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Her mother and I hadn't spoken in two years. It was just one of those lulls in life when no one died, no one got married, and no other event brought us together in the same place and time. Kaley was my firstborn, and she was blessed with all her mother's brains, but thankfully none of her mother's bad habits. Her graduation from the university was imminent for four years now, and as each day ticked forward closer to the date, I knew it also meant I'd see her mother again.
We'd created an effective invisible protector shield from each other the past few years, neither of us ever having to see the other, all thanks to Kaley. She hated it all, of course, but the only thing she hated more than seeing us apart was seeing us together.
Once the 16th arrived, I did everything I could to stay locked up in my hotel room, the fear of God--and Kim--keeping me from any needed convenience store runs the day or two before the ceremony. It was bad enough we'd be seated in the same auditorium; I didn't want to have to accidentally run into her while buying a pack of cigs too, especially since she'd read me the riot act for going back to them.
Kaley called me up just before I left my hotel room, to warn me about her mother. "She's here already," she whispered, clearly just a few feet away from Kim. "Just head straight to the auditorium, not to my dorm building." I sighed, annoyed at having the short end of the stick once again, but assured Kaley it was no problem. I hung up and cursed Kim out with a few of my favorite choice adjectives and adverbs. Fucking bitch got there early on purpose, just so this would fucking happen.
I did my best throughout the ceremony to avoid looking around, afraid I'd see Kim just staring at me from a few feet away, and it wasn't until Kaley's name was finally announced for her degree that I even knew where Kim was sitting. My bad luck of having a last name starting with Z made for an unbearable wait, but Kim's arrogant scream from the left side of the stage finally gave her position away. Jesus. Calm the fuck down.
Once it was all over, I followed Kim out the side door and around to the back part of the auditorium where Kaley said she'd meet us. I figured if I just stayed far enough behind Kim, she wouldn't even think to look back. Unfortunately, luck screwed me once again. She stopped cold in her tracks when I sneezed, and spun around quickly for the confrontation. Whenever I tried my best to avoid this kind of thing, Kim always seemed to delight in it.
"Hi, Joe," she said, so quick it sounded more like, "Hijoe."
"Hey Kim, how are you?"
"Oh, you know, fine, fine. Paying for my daughter to go through college while my deadbeat ex-husband spends all his time getting stoned and drunk instead of looking for work. You'd think you'd pick up the textbook bills or something, but no. Nothing. So glad you could make it today though! It was really very kind of you to show up for this. Really very kind."
I gave her the angriest, foulest stare I could muster. She was a pathetic, hateful bitch who thought so little of me, and so highly of herself. I didn't fucking care anymore at that point either. The fucking ceremony was over, and I'd done my best.
Once I got outside and rounded the corner, I heard Kaley saying, "You should be nicer to Dad. You'd struggle too if you were confined to a wheelchair and battling clinical depression." She was a sweetheart for saying so, but I didn't like her talking to Kim about my business either. I rolled up quickly and smiled widely at both of them, then said, "Kaley, you looked so beautiful up there! I am so proud of you!"
She blushed, gave me a hug, and then ran off quickly to say goodbye to a classmate. As Kim and I watched her, I muttered, "That girl will be lucky if any boy ever kisses her with that face of hers." Kim laughed darkly, then added, "She might just fall into some dork on her way to the library and get lucky with a bad fall of her own." Kim and I exchanged a glance and smiled kindly at one another for the first time in years. Fucking Kaley.
We'd created an effective invisible protector shield from each other the past few years, neither of us ever having to see the other, all thanks to Kaley. She hated it all, of course, but the only thing she hated more than seeing us apart was seeing us together.
Once the 16th arrived, I did everything I could to stay locked up in my hotel room, the fear of God--and Kim--keeping me from any needed convenience store runs the day or two before the ceremony. It was bad enough we'd be seated in the same auditorium; I didn't want to have to accidentally run into her while buying a pack of cigs too, especially since she'd read me the riot act for going back to them.
Kaley called me up just before I left my hotel room, to warn me about her mother. "She's here already," she whispered, clearly just a few feet away from Kim. "Just head straight to the auditorium, not to my dorm building." I sighed, annoyed at having the short end of the stick once again, but assured Kaley it was no problem. I hung up and cursed Kim out with a few of my favorite choice adjectives and adverbs. Fucking bitch got there early on purpose, just so this would fucking happen.
