We're Almost There

9. Can I Uh... Have Some More Iced Tea?

Nine

Kenzie

With Erin there, Kenzie at least wanted to make an effort to try to be better. There was only so much one could do on their own. The angel would never admit it, but Kenzie was too much of a mess for her to fix.

Kenzie quietly drummed her fingers on the railing then walked the last few steps downstairs. Nervously, she crossed the room and sat at the dining room table across from her dad who was writing on some papers and punching numbers into a calculator.

She took a deep breath. "Hey Dad?"

"Mm?" He didn't look up.

"Uh, I have a math problem that I don't get," she lied. Kenzie was actually pretty good at math. "Could you help me... please?"

He looked up, as if trying to decide what to do. He adjusted his glasses. "Alright. Bring it here."

Kenzie nodded and hurriedly ran to her backpack. Would this have happened if she tried before Erin came around? She grabbed her math textbook, notebook and a pencil. Coming around to his side of the table, Kenzie sat in the chair next to him. She opened up to the set of questions that were assigned for homework. "Okay, we're working on algebra and I'm having trouble with question three."

"Let me see," he mumbled. Kenzie slid the textbook towards her dad. A small grin grew on his face. "I know this. You'll be an expert in a pinch."

Kenzie was trying really hard not to smile like an idiot, keeping herself from doing so. She focused on staying calm and talking to her dad.

About ten minutes later, Kenzie's mom walked in the front door. Kenzie looked up at her. "W-welcome home, Mom."

Leah Coleman looked up as if she heard a strange noise. "Thanks." She would be harder to talk to.

"Hey Leah," her dad said. "Do you wanna order a pizza? I'm helping McKenzie with her homework. We might be here a little while."

Her mom shrugged. "Alright. That sounds easy." She grabbed the phone and started to dial.

"Thanks hon," he replied. Then he turned his attention back to Kenzie and question number six.

A half hour later, Kenzie was sitting at the dining table eating pizza. Quietly, she listened to her parents talk and got a word or two into the conversation every once in a while.

Kenzie still remembered her last family dinner, before Adam left. It was the week before he went off to who knows where. As absurd as it seemed, Kenzie could even remember the smell of the homemade lasagna.

********

The next afternoon on Saturday, Kenzie rode the city bus in her black, white and yellow Spark uniform. Often her parents didn't remember the things Kenzie needed, so she got a job to afford them herself.

She walked into the restaurant and grabbed her apron. "Good afternoon, Delilah," she said to her purple haired co-worker who greeted the costumers. Delilah was probably the closest thing Kenzie had to a real friend. Except she was twenty three and in college.

"Hey Kenzie. How're you?" She asked with a small smile.

Kenzie finished tying the apron behind her back. "I'm doing alright, thanks."

Delilah adjusted her thin grey wired glasses then started writing in the address book. "No problem. Have a good shift."

"Yep."

Not too long after, Kenzie was moving fluidly in her section. She had just delivered drinks to a couple on a date, and for some reason she was reminded of that Kyle Mathews boy. Kenzie wanted to see him again. She didn't have any classes with him, seeing as he was a year older and about to graduate in spring.