Life, Love, & Lemons

Not too Keen

I was afraid that Kai was never going to want to talk to me after my outburst. I was even more afraid of what my parents would say when I told them that I sold my car.

"Hey Bent, I didn't even hear you come in last night. Did you have a good time?" Dad smiled over the Sunday morning paper. My mother was, of course, already gone. I didn't know that cheating on your husband could start so early.

"Yeah, Kai's Mom is really nice." I nodded and sat down. "Hey Dad, there is something I need to tell you." I shifted my weight in the chair.

Dad took off his glasses and looked straight at me with one eyebrow raised, leaning in. "You're not pregnant are you?"

I couldn't help but giggle. "No Dad, I'm not pregnant, not at all."

He let out a huge sigh of relief as he put his glasses back on. "Oh Thank God. I honestly had no idea what I would have done if you told me you were. We don't have an extra bedroom and I've seen Kai's Mom around before. I think her and her giant cross necklace might not be too keen on that sort of thing."

"How do you come up with these things?"

"I'm just a creative person I guess." He put down the newspaper. "But really, Bent, what's going on?"

"Well..." I bit my bottom lip and tried not to look at him. "I kinda, sorta, sold my car."

"You did what now?" He leaned in. I know he heard me, but I think he just wanted me to say it again.

"I sold my car yesterday. I figured that I could use some of the money to save for college and then you could use some to, you know, get by while you work on your book or whatever." In the back of my head I was thinking to use it for a divorce, but I didn't say that out loud.

"Bent, we're just fine you didn't have to worry about that. I'm still getting unemployment and how could you even sign the title over without my permission?" He leaned in further, he was now staring right at me.

I looked up. "When I was in middle school you taught me to forge your signature for packages that came in, so I've been using it for everything from report cards to, well, signing titles over on my car."

Dad and I sat in silence for what seemed like forever before he finally spoke. "I don't even know what to say, Bent. You've been so great through everything and I'm just so proud of you for keeping it together."

He put his hand on mine as he smiled. "If you need to start taking my car to school or to work that's fine with me and I promise as soon as I'm working again or my book gets published. I will buy you a brand new car, anything that you like."

"Even a Lamborghini?" I wiggled my eyebrows.

"Well if one of these agents with my full requests tells me that I'm the next Stephen King, then you can have two."

"Wait, so what's a full request?" I played with an ad on the table, thumbing it with my fingers.

"Well basically I sent out about forty letters telling agents about my manuscript and asking if they would want to represent me. Thirty rejected me, three asked for parts of my manuscript, two asked for my full manuscript, and no response on the others." He smiled, sitting up a little taller.

"Dad that's awesome! Does Mom know?" I knew the answer to that before I even asked it, and when he winced I knew that I shouldn't have asked.

"Well, you know Bent, she's been pretty busy so we haven't gotten too much time to talk." He looked away, the spark fading from his eyes into a low glow. I wondered if he knew and if he did, what he planned on doing about it, if anything.

Bang, bang, bang.

I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard the sound at our back patio door. But atleast it broke up the tension that was wafting in the air between Dad and me.

"Who would be knocking on our patio door?" Dad picked up another newspaper ad, looking toward the door.

I shrugged and got up, pushing back the curtains. Standing there, on my patio, in his work uniform was Kai with a big cheesy grin on his face.

Dad looked up at the clock. "Isn't it a little early for him to be visiting?"

"Dad." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, fine. I'll go into the other room. I need to see if I can get the upstairs neighbor's Wi-Fi from the bedroom anyways."

He pushed away from the table and one by one stacked up the papers and placed them into a neat pile. Then he reached around to scratch at his back end. The clock ticked loudly across the room.

"Oh my God, Dad!"

"What?" He asked.

"You move slower than a snail!"

"Alright, alright." He picked up the last of his papers and finally headed back toward the bedroom.

I opened the door and realized how cold it was early in the morning by the way Kai's cheeks flushed as soon as he saw me. I immediately crossed my arms over the thin tank top that I wear to bed and made a mental note to try and wear something a little less revealing in the morning.

"Are you doing better this morning?" He shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm actually surprised that you still want to see me after my whole outburst last night" I shifted from one foot to the other.

He shrugged. "Sometimes you just have to let it all out. And I wanted you to know that though everything might suck right now, it definitely has to get better, and truly everything can't suck. You still have me, right?"

Like a wave it crashed into me. During my own pity party I never talked about any of the good things that came from all of this. Okay or basically the one good thing, Kai.

"Kai when I said all those bad things I wasn't referring to you at all." I pushed my hands out in front of me. "I mean you're great, almost too great to put up with me."

"If it makes you feel any better you're the only girl I've dated whose actually met Mom." He thrusted his hands in his pockets as he sort of swayed to the left.

I cocked an eyebrow, putting my hands on my hips. "Didn't you date Brynne for like a long time though?"

"Yeah, but if Mom freaked out about us kissing what do you think she would think of Brynne?" His eyes met mine and he was right, he could really make me feel better.

"Probably the same thing that I thought about her." I muttered.

"And what was that?" He stood a little closer to me, so that we were practically touching.

"That you could do way better." I smiled up at him as he put his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. He smelled like he just got out of the shower, surrounding my body with his boyish soap scent.

"Like a girl who answers her door half naked and leaves her boyfriend looking stunned since her Dad is right there?" He smiled and planted a small kiss on my lips.

"Exactly."

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