Worthy Opponents(44)

Mike said something about it one day to Maureen when he came to pick Zack up, and how proud he was of their son. Her reaction was bittersweet, but deep down, she was happy for Zack. He needed a father, even if Mike had woken up to it late in the day. And Mike was grateful for the opportunity to have the chance to be one, even if they had been nearly strangers until now. Zack was being generous with his trust and his time, and opening up to his father as he hadn’t before.

It worried Maureen that Zack would need her less now, and love her less, and Mike understood and reassured her. “You’ll always be his mom, Maureen. He needs us both.” She nodded, with tears in her eyes, and she missed Zack at night when he slept at Mike’s apartment, but it worked better for Zack, needing Mike’s help to shower, use the bathroom, and get into bed, with his casts. And the arrangement they had was working. The college student Maureen had hired was helpful in the daytime. Mike was strong and in good shape and he could manage to help Zack at night, although Zack was bigger than he was, and had shot up and filled out during his time in Europe.

His friends were being faithful about visiting him, and there was a girl from his high school senior year whom he was in touch with and wanted to take out when he could manage and get around on his own again. She came to see him once at Mike’s apartment, and they played video games, and Mike ordered dinner for them and stayed in his small study to leave them alone. Zack had gotten used to his independence and freedom while traveling in Europe, and it was hard to be treated like a child by his parents when he got back. But his injuries had created that situation, so he tried to be understanding about their being overprotective and worrying about him. Zack hated being an invalid for the summer.

Their summer plans were on hold for the moment. Mike had wanted to rent a house in the Hamptons for a few weeks when Jennifer was home, but hadn’t found one yet. And Maureen had planned to go to Italy with friends while Zack and Jennifer were with Mike, but she wanted to wait and see how Zack was doing by then. Nothing was definite yet. Zack wouldn’t be able to manage the beach, or swim in the ocean with his leg in a cast, so he had told Mike he might spend time in the city too.

So far Zack had been a pleasure, not a burden, and Mike wasn’t dating anyone, so he didn’t interfere with Mike’s private life. Mike hadn’t dated anyone since he and Maureen had split up, although Zack hinted that his mother had, but he offered no details. He didn’t want to get in the middle between them. They were all still getting used to the idea of the divorce. But Maureen had moved on faster than Mike. He wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t loved him for years.

Zack had talked to his sister about it, and she said she had been expecting the divorce for years, and thought their parents would be happier now. Zack didn’t disagree, but he didn’t like the idea of having divorced parents, and he worried about who they’d get involved with now, bad boyfriends or girlfriends, people with their own kids, or who’d want to change everything, or come between them and their parents. He was just getting to know his father and he didn’t want to lose him.

“You won’t,” Jenny reassured him. “Dad’s not like that, unless he hooks up with a real loser. He may not have been around much, but he loves us a lot.” She was even more sure of that than her brother, who had listened to their mother say bad things about him for years and believed a lot of it. Zack realized now that many of the things Maureen said weren’t true. Their mother had her own issues with Mike, which Zack could see more clearly now. He could see too that their father was worthy of more respect than he’d been shown by Maureen, who had painted him black to his children for years.

Mike hadn’t told the kids yet, but he had informed Maureen that he had called his lawyer and started the ball rolling for their divorce. He had finally given up on their marriage, after too many years hoping it would change. He saw now that it couldn’t have. Too much had gone wrong for too long, and Maureen was never going to forgive him for his failures in their marriage. But with luck, their children would. Jenny had always been understanding and had her own problems with their mother. Zack was coming to it more slowly, but was on the right path, just from getting to know his father and living with him now. The apartment was small, but big enough for them, living like two bachelors, side by side, father and son. Mike let him have a beer from time to time, and they talked like two men sharing an apartment. Zack liked it when his father treated him like an adult. Maureen coddled and babied him, especially now with his injuries. He used to love it, but it got on his nerves now. He wanted to be treated like a man, even though he was only halfway there. Mike understood that and treated him accordingly. He had felt the same way at Zack’s age. He had thought he was an adult when he left for college. Zack had grown up a lot during his gap year in Europe, and Mike could see now the benefits it had offered Zack. He would have grown up much more slowly at home. And he had needed to get away from the constant war between his parents. Now the war was over. And in peacetime, they were thriving and growing. And Mike’s relationship with his kids was solid.

Spencer was having her own struggles with her sons. Ben was learning to read more slowly than Axel, and not doing as well in school, although he was a happy child. Axel worked harder in his studies with good results. He read easily, but he was quieter and more withdrawn. She thought the differences might be related to their being twins. The school called her, and wanted her to get an assessment of Ben’s abilities, and a psychological evaluation. There were occasional disciplinary problems with both boys, and the school counselor commented that both boys said they hardly ever saw their father, and they didn’t like his girlfriend. They had told the counselor that their mom worked all the time at her job, that she stayed late a lot of the time, and came home when they were already in bed. With some exaggeration, they said they only saw her on Sundays, even though she had dinner with them several times a week. She always tried to come home as early as she could, but problems often came up that she had to stay and handle, and she thought their Saturday nights and full days on Sunday compensated for it. The school counselor didn’t agree and sounded critical of her. Her comments went straight to Spencer’s heart, like a scalpel of guilt.