Part 2 (1/2)
Chris had been introducing Becky to his favorite music since she was five and Ben Folds was someone they listened to regularly, even though Folds had an unfortunate tendency toward the gratuitous use of profanity. He a.s.sumed, however, that the songs the pianist had written for the animated film would be free of f-bombs.
”Yeah, cool. The trailer looked great.”
Chris loved that Becky used terms like ”trailer.” If nothing else, he'd done a good job with her pop-culture education.
”So let's go,” he said, closing the front door in preparation of heading out through the garage.
”Isn't it too early?”
”For the movie? Sure. I mean I a.s.sume so; we'll have to check the movie times online before we leave. But it's not too early for ice cream at Superpremium and a Dance Dance Revolution throw-down before the show.”
Becky chuckled. ”Dance Dance Revolution? Didn't you walk with a limp for two days the last time we played that?”
Chris shrugged this off. ”I'm in better shape now. I've been sneaking out of work to go to yoga cla.s.ses.”
”Yeah, I believe that.”
Chris looked at her with mock severity. ”Was that a dis?”
”Sounded like it, huh?”
”Are you saying you don't think I can kick your b.u.t.t at Dance Dance Revolution?”
”Just saying I don't want you to hurt yourself, Dad.”
”Now this is personal.”
Chris acquitted himself moderately well at Dance Dance Revolution (though Becky was overwhelmingly better at it) and managed to win one of three air hockey games against her.
A few years back, Chris celebrated the fact that Becky could compete with him at games without his holding back. At this point, though, he needed to push to be compet.i.tive with her. He a.s.sumed she would understand the concept of ”go easy on the old man” by the time she was sixteen.
The movie would start at 7:05 so they decided to forego ice cream until after the show, grabbing a quick meal at a Mexican restaurant beforehand. As they ate, Chris considered that he was going to need to start cooking again, at least when Becky was around. He'd done quite a bit of cooking when he was going to graduate school, and Polly and he took turns making dinner when they were first married. After Becky was born and Polly stayed home with her, she a.s.sumed responsibility for preparing dinner every night, and admittedly she was a much better cook than Chris. However, he was determined to get back into the game. He wasn't going to be one of those divorced dads who took his kids out to eat for every meal. That wasn't his idea of home.
”Over the Hedge” was relatively entertaining. The animation was good, the storyline clever, and the voice talent, including Bruce Willis, Steve Carell, William Shatner, and Allison Janney was impressive. The best part, though, was the Ben Folds soundtrack, all of which was G-rated, including Folds's rewrite of his obscenity-laced ”Rockin' the Suburbs.”
Afterward, on the drive over to Superpremium, Becky put the Ben Folds Five alb.u.m The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner in the CD player, and they sang along to ”Narcolepsy” and ”Don't Change Your Plans.” Chris loved that they shared a deep interest in music. He imagined them going on long weekend drives with CDs blasting. Polly wasn't fond of long drives or loud music, so this hadn't been part of the repertoire up until now.
They sat on a bench outside the ice cream shop, watching cars moving in and out of the parking lot. Licking his dulce de leche scoop and occasionally coming upon a buried treasure of a chocolate-covered caramel, Chris felt as relaxed as he had in weeks. For the first time since Polly had ambushed him he allowed himself to consider that not everything about the impending divorce was terrible. Yes, Becky still had to go through it from the beginning, and that was something he wished she wouldn't have to experience. Yes, he was going to see his time with his daughter slashed dramatically, and the everyday-ness of their relations.h.i.+p would be gone. However, there would be times like this. Times when they were simply together, doing things they loved to do, and Chris would never have to worry during these times if Polly was going to do something to change his mood and ruin the moment.
”Good ice cream?” he said, b.u.mping shoulders with Becky.
”Yum.”
”I was a little surprised you went with the Oreo. A little down-the-middle, don't you think?”
”Down-the-middle delicious, Dad.”
”Can't argue with that.” Chris dug out another caramel and let it melt on his tongue. They sat there quietly, breathing in the late spring air.
”Would it make you angry if I asked you again what's going on with you and Mom?”
Becky hadn't brought up the subject all day, which Chris had considered a blessing.
”It doesn't make me angry, babe. You know what, though? I'd really love it if we could just enjoy tonight without any serious stuff. Would that be okay?”
Becky didn't answer immediately. It was probably fifteen seconds before she said, ”I guess that would be okay.”
Again Chris leaned into her. This time she leaned back, and they touched heads, staying that way while they finished their cones. Chris knew the answer he'd given Becky was unsatisfactory, and he seriously considered explaining himself. In the end, he decided to take the easier route, though doing so had robbed much of the serenity from this interlude.
Becky offered him a half-smile when they got back in the car, which told him she was still thinking about it. As they exited the parking lot, she skipped to the last song on the Ben Folds Five CD, the beautiful and uplifting ”Lullaby.” She'd skipped several darker songs to do this.
He decided to take that as a positive sign.
6.
”Oh, come on, Miea, throw your weight around a little,” Miea's roommate Camara said.
Camara wanted Miea to requisition the royal waccasa.s.sa, so the enormous pa.s.senger gull could take her and some of her college friends on a joyride. This wasn't the kind of thing Miea did. She never liked broadcasting her being a princess directly in line to the throne. Throughout her college career, she'd fought especially hard to avoid special treatment, at least to the degree that her situation allowed. Another major issue, though, was that this wasn't the best time to bother anyone in Tamarisk City with trivialities. Of course she couldn't mention this to Camara. Her roommate had no idea how bad things had gotten with the Thorns. Nor did she know that the king and queen were about to leave on an incredibly risky diplomatic mission that Miea found herself thinking about all the time, though rumors were starting to circulate on campus. Still, Camara should have known Miea well enough by now to know that Miea meant it when she said the time wasn't right and she should have simply left it at that.
”What if I get the guards to drive us out into the countryside?” Miea said.
Camara smirked. ”We've had your guards drive us plenty of times. I want to fly.”
Miea wondered if Camara might be flying a bit already. Miea had talked to her roommate several times about walking the line between partying and oblivion, but Camara had an annoying way of calling Miea ”Your Majesty” whenever she did so, and Miea would always back down.
”I'll get the waccasa.s.sa for the day after finals,” Miea said.
Camara waved her hand at her. ”Oh, fine. Let's do your stupid old car thing.”
Miea was having second thoughts about going out with Camara, wondering, hardly for the first time, if they truly were friends.
Then Dyson approached. He kissed Miea tenderly, and she felt her annoyance with Camara melt away. Now she truly didn't want to go out with Camara but for an entirely different reason.
”Have we decided what we're doing tonight?” Dyson said, unfortunately including Camara in the ”we.”
Camara touched Dyson on the arm, sidling closer to him at the same time. ”I had a great idea, but Miea squashed it.”
Miea slowly shook her head. ”Camara had an unreasonable idea that involved my making a special request to the palace, and I let her know it wouldn't be possible. We seem to have compromised on a drive to the country.”
Dyson seemed surprised by this suggestion, which was unusual because he always seemed enthusiastic about everything. ”Why don't we go into town instead? I just heard that there's a tzadik band playing at Putumayo a little later, and they're supposed to be great.”
Miea considered this for an instant and said, ”I could do that.”