for it.
“Crap! Tutoring.” I’d forgotten all about it.
“C’mon,” he groused.
“You need to go to tutoring and I need to go see what disgusting thing Dawn’s making
for dinner.”
I patted the
Gundam on the head with my index finger then turned and left the room.
*****
That night I had
trouble sleeping. I finally shuffled into the kitchen to get a drink of
water. Dad was sitting at the table, an unopened beer at his side. The stupid
cow cookie jar was sitting in front of him and he was staring at it as if it
held the answer to the meaning of life. He lifted the lid and it mooed
pathetically, its crossed eyes rolling. When he made no move to shut the lid,
I put my cup down and stomped over to slam it shut.
“I thought you
threw that thing out!” I could still see the seam where he’d glued its tail
back on after it had flown off the counter all by itself and smashed on the
floor. Ryuu had sworn the thing had a kami attached to it. Of course, I
hadn’t believed him at the time. Neither had Dad, and we’d both gotten a
lecture about horsing around in the kitchen.
I put my hands on
my hips and stared down at my dad. I was always a little worried when he got
down. The Dad I remembered from three years ago had been so upbeat and
quirky. He had been a drinker before my mom left. He’d been sober ever since,
but apparently my going suddenly insane for three years had pushed him back
into his old habits. He was doing better now that I was home. I’d only seen
him drunk that one time. He was making a big effort to pull himself back
together. Which was why tonight had me worried.
“It’s her
birthday today,” he said softly. “I wonder what she got for her birthday? Did
he buy her jewelry?”
All the steam
went out of me and I sank down into the chair across from him, turning the cow
so it couldn’t stare at me. Ryuu was right, that thing was possessed. “Sorry
Dad.” I hadn’t even realized that today was Mom’s birthday. I’d been too busy
with flaming books and Buddhist monks. This explained the post card I’d gotten
a few days ago. She rarely ever contacted us, but when she did, it was usually
around a birthday or holiday.
“She left us,” I
reminded him, ignoring the fact that he’d just admitted that he thought she had
left him for another guy. Apparently, my suspicions were right, but there was
no satisfaction in knowing that. “So shouldn’t we be mad? Why beat
yourself up?”
He laughed and tried to focus on me. “Oh honey,” he said with a soft smile.
“There’s no way we can know what’s going on in another person’s head. Your mom
had her reasons for leaving.” He put his head on his folded arms. “I didn’t
pay enough attention to her- wrapped up in my writing, or drinking with the
guys- that’s probably a big part of it.”
I snorted.
“That’s just dumb.”
But I felt that
way too. Like maybe I was bad and that’s why she left me behind. I scooted
back from the table and stood, ticked off at myself for getting all mopey.
Taking my cup of water, I went back to my room. I would go to bed early. I’d
wake up tomorrow morning and everything would be back to normal. I’d forget
all about the stupid postcard.
I didn’t need
her. I was just fine without her. We both were.
Chapter 5
I put my head in
my hands and blew my bangs out of my face as I glared at the page in front of
me. The tactic didn’t work. The textbook wasn’t intimidated.
“You still don’t
get it?” Wyatt’s voice was hushed, though I didn’t think the librarian was
going to come over and yell at us for talking. It was obvious that we were
working- not having fun like all the other kids in here, gaming on the computers
or whispering in the corners.
“Maybe I’m just
too far behind,” I moaned.
He scooted his
chair around next to mine and stabbed a finger at the diagram on the
“Crap! Tutoring.” I’d forgotten all about it.
“C’mon,” he groused.
“You need to go to tutoring and I need to go see what disgusting thing Dawn’s making
for dinner.”
I patted the
Gundam on the head with my index finger then turned and left the room.
*****
That night I had
trouble sleeping. I finally shuffled into the kitchen to get a drink of
water. Dad was sitting at the table, an unopened beer at his side. The stupid
cow cookie jar was sitting in front of him and he was staring at it as if it
held the answer to the meaning of life. He lifted the lid and it mooed
pathetically, its crossed eyes rolling. When he made no move to shut the lid,
I put my cup down and stomped over to slam it shut.
“I thought you
threw that thing out!” I could still see the seam where he’d glued its tail
back on after it had flown off the counter all by itself and smashed on the
floor. Ryuu had sworn the thing had a kami attached to it. Of course, I
hadn’t believed him at the time. Neither had Dad, and we’d both gotten a
lecture about horsing around in the kitchen.
I put my hands on
my hips and stared down at my dad. I was always a little worried when he got
down. The Dad I remembered from three years ago had been so upbeat and
quirky. He had been a drinker before my mom left. He’d been sober ever since,
but apparently my going suddenly insane for three years had pushed him back
into his old habits. He was doing better now that I was home. I’d only seen
him drunk that one time. He was making a big effort to pull himself back
together. Which was why tonight had me worried.
“It’s her
birthday today,” he said softly. “I wonder what she got for her birthday? Did
he buy her jewelry?”
All the steam
went out of me and I sank down into the chair across from him, turning the cow
so it couldn’t stare at me. Ryuu was right, that thing was possessed. “Sorry
Dad.” I hadn’t even realized that today was Mom’s birthday. I’d been too busy
with flaming books and Buddhist monks. This explained the post card I’d gotten
a few days ago. She rarely ever contacted us, but when she did, it was usually
around a birthday or holiday.
“She left us,” I
reminded him, ignoring the fact that he’d just admitted that he thought she had
left him for another guy. Apparently, my suspicions were right, but there was
no satisfaction in knowing that. “So shouldn’t we be mad? Why beat
yourself up?”
He laughed and tried to focus on me. “Oh honey,” he said with a soft smile.
“There’s no way we can know what’s going on in another person’s head. Your mom
had her reasons for leaving.” He put his head on his folded arms. “I didn’t
pay enough attention to her- wrapped up in my writing, or drinking with the
guys- that’s probably a big part of it.”
I snorted.
“That’s just dumb.”
But I felt that
way too. Like maybe I was bad and that’s why she left me behind. I scooted
back from the table and stood, ticked off at myself for getting all mopey.
Taking my cup of water, I went back to my room. I would go to bed early. I’d
wake up tomorrow morning and everything would be back to normal. I’d forget
all about the stupid postcard.
I didn’t need
her. I was just fine without her. We both were.
Chapter 5
I put my head in
my hands and blew my bangs out of my face as I glared at the page in front of
me. The tactic didn’t work. The textbook wasn’t intimidated.
“You still don’t
get it?” Wyatt’s voice was hushed, though I didn’t think the librarian was
going to come over and yell at us for talking. It was obvious that we were
working- not having fun like all the other kids in here, gaming on the computers
or whispering in the corners.
“Maybe I’m just
too far behind,” I moaned.
He scooted his
chair around next to mine and stabbed a finger at the diagram on the
Similar Books
