“I always knew I was a little bit different than everyone, but I never really wanted to admit it. I wanted to blend in with the crowd. I wanted to be a part of the team. I don’t know why it’s so hard.” I looked up to see my aunt checking her watch.
“I thought you wanted to help. Wanted me to talk more.” I crossed my arms and waited.
“Well, I didn’t mean this,” she said as she spread her arms wide. “I wanted to hear about school. Football games. Boys. When I told your mother I would help out, this is not what I meant.”
“Because you don’t care. I know. I’ll just pack my bags and go.”
I expected my aunt to try and stop me, but I knew as well as she did she wouldn’t. Little did she know, my father was back in town. My father who I had not seen in fifteen years and I suspected it was part of why I was so insecure. My father had told me had loved me. Had told me he had cared. But when he left, my mother also seemed to disappear from my life as well.
I think she believed she sent me to stay with her sister for a few weeks to see if I could get all my talking out. The answer came clear when my father walked through the front door. Smiling and acting like he had never left in the first place.
Standing Room Only 