Meet the Moon by Kerry L. Malawista

Author:Kerry L. Malawista
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

18

Finally it was Friday, and Mae’s show. Dad made us dress up, saying it was a special occasion, so I added Mom’s heart necklace to my outfit and told Billy, “No hats allowed.”

The four of us—Dad, Annie, Billy, and me—ambled across the school parking lot. Dad had driven Mae there earlier and Claire was coming with James. As we made our way in to the school auditorium, Dad nudged me and nodded across the room. It was Charlie. Softly he sang, “Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger.” How did Dad know about Charlie?

“Dad!”

Charlie gave me a half nod and about a quarter of a smile. A good sign. I checked the program—yup, Charlie’s younger sister Cynthia was in the show—Tweedledee. Dad took hold of my hand, leading me to a row of chairs. I shrugged his hand off, embarrassed.

“Jody, look,” said Annie, pulling on my sleeve. “Mrs. O’Donnell is here! I knew she would come.” She climbed over my lap, then over Dad and Billy into the aisle, and raced across the room to Mrs. O’Donnell.

Mrs. O’Donnell was younger than I expected, with a dark flip and a crisp shirtdress, like the teacher in a kid’s book. I wasn’t sure what the fuss was all about. She didn’t even wear lipstick. But I guess she was nice to show up.

Dad stood and introduced himself. “So you’re the famous Mrs. O’Donnell,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“And me, about you.” They laughed.

“This here is Billy and my second oldest, Jody,” said Dad. I waved. “And Claire should be here somewhere.”

“And this is my daughter Patty. When Annie told me about her sister’s starring role,” she said, and mouthing the words: many, many times. “I thought Patty would enjoy it. She’s a year ahead of Annie in school.” She pointed to the flowers Dad held under his arm. “So thoughtful, you brought flowers.”

“I picked them up on my way home from work.” Dad smiled at her “Well, very nice to meet you.”

“Sit with us,” said Annie.

And the agreeable Mrs. O’Donnell and a slightly pudgy Patty, with her bobbed blond hair and party dress, found a seat in the row behind us, with Annie plunking herself right in between the two of them.

Shortly Mrs. Porter, mother of Lisa, the Queen of Hearts, spotted Dad. She touched his shoulder, said, “You all seem to be managing so well. Thank God.”

Dad gave a wry smile. “No, don’t thank God, thank Joe Moran.”

She lingered, asked a dozen nosey questions, though Dad had nothing much to say.

“Everyone’s checking up on me,” Dad whispered, when she finally got the hint.

That made an opening for Tommy Marshall’s mom, who hurried over with her wild jungle of hair and tight shirt. I nudged Dad. Mrs. Marshall was one of those moms on our street that had caught the “divorce virus.”

“Watch out, Dad,” I said under my breath.

“Be nice.” Dad stood.

“Hi, Joe,” the former Mrs. Marshall said, all sultry.

“Hi, Jackie. Good to see you. How are the boys doing?”

“We are all just dandy,” she said, drawing out the last word.

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.