My Skylar by Penelope Ward Page B

was here.
    “Mitch, your mother told me about all of the A’s you’ve been getting lately,” Tish said.
    “Yeah, well, gotta focus my energy on something. Might as well be school.”
    “Well, keep up the good work.”
    “Thanks.”
    That was another thing. I’d been diving head first into my schoolwork in an attempt to
    transfer my focus onto something other than what happened with Skylar. Apparently, it was
    paying off.
    She was being uncharacteristically quiet tonight and hadn’t said anything since they walked in
    the door. As we sat down to eat, my mother broke the silence.
    “So, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?”
    “Well, Oliver wants Skylar to spend it with him and his beautiful bride down in Florida.”
    My mother put down her fork. “Beautiful bride ?”
    “You heard me.” Tish took a long sip of her wine.
    “They got married ?”
    “Apparently, they went to a justice of the peace in the city last week. We just found out when
    he called about an hour ago. They’re doing a little ceremony down in Miami with her family over
    Thanksgiving, and they want Skylar to fly down.”
    Shit. That’s why she was being quiet.
    I looked over at her until she would look at me. The disappointment in her eyes was palpable. I
    hated seeing her upset. She very rarely let things get to her. My rock.
    Skylar went to visit her father in Brooklyn about one weekend a month. She wasn’t crazy about
    spending any long amount of time with him, but he was way more involved in her life than my
    father was in mine. Still, it freaked me out sometimes how similar our family situations were.
    While Skylar’s Dad didn’t leave Tish for another woman specifically, he hadn’t exactly been
    faithful, either. He’d only had one serious girlfriend since the divorce and recently moved in with her. She was apparently now his wife.
    My mother turned to Skylar. “Honey, are you okay with all this?”
    She wiped her mouth with a napkin then threw it down. “Am I okay with Oliver marrying
    titanium tits? Sure…whatever. But am I okay with him casually calling to tell us about it after the fact, like he was announcing what he had for breakfast? No. I’m not okay with that.” She got up
    from the table abruptly. “Excuse me.”
    I got up a minute later and found her in the living room where she was standing by the
    window. It was still early in the evening, but it was already dark out.
    “Hey…you okay?”
    She turned around to look at me before returning her gaze to the rain that had started to fall
    outside. “It’s not even about me. I’m mad for my Mom. My parents were together for fifteen years.
    She’s acting like this doesn’t bother her, but I know it does. I always tell myself they’re better off apart, but God, this must sting. She hasn’t even dated anyone, and he elopes with the first serious girlfriend he gets and acts like it’s nothing. It’s the lack of respect that gets me. She just doesn’t want it to show, but she’s hurting right now.”
    She was more concerned with her mother’s feelings than her own. Typical Skylar.
    I wanted to hug her. A few weeks ago, I might have, but now, I really needed to refrain from
    touching her. “I wish I could say something that would help. But only time usually fixes these
    things. You know I understand.”
    She turned to me. “Yeah…out of everyone…I know you do.”
    “Don’t let Oliver’s dumb decisions ruin your weekend. Your mom will be okay. She has my
    mother now, who definitely knows what she’s going through, and she’s damn lucky to have a
    daughter who cares about her so much.”
    She finally cracked a smile. “Why are you home on a Friday night anyway? I figured you’d be
    out with the girl of the week.”
    “I decided to stay in for a change and…” I hesitated.
    “And?”
    “So…I kind of have something that might cheer you up. It’s sort of an early birthday gift.”
    Skylar squinted her eyes suspiciously. “What are you