“Your mother is furious.”
“I can imagine.”
My father sighs, shaking his head. “Go inside and get changed. I need a hand out here.”
“A hand? Doing what?”
“The mower won’t start.”
“And you want me to fix it?”
“I just need someone to pass me my tools. I can fix my own damn mower. Just like I always have.”
It’s a stinging insult that I choose to ignore.
“It’s Saturday. No one works here on Saturdays. I’m on my own, and I need a hand.”
“Sure, give me two minutes.”
“And watch out for your mother. She’s wandering around somewhere.”
“Got it.”
I give him a small nod of thanks and head quickly towards the back door. I open it slowly, trying not to make a noise, and slip inside: there’s no sign of my mum. I close it quietly behind me and tiptoe towards the kitchen. But when I turn the corner, I find my daughter sitting on a stool at the island.
“Oh, there you are,” I say awkwardly.
“Here I am. I was here last night, too. How about you?”
“M-me? I was here, too. What kind of question is that?”
Skylar crosses her arms and glares at me.
“Listen, Skylar, I’m sorry, okay? It won’t happen again.”
“I don’t care what you do.” She turns her head away, trying to ignore me.
“I shouldn’t have gone out on our first evening here, and I shouldn’t have stayed out all night, either.”
She shrugs indifferently.
“We came here to try, right?”
“To try what?”
“To try and be a family.”
“Interesting that you’re talking about family,Kerry, seeing as I had no idea where you were for the past ten years of my life.”
“I was here. Not here-here, but I was around, and…”
“No, you weren’t.”
I exhale deeply.
“I barely even know you.”
“And we’re here to fix that.”
