I was in a good mood. I’d say partly due to the fact that the weather was looking especially perfect for a beach day and partly just looking forward to hanging out away from town for a while.
We usually went to the lake in the summer so right now was early in the year really, only March; we were very lucky. Although it did look like today was a one off. The rest of the month looked quite rainy. Not really what I needed when I was supposed to be showing Raegan all the best sights around.
‘Shall we all go in your car then?’ Remi asked after we’d eaten a hasty breakfast. ‘Kyle can leave his here.’
‘Yeah, sounds good,’ I agreed, glad for the suggestion.
I stirred some sugar into my coffee - it needed to be extra caffeinated and full of sweet badness today because last night my sleep had been messed up. This is why napping too close to bedtime is not a good idea. I’d have to keep awake all day today to reset my schedule. Hard thing to do while sunbathing.
‘You’re up surprisingly early,’ dad said, making me glance up as he entered the kitchen.
‘Making the most of the sun,’ Remi replied chirpily.
‘You’ll be back before Susan arrives, right?’ he asked, straightening his tie. ‘I’m just going into the office for a couple of hours, I should be back by midday. I’ll try make something for dinner but I can’t guarantee it’ll be great.’
‘Just get takeout. I think she expects that by now,’ Remi snorted. ‘You realise you passed on your terrible cooking skills to me too, right? Sometimes I think you’re even more cursed than I am.’
‘Takeout is plan B. At least let me try first!’
I tried to remain as invisible as possible throughout their conversation. I hadn’t really spoken to him since our argument the other night. I’d seen him a couple times but quickly dodged him before he could attempt to talk. Even now, I was trying to take my coffee and slide out of the door but it seemed this time he wasn’t having it.
‘Before you go, can I have a word?’
I pulled a face before turning back in the doorway to look at him, already knowing his words were directed at me.
‘Sure.’
‘I’m going to see if Kyle’s ready,’ Remi said in a very non-subtle way.
When she was gone, he turned to me and let out a sigh before busying himself with making a coffee for himself. I leaned back against the counter waiting for him to most likely berate me for swearing at him. It wasn’t going to be the best start of a day but I would try to not let him ruin my mood.
‘Look,’ he began, facing me with what looked like a grimace. ‘I’m sorry. I’m trying to move my plans around so I can be there for your sister’s birthday and your mom’s...’ he trailed off. ‘It’ll be tough but you were right... I need to get my priorities in order.’
‘Are you just saying that?’ I asked doubtfully. Did he really have to bring this up again? ‘You make these commitments all the time but they more than often fall through.’
‘I’m not making any promises,’ he pointed out. ‘I’m just saying... I’ll try this time. Really.’
‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ I replied flatly before hesitating. I suppose I had been pretty rude a couple days back. ‘Sorry for, uh, going a little crazy.’
‘More than a little,’ he replied with a faint smile. ‘It was good for me in a way,’ he added, making me raise my eyebrow in confusion. ‘You’re usually the collected one in this house. It made me think... well it made me realise I’d been slacking. As a dad I mean.’
