The drive home had taken forever. One thing she had done right in the last few days, was to go to campus security and have them pry open her car door. After the party, she had run back to the dorm she had shared with Jasmine grabbed her spare key, a change of clothes, and headed for her car. As she drove, the frigid night air tangling her curls, Galynn liked to believe that she was doing the right thing.
At least it was fun while it lasted.
Pulling into her familiar neighborhood, and into her parent's familiar driveway, Galynn could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She hadn't been home in a while, partly because she had nothing to say to her mother, and partly because she just didn't want to. Her relationship with her mother was tenuous at best, but she did miss her father. For a long time, her weekly calls with her father had been the only thing to get her through her lonely nights on campus. She was the first one of her family to go to college, and she never wanted to let them know how hard it was for her.
When she slipped her key into the front door, and stepped into the living room with one small bag on her shoulder her father's voice greeted her.
"It's about time."
Her father was a big man. Six foot even, but his presence always seemed much larger than that. As a girl she could remember being terrified of his booming voice. Strangely enough, it was a voice that he never raised toward her. He was like a gentle giant, until you pissed him off.
"Hey Pops," Galynn said with a smile in her voice. "Isn't past your bedtime?"
Her father laughed. "Of course it's past my bedtime. If you didn't drive so slow, I would be asleep by now."
Galynn dropped her things at the door and moved into the living room to give her father a hug. He stood when she got closer, and his arms enveloped her.
"Is everything all right?"
Alan shook her head into her father's chest. "No daddy it's not. Where's mommy?"
She's upstairs.
"I was surprised when she answered the phone."
"She still surprises me too, kiddo."
Her father flopped down on the couch, and patted the cushion next to him. "Tell me what's wrong, so we can get this all sorted out. I'm sure you have classes tomorrow, don't you?"
"Dad, it's almost four in the morning. I think this can wait until tomorrow." Galynn loved her father with all her heart, but sometimes she could do without his directness.
"So, what do I care? I've got nothing to do tomorrow." Her father had been retired for the better part of ten years already. To say that he missed working would be a lie, but while Galynn was still home, he filled his days keeping up with her. Now that she was out of the house, he had nothing to do but his crossword puzzles and go for breakfast with the guys. "Let me have it, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."
"It's about a boy."
"Isn't it always?" He said with a grin. "What happened?"
"I thought that he really liked me, and it turns out that he didn't." Galynn stared at her hands. When her father didn't say anything, she looked up. He had a warm smile on his face. "Don't look at me like that, I thought it was for real. Like the stuff movies and happily ever afters are made of."
"Honey," he said as he patted her knee. "Do you remember Jacob Mills?"
Galynn nodded her head. How could she forget? She was four when she met Jacob. She was convinced that they were going to get married and have babies and do nothing but kiss all day. She smiled at the memory.
"Remember how, at the tender age of four and a half, you found him behind your play house in the back yard kissing Melissa George from down the street?" Galynn laughed and nodded her head again. "Remember how you thought the world was going to end?"
"Yea, until you told me to go kick him. That made me feel much better." Galynn and her father sat on the couch at four in the morning laughing at the memory.
"Exactly." Her father let out a heavy sigh. "The idea of happily ever after changes as you get older. When you were four, it was kissing Jacob. When I was younger, it was nice cars and a big house and a beautiful wife who I could share my life with. It was to be happy. As I got older, I had to adjust my ideas a little bit and be happy with the hand I was dealt and the choices I made."
It was no secret her parents weren't happy in their marriage. Neither of them spoke of it, but everyone knew, even her mothers pet bird. It was pretty obvious. "My point is, if you love this guy, or think you love him, then give him some time. Guys are assholes. We don't know what we're doing. We tend to think with our dicks. If he can't figure out that he's an asshole and apologize, then fuck him. You don't need that. Trust me. If I had listened to my father and realized that your mother was too much of an asshole to admit when she's wrong, I could have saved myself and you a lot of heartache."
"But I'm your favorite, most expensive mistake aren't I?" Her father laughed and ruffled her hair.
"You know it kid. Now, go upstairs and tell your mother you're here."
"Dad," Galynn whined.
"Go, you know it's the right thing to do. Even if she won't remember it in the morning. I love you. Now go."
Galynn kissed her father on the cheek and trudged up the stairs and he disappeared into the basement. Her parents hadn't slept in the same room in over three years. It still pained her to see her father suffering like this. He loved her mother; she just didn't have the capacity to love him back. She only had room in her life for one love, and that was the bottle.
Galynn stood outside the door to her mother's room and sighed. She hated talking to her mother, but her father was right. Just because her mother couldn't get her shit together didn't mean that she had to be a shitty daughter.
Galynn was thirteen when her mother let the story slip. She had met her father through a mutual friend. He had a nice car, looked good, and had an excellent job. Her mother hooked him with an unplanned pregnancy. Never one to run away from his responsibilities, her father did the only respectable thing he could do. He married her and made sure that his baby girl never wanted for anything. It always saddened Galynn to think about where she would be without her father constantly looking after her. He went to the PTA meetings, he went to her basketball games, and drove her around when she was younger. Her mother was never around.
"Mom?" Galynn said as she cracked the door. The smell of liquor hit her hard. She tried not to scrunch up her nose at the smell. "Mom, I'm home. I'm going to bed."
"What time is it?" Her mother was slumped over in the bed.
"About 4:15 in the morning."
"You're not pregnant are you? Is that why you came home?"
"No, it's not. I'm not pregnant."
"Good," her mother said squinting at her through the darkness. "You still need to loose weight."
"Yep. Working on it."
Her mother's words rarely had any effect on her anymore, but tonight they brought tears to her eyes. "Good night, mom."
--
The next few mornings progressed as she expected. Her father woke up at an ungodly hour to make coffee and fix himself breakfast, and her mother remained shut in her room. It was Saturday today, and it was a ritual for Galynn and her father to plant themselves in front of the television for college sports day, and of course, it was time for football.
