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The boys disintegrated into laughter, her father included, and the girls were looking at her with equal parts sympathy and amusement. She turned to Da
Chris laughed. “Drew Brees is the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, you asshole. Brees. B-R-E-E-S. Aren’t you supposed to be an English teacher?”
She looked at Da
“I had to,” he said, trying not to smile. “Your dad asked me what was so fu
She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. “Okay, I see how it is,” she said, picking up her fork and turning to her brother. “And Chris, for your information, Brees and breeze would be considered homophones—words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. They’re easy to confuse if you don’t see them written down, in case you were interested.”
He paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully before he brought his eyes back to hers. “Yeah, I’m not interested at all, actually.”
The table broke into laughter again, and this time Leah joined them, shaking her head. Da
Di
After di
She reached under the table and took his hand, and Da
Just as everyone was finishing up, Leah excused herself to the laundry room to sort her father’s laundry, and by the time she got back to the kitchen, only Sarah and Kyle were left. Sarah was putting the leftovers in plastic containers, and Kyle was loading the dishwasher.
Leah walked toward the family room and popped her head in. Chris and Alexis were sitting on the couch together, watching TV.
“Where are Daddy and Da
“Outside,” Chris answered.
“What are they doing out there?”
Chris shrugged, his eyes on the television. “Don’t worry. Dad wouldn’t do anything out there. Too many witnesses.”
Leah rolled her eyes, walking to the window and pulling the curtains aside. The outside light was on, faintly illuminating the driveway, and it took her a second to find them. As soon as she did, her eyes stung with the threat of tears.
They stood at the top of the driveway behind the pickup Da
After a minute he stood, turning to Da
Leah stepped back and let the curtain fall closed, suddenly feeling as though she were eavesdropping. A wave of emotion crashed over her, and all at once, she wanted to laugh, or burst into tears, or both.
Sarah and Kyle joined them in the living room, and Leah curled up in her father’s recliner, attempting to watch TV with everyone else. About ten minutes later, she heard the garage door being opened, and she knew Da
Eventually she heard the sounds of them coming up the basement stairs, and as the door opened, Leah turned to see her father standing at the top. His eyes met hers, and then he walked over to where she was sitting, bringing his hand to her cheek as he stared down at her. She smiled up at him, and his lips curved into a gentle smile in return before he dropped his eyes and took a tiny, quivering breath. He walked out of the room then, and she knew he must have needed a few minutes to himself.
Leah turned her attention back to the basement steps; Da
And that was the moment she knew she had fallen in love with Da
Leah had just finished curling her hair when she heard her phone beep with an incoming text, and she leaned over and swiped the screen.
We’re ru
Leah picked up the phone and texted her sister back.
Not yet. Da
A minute later, Sarah’s response came through.
K. Get a table if u guys get there first.
Leah put her phone down on the sink before she checked her makeup in the mirror. She and Da
She walked out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom to grab her purple platform heels, or as Robyn called them, her “happy shoes.” She felt happy. It was such a simple concept, but it had eluded her for so long that she was constantly aware of its presence in everything she did. Everything felt new, like she was looking at the world through a different pair of eyes, rediscovering and suddenly appreciating things that the old Leah had overlooked.
The two weeks since Da
She never imagined, even in her most sanguine teenage dreams, that being in love could ever feel like this.
Leah heard a knock on her door, and she stuck her head out of the bedroom. “Come in!” she called. “I’ll be out in a sec!”
She heard the front door open and close as she pulled her shoes out of the closet and stepped into them, and then she walked over to the full-length mirror, taking one last look at herself before she made her way out to the living room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
“So guess what?” she said, stopping short when she saw him in the dining room. He was sitting with his elbows on the table and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. As soon as he saw her, he lowered his hands and smiled, but she could see that it was forced.
That there was a struggle behind his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He inhaled slowly, and Leah watched his throat convulse as he swallowed. “My lawyer called today.”