a Fence of Courage

weeks

I washed down the last of my bagel with a gulp of coffee (oops to hot!) I feel my tongue burn forming quickly, today aunt Lauren was taking me to my dad's. The new week had begun. I'm just thinking to hard about what it'll mean for dad and aunt Lauren to be in the same room. Aunt vs Dad in different corners on the issue of my mom. Aunt Lauren was mom's best friend and had been since they were just kids. She never really forgave my dad for his uhm, choices. Though she puts on a good face and puts up with him, for my sake. She was my godmother after all. Her car pulled up front and mom's face immediately lit up from the previous worried look she'd had. Big hugs as always and then mom turns to face me, the worry back on her face. "Be good to your dad okay, baby? Remember to call me anytime." She pulls me into a tight hug and there was a quick exchange of "I love you"s before I followed out aunt Lauren. Mom looked small next to her apartment building, looming over, ready to consume her in lonely and catching up on writing for her next novel. She consoles herself in rhythmic words of her realities of the world how she experienced it before shutting it out every other week to take care of me. Not that I'm much of a problem, when I'm with mom a Friday night means a horror movie on TV and then falling asleep together on the couch. When I'm with dad a Friday night means playing each other in video games until my fingers ache. It seems these days they're trying to make things up to me.