Page 98 of The Accidental Text

“Nah,” he says. “She just left.”

I smile. It feels a little fake, but I keep going with it. The truth is, I don’t mind June. She’s actually really sweet, and I think she and my dad dating is … okay. I mean, it still sometimes feels like a punch in my gut, if I’m being honest. But maybe … less of a punch. More of a pinch.

At any rate, I’m glad she’s not here today. So that I can speak with my dad freely and not feel like I have an audience.

“How are you?” I ask as I follow my dad into the living room, a news station on the TV. My mom used to hate it when he’d watch the news. She said it was like poison, listening to all that doom and gloom. He’s probably watching it to spite her. He probably leaves his socks all around too. Another pet peeve of hers.

“Oh, you know, just doing my thing,” my dad says as we sit on the couch.

“Didn’t see you at the shop today.”

“I was busy around here. I figured you all got it covered.”

“We have a good teacher.” I reach over and pat his leg.

“What have you been up to, Mags?” he asks. “I haven’t talked to you in a while.”

I take a breath. Time to be straight, no matter what conversation it brings up. “I’ve been hanging out with Chase, actually.”

“Ah,” my dad says, rolling his lips together and nodding his head. “What have you been doing?”

“Oh, you know. Just the odd zip-lining, ATVing, some cliff diving. Stuff like that.”

He turns to me, his lips now turned upward. “Oh, really?”

“Yep,” I say. “I think I’ve found Mom’s long-lost twin.”

My dad chuckles. “Well, that sounds like fun. Pretty funny, how you two met.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I was worried about you, you know.” He pauses, looking like he’s trying to get his words in order. “But then June made me realize what you did was actually pretty healthy.”

I pull my face back, lowering my chin. “Healthy?”

“You found a way to get your feelings out. You didn’t keep them all locked up inside of you. I’ve had June to talk to, and Chelsea has Mark … and I’m not sure who Devon’s talking to, but he seems to be handling it okay. And you … you had a different way you needed to express yourself.”

“It’s okay; you can think it’s weird.”

“No, no, I really don’t. I’m just sorry I was a cheap old man and turned off your mom’s phone.”

I giggle. “You really are cheap.”

“Your mom loved that about me,” he says, and gives me a wink.

“Oh, sure. That’s why she sometimes had me hide her shopping under my bed.”

“Yeah, your mother tried to hide that stuff. But I always knew. I never cared. I would have bought her the world, if she’d asked.”

I feel that lump in my throat. It’s weird that it’s not a regular occurrence anymore. “I miss her.”

“Me too. Every day. Sometimes every minute of every hour.” He puts an arm around the back of the couch and gives my shoulder a little squeeze.

“Well, I’m glad you turned off her phone.”

“Are you?”

“Yeah, I would have never met Chase if you hadn’t.”

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