Hi, brat.
Pain ripped through my chest and threatened my smile as I stared at my daughter on the screen. How many of his features did she have? Were any of her traits, the ones I thought were mine, his? Her smiles, especially those I earned, were those as hard-pressed to get from him? Did she suspect anything? Tara obviously hadn’t told her.
You look happy.
I am happy. It’s beautiful here. I can’t wait for you to come.
Next week?
Yes. I’ll be waiting at the airport. Are you sure you’re okay with flying alone?
She rolled her eyes and I cut my hand through the air to tell her that was not okay. It was a sign of disrespect and she got away with little in the way of that.
Sorry.
Forgiven.
Her beautiful smile faltered by the presence of someone coming into her bedroom.
Mom’s here, she wants to talk to you.
Later. I want to know how things are going. One more week until school is out. Are you excited?
Hell yes.
Language.
I reprimanded her even though I often let her get away with calling me an asshole. It was a long-running joke between us.
Do you love Koti?
No. Why would you ask that?
You can’t lie to me, Dad. You look happy and she’s behind you, staring at you.
That’s because she’s fascinated by sign language.
You should teach her.
I will.
Good.
What else is new?
Mom keeps asking me if I like Houston. I don’t want to move; all my friends are here.
I’m working on that.
Work harder.
Easy, brat. I’m not going to let her move the two of you without a fight. But that’s our business.
My business too.
True. But trust me to handle it.
She signed okay, but I could see the fear in her eyes which only infuriated me. It was only natural for Tara to move on and build a new life for herself, but her selfish choices were always an issue when it came between our daughter’s happiness and her own.