Page 7 of Sugar and Skulls

When I get home, I hurry through my chores. Once I get the dishes done, laundry started, and floors vacuumed, I start supper. Aunt Renee doesn’t like to clean or cook. It took me a whole month to get this place cleaned up when I got here. The suit lady had told Renee it better be done before she returned, or I wouldn’t get to stay. Renee didn’t care one way or the other, but I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I cleaned the place up real good.

“Whatca making, girly?” Aunt Renee says as she plops down at the kitchen table to put her makeup on.

“Grilled cheese, want one?” I ask.

“Sure, hon.”

I butter a few more slices of bread, happy that Renee is in a good mood today. It only takes me a few minutes to finish and then I sit down beside her with our plates. I watch as she puts the last layer of mascara on her eyelashes. She’s so pretty. Sometimes I wish I were pretty like her. William says I am but, I don’t think so.

She smiles at me. “Someday I’ll teach you how to do this.” She puts her lipstick on and then smacks her lips together for a finishing touch. “I’ll have to beat the boys off you some day.”

“I don’t like boys.”

“You like that boy you hang out with all the time. What’s his name?”

“William.”

“You like William don’t you? He’s a cutie.” She pushes her mirror off to the side and studies my face.

“Yeah, I like him.”

“Well, maybe you should wear a little makeup for him.”

“I don’t think William likes makeup or girls. He likes cars,” I tell her scrunching up my nose.

She bops the end of my nose with her finger. “Okay, well if you change your mind you come find me and I’ll teach you all my beauty secrets.”

I smile and nod. Renee is super happy today. I like this Renee. A knock on the door interrupts our meal. “Answer that will you, sweetie? Tell Jimmy I’ll be out in a minute.” She hops up and rushes to the bathroom.

I don’t know who Jimmy is but whatever. When I open the door, Jimmy is leaning against the railing. He doesn’t move. He just looks me up and down in disgust. He looks past me and hollers inside, “Hey, you didn’t tell me you had a fucking kid.”

Placing my hands on my hips and standing as tall as I can I inform him that I’m not Renee’s kid. He smirks and pushes past me making himself at home on the sofa. He stretches his arms out along the back of the couch and crosses an ankle over a knee, like he owns the place.

We stare at each other for a few minutes and I know somewhere deep down in my gut that bad things don’t only happen in threes. I sigh, grab my sandwich off the table and head to my room. I hear Renee and Jimmy leave a few minutes later. I thought she was going to work but she must be going on a date. She does that sometimes. This feels different. She was too happy and he was too comfortable sitting on the sofa.

I pull my new sketch book out and get to work on my drawing for Big Dan. I draw for hours before Renee comes back, assumingly with Jimmy. She is giggling and he is grunting. Yuck with a side of puke. I dig around under my pillow and pull out my headphones, popping them into my ears.

The next day I wake up to Renee cooking breakfast.

What. In. The. Trap County. Is going on?

“Hey, sweetie, want some breakfast?” She places a giant stack of pancakes in the center of the table.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks,” I say, giving her the side eye as I pour myself a glass of milk.

We sit down at the table together. The toilet flushes and Jimmy comes strolling out of the bathroom. He pats me on top of my head as he walks past. I watch as he kisses Renee on the cheek and then sits down next to her. She is smiling like an idiot and pilling up a plate full of food that she slides in front of him. “Thank you, baby,” he purrs in her in ear, making her blush. They continue to talk to each other throughout breakfast like I’m not even there until I stand up to leave.

“You didn’t ask for permission to leave the table,” Jimmy interrupts their conversation to scold me.

I just stand there with my plate in hand staring at him like he has two heads. I look at Renee, but she avoids my gaze, instead looking down at her plate. “I’ve never needed permission before,” I state, unblinking.

“That was before I became your new daddy,” he tells me.

The good news is Renee now cooks our meals every day.

The bad news is I’m positive bad things don’t only come in threes.

Dirk

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