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At the far end of the room is a door. I open it and find a bathroom, kept neat and tidy. Beside it is another door. It’s locked.
“What’s in here?”
Molly looks up from where she’s playing on a miniature Pac-Man arcade game. “That’s Dad’s workshop. We’re not allowed in there.”
I turn the knob again, but it doesn’t budge. “What does he keep in here?”
“I dunno. Never been inside.”
I look at the child funny. To have a room in your home, but to never have seen the inside is baffling to me. I’m the nosiest person on the planet. When I was a kid, I was a thousand times worse.
“How long have you lived here?”
“We’ve had the house a few years, but Dad just redid the basement.”
I put my hand on the molding at the top of the door, looking for one of those key pins that come with doors. There isn’t one.
Yes, I’m aware attempting to break into a room in someone’s house is wrong, but if I’m going to be staying here this summer, I need to know if he’s secretly a serial killer and keeps his dead bodies in the basement. Maybe it’s his room of torture. The deadliest people hide in plain sight. Then again, this house isn’t exactly in plain sight. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and there isn’t a neighbor to be seen.
Molly continues to talk while she plays. “Mom hates this house. She says it’s a money pit. Dad always wanted her to come out here for the summers, but she refused. Jesse and I love it. That’s why when Mom said she would take us traveling with her this summer, we begged Dad to find a way to allow us to stay with him.”
I give up on the door and walk back to her. “Why did your parents buy it if your mom hated it so much?”
“That’s a good question. I’m not entirely sure. I’m not sure why my parents did a lot of things.” She drops her hands on her lap and sighs. “They fought a lot. It sucks. I know I’m not supposed to say that, but having divorced parents is the worst.”
“It’s okay. Sometimes, you need to use a bad word to get the annoyance out. It does suck. Say it. It sucks.”
“It sucks!” she says.
“It sucks big, hairy, sucky ass.”
“It sucks hairy, sucky dog ass!” Molly yells at the top of her lungs and then laughs.
I follow suit until we hear heavy footsteps barreling down the stairs, caused by the large boots worn by a towering man with a mean mug on his face.
“What the hell is going on down here?” Rob bites as he walks into the game room.
I clear my throat to gather my giggles. “We were just letting out some steam. Sometimes, a girl has to get it out.”
“What could a ten-year-old possibly need to screamhairy, sucky dog assfor?”
Molly straightens her face and looks at me with a pleading not to tell her dad what she was saying.
I turn at Rob. “I apologize. I won’t allow her to verbally express herself again.”
Rob groans as he looks at me and then to Molly, his head swaying with annoyed confusion. “What the hell is on your face?”
“Makeup,” she states demurely.
“You’re too young to wear makeup. Your hair looks ridiculous.”
“Rob!” I scold, walking toward Molly and putting my hand on her hair, which we spent a long time curling. “She looks beautiful. We had a makeover party. I styled her hair and put a little blush on her cheeks. It’s no big deal.”
He walks over to Molly and grips her shoulder. “You cut her shirt?”
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. “We made a funky one-shouldered shirt for her out of an old sweatshirt.”
With his eyes trained on me, cold and indifferent, Rob glares. “Molly, go upstairs.”
