Read Online Stranger in Dadland by Amy Goldman Koss - Free Book Online
Authors: Amy Goldman Koss
Ads: Link
sand. I spit out a mouthful—
yecch!
There was Iris, just as ground-up and gritty as me, but she was laughing. She started digging near the water’s edge, and I went over to help. We worked together for a while and built what I thought was a pretty great sand castle. Iris said it looked like Oz, but it didn’t.
When we were finished, I jumped on it. Iris screamed, “
What are you doing?
”
I stopped jumping and said, “Huh?” I had no idea what she was mad about.
“What’d you go and do
that
for?” she yelled, red in the face. “You ruined it!”
“That’s the point of building it,” I said. “Right?”
“Wrong!” she huffed. “I can’t
believe
you did that!” And she stomped into the water.
There was still a tower standing and my feet were itching to kick it down, so I did, but not with much enthusiasm. What was wrong with her? The tide was going to wreck it later anyway.
Then Iris came charging toward me. I just stood there like a dolt until she got right up to me and spit a huge mouthful of water in my face! Then she shrieked away and I chased her into the waves. We splashed each other as hard as we-could until we were freezing and had to run back to our towels.
I lay there next to Dad, feeling the sun dry my skin in little itches and snacking on the food Cora had brought. Herstupid radio completely drowned out the sound of the surf, but the food was okay and there was a lot of it. Seagulls came from everywhere.
When Iris and I headed back down to the water, she said, “What do you think happened?”
“Huh?” I asked.
“Between your father and my aunt.”
“Huh?” I repeated intelligently.
“They must’ve gotten in a fight! Didn’t you notice that-they’re not
speaking
to each other?”
How
could
they speak over the blare of that idiotic radio? I wanted to ask. But instead I made my usual response: I shrugged.
“Come on! You mean you didn’t notice all that ‘Please pass the/no thank you’ stuff? That’s how grown-ups fight! That’s
exactly
how my parents fight. Very polite,
intensely
phony.”
I shrugged again.
Iris rolled her eyes in exasperation and huffed, “
Men!
” Then she flounced off into the water.
Men? Me?
Cool!
A minute later Iris seemed to have forgiven me for being a
man
and we dove into the waves some more. I, for one,-didn’t go as far out this time, though. I did not want to repeat the sand-eating thing.
When we went back to the blanket, I made a point of noticing Dad and Cora. Iris was right; they were
very
quiet. Then Cora said it was time to leave. Already? She hadn’t taken a single picture of me and Iris. Cora and Dad hadn’t even gonenear the water, but I remembered Beau saying that Dad didn’t swim.
It was very quiet in the front seat all the way home—except for Cora’s breathing. She was doing a lot of huffing and sighing. Iris and I played twenty questions and ours were the only voices. I snuck peeks at her. It didn’t look like the polka-dot experiment had worked. Iris’s leg touched mine twice. I wondered if she noticed.
Cora dropped me and Dad off first. She just pulled up in front of Dad’s building and we got out. Iris and I said, “Bye,” but Dad just grunted and Cora silently stared straight ahead. Good, I thought. No more Cora was just
fine
with me—although I wouldn’t have minded seeing Iris again.
When we got upstairs, Beau came galloping up as if he’d been waiting all day, like Ditz. He was dragging Claude along by the hand. Beau took one look at us and said, “The
beach?
Without
me?
Harsh!”
Both Dad and I laughed. “I’m gonna hop in the shower,” Dad said. “Then I’ve got a ton of work to do. Why don’t you guys…” He made a get-lost gesture with his hand.
I was caked with sand and itchy with salt. “Well, I need to shower too,” I said, hearing the whine in my voice. I wanted to pull out my tongue.
Dad just nodded at his whimpering son. “You go first,” he said.
I ducked into the
yecch!
There was Iris, just as ground-up and gritty as me, but she was laughing. She started digging near the water’s edge, and I went over to help. We worked together for a while and built what I thought was a pretty great sand castle. Iris said it looked like Oz, but it didn’t.
When we were finished, I jumped on it. Iris screamed, “
What are you doing?
”
I stopped jumping and said, “Huh?” I had no idea what she was mad about.
“What’d you go and do
that
for?” she yelled, red in the face. “You ruined it!”
“That’s the point of building it,” I said. “Right?”
“Wrong!” she huffed. “I can’t
believe
you did that!” And she stomped into the water.
There was still a tower standing and my feet were itching to kick it down, so I did, but not with much enthusiasm. What was wrong with her? The tide was going to wreck it later anyway.
Then Iris came charging toward me. I just stood there like a dolt until she got right up to me and spit a huge mouthful of water in my face! Then she shrieked away and I chased her into the waves. We splashed each other as hard as we-could until we were freezing and had to run back to our towels.
I lay there next to Dad, feeling the sun dry my skin in little itches and snacking on the food Cora had brought. Herstupid radio completely drowned out the sound of the surf, but the food was okay and there was a lot of it. Seagulls came from everywhere.
When Iris and I headed back down to the water, she said, “What do you think happened?”
“Huh?” I asked.
“Between your father and my aunt.”
“Huh?” I repeated intelligently.
“They must’ve gotten in a fight! Didn’t you notice that-they’re not
speaking
to each other?”
How
could
they speak over the blare of that idiotic radio? I wanted to ask. But instead I made my usual response: I shrugged.
“Come on! You mean you didn’t notice all that ‘Please pass the/no thank you’ stuff? That’s how grown-ups fight! That’s
exactly
how my parents fight. Very polite,
intensely
phony.”
I shrugged again.
Iris rolled her eyes in exasperation and huffed, “
Men!
” Then she flounced off into the water.
Men? Me?
Cool!
A minute later Iris seemed to have forgiven me for being a
man
and we dove into the waves some more. I, for one,-didn’t go as far out this time, though. I did not want to repeat the sand-eating thing.
When we went back to the blanket, I made a point of noticing Dad and Cora. Iris was right; they were
very
quiet. Then Cora said it was time to leave. Already? She hadn’t taken a single picture of me and Iris. Cora and Dad hadn’t even gonenear the water, but I remembered Beau saying that Dad didn’t swim.
It was very quiet in the front seat all the way home—except for Cora’s breathing. She was doing a lot of huffing and sighing. Iris and I played twenty questions and ours were the only voices. I snuck peeks at her. It didn’t look like the polka-dot experiment had worked. Iris’s leg touched mine twice. I wondered if she noticed.
Cora dropped me and Dad off first. She just pulled up in front of Dad’s building and we got out. Iris and I said, “Bye,” but Dad just grunted and Cora silently stared straight ahead. Good, I thought. No more Cora was just
fine
with me—although I wouldn’t have minded seeing Iris again.
When we got upstairs, Beau came galloping up as if he’d been waiting all day, like Ditz. He was dragging Claude along by the hand. Beau took one look at us and said, “The
beach?
Without
me?
Harsh!”
Both Dad and I laughed. “I’m gonna hop in the shower,” Dad said. “Then I’ve got a ton of work to do. Why don’t you guys…” He made a get-lost gesture with his hand.
I was caked with sand and itchy with salt. “Well, I need to shower too,” I said, hearing the whine in my voice. I wanted to pull out my tongue.
Dad just nodded at his whimpering son. “You go first,” he said.
I ducked into the
Similar Books
