Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

about to make my move for the tray when I heard a woman’s voice

coming from the den.

“Roger, it’s too risky.”

And then I heard my father’s voice whispering something I

couldn’t make out. The woman laughed. It wasn’t my mother’s

laugh, so I leaned around as far as I could. She was facing Dad,

but I could see his hand on the small of her back, and they were

kissing just like my mom and dad did.

I shrank back against the wall when I heard the kitchen door

open. Uncle Jimmy was muttering something about ice.

“What are you doing up?” my mom whispered behind

me. She glanced into the den and put her finger to her lips as

she took me by the hand and led me back down the hall to her

bedroom. She picked me up and sat me on the bed and knelt in

front of me. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes. Though I didn’t

understand it then, there was pain. “What are you doing out of

bed, Shannon?”

“I wanted a sandwich with no crust.” As if it would make it

better, I held up my stuffed cat. “Scratchy wants one, too, he’s

very hungry.”

Mom’s eyes watered when she smiled. “I’ll get you and

Scratchy a sandwich, stay right here.”

“Mommy, who was that lady kissing daddy?” I asked as she

stood to go.

She knelt down again and patted Scratchy on the head.

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“That’s your daddy’s special friend. It’s a secret, and only me and

you know about it. Can we keep it that way?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mom sniffed and kissed me on the head. “I’ll be right back.

You stay here, okay?”

That was the very first time Mom and I lay in bed together

watching Doris Day. It took me a while to understand what Dad’s

special friend was and why my mother looked the way she did

that night. But when it all dawned on me, I secretly resented

my father and worried that one day we wouldn’t all be a family

anymore. I kept the secret, though, telling no one, not even Kalen.

In adulthood, I realized that Mom had somehow found it in her

heart to forgive him. I eventually did, too, in secret.

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Chapter 15

Cat on a hot tin roof.

“You have to take them, Roger.”

We weren’t out of the parking lot, and my dad was already

bitching about having to take more pills. I was glad that I was

behind the wheel, and I could use the excuse that I needed to

concentrate on driving if he tried to get me to take his side.

“Dad, you have to stay healthy,” Kalen said. “You remember

why, don’t you?”

That silenced the argument.

“Are you gonna name him after me?” Dad asked.

“It very well could be a girl,” Mom said. “You need to prepare

yourself for that.”

Dad huffed. “Todd has two brothers. Boys are predominant

on his side, so it’s gonna be a boy.” When Mom opened her mouth

to argue, he piped up. “Don’t get my blood pressure up, Jill, you

know what the doctor said, ‘easy does it.’”

“And I suppose you’re going to play that card every chance

you get,” Mom shot back.

Dad laughed. “Are you kidding me? That’s my ace in the hole.”

Mom mumbled off something that sounded to me like she

wanted to stuff him into a hole.

When we got to their house, Mom and Dad sat down to

discuss the new diet, Kalen took a nap, and I took a walk down

to the beach and called Hailey. She was still at the office but took

time out to talk to me.

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“I’m glad you called. I was wondering how things were

going,” she said cheerfully.

“Dad’s being a bit uncooperative about taking his new meds,”

I said.

“Sounds like he had a touch of distemper. Put the pill in the

back of his throat and clamp his mouth closed, then rub his neck

until he swallows. That’s what I do with Fuzzy.”

I laughed at the mental image.

“I referred someone here at work to Marvin today, so I called

him and gave a heads-up. You’d have thought I’d given him a

million dollars. He invited me out to have a few drinks with his

friends tonight.”

My heart nearly stopped. I wondered if those “friends”

included Alicia. “Don’t you have to work tomorrow? Marvin and

his buddies are night birds.”

Something in my tone must have given away my discomfort

with the idea. “Well yeah, I wasn’t going to make a late night of it

though,” Hailey said uneasily.

I didn’t want to come off sounding jealous, but I knew that

Alicia would be all over Hailey the minute she caught sight of her.

“One of his friends…she’s…she kind of comes on strong. I feel

like I should warn you.”

“You know this by experience?” she asked in a playful tone.

“Unfortunately.”

“What’s her name?”

“Alicia.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for her then.”

“Better keep a bat handy, too. You’ll need it.” I wasn’t

joking.

“Does that mean you think she may find me attractive?”

Hailey asked.

“You’re extremely attractive.” I put emphasis on the word

attractive. “But Alicia is the type of woman that would find a tree

stump alluring.”

She lowered her voice. “You find me attractive?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I kissed you the other night in case you

don’t remember.”

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Robin Alexander

Her sigh sent shivers down my spine. “I haven’t forgotten.

You…umm…changed the subject the other night when I asked

you if you found a spark.”

I kicked at the sand and blurted out what I thought before I

lost my nerve. “You should know by now that it’s you that I feel

the spark with. The real question is if you feel it with me.”

“I needed to hear you say it,” Hailey said barely above a

whisper. “I feel it, too. I’m just… Hi, Kelly, come in and have

a seat. I’ll be finished here in a sec.” Hailey’s tone switched to

business. “Shannon, I hate to cut this short, but I have someone

in my office. We’ll set up a meeting when you get back in town.”

“I look forward to it,” I said in the same businesslike tone.

“I’d like you to text me when you get in tonight, so I’ll know you

made it home safely. And yes, I know you can’t argue with me on

this point, because you have someone in your office, so just do

as I ask.”

“I will consider your proposal. Thank you for calling,” Hailey

said politely before ending the call.

I snapped the phone closed with a smile, then frowned when

I thought about Hailey going out with Marvin and his friends.

I wondered if my name would come up in conversation since I

was a mutual friend and if Alicia would say anything about my

encounter with her. I also wondered what Hailey had planned to

say before she was cut off. All of it made me uneasy.

I had no appetite at dinner. In my mind’s eye, I could only see

Hailey on the dance floor with Alicia, and I wanted to go home.

Mom, Dad, and Kalen were engrossed in conversation about what

room would be best as the nursery and fencing the backyard now

that they’d have a little one running loose. No one noticed that I

only picked at my food.

After dinner, Dad settled into his recliner while Kalen

stretched out on the couch. Mom and I cleaned the kitchen. Then

we took our coffee to the patio. “Mom, can I ask you a personal

question?”