Page 14 of Wrench

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¡°Oh, Samantha¡­¡± he said into my hair. Right in the doorframe, I cried on his shoulder

for at least two full minutes, him not making the first move to pull away. Once I did, I still

didn¡¯t speak. Instead, I dropped my head with exhaustion, and he guided me to his

kitchen.

Although I was upset that I no longer had my apartment to go to, sitting in my

childhood home comforted me. Burnt coffee from sitting on the warmer all day filled the

house with a familiar scent that most would find unappealing, but it made me feel cozy

and safe.

Finally, he broke the silence first. ¡°Coffee? Tea? Milk?¡±

¡°Tea, please,¡± I croaked. My voice was hoarse after not speaking for almost forty-eight

hours and the sound made my dad frown more.

¡°You hungry? I can heat something up for you. I¡¯ve got chili, and uh¡­ chili¡­¡±

My stomach grumbled and I realized I hadn¡¯t eaten anything since the afternoon of my

break-up. ¡°Please. Thanks, Dad.¡±

Nodding, he walked to the kettle and grabbed it, placing it under the faucet to fill with

water. When his back was facing me, he cleared his throat and inhaled before asking, ¡°So.

What happened?¡±

I sighed and looked at my lap, unsure of how to phrase how my life fell apart

overnight. Deciding bluntness was the best route, I said, ¡°I caught Travis in bed with a

woman he met on the internet and drove eighteen hours to get here.¡±

My dad slammed the kettle on the counter, splashing water, and turned to face me,

fury etched on his face. ¡°He¡ªwhat?¡±

Nodding my head, I mumbled, ¡°Mmm.¡±

I watched his temper rise with every shade of red that grew on his face as he began

stomping back and forth in a line. ¡°That little¡ªOh, once I get my hands on him¡ªHe¡¯ll rue

the day¡ª¡±

My dad was sixty-two, used to be about five-feet-eleven when I was growing up, but

after a life of manual labor jobs, he¡¯d developed a hunch at the top of his back, making

him quite a bit shorter. A couple years ago he had a minor heart attack that scared the

crap out of me, but he tried to brush it off as nothing more than a little heartburn.

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