The Gods of Song and Poetry

Chapter 33 - Dreamtime

Chapter 33 - Dreamtime

"Pygmalion," Kelly and I said at the same time, then turned and laughed at ourselves for being synchronized.

"New rule!" Rizzy said disgustedly. "Kelly and Ani can't be on the same team for trivia anymore."

"Who knows things about ancient Greek poetry, anyway?" asked Shogun.

"I know it because of eleventh grade English. Kelly knows it because she's so fracking smart!" I said it knowing it would make her blush.

"I read Ovid's Metamorphoses last summer. It's just a coincidence that I knew it," Kelly said.

"Oh, that's all. You just happened to read a book that nobody else has read for a couple thousand years. It all makes sense now," Rizzy persisted. She picked up used trivia cards one by one. "Okay, then what about knowing what makes an insect a 'bug,' or which spacecraft was sent to Jupiter in 1972, or what Whoopi Goldberg's real name is, or what game has a rule called en passant-"

"That last one was my partner's," Kelly said, putting her arm around my shoulder and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Ergo," said Rizzy, "Kelly and Ani can no longer be a team for trivia!"

"What does 'ergo' mean?" asked Mey.

"Therefore," Kelly and I answered at the same time, then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Rizzy threw the trivia cards in the air, stood up and pronounced, "That's it! I'm getting Monopoly."

Kelly's phone buzzed, and everyone got serious. Kelly looked at the screen, stood up, and headed for the stairs.

"Hey, Daddy," I heard her say on her way out of the basement.

It was Saturday night. We had the entire next week of school off since Wisconsin deer season opened this week and it was Thanksgiving on Thursday. So many people took their kids out of school for deer hunting, it wasn't worth keeping the school open Monday through Wednesday.

Kelly's dad would be here Wednesday night, and she wanted to talk to him before he arrived. She thought coming out to him over the phone would be easier, and give him some time to get used to the idea before seeing her...and me. The Andersons and Mr. Evans, Kelly's dad, had all been invited over to our house for Thanksgiving.

I went into freak out mode. I stood and started pacing. My right hand was over my mouth and my left hand was tucked under my right arm. I knew this was something Kelly had to do alone. At least, it was something she wanted to do alone. It still made me feel like a terrible girlfriend, not being able to do something to make it easier on her or support her through it. She had left a message earlier in the day asking him to call her when he got done with his route, so the call was expected, but that didn't make it any less stressful.

For two weeks, Kelly had been practicing what she wanted to say to her dad. She tried to anticipate his possible reactions, and what she would say in response. She rehearsed telling him about me in the least threatening way possible. For two weeks she had been stressing about this call, and now it was happening.

"Want to play some more trivia while we wait for her?" Pixie asked me softly. I looked at her. All the girls were staring at me as I paced.

"No, but thank you for trying to distract me, Pixie." I wandered over to the bottom of the stairs and listened. I couldn't hear anything. She was probably another floor up in my room with the door shut. My parents went to my grandparents' today to stay the night, then drive back with them in the morning, so Kelly had the whole upstairs to herself. I went back to pacing.