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THE HANDOFF had to be one of the worst parts of being a kid with divorced parents.
Forget the broken home, forget seeing your dad move out, no, being a reminder that your parents can't simply forget that the other existed had to be one of the worst.
Every summer since Micah had turned seven, she would find herself without fail in the passenger seat of her mother's newest car, parked outside the closest bank to their north New Jersey home to wait for her father.
And without fail, it always turned out to be awkward in some fashion.
Her mother would be rude, and in return, her father would be nervous, and Micah would be standing adjacent to the formerly married couple, praying that it was over and she could go and be with her father for the summer.
Robin, Micah's mother, sighed from where she was settled in the driver's seat, dressed in a trendy-colored pantsuit, "Your damn father is always late. I have a flight to catch."
Micah pursed her lips at her tone and flickered her eyes between her mother and the passenger side window, "Do you want me to call him or...?" She lightly twisted her cell phone back and forth to further her question.
Robin shook her head no, then reached one umber-colored hand into the cup holder to scoop her work phone up, "I'll see if I can get a later flight. Damn it."
As mentioned earlier, the object lit up with a FaceTime from her best friend of twelve years, Taina Molina.
With no hesitation, Micah swiped a thumb across the screen to answer.
"Mike-Mike!" Taina immediately greeted, her surroundings being a white wall with a tile backsplash and a spinning beige fan behind her. "You're still in the state?"
"Tai-Tai!" Micah cheered back, adjusting her thick dark red hair to the side to be more comfortable, "Yeah, we're still waiting for my dad." She adjusted the phone so that her mother was in the camera's view, "Say hi, Mom."
"Hi, Taina." Robin glanced up from her work phone long enough for a wave and a hint of a friendly smile.
"Hi, Ms. Hicks!" Taina tucked a long piece of brown curly hair before presumably setting the phone down on her counter and backing up a little to reveal a pair of printed running shorts and a black tank top. The girl began to stretch her biceps, pulling them fiercely to the opposite side, "So where are you going this time?"
Taina had sat down at her circular kitchen table to slip on her favorite sneakers designed for running. In the camera, an older feminine voice spoke in Spanish, the only words Micah could understand being 'New York.' Taina glanced at her cell phone and then replied in the same language.
