The dots appeared. Vanished. Appeared again.
SOFIA:i got nominated for homecoming court
The office went still around that line. Outside, a vehicle started and rolled across gravel. Someone laughed once in the yard, tired and low. The air smelled of printer heat and coffee gone sour in the mug beside my hand.
Sofia had been eight the first time I missed a school parade because a flood took out the southern road and guests needed evacuation. Ten when I watched a piano recital on a video her mother sent two hours after it ended. Twelve when she told me over a patchy call that it was okay I missed the science fair because her volcano “wasn’t even that explosive.”
Fourteen now. Nominated for homecoming court.
I typed carefully.
ME:That’s good news.
SOFIA:it’s weird news
ME:Both can be true.
SOFIA:r u going to be embarrassing
ME:Yes.
SOFIA:disturbing but useful
ME:Do you want me there for the assembly too?
A longer pause.
SOFIA:yeah if u can
If you can.Not accusation. Not forgiveness. A door left open by a girl smart enough to stop leaning against it. My hand closed around the phone until the edge pressed into my palm.
ME:I can.
The reply took almost a minute.
SOFIA:cool. no boots no knife pants. please be normal
ME:That limits my wardrobe.
SOFIA:grow as a person dad
A sound came out of me. Small. Rough. The office didn't collapse.
ME:I’ll try.
SOFIA:sus but accepted
The thread settled. I kept the phone in my hand longer than necessary.
Sunday. Assembly. Homecoming. Just us. Concrete things. Dates with edges. A child asking for presence, not proof.
My laptop chimed again. This time the sender was not Mara Khaya.
Summer Wilder.
Subject: Consulting Inquiry: Wilder Horizons Security Architecture Assessment
My hand went still. The office fan clicked overhead. A slow turn. A minor defect in the bearing I had been meaning to report for six months and never had, because a fan making noise did not bleed or get lost or open a gate. Priorities. Always heroic. Often absurd.
