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“Sorry Dad, but I’ll make you some tomorrow if you’d like.”
There’s a small hitch to my words, but I made it to the third step before my dad calls me back down. Slapping a smile back on my face, I poke my head out.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Are you crying?” Mike asks, bewilderment on his face. “Is it something I said?”
“Oh this. It’s nothing. You just make me so happy. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you for a father,” I lie. Seeing that he seems unsure, I continue quickly. “Dad, I think I’m going to head up and get ready to head to bed. You know, early day and all of that.” Of course, it’s only 7 p.m., but any excuse will do.
Waving once more, I smile again and run the rest of the way before locking my door behind me. Sinking down to the floor, I lean against my bedroom door as the sobs start again. This is without a doubt the worst day ever.
4
Ryan
Watching Amelia run up the stairs, I could tell that something was really wrong. She was lying about her tears being about her love for her dad. Not lying per se, but that wasn’t the reason why she looked haunted and fragile.
Looking at Reese, I could tell that he noticed the same thing, but there isn’t really anything we can do about it right now without raising anyone’s suspicions. Deciding to put our concerns aside, we tune back into the poker game.
The game goes a couple more rounds before I once again clean everyone out of their money. It’s like stealing candy from a baby. These guys haven’t improved throughout the years we’ve been playing together, and tonight is no different. Standing up to look at our group, I remark graciously, “Well, gentlemen, I thank you for your time. I’m sure Burger Heaven appreciates your contribution.”
Reece guffaws beside me.
“Hey asshole, Burger Heaven belongs to both of us, so I guess I didn’t lose after all.”
It’s true. Reece and I opened Burger Heaven ages ago. It took a while to get off the ground, but now we have a chain of restaurants famous for its fresh beef patties and delicious crispy fries. Even better, owning Burger Heaven is like owning a bank. It’s made us so rich that we literally have no idea what to do with our money.
But a lot of people don’t know exactly how wealthy we are, and that’s how we like it. We maintain relatively modest lifestyles, and still hang out with our friends from college for the occasional poker game. I merely shrug at Reese.
“We’ll bring burgers next week for everyone. On the house.”
The rest of the guys laugh and begin packing up to head home. It’s a good crew. We’ve been holding these weekly poker nights for years now, and we’re used to one another. Old Joe has gotten older, and Paolo appears to be shrinking, but they’re fine fellows.
“You sure you guys don’t want to stay a little?” Mike, our host, asks. “I’ve got some beer in the fridge.”
Old Joe and Paolo make their excuses, but Reese and I look at one another.
“Sure, why not?”
Once the other men are gone, we kick back and relax a bit. Mike rubs the bridge of his nose ruefully.
“So, how are you guys? Time flies, huh? If you had told me twenty years ago that I would be a divorced, single father with an eighteen-year-old daughter about to graduate high school, I would have laughed in your face. Just goes to show that college students are shit at predicting their futures.”
We laugh at his words because they’re true. Mike used to be a romantic. He was head over heels with his college girlfriend, Cindy, and they got married straight after graduation. We all thought they’d be together forever, but clearly, life has its own way of knocking you on the head.
I smile at my friend.
“It’s not all bad. Amelia is a beautiful young lady with a good head on her shoulders. You should be proud of the fine job you’ve done raising her.”
Reese nods.
“Ryan’s right, bro. You’ve done an amazing job raising Amelia. I remember when she was this cute, sassy little girl with a button nose and wild curls running to you with skinned knees. Now look at her…a grown woman. Ryan’s right, you should be proud of the woman you’ve raised.”
Michael replies gruffly.
“Thanks guys. She is definitely something to be proud of. After the craziness with her mother, I didn’t know if I would be able to raise Amelia at all, especially with Cindy fighting me for custody. But I guess all’s well that ends well. That ice cold bitch is out of our lives, and even better, Amelia doesn’t seem to miss her.”
Heading to the fridge, Mike opens the door, and then stares in consternation. “Hey, I’m going to grab some beers from the garage as we don’t seem to have any in the fridge.”
