Page 18 of The Taste of Deceit

“That boy’s gonna learn this weekend.”

“Don’t be too hard on him, okay? I kind of like him.”

“Kind of? You live with the man.”

That makes me laugh out loud. “Yes, Daddy. I sort of might like him a lot.”

“Well, your Mama is very excited to meet him.”

“And you?”

Daddy’s opinion means the world to me.

“Of course,” he says. “I gotta meet the man that has my little girl so happy.”

“I seem happy?”

“You do, sweetheart, but are you doing okay?”

The words pull loose a memory I don’t ask for. My cheek pressed into packed dirt. Tears running into my hair. The overwhelming certainty that nobody could hear me.

I swallow hard.

“I’m okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m taking my antidepressants.”

“Good.”

I already know what’s coming next.

“You still seeing your therapist?”

“Not regularly anymore. We stopped the scheduled appointments about six months ago.”

“That your idea or hers?”

“We decided that I didn’t need standing appointments anymore. If something comes up, I can always call her, but otherwise I’m doing okay on my own.”

He grunts on the other end.

“I promise I’m okay, Daddy.”

“I believe you. It’s just hard when I’m so far away from you.”

I take a deep breath.

“Well, you can see for yourself in a few days.”

“I will.”

I can hear the satisfaction in his voice.

“Now go do something more exciting than talking to your old man.”

I laugh.