I Fall Apart

Lin

Laura could also be pretty neglectful at times.  She was trying to keep her own life on track and couldn't also deal with a teenager.  According to Nora, she was usually left to fend for herself.  She didn't cook meals and wasn't a good housekeeper.  She really didn't have rules for Nora, which had become a big problem last year.  When Nora would get in trouble with me, her mother wouldn't enforce it at her house.  She'd be grounded and then go out partying when she was at her mother's.

I'd given up trying to communicate or co-parent with Laura.  It was no use getting myself worked up about it anymore.  I had to just make peace with the fact that she was never going to be the mother Nora needed her to be.  It made me sad, but I also reminded myself Nora had Vanessa and me.

Nora got dressed and dried her hair.  She grabbed her purse and sighed.

"Wish me luck," she said, her voice showing how excited she was.

"Good luck, sweetheart," I told her, giving her a quick kiss on the head.  After she'd left, I clapped my hands together to get Sebby's attention.

"Alright, Sebster, time to clean your room," I said, trying to make it sound exciting. Sebastian was too busy with his Legos to respond.  Now that he was five and about to start kindergarten we were trying to get him to do some chores and learn a bit of responsibility.  His chores were to clean his room every Saturday and set the dinner table every night.

After calling him a second time, Sebastian walked with me towards his bedroom.  I showed him how to make his bed again, then we began picking up his toys and putting them away.

"Daddy, will I see Nora at school?" He asked me.

"Probably not," I told him.  "The high schoolers are in another area."

He looked a little disappointed.  "But she's gonna take me to school?"

"Yes," I told him.  "You'll take the subway with her to and from school."

Sebastian thought it was cool that he got to ride the subway to school.  He had his own Metro card just for that purpose.  Once we were done cleaning, Sebastian went over to his backpack and started taking out his school supplies.  He'd already shown me several times, but he took out each item and showed me.  Vanessa had taken both kids back to school shopping last week.  He had notebooks, crayons, glue, scissors, and folders.  Plus, a box of tissues to donate to the classroom.

"That's great, bud," I told him.  "I can tell you're excited.  Only four more days."

"I'm so excited!!"  He told me.  "I'm gonna wear my clothes to bed so I'm all ready."

"Alright," I said as we headed out to the living room.

Vanessa was heading in the other direction with Francisco.  We were in the middle of potty training him and it wasn't going well.  The kid had almost zero interest in it.  We were giving him a piece of candy each time he made it to the potty.  He'd made it twice this past week.  It was progress.

We busied ourselves around the house with chores and laundry for the afternoon.  Nora returned home around 5:00 from her mother's.  She looked frustrated as she tossed her purse on the counter.

"How'd it go?" I asked her.

"Fine," she mumbled as she collapsed onto one of the bar stools.  She rested her chin in her hand as she watched me prepare dinner.

"That good, huh?" I smirked.

"Her dumbass husband was there," she went on.  "They were watching a Family Feud marathon.  And I kid you not, he went through two bags of Cheetos by himself and drank, like, ten beers.  The sad thing is he started doing better on the answers when he was drunk."

"Was your mom drinking too?"

"A little, but she wanted to talk to me and she knows I won't if she's drunk," she explained.

I nodded.  "I'm glad you're sticking to your guns."

"Aren't I supposed to be the kid?" She asked, clearly frustrated by her mother's lack of parenting skills.

"You are indeed," I said.  "I'm sorry it's not that way at your mom's.  She's lucky to have you."

She sighed. "Anyway.  I promised to drop by Wednesday after school," she said.  "So I can't take Sebastian home that day.  Assuming you wouldn't want me to take him with me."

"No, please don't," I told her.  I would not want Sebastian exposed to that environment.  "I'll pick him up.  Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome," she said.

"Oh, there's a letter for you from school," I said.  "It might be your schedule."

She reached for it and began to tear it open.  Her eyes darted back and forth over the page.

"Ugghhh," she complained.  "Is it too late to change it?"

"Why?  What do you want to change?"

"Do I really have to do AP History?"

"I think you're capable," I said.  "And so does your teacher.  You just need to apply yourself."

"But I don't want to apply myself," she countered.  "I like regular history just fine."

"A challenge will be good for you," I said, beginning to peel potatoes.

"Don't get mad if I end up with a C," she told me as she stood up.

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm hanging out with Aaron," she said.

"Where?"

"His place," she said.  I looked up at her and she wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Will his parents be there?" I asked.

"I think so," she said.

"If they're not there, you're not going," I reminded her.  "You're not allowed to be with boys unsupervised."

"That's kind of a sexist rule," she argued with me.  "What if I'm a lesbian?"

I chuckled.  "Well, I'm pretty sure that's not the case, considering your text messages with Aaron."

"You looked at my text messages?"

"I happened to see one pop up when I was taking the sheets off your bed," I told her.

"Not cool," she said.  She disappeared to her room to get ready for the night.  I picked up my cell phone and called Aaron's mom to see if they were planning on being around to supervise.  Yes, I was that kind of dad.  They were going out to dinner and a movie.

When everyone came out to dinner I told Nora she would have to go somewhere public if she wanted to hang out with Aaron.  She seemed a little disappointed but didn't argue.  She'd be in college in a couple years and would be making these decisions herself.  Hopefully I'd prepared her to respect herself enough that she'd be with a guy who treats her with respect and won't pressure her into anything.  It was often said that kids learn what's acceptable behavior from a partner from their parents.  I hoped Nora paid attention to the way I treated Vanessa, and not the way Laura's suitors treated her.

I had Nora let me know her plans before she left.  They were going to meet up at an arcade with a bunch of kids from school then probably go to Starbucks, where they'd all annoy the hell out of the staff.

Unlike a couple of years ago, I trusted Nora for the most part now.  She still needed to know I was checking in on her, but she'd learned enough about me by now that I found things out and I could tell when she was lying.  When she left the house at 7, I waved to her, knowing she'd be home by her curfew at eleven.