You, Me, and All The Spaces In-between

CHAPTER 27

That weekend, Dad informed me he was taking me on a father-son bonding trip.

"Where to?" I asked dryly as he stood in my doorway on Sunday morning.

Dad crossed his arms. "To the city," he said simply.

I waited a beat. Then shrugged. "Okay."

He frowned suspiciously. "You're not gonna fight me on this?"

"No," I replied, sliding off my bed. I stuffed my feet into some shoes and grabbed Cash's hoodie from where it hung in my closet, pulling it on. I knew I'd need his support to get through this trip, even if it was only in spirit. "I know there's no use arguing with you. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Dad sighed heavily and called goodbye to Elena as we left the house and climbed into his car.

"So," he began, starting up the engine, "how's school going?"

"Fine." I quickly pulled out my headphones. "It's fine."

"That's good," Dad said brightly. "Have you been doing your homewo-"

"I can't hear you over the music," I cut in, raising my voice for emphasis. I wasn't actually listening to anything, but I'd take any excuse not to make small talk with Dad. "Sorry."

Dad sighed again, and I turned away and stared resolutely out the window as we backed out of the driveway.

Oh yeah, this was going to be a fun trip.

- - - -

Dad ended up taking me to a museum. It was an old building, with smooth stone pillars, broad oak doors, and a musky, old book smell about it. The car park was relatively empty, so it mustn't have been very popular.

"Do you remember this place?" Dad asked as I opened the car door. "Your mother and I used to take you here as a kid all the time."

"Not really," I muttered blandly.

We trudged in silence up to the front entrance, awkwardness stretching between us.

Ugh, I thought resentfully, glaring at Dad from the corner of my eye. Why would this have ever been a good idea?

As we entered the museum, however, a uniformed guard stepped out from behind the front desk. "Sorry, sir" he said, clearing his throat, "but we're closed on Sundays."

"What?" Dad cried, in obvious bewilderment. "Since when?"

"We've had the same opening hours for years, sir," the guard replied.

"That's wonderful," I scoffed loudly.

"Oh geez..." Dad rubbed at the back of his neck. "I guess I didn't realise. It wasn't like this when we used to come here."

I cocked a brow. "And you didn't check the website for updates?"

His face turned red. "I guess I just assumed..."

"Sorry about this," I said to the guard, pulling Dad away. "We'll leave now."

"Alyx!" Dad called after me as I stormed back to the car. "Wait! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine," I muttered. Truthfully, I didn't really care. In fact, the shortening of our trip was welcomed. "Let's just go home."

"Hang on," he protested. "At least...At least let me take you to lunch. Let's go to McDonald's or something."

I hesitated. Stared at my reflection in the car window, my hand on the door handle.

I don't know what possessed me to say it.