Page 59 of One Little Problem
“True, but maybe that’s another reason this should be our song that’s not a song. Right?” A little unconventional, a lot crazy, and still—
“Kinda perfect,” I said.
Two birds with one stone. We did drive around for a bit, but when we went by the Wendy’s, we obviously had to stop.
Commercial for hamburgers. That was our freaking song…
Aw.
* * *
Annoyingly, Dad wouldn’t let me pick out clothes for his dates. That would be the best part of him dating again, but no, that was too much power. I didn’t even know much about fashion, I just counted on my internal compass of rightness to carry me along. Maybe that thing had been a bit off lately, but I was recalibrating.
It was the weekend, and Dad and I both had dates tonight. Maybe. If I could get him out the door.
“Are you sure you’re still okay with this?” he asked for the thousandth time. They were eating out at somewhere fancy enough to require a tie. He wouldn’t let me pick the tie either, but most of my ties had cartoon characters on them, so I understood.
“I have told you a million times,” I just said thousand in my head, but hey, I was an exaggerator. “Yes and no. But since you insist lying is off the table…” Right? “Do you still—"
“Yes, I still insist that,” he told me seriously while straightening his tie. Well, he probably meant to straighten it, but he just ended up messing it up.
“I don’t want to stop you.” I focused on Dad instead of his dumb red tie with no cartoon characters on it at all. “I also don’t really want to know about it, but.”
“If you knew absolutely nothing, I kept you totally in the dark—” Now, we were talking. “And then suddenly I had a fiancé with 11 kids,” Where did he get that crazy idea from? Don’t answer that. “You wouldn’t feel blindsided?”
Uh. “I don’t know what to say since apparently we aren’t lying.”
“We can do this,” he said. “Small doses.”
“Small doses.” I wasn’t going to tell him his tie was crooked. I liked it how it was, it had character. “Lots of awkward conversations about our feelings, I know, I know.”
Dad gave me a smart look. “Son, I love you, but let’s not pretend we weren’t in store for lots of awkward conversations either way. That’s who you are.”
I gave him a smart look right back. “Stop, the familial affection is too much.”
“Okay, so I’m going to the restaurant with Joanne.” Alright, there was one good thing to this whole honesty and disclosure thing. I definitely didn’t want to be the reason my dad wasn’t getting back out there, but I definitely definitely wasn’t ready to see him dating in full color yet. The talking about it thing was getting slightly easier, and since we were talking about it, I knew where he’d be and didn’t have to push myself past what I was ready for.
Small doses. Yet I couldn’t help searching my mind for all the Joannes I’d ever met. It wasn’t the same lady who owned all the fabric stores, that actually would have been cool, but there were still so many possibilities. We had an English sub once that definitely had a flask in her purse. No, her name might have been Johansen and that was her last name. There was also Joanne Meyers, but she went by Joanie… and she was in my class, so that probably wasn’t it.
Still. Better safe than sorry. “You’re not dating Joanie Meyers, are you?” I asked. “She’s on the yearbook staff.”
“I’m not dating anyone who goes to school with you.” He looked amused but vaguely horrified by the thought. “Ever, as a general rule.”
That was a relief. Did that include teachers? What was Mrs. Sharp’s first name? Oh god, did it start with a J? “Are you dating Mrs. Sharp?”
Took him a second to think about it while panic grew inside me, but he eventually asked, “The married lesbian from the PFLAG meetings in Fairview?”
Oh dear lord. “You didn’t answer the question,” I pointed out.
My dad rolled his eyes. Hey. I had the feeling he wanted to do that all the time, but he usually didn’t. “No, I am not,” he told me. Thank god. “Do you want more information?”
I considered the question before outright rejecting it. Hey, look at me, progress. Still no though. “I’m good,” I said. That was actually true.
“What are you doing tonight?” Dad asked.
I was going to spend time with Luke.
Being with Luke and leaving made a giant, pouty, frowny face erupt whenever I thought about it. Then I thought about the cool stuff I’d be doing and I’d nod and smile reluctantly. Luke and I could still talk on the phone, then I got a crazy look on my face, imagining me trying to get him to talk sexy to me over the phone. Plus, the whole opportunity was pretty awesome. Now that I was letting myself be excited for it, I was really excited.
