this is so complicated.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

I tell Arlo about how I spent the weekend with Harrison and Fran appearing on my doorstep with her request to take George to Europe because she doesn’t want to miss out on more of his kid years. I end with how Harrison offered to help me fight Fran to keep George here.

“Wow, make it two sugars on that coffee because this is going to take extra-level processing,” he says.

“I was such a dick to Harrison, and all he wanted was to help.”

“Do you want to keep George here?”

I want to say yes, absolutely, but I know I have no right to be that selfish. “You’ve traveled the world, seen a lot of the beautiful things it has to offer. I have as well, Arlo. I don’t want George to miss out on those experiences just because I want him here.”

Arlo takes a sip of his coffee. “True, but he’s seven. He has his whole life ahead of him. These are the important years when he needs to form friendships, fight with his best friends, and be in timeout. Those are also important parts of growing up, and they offer balance.”

“I agree. You know how I feel about the lost years. I don’t want George to have regrets or feel he’s being pushed into something he doesn’t want. He won’t know it now. It’ll be when he’s much older that he’ll suddenly realize how different things could have been.”