“On a school night?” I asked.
“Daddy, it’s Thursday,” she argued. “And the movies are half off if we bring our school IDs.”
I sighed. “Is your little friend gonna be there?”
“Yeah,” she said quickly. “But girls too!”
I wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know, KK.”
She gave me those puppy dog eyes. “Pleaseeee. Uncle Kendrix is going.”
That gave me pause.
“Niv’s going?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yup. She’s taking her brother and little sister.”
That explained everything. I trusted Kendrix, even if he pretended not to have sense half the time.
I took my food out of the microwave and exhaled. “Alright. I guess so, KK.”
She lit up instantly and hugged me again. “Thank you, Daddy!”
Then she added, “Oh—and Uncle Ken is picking me up and bringing me home, so you and Mom don’t have to worry about that.”
I turned around slowly. “So you already had transportation arranged… and didn’t even know if I was gonna say yes?”
She laughed as she backed out of the kitchen. “Love you, Daddy!”
I shook my head. That girl was slick.
Khloe walked into the kitchen wrapped in her robe.
“Transportation for what?” she asked.
My mouth was full, so I covered it with my hand before answering. “She wanted to go to the movies. She was just saying she already has a ride there and back.”
With the look Khloe gave me, you would’ve thought I said Kennedi was planning to hitchhike across town.
“A ride there and back?” she repeated, placing her hands on her hips. “She is not just getting in the car with anyone. I don’t know how these kids drive, or their parents.”
“Baby,” I said calmly, “Kendrix is who she’s riding with. Relax.”
Her face shifted a little, so I kept going before she could cut back in.
“Niv’s taking her brother and sister too. She’ll be with all of them.”
Still, she didn’t look convinced.
“She’s already staying the night at a friend’s house tomorrow,” Khloe said, walking to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. “She can sit tonight out. Besides, I don’t even know if there’ll be boys at this movie.”
I sighed, just wanting her to lay off some. “Khloe… she’s almost sixteen. You gotta loosen the leash a little. You already went over to that same friend’s house and did a full walkthrough like we don’t know those people. You’re doing too much.”
She rolled her eyes and twisted the cap off the bottle.
“Well excuse me if I’m just trying to make sure my daughter doesn’t fall into the wrong crowd and make decisions that’ll change her life forever.”
Khloe was always thinking ten steps ahead, guarding against futures that hadn’t happened yet. She micromanaged Kennedi’s life, thinking that if she didn’t, history would repeat itself. And the more she did it, the more it made me feel uncomfortable. Sometimes it felt like she hated her life. It was like she hated that Kennedi came. She resented that we had to grow up faster than planned, even though we never truly struggled the way others have.
