“Whatever! Georgina, come let’s get you a drink,” my mom says and just as they leave the room, Georgina looks at me and gives me a smile that I’m not completely sure is genuine before she speaks. Maybe I’m imagining it, or maybe she is annoyed about the potential fifth wheel on this ‘double date.’

“Oh, hi Whitney! Didn’t see ya there at first!”

I feel like that’s untrue, but okay. “Hi Georgina.”

“I had nothing to do with this,” my father says when they leave the room without drawing his eyes away from the television.

“This has your wife written all over it, I already know.” Jacob laughs as he pulls the bottled IPA beer to his lips.

“You know she wants you to settle down. Meet someone. Give her a baby to babysit while we wait for grandchildren, I don’t know.” He waves his hand around and the idea of him meeting someone makes me sick to my stomach. Fucking some other woman and giving her a baby. The alcohol mixed with my jealousy is causing an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach and I suddenly want to throw up the waffles I’d eaten.

His eyes flit to mine as inconspicuous as possible but that quickly I can see the apology in his eyes. He turns back toward the television and away from me. “So, this is what I’m going to be dealing with for the next few hours? Entertaining this? I thought you and I were supposed to be watching the game. I didn’t realize this was a… whatever this is,” Jacob says, and I’m glad he doesn’t seem to be into the idea.

“What do you want me to do? Tell her to go home? J, if you’re not interested, she’ll live.”

“I don’t want to have to be warding off her attempts to flirt or talk. I can’t be rude to the woman.”

“Why does it matter anyway? So, she flirts? What, you can’t talk to a single good-looking woman without it turning into something?” He’s still looking at the television so he doesn’t notice me stiffen at the question with the underlying accusation. What was the big deal? After today, never talk to her again if you’re not interested. The big deal had to do with me sitting in the same room witnessing said flirtation and seething with jealousy over something I had no business being jealous over. But he couldn’t tell my father that.

“Nothing, never mind,” he mutters, because really what could he say? I don’t like women flirting with me now? It makes me uncomfortable especially in front of your daughter who just so happens to be my ex-girlfriend?