AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Most of the people Pollux knows have such interesting names.
“What about Castor?” I ask as I take a bite of my bread.
Pollux locks his jaw. “He didn’t care. I do.”
My brow furrows. “He didn’t care?”
“When you don’t care, it’s easier to exist. You don’t have to worry about whether you’re doing things correctly or not. You just don’t care.”
“That doesn’t seem like a good relationship to have.”
Pollux reaches for a piece of bread, tears it in half, and puts it under the table. “It wasn’t. But that’s the problem when you’re the one in the relationship who cares, and the other person isn’t.”
I chew my bread and don’t know if this is the moment when I provide encouragement and suggest that he’s doing a good job or not. Validating that he’s in a cult with his daughter is not exactly the best choice here, I think. Also, the many bottles of liquor in his house. And the hair pulling. Her sweet little curls should not be pulled, and I feel like I need to stand by that.
Even if she’s presenting distinct gremlin behavior and doesn’t seem to be under any sort of duress.
Yep.
Let’s hold off on the you’re a good father for just another minute. For the sake of my sanity. Which I am quite quickly losing grasp of.
I ask, “Do you have any friends who are parents? I’m sure they understand feeling just as lost as you.”
Pollux exhales a laugh. “You have met most of the people I consider precious. They have yet to rear children of their own.”
I’m not going to say I love that he refers to his friends as precious people. But I do. It’s beautiful, and once again I’m in awe of his mind. “So you don’t have any other more experienced parents you can talk to?”
“No.”
Have I asked my parents about adding people to our Thanksgiving?
Nope.
Am I almost certain it will be okay…
…for everyone but me…?
Yep.
Neat, neat. Cool, cool.
“Would you like to come to my house for Thanksgiving, if you don’t already have plans? My parents had a single daughter to deal with, too, so they might be able to offer words of encouragement or comfort.”
And we’ll just ignore the possibility I’m inviting a potential cult member to my house. To be fair, it’s a small town, and if these cult members can raise a playground overnight, I’m sure finding my address is about two Google searches for them. But. Anyway.
A curly mass pops up into the seat beside Pollux. “I want to go.” She presents her hand.
Pollux puts another piece of bread in her palm. “You weren’t invited.”
My heart leaps. “No, no. She absolutely is. I’m sorry. The invitation extends to both of you.”
“Ha,” she declares.
A low hum resonates in Pollux’s chest. “Will you stop behaving poorly now and promise not to behave poorly in front of her parents?”
Andromeda reels. “You want me to promise? I’m a little girl.”
“And yet you are not just a little girl.”
