“No. Why would you ask Megan to set up your birthday party?”
“I don’t know. It just seemed like the easiest way to get it done.”
Shaking my head, I sigh. “We’ll talk about it when I get home.”
“Cool.”
“I hope you have a great day today. Be good.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m always good.”
I hope that’s true.
“Megan is yelling at me to hurry,” she says. “So I gotta go. See you tonight, Dad.”
“I love you, Kennedy.”
“Love you, Daddy. Bye.”
“Bye.”
She ends the call like I’m an afterthought.
I hold my phone, staring at the screen. She’s all right. Kennedy is perfectly happy there with Megan.Everything is going to be all right.
Me: You up?
Kate: Can you calculate time zones?
Me: Sorry.
Kate: I’m up now. What do you want?
Me: Thank you.
Kate: You’re welcome. But what for?
I try to articulate what I want to tell her. Thank her for … being rational. Talking the truth to me. Getting our parents to her house so I could get Megan to mine.
Me: For not being another brother. They just got worse as they went. Mallet, Gav, Luke. Can you imagine yourself as a boy? Fuck my life.
Kate:
I laugh.
Kate: Since you’re here, I have a big meeting today with my boss. Whisper a little prayer or juju or whatever for me, okay?
Me: Okay. Good luck.
Kate: Thanks.
Me: Going back to work.
Kate: Learn about time zones during your lunch hour.
Me:
Kate: And also learn emoji etiquette. We do not thumb unless we want to fight.
