She Can't Read Minds

“Miranda,” Mom smiled, sitting down on my bed in her favorite work outfit, “remember when you were littler and I’d tuck you in and tell you a story about anything. You’d tell me a word and I’d just make it all up but you’d giggle.” I nodded, carefully coloring in one of the balloons in my coloring book. My friends had left a while ago to find more girls to put down at Leslie’s house, meaning today wasn’t a good day for them. Downstairs I could still hear Will and Markus’s shouting. “You had a weird thing with never asking for a fairytale love ending.” That was because of Dad, I thought with a nod. “Do you remember what you said the last night I told you a story, the night where you said you were too old for story time?”

I was only five. And with my face scrunched up and arms crossed, I sat in bed and told her, “No, no more story time.” Mom ruffled up my hair, her eyes trying to look happy but failing. Around that time it was my Dad’s third year of working overseas; needless to say I’d never really met my father. Two years after story time came to a halt so did their marriage. It wasn’t working for my mom to have her husband so far away; she told us the love just “pffffft”ed. Not ended or died, “pffffft”ed.

“No, I don’t remember.” I shoved my red marker into the coloring book and closed it.

“You were a strange little girl, you know, you never asked about your dad.” Mom chuckled softly to herself at the memory. I’ve seen photos of my dad; he looked like Will, er Will looked like him. I looked like our mom. Brown hair, hazel eyes; just like my mom. “You just grumbled, “No dad” that night. Like you didn’t want one and you didn’t need one.” So I did remember what I said after all, but I won’t act like I did now. “So I didn’t look-” We both noticed the shouting and sounds of the videogame downstairs had suddenly died down nervously and a uncomfortable tension filled the house, “-for anyone to fill his place until you were old enough…like now.”

“Are you trying to tell me you brought home somebody?” I asked hesitantly. Mom blushed, standing up and holding out her hand. I don’t want a dad, but I want her to be happy. We’ll see how this goes, I thought. I grabbed her hand and together we got me onto my sleeping feet. “What’s his name? Is he nice to you?” She laughed, tucking me under her arm as we walked down the stairs.

“He works with me, Andi, but he’s on the third floor. You know, they get paid more than we do, us losers on the second floor.” She sighed, but the smile on her face made me smile too. I’ve never seen her so happy. Will and Markus were standing up and facing the strange man, game controllers on the floor. Markus looked shocked and confused while my brother looked pissed off. “Willis, calm down. He’s my-”

“Will, that’s mom’s new boyfriend.” I grumbled, watching my brother look at this new guy with a whole different set of eyes. My brother looked rather intimidating and Markus looked rather confused. I walked over to them, removing myself from under Mom’s arm. The man put his arm over my mother’s shoulders, making her smile. Will grabbed my hand, squeezing it.

“Willis, please, I think I’ve waited long enough.” The man frowned down at my mother before glaring at the three teenagers opposite him. Suddenly I felt like defending my brother and Markus; this man had no right to be giving us that look. “Will, Miranda, this is Lucas. Lucas, these are my kids. Now can we all get along or do I have to ground you two?”

“Ground us?” Will laughed. “You haven’t grounded us since…well, I don’t think you’ve ever grounded us so why are you starting now?” Lucas raised an eyebrow at Will; he seemed like the strict humorless type. He had black hair and blue eyes.

“Will, please, just give it a try.”

“Fine.”