The History of Art

Chapter Three - Josh's POV

            On the eighth I called Carrie and asked if she wanted to go out to dinner with me that night and then go out for ice cream with the others. I needed to get out of the house and have some sort of normalcy in my life. "Sure!" she squealed. The high pitch of her voice and the creaks of her ancient bed signaled her excitement. I could just see her bouncing slightly on the blue clad mattress, her auburn hair in a high ponytail and her hazel eyes flickering with excitement.

            "I’ll pick you up at five," I chuckled.

            "I’ll see you soon baby," she cooed. She hung up, probably to jump in the shower and make the attempt to impress me with a cute dress. The truth was she would be able to impress me in sweats, a torn T-shirt, and sneakers. Carrie’s beauty was natural and she didn’t need the makeup she tended to pile on or the low cut shirts or high rise skirts to get my attention. It was just a bonus.

            I took a quick shower and changed in there, as I had learned that Art would watch me get ready in the morning. When I was twelve I had caught him staring and hurried into the bathroom. I never changed in my bedroom, unless it was in my closet, again. The shades in the bathroom were drawn, so no one could be a Peeping Tom.

            Lilly came into my room as I was trying to dry and style my hair and crawled up onto my bed. "Hi!"

            "Hey there Lilly Pad, what’s up?" I turned in my desk chair to look into those adorable dark brown eyes.

            "Daddy wants to talk to you. I just thought that I would tell you. Did you do something wrong Joshie?" She was the only person in my life who could call me Joshie. If Carrie or one of the others tried to mock me with it, Lilly would get upset. She knew how to lay on the guilt, so they stopped doing it.

            I shrugged and tried once again to make my hair work with me. "I don’t know Lilly. How about you go color or play with your stuffed animals. I really have to get ready." I put the comb down and held my arms out for a hug. With hurricane force she sprung off the bed and wrapped her arms around my neck.

            "Have fun with Carrie," she said in her innocent little girl voice.

            "I will. And I’ll bring you back some ice cream too." I kissed the top of her head and put her down. She scampered off to some other part of the house just before Dad came in.

            "Why was Lilly in here?" he asked as he sat down on my bed. Did no one know how to knock anymore?

            I sighed and threw the comb down in aggravation, letting the mess I called hair fall in my eyes. "She came in to tell me you wanted to talk to me. She asked if I was in trouble. Am I?"

            "Nah, I just wanted to talk to you. I wonder how Lil found out I was going to."

            "I’m gonna guess she was eavesdropping. You know she does that."

            "That’s very true." He sat there with his hands clenched very tightly and was looking around the room, avoiding my eyes.

            I cocked my head to the side in confusion and tried to think of what he was going to tell me. It suddenly clicked and I cringed slightly. "Please Dad, not the sex talk," I whined.

            My father finally looked me in the eyes, embarrassment and something else hidden in his blue eyes. I looked exactly like my father, but I wasn’t the same person as him. When he was my age all he cared about was getting drunk and partying. I was never one to get drunk or party. I hadn’t even tasted alcohol, and that was saying something for a sixteen year old growing up in the twenty-first century.