Page 74 of Tart
I pointed at her and laughed. “Exactly. He tried to hide it, but I could tell that he was struggling with his little version of having an empty nest. He’s fiercely proud of you, though, and he’d fight to the death against anyone who tried to hurt you.”
“Dinner is ready,” Bishop called, jogging down the hill.
Athena smiled to acknowledge what I said, but I could tell she only half believed me. She jumped out of her tube, tossing it up on shore along with my float. I made my way to shore on one leg, and Bishop wrapped me in a towel before he lifted me into his arms to carry me up the hill.
“I love you, Mrs. Halla,” he whispered, kissing my lips once while he walked.
“Newlyweds,” Athena said from behind us with fake sarcasm and disgust.
I chuckled with Bishop, stroking his bearded cheek until he set me in a seat at the table. It was piled high with burgers and brats, chips, and watermelon. I happened to know some raspberry tarts were waiting in the fridge, too. I bit into a brat while we talked about everything from Athena’s internship at Disney to her school days in California. It was the first time she had mentioned school or work, which told us that she was struggling with something that had to do with them.
“That was delicious. Thanks, Bishop,” I said, rubbing my belly, now full to the brim. “I think I’ll have to wait on those tarts in the fridge. I’m stuffed.”
“Me, too,” Athena agreed. “The brats were addicting.”
While Bishop cleaned up dinner, I explained to her where the brats came from and how we have a meat market and smokehouse right here in Lake Pendle. With the moon out, Bishop started a fire, and we got comfy around the new pit.
“It’s so unbelievably beautiful and silent here,” she said, staring up at the sky streaked with clouds. “I miss the silence of the Midwest.”
“It does have a certain essence the big cities don’t have,” Bishop agreed.
“Big cities aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,” she said, nodding as she stared into the fire. “I moved to San Diego because of the huge LGBTQ community there, but I may have let that be the driving power instead of everything else.”
“What is everything else?” Bishop asked, leaning forward to see her better.
“Common sense,” she finally answered with a shrug.
“Are you trying to say you miss home?” I asked, hoping she’d finally come clean about why she was here.
Her head nodded while her chin trembled for a moment. “Desperately. It’s not like homesickness, either. I know the difference. It’s just that everything feels wrong when I’m out there. I don’t belong, even in this gigantic community of likeminded people. They’ve welcomed me into their fold, and they don’t treat me like an outsider, but yet, I’m not them. If that makes sense.”
I eyed Bishop for a moment who sat stunned in his chair. Finally, he reached out to grasp her hand. “Have you talked to your mom about it yet?” he asked, squeezing her hand.
“No,” Athena said, shaking her head. “She’ll give me the standard social worker answer. Have you ever noticed she always tries to play both sides of the fence with me? It’s never helpful. That’s why I came to you, Daddy. I need help figuring out what to do.”
“I’m always here for you, baby. Amber, too. We’ll help you work through this. I don’t want you to be unhappy, and we can see that you are. If you take the physical place out of the equation, do you enjoy what you’re learning in school?”
“Love it!” she said, laughter on her lips again. “I love culinary school and the challenges it offers me. I’m not unhappy doing what I’m doing.”
“You’re unhappy where you’re doing it,” I finished.
She nodded, pointing at me. “Does that make me...” She paused and motioned her hand around in the dark. “A child? Does it make me a quitter?”
“Absolutely not!” Bishop exclaimed, pulling her into his arms and rocking her. “You are not the first, nor will you be the last, eighteen-year-old, who discovers who they are by learning who they aren’t.”
She leaned back on the chair and wiped a tear from her face discreetly. “You mean it’s not a bad thing to feel this way?”
Bishop smiled and gripped her cheeks in his hands. “A bad thing? No, I think it’s a good thing. You spent a year away from home and learned that big cities aren’t for you. That’s growth, and growth is never a bad thing.”
I stayed quiet during the exchange between them because I knew he was right. Sometimes we have to do new things to grow, even if we learn they aren’t for us. Look at me. I had to move out of my parents’ house to figure out that I didn’t have to live under their thumb any more. It sounds stupid, but sometimes we can’t see the forest when we’re among all the trees.
“Did you just take a break from Disney, or did you quit?” Bishop asked in the most non-confrontational way possible.
“I didn’t quit, but I told them I might be gone for two weeks. They’re okay with it. I’m not a flaky teenager, but I also couldn’t wait until August to talk to someone about this.”
“You have decisions to make about school,” Bishop said, and she nodded.
“I’ve been here for forty-eight hours, and I already don’t want to go back to the smog, heat, crowds, and noise. It’s just not for me.”
