“Holy shit your kids are lucky.” I smile at Thea and Jules in turn. “You sure you don’t mind if I hang out here for a while?”
“Absolutely not,” Jules says. “You take the baby, we’re going to lay down.”
My gaze swings over to Thea who simply shrugs. “Advice tax.”
“I don’t know what to do with a baby?—”
Bex chooses that moment to bust into the kitchen. “Sorry, let myself in.” There are no boundaries in this family. “What did I miss?”
“Why did that young man burst into your apartment like he owns the place?” my dad asks.
He’s always been like this. On the surface he’s polite, unassuming. A man who got dealt a bad hand the second the divorce papers were signed and he had sole custody of a pre-teen daughter.
But, in what I assume was an effort for him to control what felt out of control, his word was law. The result was me learning that if I stayed out of the way, if I stayed quiet and compliant,he generally left me alone. I was an easy kid for all intents and purposes.
That’s probably part of the reason he was so surprised when I started pushing back. Accepted my diagnosis, accepted my sexuality, acceptedmyself.
He didn’t like that.
It was out of his control.
“Colette, answer me.” His tone turns harsh.
“He has a key,” I reply. “He’s allowed to be here.”
“Is that so?” He raises a single eyebrow at me, and I know it’s a look I’ve given Ben hundreds of times. Damn him for ruining it.
My sigh is long-suffering. I don’t know why Dad is here. I don’t really give a fuck, if I’m being honest. The conversation between Ben and his mom is still running through my head. I would rather be getting answers to that than figuring out how and why my dad is at my apartment right now.
“Yes, it is so,” I reply. “And he wasn’t wrong to question why you were here.”
“I’m your father,” he quickly replies.
“In name only,” I fire back. “And that was your choice.”
He gives me a frustrated look. “That’s not fair, Colette. I raised you. You owe me the decency of spending time with me when I come all the way here.”
“I made sure I wouldn’t ever owe you anything again after I left for college. I owe you nothing,” I reply. “When was the last time we spoke to each other?”
He’s sitting across the dining table from me, rubbing his hands down his thighs. He doesn’t know the answer to my question but he’ll never admit it.
“You didn’t even bother to call me on my birthday,” I continue. “I said all I needed to say to you the last time wetalked. Wasn’t that before you moved? So unless you have something revelatory to tell me, you can leave.”
He thinks for a moment but doesn’t show any indication that he’s going to comply with my request. “I was right about it being a phase, wasn’t I?” he finally asks.
“I’m not following.”
Dad waves his hand in front of his face. “You know. The dating girls thing. What did you call it? Not gay but something else.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” I rub my temples, already sick of his bullshit.
“What?” He feigns innocence. “Ben seems very comfortable around you, and I know for sure he is a man. I remember watching him at your track meets on occasion—great athlete. Does he still run?”
“For fuck’s sake. I need you to leave.”
His face hardens. “Don’t speak to me like that, Colette.”
My hands slam down on the table, shocking the both of us. “No, you don’t speak to me like that. You haven’t changed at all. You’re still questioning my sexuality—queer is the word you were looking for, by the way, and no, it was not a phase. I still very much like men and women and non-binary people, but I do not owe you or anyone else an explanation for that.”
