Chapter 28 Cal
Princess
Mom asked if you’d be coming over today.
So we’re ready to be official with our parents?
Princess
Mine won’t be surprised. I think my mom figured this out before you did, Princess.
Me? Like you were being so clear and open.
Princess
Lol, fair.
I dunno about my parents, they’re shitheads, but I wanna tell Cara, if that’s cool.
Princess
Yeah, of course. Your parents too when you’re ready.
Are they playing nice together?
No, they weren’t. Thanksgiving was the shitshow I’d expected it to be. Since neither Momma nor Daddy would settle on how to split the holiday, they had the bright idea to share it.
What the fuck, you ask? Yeah, me too.
Momma and her sisters were busy in the kitchen, doing who only knew what since she’d purchased already prepared food this year. On Daddy’s dime, of course, which pissed him off. His brothers kept him on the patio, plying him with alcohol to keep him mellow.
Football played on the outdoor big screen, and conversation flowed with the chunky clouds breezing through a pale blue sky.
Dinner was scheduled for three, which was one of those odd things I never questioned. We didn’t normally eat dinner that early. It was only one, so I had hours to go before I could slip away to my room and sulk, missing Jack in the peace and quiet of my mind.
With Daddy distracted by family and a discussion about bowl games this season, I continued my conversation with the person I wanted to be around today.
Yeah, as long as they remain 20 feet from each other.
I snickered to myself.
“What was that for?” Paw Paw asked with a smiling face full of wrinkles. He didn’t drive anymore, so Daddy had left early this morning to bring him here. It’d been a quiet few hours before the storm.
“No reason. Kinda hungry.”
Paw Paw nodded. “You know I miss your granny every day, but days like this, I miss her cooking.”
“Cobbler?” I asked.
Paw Paw grinned. Daddy looked just like him, but more often, I wished he acted just like him. Who knew what had happened to turn Daddy into such a dick when his parents were so awesome.
“And red velvet cake.”
I slid my eyes closed and hummed. Granny had been a good cook, and though it had been a tiny fib before, now I really was hungry.
Paw Paw patted my shoulder before disappearing inside. I remained where I stood, jealous and frowning that he could come and go so easily, when Daddy’d require an inquisition if it were me. One day, I wouldn’t be under his thumb. If I could just make it until then without blowing up again.
Neither of us had mentioned that night at dinner—imagine that—and I did my best to forget it as he probably had.
Paw Paw came back with a fresh drink. He smiled at me as he passed, and then everyone hummed with conversation again. Daddy didn’t care if I contributed, as long as I was present for it. I drank from my water bottle and glanced at my phone.
Princess
Still want to see me tomorrow?
Hell yeah. The need to see him, be around him, increased with every day. Made me want to do stupid things so I could. Like sneak out at night or skip school. That wasn’t me, but damn, I sure wanted it to be.
Yes!
Princess
Lol. Good.
Imagining you spread on my table instead of that turkey is getting me through the day.
Princess
Wow. Okay. Kinky. I like it.
What else do you like?
Grinning and waiting for the read notification, Daddy caught me off guard, surprising me when his shadow fell across my screen.
“Put your phone away. It’s a family day, Calvin.”
I shoved my phone in my pocket quickly.
“Let him be, Martin,” Paw Paw said, coming over to stand next to me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and shook me gently. “Boy’s got something puttin’ a smile on his face, so let him be.”
My cheeks burned as if they’d all read my texts with Jack.
“He can talk to his friends any day. Family isn’t over very often,” Daddy said, and thank fuck for that.
Had it just been Paw Paw, it’d be fine. With Momma and her sisters …
Jesus, even before the divorce, my aunts were hard to handle.
I’d swear they accepted today’s invite just to instigate more drama between Momma and Daddy.
Paw Paw lifted his chin, narrowed his eyes, but smiled as he did. “I seem to recall more than a few times I caught you sulking when we’d been over at Nanna Mae’s for holidays to visit with family.”
Picturing Daddy as a teenager proved impossible. He’d surely been born a grumpy man.
“That’s an exaggeration,” Daddy said.
“I may not be able to drive much anymore, but my memory is crystal clear.” Paw Paw turned to me and grinned. “Should’ve seen the faces he’d pull. I used to take pictures of that sourpuss just to show him when he got older.”
“What happened to the pictures?” I asked.
Paw Paw waved his hand. “Oh, your daddy ripped them up.” He tapped his temple. “Only evidence is up here.”
“Thankfully,” Daddy grumbled and returned to talking with my uncles.
So much had happened over the last year.
So much that I barely remembered Daddy before the split.
I couldn’t remember him smiling or helping me learn anything when I was a kid.
I couldn’t remember conversations that didn’t involve someone being angry, but they had to have happened.
Would this ever get better? One day, would the resentment fade enough Daddy would smile again?
Both of them were right, though. I should interact with family since they were here, but also, Jack did put smiles on my face, and I wouldn’t let that go.
I didn’t reach for my phone immediately, no matter how much I wanted to. Had Jack taken my mood and escalated? Would he send something dirty, maybe a dick pic?
Oh, Princess, please send a dick pic.
He didn’t, the tease, just said we’d figure out what we liked together.
I checked my phone a few times but mostly engaged in the football talk. A safe subject for all, and one I could fully immerse myself in to pass the time with everyone.
When my stomach growled, needing a snack or at least to find out when we’d be eating, I walked into the kitchen just as Momma and Daddy started showing their ugly sides. It’d been too much to hope they could make it a full day without taking a jab at each other.
“That was your decision, Sara,” Daddy said in a tired tone.
“A decision you forced me into. Like hell I was gonna live in this house and be the outsider.”
“You wouldn’t be an outsider if you just fucking showed up every once in a while. Do you know how difficult it is to raise two teenagers?”
Momma huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Why, yes, Martin, I do. And it’s about time you found out.”
I silently backtracked the way I’d just come, slipped out the back door, and rounded the house.
Once upon a time, I’d tried to step between them, to mediate their fights.
It’d been a wasted effort. They fought over me, through me, and never controlled themselves.
I’d given up on trying. Like fighting dogs, it was safer not to get between them.
Maybe spraying them down with a water hose would work.
I laughed and promised to give it a go if they were ever bickering outside.
The front door was unlocked from earlier when everyone arrived, so I headed for it, hoping I could sneak in and get a break in my room for a few minutes.
Or not.
I pulled up short as Sasha straightened from peeking through one of the windows on the front of the house.
“What’re you doin’?” I asked with way more chill than this day deserved.