I don’t remember deciding to leave. One second, I was sitting in my kitchen while the words we got married bounced around my skull looking for somewhere to land. Sophia was congratulating Desi in that careful voice that meant we are not doing this right now, and Josh stood there looking like he might disappear if anybody spoke too loudly. The next second, I was upstairs changing clothes. My daughter had gotten married, and somehow I was putting on workout shorts like that was a normal sequence of events. I thought about going to the spa. That gym had seen me through plenty of emotional crises. But halfway down the stairs, I remembered Dub had a gym at his place now. Even better. No strangers. No questions. No witnesses.
I pulled up just as he was checking the mail outside, looking like a man whose day had not been emotionally vandalized.
“Luc! What’s—”
“I need your gym.”
I didn’t stop walking.
Behind me, he said, “Hello to you too. I’m doing great, thanks for asking. Life is beautiful.”
Normally, I would’ve laughed, but I kept walking. By the time I reached the door, Dub’s joking stopped.
“Okay,” he said, following me inside. “So we’re not doing manners today. Got it.”
I glanced at him finally, so he could see I was not playing with him.
“Lucky for you, I’m not opening today. I just got back from Tami’s.”
I went straight for the punching bag. Dub lingered near the doorway while I wrapped my hands and shoved on the gloves. He didn’t ask what was wrong right away, which I appreciated. Either he knew better, or my face had already answered the question.
I planted my feet, breathed in, then out. The first strikes landed cleanly.
Jab-cross.
The bag rocked sharply on its stand, dipped, then rebounded toward me.
Hook-cross.
“Desi got married.”
Dub blinked. “Married married?”
I exhaled through my nose.
Jab-cross.
“To Josh?”
“Who else?”
“I don’t know, man. I’m just trying to keep up.”
The bag bobbled hard beneath my punches before snapping upright again. My breathing stayed measured at first. Years of yoga made that part automatic. Peace in. Chaos out.
“She came home this morning and said it like she bought new shoes.”
Jab-cross-hook.
“We got married,” I repeated in my best rendition of her voice.
Dub let out a low whistle. “Wow. That was definitely unexpected. Had she said anything before?”
I adjusted my stance as the bag rebounded.
“The other day.”
Cross-hook.
“I didn’t take it well.”
Body shot. Cross.
“Tried to talk her out of it.”
The bag rocked low and sprang back.
Jab-cross-hook-cross.
“She told me my logic was flawed.”
The stand squeaked against the floor.
“She was right.”
Sweat gathered beneath my shirt. My breath had shortened now.
“I was thinking ’bout my parents’ mess.”
Hook.
“That wasn’t fair.”
I rolled my shoulders, working through the tension settling there.
“So I told her I supported her.”
The next hit drove the bag nearly sideways before it corrected itself.
Dub tilted his head. “Okay…”
My jaw tightened. “I didn’t know she meant immediately.”
This time I drove through the punches.
Cross-hook-cross.
The bag snapped back at me hard enough to crowd my space.
Dub nodded slowly. “Ahh.”
“I thought she meant someday.”
Jab-cross-hook.
“Near future.”
Hook-cross.
“Not tomorrow!”
I stepped in harder.
Jab-cross-hook-cross-hook.
The bag shuddered violently on its base. My breathing became heavy. Heat climbed my neck. Sweat ran down my back. Dub let me burn through it.
“Sounds like maybe she didn’t know either,” he said.
I hated that answer. The bag paid for it.
Jab-cross-hook-cross-body-hook.
The impact boomed through the room.
“She did this without us!”
That came out with an onslaught of punches. The bag rocked and rebounded faster now, jerking under repeated blows and snapping back into position before I was ready for it. I went in. No reset. No measured cadence anymore. Just power.
Hook-cross-hook-cross.
“I told her I supported her!”
Cross.
“And I meant it!”
Hook-cross.
“Josh is good for her!”
I was hitting the bag so hard that the stand scraped across the floor as it inched away from me.
“She did it without us.”
My shoulders burned, and my breath turned rough. The bag snapped back toward me again, and I met it with one final burst.
Cross-hook-cross-hook-uppercut.
The whole thing lurched and shivered on its base before settling into smaller rebounds, and so did I. The words left me breathless. And so did the fight.
I stepped back and let the bag finish its nervous little bobbling while the room filled with the sound of my own breathing. I bent slightly at the waist, hands on my thighs for a second, pulling air deep into my lungs.
“I’m not mad she married him,” I said, watching the bag settle.
Dub stayed quiet.
“I just…”
I looked at the bag, but didn’t hit it this time. Dub’s face softened. Then he nodded toward the door.
“Come on.”
I peeled off the gloves and followed him outside. The fresh air helped. By the time we reached the patio, my breathing had mostly settled, though my chest still felt tight in places no amount of cardio could fix.
Dub remained standing while I sat and inspected my knuckles.
“So,” he said. “What are you really upset about?”
I looked at him.
“You gave her your blessing,” he continued. “She married a guy you approve of. She’s happy. So what part has you ready to fight furniture?”
I stared at my hands. “She’s my only daughter.”
And there it was. The thing underneath all the noise. Dub’s expression changed immediately.
“I know it probably sounds selfish,” I said.
“It doesn’t.”
“I thought…” I swallowed and looked toward the yard. “I thought I’d walk her down the aisle one day.”
Dub listened.
“I thought Sophia would help her get ready, and I’d try not to cry, and Desi would make fun of me for failing.” I let out a dry little laugh, but it didn’t go far. “I thought we’d get that moment.”
My throat tightened. “And now it’s just … gone.”
Dub nodded slowly. “Yeah. I get that.”
“And this was huge, Dub. One of the biggest moments of her life, and she didn’t think we needed to be there.”
“She probably thought about it.”
“That’s worse.”
He winced. “Fair.”
I rubbed my knuckles, still staring at nothing. “I know it wasn’t about me. She said that, and she was right.” I shook my head. “I hate that she was right.”
Dub chuckled softly. “That’s the worst kind of right.”
“The absolute worst.”
For a minute, neither of us said anything. The ache didn’t leave. It just stopped swinging at me.
Dub shifted his weight, still staring at me. “No offense, but this is kind of your fault.”
I turned to him. “Excuse me?”
“You raised a mature, independent woman who knows her own mind.” He spread his hands. “Congratulations. She used it.”
I wanted to be offended. I really did. Unfortunately, a laugh escaped first.
Dub smiled like he’d been waiting for it. “Our girls are gonna do what they want. That’s the job, right? Raise them strong enough to leave us standing there looking stupid?”
“I don’t remember signing up for that.”
He snorted, shaking his head knowingly. “Nobody reads the fine print.”
I shook my head too, but the tightness in my chest loosened a little.
“Look, I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt,” he said in a softer voice. “It would hurt me too. But when you’re done being mad, I think you’re gonna be proud.”
I looked back down at my hands. “Maybe.”
“You will.”
I didn’t answer, but I believed him more than I wanted to.
Dub stepped away from me and glanced toward the yard. “You wanna play ping pong?”
I blinked at him. “What?”
“I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never actually come out here.”
I looked past him at the table sitting in his own backyard like it had been waiting for him to discover it.
“You own this place, Dub.”
“I know. Growth is embarrassing.”
I let out another laugh, quieter this time. “Sure,” I said. “I think I’ve got more steam to blow off.”
Dub grabbed the paddles and grinned. “Since you’re so upset, I’ll consider letting you win.”
“You’re such a gracious host.”
