Part 2: Chapter 2
Nathan, Clay, and Julian sat at a booth and Karen's Café.
"So she just left?" Clay asked.
"Yeah," Nathan replied. "She said she needed a vacation to herself, and who could blame her? Keith has been a real handful lately and Lydia is being a real brat. She called Haley a stupid bitch."
"That's awful," Julian said.
Chase arrived and sat down at the booth as well.
"Sorry I'm late," Chase said. "I was busy grounding Jonathan and the parking around here sucks. Can you catch me up on what I missed?"
"Lydia called Haley a stupid bitch and Haley went on a vacation by herself," Julian said.
"Wow," Chase said.
Chuck walked over to them.
"Since when is Lydia such a brat?" Chuck asked.
"I don't know," Nathan said. "Haley thinks she and I are bad parents, and I'm starting to believe her."
"First of all Nathan, you are a wonderful parent," Chuck said. "Even if you did slap Jamie once."
"You slapped Jamie?" Chase asked.
"It was 6 years ago," Nathan said.
"Second of all, don't let your kids bring you down," Chuck said. "It is important to let your kids know that they are being brats and it needs to stop."
"Who are you and what did you do with Chuck?" Chase asked.
"I have a son now," Chuck said. "The old Chuck is gone."
"Where is Jacob?" Julian asked.
"Oh crap!" Chuck said.
Chuck went behind the counted and picked Jacob up.
"Found you," Chuck said. "You are the best hider. You win."
"Yay!" Jacob cheered.
"You're right Chuck," Nathan said. "I need to let my kids know that the way they've been acting is not okay."
"Hey Nathan," Jacob said.
"Yes Jacob?" Nathan asked.
"I was just saying hi," Jacob said.
Nathan, Chase, Julian, and Clay began to laugh.
Later, Nathan walked over to Lydia who was sitting on the couch doing her homework. Nathan sat down next to his daughter.
"You know what you said to your mother was wrong," Nathan said. "I'm very disappointed in you."
"I know," Lydia said. "I feel like a horrible person. I didn't mean what I said."
"But you still said it," Nathan said. "And for that, you're grounded for 3 weeks."
"Understandable," Lydia said.
"Look Lydia," Nathan said. "You're mother and I want you to be careful."
"I am," Lydia said. "Jonathan and I have only had sex once. We want to again, but we're waiting until we're older."
"I know," Nathan said. "But it's just so hard to see you grow up. No matter how old you get, you'll always be my little girl."
After talking with Lydia, Nathan went upstairs and knocked on Keith's door.
"Come in," Keith said.
Nathan walked into Keith's room where Keith was lying down on his bed.
"Hey son," Nathan said. "Sit up. I want to talk to you."
Keith sat up and Nathan sat beside him.
"You need to quit talking back to your mother and me," Nathan said. "It's rude and hurtful. I know your mother and I are adults, but that doesn't mean we don't have feelings too."
"I'm sorry Daddy," Keith said.
"Just remember to think of other people's feelings," Nathan said.
Nathan and Keith shared a hug.
"Now I want to talk to you about a phone call I received today," Nathan said. "It was from your teacher."
"What did she say?" Keith asked.
"She said you've seemed sad everyday and that sometimes you cry in school," Nathan said.
"She's crazy," Keith said.
"Keith," Nathan said.
"Okay," Keith said. "I'm sad and I'm angry! How could Jamie leave us like that?"
"Oh," Nathan said. "That's why you've been acting this way."
"I miss Jamie so much," Keith said.
"Why didn't you just talk to me?" Nathan asked.
"You and Mom have enough to worry about," Keith replied. "I didn't want to annoy you with mine."
"Keith," Nathan said. "I'm your father. If you ever feel upset, you can always talk to me."
"Thanks Daddy," Keith said.
"You're welcome," Nathan said.
"I miss him so much," Keith said.
"Me too," Nathan said. "The other day I absentmindedly went to his old office at the high school to say hi."
"Really?" Keith asked.
"Yeah," Nathan said.
"I miss when he would sometimes pick me up from school and take me to the beach," Keith said.
"I miss when he and I would go for runs on the beach every Thursday and talk about things," Nathan said.
"I miss him period," Keith said.
"Do you want to cry?" Nathan asked. "It's okay if you want to cry. We can cry together."
"Okay," Keith said.
Nathan and Keith embraced tightly and cried together. Lydia walked into the room crying as well and joined in the hug.
"Don't worry," Nathan cried. "Jamie is coming to visit for Thanksgiving."
"It's not the same," Keith cried.
"Oh," Lydia cried. "I'm crying because I feel bad for what I said to Mom. But Jamie living in another state sucks too."