Mat and Hugo seem to be embroiled in an intense discussion. Craig looks on, smiling politely. I walk over to say hello. "well, I don't think it's fair to try and compare two art movements like that" Hugo says "periods in art only exist because they're a unique byproduct of the social and political climate of a time and place, and to try to take something like, say the Rococo period and compare it to post-modernism in America, you're completely disregarding the context in which a work of art is created" what the hell are they talking about? Mat and Hugo seem to be so busy talking that they don't notice me. Craig leans in "dude, I have no idea what's happening" I turn my attention to Craig, who seems a little more attentive to my existence. "how'd resistance training go the other day?"
"great! Little River here is a great cheerleader. Aren't Ya, tiny bro?"
Craig grabs River's arms and waves them around "you can do it dad!" he says in a baby voice "I'm so proud of you! I'm sorry for pooping on you!"
I laugh "she must be a handful at that age"
"Oh, they always are" he nods "but it's so worth it" Craig grabs River's arms again and waves then around "Also I'm sorry for throwing up on you dad!" I laugh again and tickle her a little, she laughs "how ya settling in?"
"there's still a few odds and ends to take care of before I can really call myself 'settled' but I think we can upgrade the situation to 'livable"
Craig laughs "we did 'liveable' throughout the entirety of college"
"Yeah, my goal was for Amanda to live the sort of life that didn't involve eating spoonfuls of ranch dressing as a palate cleanser between different types of pizza" I sigh "she still does, though" god if Alex was here she would kick my ass for a lot of the stuff Amanda learned for me... "hey, she takes after her mom"
"Yeah...just wish Alex...." I sigh again, Craig puts a hand on my shoulder
"it's okay Celeste"
"thanks, man" I take a deep breath and chase those thoughts, the last thing I want is everyone to see me cry.
"Celeste, how are you liking the neighborhood?" Hugo asks me
"It's pretty nice. Everybody's been super friendly!"
"Seems like your daughter is fitting in just fine," Mat says pointing across the yard to where Amanda, Daisy and another young girl are playing. They're all sitting cross-legged in the grass, picking weeds and weaving them into little flower crowns. It's pretty adorable. The girl I don't recognize jogs over to us. "what is it, sweetheart?" Mat asks her
"it's a flower crown. I thought you'd look cute in it"
"Well, there's only one way to find out," he says, Mat takes the flower crown and places it on top of his head "Am I cool now?" he asks, the girl stares at him, thinking it over
"Mmm..nope. But you're slightly less uncool than you were before you put it on"
Mat laughs "Hey Celeste, this is my daughter"
"Hello" I smile
"I'm Carmensita" wow interesting name
Amanda comes over with Daisy in tow "mom, look, I'm making friends! Are you making friends? You better be making friends"
"Yeah, actually. Amanda, you remember the cool barista from the Coffee shop. And my old college friend. And, uh... your teacher"
"Oh, hi Mr. Vega. I didn't realize we were neighbors" she says looking shocked
"yep" he nods "you still gonna get me that overdue term paper?"
she laughs "great seeing you!" and she finger guns her way out of the conversation like a champ, I smile "she learned the finger guns move from me. I'm very proud"
"she's definitely a charmer. speaking of which, where did my son go..?"
Hugo looks around the party. He must of finally spot him because his eyes go wide "Ernest! Ernest Hemingway Vego! Are you smoking?" the kid is holding a lit cigarette
"nope" I see him across the way. He casually takes a long drag of his cigarette and then flicks it into a gutter. "Unbelievable. Excuse me" Hugo marches over to Ernest and I turn my attention to mat and Craig, "kids right?"
"Man, I do NOT envy Hugo. The last barbecue we had, Ernest tried to shove a sparkler down Joesph's pants. Nearly burned down half the yard." wow...
"and the Barbecue we had before that, he actually burned down half the yard" Craig sighs
"and then it spread onto my lawn and burned down half of my yard too," Mat says
Hugo walks back over to us, practically dragging Ernest behind him. "hey everybody, sorry about that. Celeste, this is my son, Ernest"
"hello," I say trying to get some kind of reaction out of him, but he looks away, sulking, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, he says nothing, Hugo nudges him impatiently
"...hey"
"Nice to meet you, Ernest. What grade are you in?"
"does it matter?" wow...teen attitude to max on this kid
"Ernest"
"okay okay I'm in eighth grade, god, are you happy now?" I'm never happy, kidding "I'm sure you were just dying to know"
"er...yeah. Good for you" wow
"can I go now? I'm tired of talking to old dudes" he looks at me "and chicks, who blame my generation for the failing economy" ouch kid
"ERNEST!"
"oh yeah, because I'M totally embarrassing YOU!" Ernest puts earbuds in and storms off to stand in the corner. Well. that was...that was certainly something
"He seems nice," I say trying to lighten the mood.
Hugo puts his head in his hands and sighs "I'm so sorry. He's having a really rough time. As much as I want to be the cool dad, I have to be the authoritarian dad and he clearly resents me for it"
"I mean, I think as a dad and a Teacher, that's about as authoritarian as you can get," Craig says
Mat sighs "Honestly, are any of us cool dad?" he looks at me "or cool mom" he smiles and I shake my head "is it even possible to be cool?"
"what? I'm cool as a cucumber" I say
"see, that right there. You can't say that"
"my kids think I'm cool"
"but for how long, Craig? Now long do we get to be the cool parents?"
"I uh...Don't know"
"I think we just have to accept the fact that as parents, we've become the Machine we once raged against and accept our fate to unironically wear socks with sandals. Your kids may think you're cool now, but the moment they hit puberty, you're doomed"
I shake my head "Amanda's 18 and she still thinks I'm cool" I yell across the yard to my daughter "AMANDA, I'M COOL, RIGHT?" she just laughs. She keeps laughing.... "I see your point," I say turning back to them.
"As much as we all want it, I don't think it's as important to be a cool parent as it is to be a good parent. We can't all be best friends with out kids, it just doesn't work. I mean.. look at me and Ernest" Hugo sighs "our job as parents is to make sure our kids turn out okay"
"Yeah, you're right. But it'd be nice to have it both ways"
Hearing these guys talk about this makes me think of my relationship with Amanda. We get along so well, but there might come a time when it won't be like that. Is college when that happens? Hugo pulls me out of my thoughts "Don't let us eat up your time, Celeste go meet some of the other people and the neighborhood" and once again I go back to the middle of the party and look around.
wow three updates at once...go me
YOU ARE READING
That's my girl(Dream Daddy Robert)
Fanfictionreal quick I know it's a dad dating game but my person is a female, don't like it don't read it easy. now about my character- Celeste is a single mom, she and her daughter Amanda move to the other side of Maple Bay. She wasn't expecting to make frie...
