Maybe Matt's Miracle(71)

He groans. “Nothing. Why? What did she tell you?”

I try to play it off. “She didn’t tell me anything. There’s just, like, this undercurrent when you’re in a room together. What did you do to her?”

“I kissed her,” he blurts out.

I choke. “You kissed Friday?” I thump my fist against my chest, trying to restart my heart.

“Well, we kind of kissed each other.”

I grin. “How was it?”

“Amazing,” he breathes. But then he realizes what he said, and he sobers. “I mean, it was okay.”

He’s such a bad liar. “You should ask her out,” I say.

He shakes his head. “I did. She told me no. She’s been telling me no for years.”

“You know she’s not a lesbian, right?” I ask.

He raises one brow. “No thanks to you, yes.”

I chuckle. “Sorry about that.”

“No you’re not.” But he’s grinning. “She’s got some issues,” he finally says. “I would love to know what they are.”

“What kind of issues?” I ask.

“I don’t know. The I-don’t-have-any-family kind. The girl is completely alone. You know she doesn’t even go home in the summer?”

“Well, she didn’t get picked out of a cabbage patch.” I stay quiet for a minute because it looks like he’s thinking. “What happened when you kissed her?”

“Sparks,” he says. “Fucking sparks.” He blows out a breath.

“What about Kelly?”

His gaze jerks up. “What about her?”

“I’m guessing that Friday wouldn’t like kissing you when you’re still sleeping with Kelly. Was that the problem?” Getting information out of Paul is like pulling teeth.

“I haven’t slept with Kelly since you and I talked about it that morning. Haven’t slept with anybody since I kissed Friday. I can’t get her off my f*cking mind.”

“So go for it.”

He shakes his head. “She said no way. Her exact words were no f*cking way, Paul, you stupid son of a bitch. Then she told me to go f*ck myself.”

That’s Friday for you. You have to love her.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. I jump to go answer, hoping deep in my heart that Sky has come to see me, to be sure everything is all right. To tell me she loves me and can’t wait another minute to see me. I open the door and my heart stalls, but for a completely different reason. It’s not Sky at my door. It’s April. She has her arms crossed, and she’s all wet. Her makeup streaks down her face, making her look like a semi-drowned raccoon. She’s still in her wedding dress and a puddle is forming on the floor beneath her.

“Can I come in?” she asks.

I step back and let her walk by me, right into the house, and right back into my life.





Skylar



Dad is still up washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen when I get home. I toss my keys onto a table, and he turns to face me, rubbing his hands on a kitchen towel. “I didn’t think you’d be home until the morning,” he says.

I shrug my shoulders. “I missed my kids,” I say. I smile because it’s true. I really did miss them.

“Never thought I’d hear you say that.” He lays the towel down on the counter and crosses his arms. “Did Matt find you?”

I nod. I don’t need to tell him more than that.

“What was that all about?” he asks.

“Just stuff,” I say. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter, Sky,” he protests.

I don’t like that he’s acting like this. I don’t like it at all. He has no right. “What gives you the right to ask me questions, Dad?” I say. The words hang there in the air between us, visible and palpable, almost living and breathing. “I did what you wanted. I took on your responsibility. That doesn’t mean that you get a free ticket into my life.”

“I don’t want a free ticket,” he says. He turns away. “Never mind,” he mutters.

I let out the breath I was holding. “What do you want, Dad?” I ask.

“I don’t want a free pass, Sky,” he says. “But I do want to earn a ticket. I’m trying. And I know I’ve done a brilliant job of walking away my whole life, but I don’t want to walk away right now.” He holds out his hands like he’s surrendering. “So, what happened with Matt?”

“He came to see me,” I admit. “He came to my apartment. Why did you give him my address?”

He chuckles. “The boy was wrecked. I couldn’t sit here and let him suffer.”

“Why would you care about Matt’s suffering?” I cross my arms and glare at him.

“I walked away from your mother’s suffering for a long time. And yours. And now that I’m trying to be aware of all of it, you don’t get to give me a hard time about it.”

“Yes, I do.” I sound like Mellie when she doesn’t get her way.

He chuckles. “You can. But it won’t get either of us anywhere.” He waits a beat. “You know he came to see me, right?” he asks.

I roll my eyes. “I’m not deaf, Dad. You just told me that.”