I acknowledge this with a nod. “You sounded angry.”
She nods. “When Meg said she’d call, I just thought…” She sniffs and her lip quivers. “I mean, she’s so cool, you know? That she wanted to spend time with me…” She shrugs. “It felt really good. Like…I was important.”
“So when she didn’t call, it made you feel…”
She gives another heavy sigh. “Like she doesn’t care.”
“Do you think that’s true?” I prompt.
Another sigh. “No.” She finger-brushes Petey’s scraggly mane. “Cedar made fun of me.”
Ah. So here’s the real issue. “For the cheer thing?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s tough. You’ve supported him through a lot.” With the grace of someone beyond her years. It definitely taught me a few things.
“I know,” she says, her tone sullen.
“I’m sorry.”
I scoot closer to her and offer a space next to me. She crawls from her spot and ducks under my arm. I kiss her temple.
“What if I screw up tomorrow?” she asks.
“Then you screw up. You think it’s never happened in the history of cheerleading tryouts?”
She groans. “What if I don’t make it?”
“Then you can try again next year. Or not.”
“What if my friends stop talking to me?”
“Is making new friends out of the question?”
“What if I don’t have anyone to sit with at lunch this year?”
Of all the challenges a teen faces, this one is by far the most damaging on the psyche. “You look for opportunities. They’re there. You just have to be open to them.” She leans a little closer, and I shift her tighter against me. “Whatever happens, you know that I’ll always be your biggest cheerleader.”
“I love you, Dad.”
I stroke down her hair and press another kiss to her temple. “Love you back.”
“You think Meg’s okay?”
“I do.”
She leans back and looks up at me. “That bracelet you bought at the farmer’s market. It was for her, wasn’t it?”
Should I be surprised she noticed? “Yeah.”
She shoots me a calculating look. “Wait, are you simping on her?”
“Uh, can you try that in English?”
“Ohmigawd you totally are!” Her mouth drops open in shock. “Dad, you’re too old for her.”
“Easy,” I warn, faking a wince.
