Dad's Girlfriend and Other Anxieties by Kellye Crocker

Author:Kellye Crocker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Penny was supposed to watch them, but she’d left with Z. Now Ava sat alone in a Colorado bar. Should Ava have run after Z too? If so, what was she supposed to say? Ava felt bad for Z, but did Z even care about Ava?

Rodrigo remained in the corner with Cassie Kennedy. More young women had joined them, surrounding him. Apparently, the word was out: The photographer/judge from Make Me a Top Model was at Al’s Place, and every superfan and aspiring model in the Rockies needed to meet him. (As well as people who liked free drinks.)

What if one of the old men at the bar offered Ava candy or said they had a puppy to show her? Those were tricks criminals used to snatch kids. Puppies reminded Ava of Mouse. She’d never been away from him so long. What if he’d forgotten her? She ran a finger over her watch.

It wasn’t fair her mom died.

Dr. C. wanted her to notice and name her emotions, but that assignment made Ava mad, upset, and worried. Because: How was she supposed to know?

Did other people just know?

Was “bunched up” a feeling? What about “twizzled” or “bumpy”? The words for feelings weren’t big enough to hold them.

If her mom were alive, Ava wouldn’t have been sitting alone in a mountain bar.

In this moment, Ava felt so many things: sad, twitchy, angry, swirly, shocked, fearful, curious, shaky, confused, grumpy, doubtful, clammy, disappointed, lonely, tense, sweaty, weary, suspicious, edgy, fluttery, trapped, itchy, rattled, vomit-y, bummed, sore, ignored, nervous, hopeful, tingly, bored, queasy, irritated, tired, jumpy, abandoned, and unsure. She wasn’t even sure all of those were feelings—or if that was a complete inventory of everything she felt.

Ava’s feelings eventually would change. But Ava’s mom still would be dead.

Always and forever.

And that sucked.

Ava buried her head in her arms on the table and shut her eyes.

“Hey.” Rodrigo tapped her shoulder. “You all right, kid?”

Ava looked up. She wanted to say: Do I look all right?

She nodded.

Rodrigo took the seat across from her and looked around. “Where’s Z?”

Ava wanted to say: You’re a grown man. You caused this. Can’t you figure it out?

“She left.”

“Left?” Rodrigo pulled out his phone and typed. “They didn’t leave you, did they?”

Ava assumed Z was outside, blowing off steam. If she’d wanted to leave, surely Penny would have come in for her. Unless she forgot…

“Would you mind?” A smiling young man held out a paper and pen, and Rodrigo scribbled his single name. A couple more fans approached.

“Uh, sorry.” Rodrigo looked frazzled as his phone pinged. “Maybe later, okay?”

He held up the screen for Ava to read:

Rodrigo: Where R U?

Z: U SUCK!!!!!!!!!!

“Is she having her period or something?”

“Uh…” Ava had wanted to know too, but it was a crummy thing for a dad to say. Rodrigo also had said something mean about The Girlfriend when Z was snotty. He didn’t seem eager to have a baby with his ex-wife.

But Ava had to try. She took a breath. “I heard about how you met Jenn.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.