Page 129 of Power Move

I grabbed the hammer and nails, placing them on the fence post. As Bert held the board steady, I nailed three in before moving opposite.

“You’re a lefty,” Bert observed.

“Yes, I am,” I agreed. “To my mother’s dismay and that of the nuns in my preschool who triedsohard to stop me from writing left-handed.”

I wondered to myself if our boys would be stuck with that regrettable trait.

“Lefties are supposed to be world leaders, aren’t they?”

“No clue,” I laughed, setting the hammer in his toolbox after the final nail.

Bert and I stood back and looked at our progress.

“It should do. That little bastard better watch himself,” Bert groaned. “He’s an old man. I told him he should know better.”

We returned to the barn, Bert lugging his toolbox. I put Poco in the pasture and found Bert filling the water trough.

“Why are you here? Without Eva?” He asked.

“Eva doesn’t know I’m here. She didn’t send me. I’m trying to help her fix things. She wants you in her life but cannot deal with Brooke. She thinks you will never love her and accept our kids like you do Miles. I know that isn’t true, but she needs to hear it.”

A car pulled up. Eva’s mother approached, probably confused to see my driver.

“Is Eva here?” She called.

“No, Mary. It’s David. He wanted to talk about Eva.”

Mary approached, purse over her shoulder, face angry, and arms crossed.

Bert turned off the spigot and shook his head. “Like I said before, we love Eva and want to be in her life, but we struggle with the Brooke part.”

My stomach lurched. “Which part? You can honestly say you want nothing to do with our children? That doesn’t seem right. Brooke is your child, but she’s also been a homophobic, shitty person to Eva. She’s shamed her and accused her of everything under the sun. I understand your desire to make it all work, but neither Eva nor I will tolerate that behavior around our children.”

“It’s not that we want that. It’s that I think we can put aside differences. With Eva, everything is black and white,” Mary curtly said. “There is no compromise with her. And you being here on her behalf is living proof she’s unwilling to talk about any of this.”

“In many ways, I agree,” I said. “Eva is especially stubborn, but she does what is right to protect the people she loves—that includes you. She didn’t send me. She doesn’t know I’m here. I do this because I love her and I know you do, too. There must be a way.”

“Not if she cannot compromise?—”

“Mary, listen to him a second,” Bert groaned.

I explained, “To Eva, it is something she is. It is whoweare as a family, too. I’d agree with you that we could agree to disagree over putting ketchup on a hotdog, but this isn’t like that.”

Bert said, “That’s it! This isn’t a political disagreement or a spat. This is who Eva is. When Brooke says these things, she knows it hurts.”

“I never see it that way. What does it matter? Eva is with David. They aren’t a gay couple. Their kids don’t even need to know.”

I rubbed my temples, trying not to fly off the handle. I heard my sister Dahlia’s voice in my head—her annoyed retort and Mum’s insistence that dating a man “cured” her. She’d shouted, “Good dick doesn’t change this! I’m me!” Mum regretted those words for months after she returned to culinary school and didn’t come home for a year. Daphne and I tried to protect Dahlia and do the legwork, but it took years to rebuild things between them.

“Eva would tell them. We would tell them,” I said. “Besides, they have an aunt who has mostly dated women. This is a topic we cannot avoid—wouldn’t avoid. I haven’t changed Eva. I didn’t rewrite her past. I didn’t want to.”

“Doesn’t talking about it bother you?”

“No. Why?”

“I cannot imagine having to compete with the idea of womenandmen,” Mary cringed.

“I’m not in competition with anyone,” I said. “I don’t worry she’s going to run off with a woman any more than I worry about her running off with a man. Regardless, we have kids together—kids that Eva wants you to know. I’m not asking you to consider loving your other daughter less or to never speak to her again. Eva would never want that either. It’s why when Ellie suggested she uninvite you to spare Eva the awkwardness at the wedding, Eva told her to not do that.”