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“You’re such a voyeur,” she pretended to gripe.
“I am,” I agreed. “And it turns out I inherited those stalker tendencies.”
“Oh, yeah? Do tell,” she teased.
“Did I tell you I got my first camera from my dad?”
“No. I didn’t know that.”
I looked away, stunned I’d pushed that unwelcome fact to the back of my brain. “You know, somehow, in all that happened, I forgot about it. It was on my bed one day when I got home from school.”
“Did you say anything? Did he?”
I shook my head and shuddered. “No. The first time he left me something, I ran downstairs and thanked him. His wife intercepted and tore a strip off him. Said I didn’t deserve a gift after the week I’d had.”
“What happened that week?”
“Nothing outside the norm. But I have to admit, the norm was far from normal. I was a curious kid. Didn’t always think things through. I caused a lot of chaos. She made it worse.”
“What did he give you that first time?”
“The Outsiders movie on VHS. I don’t know how he expected me to watch it seeing as how I was never allowed to use the TV after school, and by the time he picked me up after my extra-curriculars, it was time for bed.”
“That’s sad, Ares.”
“I don’t want your sympathy.”
“Think of it as validation,” she grinned.
“You’re a nut,” I returned.
“Where’s Inky?”
“Downstairs wreaking havoc in the kitchen cupboards.”
“Do you need to go down there?”
“It wouldn’t matter if I did. They won’t let me say no to her for anything. If I’d grown up like this…”
“Let’s face it…your ego would be massive. Your arrogance would be through the roof.”
“You’re going to get punished.”
“Promises, promises…”
Promises.
I had a few of those to give her.
Answers
Ares
Another week passed leaving me torn between two continents. Pappou was not long for this world, and I was loathe to leave them.
My camera never took a break as I packed a lifetime of memories into a handful of days.
Because Hope was waiting. And I didn’t want to hurt her more than I already had.
