When the kids had finally given up on getting the car started, Tess had walked down there to help since Math was making supper. When they had returned, all had been laughing, and Cora had been driving the old red car. Once in the car they decided to take a longer drive and went around the mile section.
Cora had been so excited that she got to drive that she had forgotten she was mad at the world when they got back. The teen had also found herself a new friend in the woman she called “his girlfriend.” Math had liked the sound of it.
During the fifteen-minute drive, Tess had won over all the children. Once back, they were friendly and helpful to the woman. They didn’t even comment too much about her eating a burger with her usual knife and fork or even that she didn’t finish everything on her plate. After the meal, the kids had invited her to watch a movie with them, and Math let her go while he cleaned the kitchen.
Now he was sitting next to her on the couch watching a movie, but he could tell she wasn’t interested in what the kids had picked. She was just there for them. He liked her even more, knowing that she was doing this for his kids, even if she was uninterested.
Cora got up and said, “Anyone want something to drink?”
Math looked at his daughter, confused. She had never cared about anyone else’s needs before. They all said yes, and she went out to the kitchen. Within a few minutes, she asked, “Dad, where’s the pop you just bought?”
“In the pantry,” he answered from his spot.
“I can’t see it,” she said from the doorway.
“I’ll get it.” Math huffed but got up. He just wanted to watch a movie with Tess, even if she didn’t want to see it.
Once in the kitchen, he went into the pantry, but the pop was gone. In confusion, he walked back into the kitchen and saw it on the counter. Cora was next to it.
“It’s right there.” He pointed to it.
“I know, you idiot. I want to talk to you,” Cora said quietly.
“To me?” he asked, once again confused. His daughter usually hated talking with him. Most of the time, she didn’t talk to him at all.
“Yes, it’s about Tess.”
“I thought you didn’t like her?” He hadn’t expected her to like Tess so quickly.
“It’s not that. When we were in her car, her phone was in there.” Cora looked at the doorway to the living room.
“Did you look at her phone?” he accused.
“Yes and no. We wouldn’t have, but she got like a thousand texts. And a dozen calls.”
“I think maybe not that many.” He chuckled at her exaggeration.
“No, Dad, really. At least ten calls, and the texts didn’t stop. When she got in the car to help me, she didn’t look at it; she shut it off. She hasn’t turned it on.
“It’s none of our business, Mila. It’s her phone, which means her business. Not ours.”
“They were from a guy, Dad.”
“Mila,” he warned.
“A guy kept saying, ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.’ Stuff like that. Does she have a boyfriend, Dad?”
“What was the guy’s name?” Was his daughter actually trying to protect him? Was this the same daughter who barely talked to him week after week, and when she did, it was to tell him to stay out of her life?
“Nat.”
“That’s her friend, a female friend.” His heart hurt for Tess. Something happened between her and her niece, and it had really bothered her. So much so, it made her cry earlier. Not in front of him, but she hadn’t hid it well enough for him not to notice.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, she’s her niece. They are very close.” Or were, he didn’t know now.
“The texts made me wonder.” Cora shrugged.