Struggles of a Single Father (Book 1 of the Struggle Puff Series)

Chapter 24

Edited 3/5/2020

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October – eleven-years-old

"Hey, can we take Cadence to the café today?" Tilisia asked when she ran up to my car.

I hesitated. My experiences with Cadence had been awkward, to say the least. She'd either stutter like crazy or trail off while intensely staring at me. At first, I thought she might have some mental problems, but then I heard her talking to Ain and Tilisia like it was nothing.

"Uh... sure?"

"Thanks dad!" She turned around and waved for Ain and Cadence to get in.

"Hey kids. How was school?"

Ain immediately jumped into all of the things he did in his classes, Tilisia occasionally jumping in so she could call him some name, but Cadence remained silent as she gazed at me from the backseat.

When we got to the café, Tilisia and Ain grabbed aprons and got to work.

"Hey Jake." I greeted, "Has it been busy today?"

My friend looked up at me from his position on the couch and made a point to dramatically look around the empty shop.

"Yeah. Totally. I could barely get a minute to myself." He said with an eyeroll.

"Wow. Literally nobody asked for your sarcasm."

He was midway through a shrug when he noticed Cadence talking to Ain and Tilisia.

"Who's the kid?"

I looked behind me at the exact time when Cadence turned around to look at me. When our eyes met, she turned red and looked away.

"That's Cadence Miles. Tilisia and Ain's new friend from school." I shook my head, "I'd like to tell you more, but every time I try to talk to her, she turns red and starts freaking out. It's kind of frustrating. I don't know why she does it either."

Jake eyed her carefully before laughing loudly.

"Hey Cadence!" He shouted, causing her to look over. She raised her eyebrow at him, "Could you come here please?"

She looked back to Ain and Tilisia who just nodded. When she came over, she kept her distance from him.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, you can." He said enthusiastically, "First, my name is Jake Pierce. I'm Carter's best friend." He held out his hand for her to shake, which she took hesitantly.

"Carter told me he doesn't know much about you, therefore he's useless to me." He continued, "Would you mind filling me in on the details so Carter can know about his daughter's new friend?"

"Uh... well I... Um..." She looked at me and started stuttering and turning red.

"Don't mind him. Pretend he doesn't exist, for now."

That seemed to relax her as she focused on him.

"Well, you know my name, I guess. I turn twelve next week. I live with my mom and sister, not far from here. Uh..." She looked around awkwardly, "I'm not sure what else to tell you, honestly."

"That's alright. What are some things that you like? Music, books, movies?"

She looked up in thought for a moment before smiling and walking closer, "I prefer alt-rock and sometimes pop. Mystery novels are my favorite genre. And I really like action movies. What about you?"

Without even noticing, she had sat down next to him and was happily chatting away.

I couldn't figure out what was so different about talking to him, but I decided to just sit down and listen to them talk rather than speculate over it.