Almost Easy

Zack’s POV

Liz was sitting across from Matt, Colton on her lap. I was watching from the kitchen as Danny hastily paced the floor behind me, “Dude…” I turned and looked at him, “I know this is probably not the easiest situation for you right now, but you’re making my hair turn gray as we speak with the pacing you’re doing.”

“Sorry.” He mumbled and sat at the table. I was reading Liz’s lips, as she struggled through the words while Colton stared up at her.

Matt was bouncing his knee up and down, he looked more nervous than I had anticipated him to be. But suddenly, Liz jolted her eyes towards me and took a breath in. Then she continued and Colton shot out of her lap and into Matt’s arms. She buried her face in her hands and wiped her face, I was assuming tears from her cheeks, and then looked up at the embrace happening.

Matt had Colton fully engulfed in his arms, tears were visibly streaming down his face. Colton was completely vibrating with excitement; he was wiggling all throughout Matt’s arms. Liz looked over at me and mouthed thank you. I nodded and looked back at Danny, “I’m sorry, man.”

“It is what it is.” He looked over to where Matt and Colt were hugging, “As long as Liz and Colt are happy, that’s all that really matters. She’s such a great person, I hate that she wasn’t happy.”

“She’s never going to be happy because the only time she’s happy is the five minutes Matt gives her the time of day before fucking shit up again.” I laughed, “It’s not you, at all. I bet you’re a great dude, you got her to stick around so you must be.”

He looked down at his phone, “I should head to the airport though, I don’t want to miss that flight.”

“Alright… Are you going to say goodbye?” I gestured to the other room where Matt was now standing, spinning Colt around talking to him.

“Nah… It’ll probably be best if I just sneak out. He’s so happy he won’t even notice.” Danny stood up and left, it was maybe one of the sadder things I had ever seen happen.

I turned back and looked in the living room where Liz, Matt, and Colton were all sharing a big hug. I smiled and leaned against the table, taking my phone out and snapping a picture of the sight. If they weren’t getting together again, ever, at least a picture of a time where they could coexist would be nice.

“Oh Zacky!” Liz called as they broke apart, her voice now ringing through the house, “Zachary!”

“I’m coming.” I laughed and walked in, ignoring the calls on my phone from Jacky that I had been ignoring all night and day so far, “What’s up family?” I smiled as Colton ran over to me and hugged my legs, “Hey there dude.”

“That’s my dad!” He pointed at Matt, “We get to move back to be close to him since he’s so far away from us!” He smiled, I smiled at Liz, admiring the choice of explanation she used, “Dad says that means we get to live closer to you, and Ethan, and Liddy!”

“That does mean that.” I smiled and looked at Matt and Liz.

“And they’ll be right down the street at my place for a while.” Matt smiled.

“I get to stay with Daddy while Mommy goes and get’s my blankets from our home, too!” Colton smiled and Liz diverted her eyes, walking out of the room suddenly. I gestured to her and Matt shook his head.

“That’s exciting.” I smiled, “Listen, why don’t you go upstairs and watch your tablet while I talk with Mom and Dad about a playdate with Ethan, ok?” I asked. Colton nodded excitedly and disappeared upstairs, “What was that?” I pointed at Liz.

“She didn’t tell him they weren’t going back, eventually.” Matt took a deep breath, “We didn’t get that far but I think it might work better if we just casually pepper that in later. He didn’t even ask about Danny…” Matt looked behind me.

“He left.” I shrugged, “His flight leaves soon. Fuck, she’s going to lose it.”

“Honestly?” Matt looked from the sliding door where Liz had escaped, to me, “I think she’s going to be ok. We have a lot to talk about and set boundaries, but I think it’s going to be ok. I’m not going to expect anything from this except having Colt around.”

“Wow.” I stepped back, “If you can actually keep that up, I think it’ll work out. I mean, don’t make the first move let her do it but… If it happens it happens. If not, whatever right?”

“Exactly. I really just want Colton around, I’m like… Clearly emotional.” Matt wiped his face and laughed, “I should probably go look for her.”

“No,” I shook my head, “I’ll go. Colton’s upstairs if he needs someone this is time for you to step in.” Matt nodded and took a seat on the couch as I left and walked towards the beach.

I meandered around until I saw a figure sitting in the sand, smoke lightly billowing from her mouth. I shook my head, where the fuck she had found cigarettes was beyond me. I walked up and plunked down in the sand beside Liz, watching as her eyes didn’t flinch off the ocean.

“Hey.” She exhaled, “Matt’s with Colt I assume?”

“He’s with his son, yes.” I nodded, “Danny left for the airport.”

Her shoulders flinched but she continued to exhale smoke into the sky, “Great. Zack?” She looked over at me finally, her eyes wet and bloodshot, “Is it really me?”

“What?” I asked as she gestured around.

“Do I just make the worst decisions and cause all of this? Do I bring it on myself?” She asked, “I feel like at this point, Matt’s going to be a great dad, and I just fucked up the first five years of Colton’s life.” She looked at the dwindling cigarette in her fingers.

“I don’t think you do it on purpose, Liz. I just think… I think you had the luxury of never needing to make up your mind because Matt was always the fallback, and we were always there to catch you, that you never had to make a solid decision a day in your life. You could make these paper think choices and once they inevitably tore and you fell, you never had to worry about where you landed. But now you have to worry about where Colton lands… and I think the fact Matt’s willing to be his safety net now is your biggest saving grace. But you have to remember… We aren’t catching you anymore, Lizzy. We love you and we’ll always be here, but you need to start thinking things through. For the long run.” I watched her nod, the sentiment sinking in.

“The long run.” She flicked the final ash from her cigarette and replaced it in the pack so not to litter, “Now that Danny’s gone I don’t know what my long run looks like, Zack.”

“Why are you in such a rush to figure that out? You have Colt, just run with it. Stop pushing yourself, give yourself time to just adjust again and get used to it. We’ve all had to make huge changes in how we all interact for the sake of our friendships…” I paused as my phone went off again, “Fuck.”

“What?” Liz asked.

I heaved a breath in and out again, biting the inside of my lip and looking at Liz, “I don’t know what my long run looks like either at this point.” I showed her the incoming call from Jacky and her jaw dropped. I ignored it and took one of her cigarettes, “Baker’s have an affinity for fucking shit up.”