Page 13 of The Friend Scheme
There’s a knock on my door. I jump so much I nearly drop my phone. I close Grindr, and then cover my crotch with my blanket. Just the thought of Jason being on Grindr was enough to make me hard.
Or maybe it was just the shirtless guy.
Yeah, I’ll go with that.
“Matt?”
“Yeah?”
The door opens. It’s Dad.
“What are you up to?” he asks.
“Nothing.”
He crosses my room, and opens my window. Okay, Dad, message received. He then grabs a few dishes I have festering on my desk. It’s maybe passive-aggressive, sure, but he’s cleaning up after me. I’m not going to complain.
“Have you eaten?” he asks.
“I had a pizza pocket.”
“And?”
I glance at the half-empty bottle of Coke Zero Sugar I have on my bedside table. A pizza pocket and no-calorie Coke. Dinner of champions.
“How about you have something not made of chemicals?”
“Everythingis made of chemicals.”
He sighs. “Just have a piece of fruit, that’s all I ask. Something that’s seen sunlight at least once.”
“Okay, fine.”
I get out of bed and grab the remaining dishes from my desk. Dad and I walk through our house. Our place is massive, admittedly too big for the three of us. Or, four, if you count Eddie, our dog. Which I totally do.
He’s dozing on his spot in the living room right now. He’s a German shepherd, and Luke’s his favorite. He likes me well enough, but even though he’s technically the family dog, he’s always sort of felt like Luke’s more than he has mine or Dad’s. Luke even named him, after Eddie Brock, aka Venom, his favorite character.
I wonder if it’d feel more homey if Mom were still alive, but I guess I’ll never know. She died in a car accident when I was three. It was totally random; she was driving to visit her mom, who lives in Tampa. A drunk driver swerved into her lane, and that was it. I don’t think Dad’s ever gotten over it. I’m pretty sure she was the love of his life. As far as I know, he hasn’t even dated since.
I miss her, even though I never really knew her. Her name was Diane. I get told a lot I have her smile, which always makes my heart ache. I feel like she’d get me more than Dad does. But then again, she married him, knowing what he does. So maybe not.
Dad loads the dishwasher as I grab an apple from the fridge. Eddie perks up, growls, then lies back down. I guess someone walked past our place.
“Hey,” I say as I toss the apple up and down. “Are we going to go to the bar anytime soon?”
His eyebrows lift up. “You want to go to Jimmy’s?”
I get why he’s so shocked. I know getting me to do anything family related is normally like pulling teeth. Getting me to doanythingis like pulling teeth.
“Not really. I’m just, like, curious.”
He puts a dishwashing tablet into the slot in the machine and then closes the door.
“I have a meeting there on Saturday. I was going to go by myself. I know Luke has plans, and I didn’t think you’d want to.”
Wow. Okay.
This is kind of perfect.
