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Yet, Audrey giggled and had the patience of a saint. She’d google on her phone if she didn’t know the correct response, which would only lead to weirder questions. Raccoon research turned into beavers, which turned into bears, then circuses, then lion tamers. There was a real animal-like theme.
“I want to play with lions. They don’t scare me.”
“You’re so brave. Can you roar like a lion?” Audrey asked.
That turned into a whole production. Daniel and Penny roared as loud as they could just as the front door opened.
The keys jingled, and the conversation stopped dead. Our dad walked in and paused at the entrance to the kitchen. Are you fucking kidding me?
“Hi, Daddy.” Penny smiled at him and slid off her chair, hugging his legs. “Watch me roar like a lion!”
He picked her up and complimented her fierceness, but it was lacking luster. He seemed tired, but he was always tired. Bags hung under his eyes, his shirt was untucked, and he reeked of guilt.
He should. I sacrificed a night on my own again to watch his children, and he was home?
“Where’s Emily?”
“With Jace.” I fought the urge to bark at him. It never ended well. I loved my dad. I fucking loved this family, but when he waltzed in any time he wanted, just assuming I’d take care of everything, annoyance grew and grew under my skin like a weed. What the fuck was he gonna do next year when I was gone? Daniel stared at me, like he was watching my reaction to form his own. I forced a smile. “We’ve just been hanging out with my friend Audrey.”
“Oh.” My dad wiped his hands on a towel and forced a grin. “Hi, Audrey, I’m Dave.”
“Hi, Dave.” She shook his hand, but he received no smile of hers. She stared at him with the same impenetrable gaze I used to see. A part of me was glad to see her almost seem mad at him, like she was on my team. “You have the most wonderful children.”
The compliment caught him off guard. He blinked before running a hand through his graying hair, a slight blush covering his cheeks. “Thank you. Yeah, Mona and I got lucky.”
“You did. All of them are amazing.” Audrey met my gaze, and her face softened. “Theo is taking good care of them.”
Her words were meant for praise, but it was a reminder of how much my dad missed, how much he chose not to be a part of our lives as he dealt with his grief. My posture stiffened but then Audrey grabbed my hand under the table. Her warm fingers curled around mine, like she was protecting me, and it made me want to keep her forever and say fuck it to the avalanche of consequences that came with us being together.
“Yeah. Theo has been a huge help the last year. I’m sure he told you what happened to Mona.” He swallowed and poured a glass of water, his movements rigid and awkward. Almost like he wasn’t comfortable in his own home.
He avoided us as much as he could, so it made sense.
“He did share what happened. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
My dad rocked on his heels, eyeing Daniel. “Want to play a game before bedtime?”
“Dad, I don’t go to bed for another hour.”
“We can still play a game. We haven’t played Uno in a long time.” He pulled out a deck from the junk drawer and held it up. “Winner gets bragging rights?”
“I don’t know.” Daniel slumped his shoulders and stared at Audrey. “We were going to play?—”
“I’ll play with you, daddy!” Penny jumped up and down, right before she yawned. “I’m so sleepy.”
“Let’s get you to bed, pumpkin.”
“Theo usually takes me,” she said, yawning again. “But you can tonight.”
My dad swallowed, clearly uncomfortable, but I didn’t care. He wasn’t around. What did he think was gonna happen?
Audrey squeezed my fingers before letting go. “Daniel, how about we play a quick game while your dad puts Penny down, then you and him can play Uno?”
“Okay. Sure.”
Audrey commanded the room with poise as my dad and Penny left us, and Daniel went straight into Guess Who. He liked being around Audrey, and I couldn’t blame him.
