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"Probably," Brody says, continuing his pace down the line of tables. He stops abruptly in front of one of the tables, where I find Parker and her' family member,' Hannah sitting. AKA, her cousin.
"Parker, why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" I ask her quietly.
"I did," she says, keeping her eyes locked on the napkins she's straightening.
"Well, I didn't hear you," I respond.
"Sorry, I thought you did."
"Dude, call me back when you're free," I hear Brody say into his phone.
I tug at Brody's arm. "You're seriously going to rat me out? Do you not have anything better to do?"
"My dad likes to be in charge at all times," Hannah says, smirking at me.
"Clearly," I tell her.
"He's the boss of the PTA and the boss tonight, so—" Hannah raises her brows and glances away from me. "Better watch yourself."
Wow. Just wow. I offer to help, and this is what I get in return. "Honey, can you go get me a drink from the vending machine," Brody asks his daughter.
"Don't call me honey in public," she snaps at him.
"Sugarplum, your dad would really love a bottle of water. Here is some money, could you be a dear, and go grab a bottle?"
"Sugarplum?" Hannah growls. "Dad, you're humiliating me!"
"Brody leans over the table and kisses Hannah on the cheek. "Love you, cupcake."
"Oh my God, stop!" she yells, standing in front of the table. Hannah snatches the money out of Brody's hand and storms off.
"Oh, Hannah," he hollers after her. I'm sure she only turns around since he referred to her by name this time. "Don't forget—" Brody points at her, then places his hands on his heart and points his thumbs toward himself. "You complete me, baby girl."
Hannah's mouth falls ajar. Her cheeks turn bright red, and she stomps off. "Tweens, I tell ya. It's no joke. You have to play the game, or they walk all over you," Brody tells me.
"You just embarrassed her. How is that playing the game?"
"She wouldn't have gotten me a bottle of water, and I can't leave the area right now." I'm not sure I have much of a response considering I kind of recall acting similarly at that age.
I clear my throat. "Well, good for you," I tell him. "Parker, we should get back to our table and start cleaning up."
Parker stands up and shrugs her shoulders. "Okay."
"Hey, Park," Brody addresses her. "Does Miss Journey here have a daughter in this school?"
Parker gives me an off-putting look. "You have a daughter?" she asks. "Why didn't she come with us tonight?"
I take Parker's hand and gently guide her away from the table, hoping Brody doesn't follow. "Is your uncle always such a pain in the butt?"
"Mmm, pretty much," Parker says with a giggle.
For the next thirty minutes that I'm required to be here, I find myself rather safe from being approached by Brody as a line of moms finds a reason to chat him up off in the corner. I'm thankfully able to get Parker and me out of the school without another encounter with the grizzly bear.
5
The parking lot is lit up well, and parents are shuttling their kids into cars. We parked farther away, so we're still walking by the time some cars start to pull out of the lot. "Why did we park back here?" Parker asks.
"I don't usually like to park too close to other cars," I tell her.
