AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I’ve got some work to do.”
“It’s Sunday, Xander. Live a little. Let’s go golfing with the kids.”
“I hate golfing. But you’re welcome to take the kids,” I tell him, heading to my office on the third floor.
I pass by the now-locked door containing my wife’s paintings and a chill passes over me. Maybe one day, I’ll find the courage to walk in there. But it’s not going to happen any time soon.
* * *
Declan must have takenmy advice and taken the kids out because I don’t hear a word from them until later that evening when I head downstairs. They’re in the kitchen, talking to someone animatedly.
“I got an A on my history test,” Madison announces happily.
“Of course you did, Mads. I never doubted you for a second.”
I stop short when I hear Juliette’s voice ring out in the kitchen. I guess they’re on a call with her. I hadn’t realized they had grown so close that phone calls are involved. I’m not sure it’s a good idea. I do not need my kids getting attached to a woman that probably won’t be around for long.
I wait and listen when she begins to address Mason over the phone.
“How about you, Mase?” Juliette questions.
“I didn’t take the test,” my son announces.
“Why?”
“I already know everything, so I asked the teacher if I could be excluded. She said yes.”
“And what were you doing while everyone else was taking the test?”
“I sat down and watched. Then I read a book for a while.”
Juliette pauses for a beat. “Wasn’t that lonely, not being involved in an activity everyone else was performing? Does that happen often?”
“Yeah, Mase tends to keep to himself,” Madison replies. “He doesn’t really have any friends.”
There’s a pang in my heart at that. I hadn’t realized he was struggling in any way.
“I have better things to worry about than friends,” Mason states, resolve in his voice.
“Mason, you’re twelve,” Juliette says sadly. “The only thing you should be worrying about is friends. And video games and whatever it is normal boys your age worry about.”
“I’m not normal, Julie. I’m a Callahan.”
Fuck.
With that, I’ve heard enough. There will always be several moments in the course of being a parent when you’ll wonder if you’ve failed in your duty. This is one such moment for me. I can’t help but wonder if I’ve screwed up my kids. I thought I did a good job; I thought Kathy would at least be proud of me when it came to them. But it turns out I couldn’t even do that right.
CHAPTER7
Juliette
“Hello, Mother.”
“Juliette,” she says in her faux polite, creepy, feminine voice. “How are you?”
“I’m quite well. As well as I was when I talked to you three months ago.”
I can’t see her, but I’m sure she just rolled her eyes at me.
