Everything That Follows by Meg Little Reilly

Author:Meg Little Reilly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2018-02-16T14:27:09+00:00

Chapter 11

“Your wizard is dead.”

“What!” Sean scanned the medieval village and the colorful figurines scattered across the board. This was the fourth time they’d played this game, and he still had trouble with the rules.

Weeta laughed and pointed to the tiny people. “Your noblemen could have saved him, but they’re locked up with the vicar.”

“I think you’re making these rules up.”

She smiled and sat back in her chair. “Dad, I’m hungry. Can we order the pizza now?”

“Yeah, we’d better. Your grandmother should be here soon.” Sean walked to the window.

First snow of the season. It was only November, but the snow was three inches deep with no sign of abating. Sean couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen snow before Thanksgiving.

“Dad, you think they’ll cancel school tomorrow?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” He hoped. A snow day would mean one more precious day with her.

Sean filled a kettle with tap water and put it on the stove top. He wasn’t eager to get back to their board game, but he’d do practically anything Weeta asked of him in exchange for her company. As long as they were engaged and moving their hands, Weeta would talk to him. She talked about school and friends, terrible teachers, and her plans to make the soccer team. He wasn’t deluding himself in believing that they had a special kind of connection, a product of his unbridled affection and the freedom that comes with not being the primary caretaker. Sean tried to adhere to Beth’s rules on those visits—bedtime at nine and limited video games—but he didn’t try terribly hard. He felt that the only consolation for living without her was the privilege of celebrating her presence without judgment when they were together. And so it was lucky for all of them that Weeta was smart and focused enough not to take advantage of him.

“Daddy, where’s Kat?”

Sean poured hot water over powdered cocoa. “I think she’s working tonight.”

“Are you in a fight?”

He never discussed such things with his daughter, but he knew this was inevitable. Weeta hadn’t seen Kat in weeks. “I don’t really know. Maybe.”

She began clearing the game pieces slowly.

“You don’t want to play anymore?”

“Not really,” she said.

“I’m sure I’ll work things out with Kat, though. This isn’t like your mom and me.” It might be like that, Sean thought. He wasn’t sure.

Weeta carefully placed each figurine into the box. Their little swords and pointy shoes all fit neatly just where they should. It was a perfectly orderly life those medieval characters had. “Yeah, I know,” she said.

Through the snowy curtain outside his kitchen window, Sean saw his mother approach. Thank goodness. He didn’t know how to talk about Kat with his daughter. “Nana’s here!”

Weeta jumped up and went to the door.

“My love!” Orla exclaimed, her snowy arms extended in the doorway.

They hugged and Sean took his mother’s coat so she could get right to the business of catching up with her only grandchild. Weeta had already launched into a story about her basketball team and which friends were playing which positions.

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.