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“Can I ask you so?” I asked
“Go ahead You can ask , Zoe”
“Do you re about your dad?”
He looked surprised that I would ask, but then he smiled, as if he was happy that I wanted to know more about him It o, and I knew all his gaue and the rumors about him, because I researched hiles Other than knowing he only had a mother, and only because our parents told us separately when they announced they were dating When I thought about it, I really didn’t know much about him
“To be honest, I don’t rehtful “I barely even remember his name now, and Mom didn’t keep any of his pictures, because she knehen he left that he wouldn’t be returning Of course, as a kid, I didn’t really understand that I was six, I think? I waited, and waited, until I just stopped thinking about it”
“That must have been horrible”
He shrugged “It’s not so I think much about As far as I know, he could be dead now, so there’s no reason to think about hih”
He was six when his father left hiht now He hadn’t seen his dad in twenty two years, so it wasn’t impossible that he could have died in all that tiine hi there
“I’m sorry”
“It’s nothing for you to be sorry for Anyway, I’lad You really enjoyed the food,” he teased
“Hmm?”
He gestured atwhile we talked, and I didn’t even realize ht then
“You don’t have to lick the plate or anything You can have the rest And if you’d like, I can cook for you more often”
That , but since he was offering, I wasn’t going to be polite I filledhiuilty, but I really was hungry, I’d barely eaten anything the whole day, the one hot dog and ice crea my only meal of the day
“Thanks for the offer” Since Mom, no one had ever cooked for me Dad had tried once when I was sick, but he’d nearly burned down the kitchen instead, and he’d never tried again “I would like that, actually And, now that you’ve offered, you ht as well make lunch and dinner for me tomorrow And the day after that”
His eyebrows ju to be okay? If your dad ever found me here, he’d be mad, wouldn’t he?”
I rolled my eyes “If you were actually worried about that, you wouldn’t keep co out ofhere But, this one time, it’s okay”
“Oh?”