Daddy Dearest

Chapter Twenty

Ben

I woke up with a touch of melancholia this morning. Waverly had left the house before me because of her monthly meeting with the school board, so it was up to me to rouse the two young ones, get them ready, and take them to school.

I had a headache from the night before since I downed a couple more shots of Harry’s scotch when I got home and had a cigarette on the rooftop before I settled back down in my office to write. Waverly had gone to bed hours before me, which was fine because we weren’t talking, anyway. I couldn’t believe she kept such a big secret for me for five years. Never mind that Harry told her to keep it a secret. Her loyalty is to me, not to him.

I sit in traffic, on the way to school, listening to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” which never fails to depress me. I peek at Madi, who is chewing on a half-peeled granola bar in her car seat, dressed in her Sacred Heart uniform. Noah is in the passenger seat next to me, in his navy blue trousers, blazer, and white shirt. He’s playing with his Nintendo Switch even though I’ve repeatedly told him to put it away and study for his spelling test, instead. I give up after the seventh time and stare glumly at the rain-streaked windscreen.

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all.

A tall woman in a red hooded raincoat crosses the street in front of the Escalade, herding two waist-high children in green and yellow hooded raincoats. A girl and a boy, I think. They remind me of walking traffic lights. The smallest one in the yellow trips before reaching the kerb and the mother quickly picks her up. They make it to the other side of the street just before the light for the opposite traffic turns green. I make a right turn after making sure that there aren’t any more mothers crossing the road with their children, then make my way into the Sacred Heart parking lot for employees.

Noah is old enough now that he can escort Madison to the Montessori within the primary school he attends, so I give him the task. I hug and kiss them both before heading to the next lot, where the secondary school is. I’m a little early, so I go straight to the teachers’ lounge where I usually have coffee, a pastry, and maybe a chat with a colleague before the first bell.

As I jog up the steps of the main building, I notice a familiar figure in my peripheral vision. It's Melody surrounded by her friends: my daughter Lottie, Violet Rogers, a girl called Rose Martinez, and of course, Alex Fucking Chambers. I stop for a moment to look at them. Melody is as bright as the sun, and her friends are orbiting planets basking in her warmth.

She must have sensed me gazing at her because she lifted her head and smiled at me before waving. This action catches the attention of her group, who all turn around to face me. Great. Lottie makes a funny face and sticks her tongue out. The others wave in deference. Alex merely raises his eyebrows before looking away.

I march back up the steps, fully intending to put some distance between Melody Plum and me when she calls my name.

"Mr. Davenport," she cries, running up to me. She gulps down some air to catch her breath. "Sorry, these old lungs ain't what they used to be."

I smile at her, and she averts her gaze, the tips of her ears turning red. "How may I serve you this morning, Miss Plum?"

She hooks her wayward locks behind her ears, still avoiding my eyes. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I may have been brazen. If I offended you in any way—"

"Melody…" Part of the reason I couldn't go directly to bed with Waverly last night was this girl. My mind was filled with images of her: her smooth, honey-brown legs propped up on her Harry's desk; the way her nipples pressed against the thin material of her top; her petite, delicate shoulders; her tongue darting out to her full bottom lip to lick off the excess scotch.