✔︎ | Part of Me (Trilogy)

3 | the fam

3 | the fam

W i l l i a m  E m b e r

"Anyone home?"

"No, please leave the package on the porch," a deep yell comes from the kitchen.

I roll my eyes and chuckle. Dad thinks he's sofunny. I throw the house keys into the porcelain dish on the white, hallway shelf, and slide out of my shoes. I follow the clinging of silverware into the kitchen, where I find Dad, unpacking and washing utensils. He hears me plop onto a chair at the island and picks up a butter knife, pointing it in my direction as if he's wielding a sword.

"Child!" His accent changes, I'm not sure to what, but something other than Chicagoan. "What have you done with the package?"

I glance from the knife to my dad's very serious face. "No package, Dad. You're weird, you know?"

Dad shrugs and sets the knife in a drawer. "It's the medical marijuana."

I smile. "Dad," I say, "your medical marijuana doesn't make you high."

Dad groans. "I lost it when we moved. I found it in Will's room. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it wasn't mine."

I laugh. "No kidding."

Dad leans on the counter in front of me, scratching his bearded chin. "That means Will is smoking weed? Did he tell you he was into drugs?"

"Will's been smoking weed since freshman year Dad," I laugh, "you found him in the backyard with his friends when he was 15 and shared with them the many benefits of marijuana." Dad frowns as if he has no clue what I'm talking about. "You continued to smoke your medical marijuana with them?"

Dad bites his lip and giggles. He winks at me and pushes himself from the counter. "I did no such thing," he states, "especially if your mom asks." I chuckle and grab my phone out of my bag to check my messages. "So how was school?" Dad goes on, continuing to grab forks and spoons and knives from the dishwasher.

"Not great," I groan, "but I got a call back from Domino's." I point to myself, "you're lookin' at their new delivery girl."

"Nice," Dad grins, "now you can start paying me back for all of the concert tickets I buy you."

I chuckle. "It was one concert! And I gave the money to mom already."

Dad gasps dramatically. "I see how it is!"

"Anyway, most of my classes are fun. But it turns out my Phys. Ed. teacher was in an accident and we have a student teacher instead," I sigh.

Dad chuckles. "And you find him attractive?"

"No!" I gasp, obviously lying. "How'd you get that? He's a nightmare." I tell Dad the story. I probably still would if he wasn't as high as a kite. Although he's very protective, he's also very reasonable and trustworthy. I can tell him anything without worrying that he'll judge me or lose his temper, unlike Mom. Dad continues stacking dishes in the cupboards as I tell him about my day and the new people I've met. "He's just," I take a bite of the apple I grab from the fruit bowl, "mean. And he likes being mean. I hope it doesn't turn into elementary school all over again."