Page 36 of Here's to Tomorrow

“Kisses! Bye!”

I put my phone away and shake my head.That girl. She’s something.

I sling my bag over my shoulder and make my way to my apartment.

“Yo, Hales! I’m back!” I yell as I bust through the front door.

“We’re in the kitchen, Rae!”

“Do you have a mouse in your pocket? Who are you—Dad!” I yell, running to the stool he’s sitting on, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing him extra tight.

“Hey, kiddo, I’ve been missing you,” he says, squeezing me back.

Even though we live in the same town, I rarely get to see my dad. He’s a bigwig accountant at a firm in Boston and he’s always working. With my schedule of nights and weekends at Clyde’s, we don’t get much time to see each other.

This time it’s only been about a month since I’ve seen him last, but it seems like longer.

“You’re looking a little gray,” I tease, ruffling his hair.

“You’re the second meanest kid I have. Haley told me I had more wrinkles.”

“You do,” my sister chimes in.

We’re both lying. My dad doesn’t look a day over thirty-five. He still has the same dark hair he’s always had and the same pale skin I do, and there are no wrinkles, not even lining his brown eyes.

“What brings you by?” I ask.

“He came to see me, his favorite daughter. Duh,” Haley says, as if it’s the only plausible answer.

We both ignore her. “Just wanted to see how mytwofavorite girls are doing. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. How’s everything going? How’s the job hunt?” He turns to Haley. “How’s the daycare doing?”

As close and Haley and I are, there’s one huge difference between us: I hate kids. Haley, on the other hand, wants an army of them. She even manages a daycare with her best friend, that’s how much she loves them.

Me? I’ll pass. I’m horrible with kids. I either clam up and don’t know what to say or I talk circles around them, usually saying something wildly inappropriate.

I don’t have a motherly bone in my body, and I can thank my own mother for that.

“It’s going very well. I may have some leads,” I lie. I haven’t heard back from a single firm, but I don’t want to admit defeat just yet.

“And The Learning Hut is doing well. We enrolled two new kids the other day so we’re maxed out until one of them ages out. We’re may be looking at expanding soon.”

He beams with pride. “You girls make an old man happy as a clam. Now, do you want to go out and grab some dinner?” He points a finger at my sister. “I still don’t trust your cooking, Haley.”

“Rude! I burn one pizza and turn noodles to paste twice and suddenly I ‘can’t cook’. Maybe I’d be a better cook if you didn’t have such high expectations of me, Dad.”

“I’m the worst dad ever,” my dad deadpans.

I ignore their show and roll my eyes. “You mind if I freshen up real quick? I didn’t get the chance to properly dry my hair becausesomeonewas hogging the bathroom,” I say, giving Haley my best death glare.

She shrugs. “Shouldn’t have overslept.”

“I had trouble sleeping last night.”

As soon as I say it, I know it was a mistake. My dad zeros in on me instantly.

“You’re still having the nightmare? I thought you said it was getting better.” He’s frowning, the concern clear.

Since I was seven, I’ve had the exact same nightmare over and over again. It’s cloudy and I’m floating out in the middle of the ocean. The wind whips around me, causing huge waves to crash against me and knock me sideways like I’m nothing but a piece of driftwood. The salty water is so cold that I can’t feel my fingers or toes. My teeth chatter together as I try to call out for help, but it’s of no use. No one can hear me over the wind and waves. I’m not that far out, but since I’m so small, it seems like I’ll never see land again. I keep swimming and swimming, trying so hard to reach the shore of this vast body of water.

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