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 asMomma 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.