I did my best throughout the ceremony to avoid looking around, afraid I'd see Kim just staring at me from a few feet away, and it wasn't until Kaley's name was finally announced for her degree that I even knew where Kim was sitting. My bad luck of having a last name starting with Z made for an unbearable wait, but Kim's arrogant scream from the left side of the stage finally gave her position away. Jesus. Calm the fuck down.
Once it was all over, I followed Kim out the side door and around to the back part of the auditorium where Kaley said she'd meet us. I figured if I just stayed far enough behind Kim, she wouldn't even think to look back. Unfortunately, luck screwed me once again. She stopped cold in her tracks when I sneezed, and spun around quickly for the confrontation. Whenever I tried my best to avoid this kind of thing, Kim always seemed to delight in it.
"Hi, Joe," she said, so quick it sounded more like, "Hijoe."
"Hey Kim, how are you?"
"Oh, you know, fine, fine. Paying for my daughter to go through college while my deadbeat ex-husband spends all his time getting stoned and drunk instead of looking for work. You'd think you'd pick up the textbook bills or something, but no. Nothing. So glad you could make it today though! It was really very kind of you to show up for this. Really very kind."
I gave her the angriest, foulest stare I could muster. She was a pathetic, hateful bitch who thought so little of me, and so highly of herself. I didn't fucking care anymore at that point either. The fucking ceremony was over, and I'd done my best.
Once I got outside and rounded the corner, I heard Kaley saying, "You should be nicer to Dad. You'd struggle too if you were confined to a wheelchair and battling clinical depression." She was a sweetheart for saying so, but I didn't like her talking to Kim about my business either. I rolled up quickly and smiled widely at both of them, then said, "Kaley, you looked so beautiful up there! I am so proud of you!"
She blushed, gave me a hug, and then ran off quickly to say goodbye to a classmate. As Kim and I watched her, I muttered, "That girl will be lucky if any boy ever kisses her with that face of hers." Kim laughed darkly, then added, "She might just fall into some dork on her way to the library and get lucky with a bad fall of her own." Kim and I exchanged a glance and smiled kindly at one another for the first time in years. Fucking Kaley.
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Read the below only if you already read the story.
The first line of this short story just popped into my head, and I immediately felt the main character's vibe: dark, but not evil. An everyman the readers would really understand, someone they'd like. But the more I wrote, the more I had no idea where it was going, and I didn't want to keep writing forever either. How would it all resolve? I guessed correctly that the last scene would be the end of the college graduation ceremony, but I wasn't sure exactly how all of the story would wrap itself up.
That's when I got the idea of twisting things sharply right near the end, to make the reader suddenly realize this guy they'd come to appreciate and side with wasn't all he was cracked up to be. He was a deadbeat dad, an addict, a jerk. But even that wasn't enough for me. I had to twist it again.
Just when the reader is surprised by the twist, and starting to ruminate on it, we get another twist to make us feel for him all over again. "What is this writer doing to me??!!", I want you to think.
And then, to satisfy the invisible rule of threes, I gave one last twist at the end, making this just a dark, horrible story about a couple who might still be made for each other after all. The ending is just so dark, but funny too, at least to me. It's just so, so wrong! So yeah, tell me what you think. Always up for edits and suggestions too!
Read the below only if you already read the story.
The first line of this short story just popped into my head, and I immediately felt the main character's vibe: dark, but not evil. An everyman the readers would really understand, someone they'd like. But the more I wrote, the more I had no idea where it was going, and I didn't want to keep writing forever either. How would it all resolve? I guessed correctly that the last scene would be the end of the college graduation ceremony, but I wasn't sure exactly how all of the story would wrap itself up.
That's when I got the idea of twisting things sharply right near the end, to make the reader suddenly realize this guy they'd come to appreciate and side with wasn't all he was cracked up to be. He was a deadbeat dad, an addict, a jerk. But even that wasn't enough for me. I had to twist it again.
Just when the reader is surprised by the twist, and starting to ruminate on it, we get another twist to make us feel for him all over again. "What is this writer doing to me??!!", I want you to think.
And then, to satisfy the invisible rule of threes, I gave one last twist at the end, making this just a dark, horrible story about a couple who might still be made for each other after all. The ending is just so dark, but funny too, at least to me. It's just so, so wrong! So yeah, tell me what you think. Always up for edits and suggestions too!
© 2014 - 2024 angelenroute
Comments6
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This is...a challenging story. It says a lot with very few words, and I liked that. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that the protagonist is always on the right side of the line, and I think this does a good job of challenging that notion.