A Love Triangle Most Unusual (Season 1)

Do You Still Love Me?

After my shower, I changed into a pair of comfortable pajamas and went looking for a place to rest. I decided it might be nice to watch some TV. Yawning, I grabbed a blanket from my room and settled on the couch, occasionally sipping from the carton of orange juice I found in the back of the fridge. I put the jade bracelet back in its hiding place and and spent some time just sitting around.

After some time, my phone rang. I debated letting it go to voicemail, but finally decided to answer. I also double checked to make sure I wasn't wearing the bracelet, making sure to respond as Dave.

"Hello?" Mom said loudly.

"Hi, Mom," I sighed, getting ready for a lecture.

"How come you haven't called in so long? Do you know how worried Po Po and I are?"

"I'm sorry," I said. "I've just been busy, is all."

"I need to get a new phone for you. Po Po read in the news, the Apple phones are no good. We need to get you the new one so the battery won't die as fast."

"Okay," I smiled.

"When are you getting your shot?"

"I just got my first one, Mom."

"Aiyah, that's good. How long before you get the second one?"

"Um, well I just need about four weeks, and then I can get the second one and come home," I lied. Not that I plan to.

"Okay, well make sure to get it as soon as possible. When is your next?"

I didn't actually have one, but if I lied, maybe I could avoid going home a little longer.

"It's in four weeks."

"Okay, can you check? Do you need me to remind you?"

"No, Mom. I think I can remember it by myself."

"What day is it though? You should write it down, just in case. Or I can write it down for you-"

"It'll be okay, Mom. My phone has notifications. When the second vaccine is ready, the clinic will text me."

"Really? Which one is it?" Mom asked suspiciously.

I sighed and decided to tell the truth. Something about being vaccinated had made me somewhat mellow and less argumentative. "It's the Johnson and Johnson one."

"Oh, really?" she sounded a bit worried. "Is that the one that gave the lady an allergic reaction? Are you breathing okay?"

"No, it's the one with the blood clots. But it's fine...six out of eight million is really, really small, so I don't think they're caused by the vaccine itself."

"Okay, but you should be resting. No working for the rest of the day or eating junk food."

I smiled, feeling weirdly nostalgic. "Yes, Mom."

"Good. Make good decisions." Just then, she paused and I heard the sound of shuffling. "Hey! He's here. Do you want to talk to him?"

I stiffened. "Is Popo there?" I asked.

"No, it's your father. Popo is taking a nap right now."

"I see," I said, relieved. "Wait, Dad's with you?"

"Yes, say hi to him please. Here you go," Mom said, and I heard more shuffling noises as Dad picked up the phone.

"Hello?" a gruff voice asked.

I straightened myself, even though I was just sitting on the couch by myself and there was nobody to see me.

"Hey, Dad," I said awkwardly. As a kid, I used to call him Baba, but as an adult that would come off way too intimate and childish. Especially given that I hadn't seen him for several years.

"Hello, David."

Hearing my name felt weird, almost like he was addressing a different version of me, asking to speak to him. I bit my lip and tried to think of what sort of son Dad might be wanting to speak to. Although I did not know if he was homophobic as well, I mostly remembered him telling me to be a proper man, so I guess he probably would not approve of who I was currently.

I decided to try and sound neutral, and avoid making him dislike any more than he probably did.

"It's been a while since I heard from you. What have you been up to?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Work," Dad replied.

When I was younger, he used to lecture me or whip me for getting into trouble with the church across from our regular church. But in his older years, he seemed a lot calmer and less talkative now. I wondered if he still attended church on Sundays with his new family, or if they were secular like me. Although he used to push down on my neck when I refused to kneel down for prayer time, I had never seen him pray in his life. I didn't even know if he would consider himself a man of God currently.

"Oh, I see. Are you still meeting in person?"

"No, everything is online," Dad replied.

"That's good," I said. "I'm glad your company is taking safe measures."

Dad made a vague sound of agreement in response, as if trying to reassure me that he was invested in this conversation. I found myself weirdly wishing this was a text conversation. But then how would he express himself? I struggled at the thought of him replying to me using emojis. "I heard you got the vaccine. That is good. Your mother and I are trying to find a spot, but it is very difficult when there are so many people who need the shot."

"Oh, I see." I hadn't really thought about the availability of vaccine appointments in Tumwater, but I supposed they probably were difficult to come by.

The silence that followed was long and awkward. Already, I was regretting my decision.

I don't know why I agreed to this, I muttered to myself. Not like we're talking about anything important.

But deep down, I knew the answer behind it.

Because Marie had asked me to.

But what does Marie know about our family? We are already too broken to say that we care about each other normally.

She can't help me right now even if she wanted to.