@ me?
He smiled and
looked up. Bree was now looking up as well, a sly smirk on her face, the bridge
of her nose all scrunched up. “I saw you as soon as you turned the corner,” she
said, wanting him to be impressed with her observation skills.
He made his way
toward the table saying, “And maybe I saw that you saw me.”
“Yeah, right,” she
said as he sat down. “You couldn’t have.”
“No? And why’s
that?”
“Because you
didn’t know I had it on video. I was recording you the entire time.” She
smiled. “See?”
She handed him her
iPhone and he watched himself from a few seconds ago just staring at her. “Very
nice,” he said, noticing the phone was longer and slimmer than her old one. “I
see you have the new iPhone. What was wrong with the old one?”
“It was like a
year old and slow,” she said, taking the phone back. “And the screen is a half
inch smaller.”
Kyle always tried
as best he could to keep Bree from being spoiled. But with an investment banker
mother, and now a stepfather who was a partner in one of the largest
crisis-management firms in the city with no kids of his own to spoil, it wasn’t
easy. It was even tougher right after the divorce, when both he and Sheila
tried to shower her with attention and gifts to blunt the emotional devastation
of seeing her parents divorce. But they managed. The solid foundation they had
laid before the divorce helped, as did the simple fact that she was just a good
soul. Kyle always kept that fact in mind and never patted himself on the back
too much when people complimented Bree for being such a good kid. He knew
parenting could only do so much; a child’s innate personality often dictated
who they would become, and how they would react to what the world threw at
them. That was the basic building block all parents were given to work with,
and what you got was just the luck of the draw.
“Greg thought it
would be a good idea to get me a new phone before I head to camp next week,”
Bree said about her stepfather. “You know, so I don’t have any problems video
chatting with him and mom.”
“I thought cell
phones weren’t allowed up at camp.”
“They’re trying
something new this year. All the phones are going to be stored away except for
once a week when we’re allowed to call home. This way we don’t all have to wait
on line to use the same phones.”
“And they’re going
to let you video chat?”
“They haven’t said
yet.”
“And did you tell
Greg that when you asked for the new phone?”
“I didn’t ask for it,” she said, quick to correct
the statement. “He surprised me.”
Kyle’s brow
arched. “Really? You didn’t ask at all?”
“Well,” she
dragged out the word. “Not exactly. I think I may have mentioned to him
beforehand that no one in school had a phone as old as I did, and that FaceTime
on the newer iPhones was so much clearer and didn’t need wireless and then
added something like, ‘How cool would it be if I had a new iPhone for
video-chatting from camp?’” Then she raised her eyebrows and shrugged her
shoulders. “But I never said I could definitely do that. I was just saying how
cool would it be if I could do that.”
“I should hire you as my attorney.”
The statement
caused Bree to awkwardly shuffle in her seat. “That case is still going on?”
Kyle didn’t talk
to her much about the lawsuit, didn’t even tell her about the mediation he had
coming up in only a few days, and was angry with himself for letting the quip
slip out. “Yes.”
“But it’ll be over
soon, right?”
“Right. Soon. Very
soon.”
She opened the
menu and looked down at the selections, even though they both knew she’d be
ordering macaroni and cheese. Just like she always did.
“So,” Kyle said,
opening up his menu as well. “Are you excited about camp?”
“Are you going to
prison?”
He looked up from
his menu. “Prison? Why would you think that? I told you what kind of case it
is,
He smiled and
looked up. Bree was now looking up as well, a sly smirk on her face, the bridge
of her nose all scrunched up. “I saw you as soon as you turned the corner,” she
said, wanting him to be impressed with her observation skills.
He made his way
toward the table saying, “And maybe I saw that you saw me.”
“Yeah, right,” she
said as he sat down. “You couldn’t have.”
“No? And why’s
that?”
“Because you
didn’t know I had it on video. I was recording you the entire time.” She
smiled. “See?”
She handed him her
iPhone and he watched himself from a few seconds ago just staring at her. “Very
nice,” he said, noticing the phone was longer and slimmer than her old one. “I
see you have the new iPhone. What was wrong with the old one?”
“It was like a
year old and slow,” she said, taking the phone back. “And the screen is a half
inch smaller.”
Kyle always tried
as best he could to keep Bree from being spoiled. But with an investment banker
mother, and now a stepfather who was a partner in one of the largest
crisis-management firms in the city with no kids of his own to spoil, it wasn’t
easy. It was even tougher right after the divorce, when both he and Sheila
tried to shower her with attention and gifts to blunt the emotional devastation
of seeing her parents divorce. But they managed. The solid foundation they had
laid before the divorce helped, as did the simple fact that she was just a good
soul. Kyle always kept that fact in mind and never patted himself on the back
too much when people complimented Bree for being such a good kid. He knew
parenting could only do so much; a child’s innate personality often dictated
who they would become, and how they would react to what the world threw at
them. That was the basic building block all parents were given to work with,
and what you got was just the luck of the draw.
“Greg thought it
would be a good idea to get me a new phone before I head to camp next week,”
Bree said about her stepfather. “You know, so I don’t have any problems video
chatting with him and mom.”
“I thought cell
phones weren’t allowed up at camp.”
“They’re trying
something new this year. All the phones are going to be stored away except for
once a week when we’re allowed to call home. This way we don’t all have to wait
on line to use the same phones.”
“And they’re going
to let you video chat?”
“They haven’t said
yet.”
“And did you tell
Greg that when you asked for the new phone?”
“I didn’t ask for it,” she said, quick to correct
the statement. “He surprised me.”
Kyle’s brow
arched. “Really? You didn’t ask at all?”
“Well,” she
dragged out the word. “Not exactly. I think I may have mentioned to him
beforehand that no one in school had a phone as old as I did, and that FaceTime
on the newer iPhones was so much clearer and didn’t need wireless and then
added something like, ‘How cool would it be if I had a new iPhone for
video-chatting from camp?’” Then she raised her eyebrows and shrugged her
shoulders. “But I never said I could definitely do that. I was just saying how
cool would it be if I could do that.”
“I should hire you as my attorney.”
The statement
caused Bree to awkwardly shuffle in her seat. “That case is still going on?”
Kyle didn’t talk
to her much about the lawsuit, didn’t even tell her about the mediation he had
coming up in only a few days, and was angry with himself for letting the quip
slip out. “Yes.”
“But it’ll be over
soon, right?”
“Right. Soon. Very
soon.”
She opened the
menu and looked down at the selections, even though they both knew she’d be
ordering macaroni and cheese. Just like she always did.
“So,” Kyle said,
opening up his menu as well. “Are you excited about camp?”
“Are you going to
prison?”
He looked up from
his menu. “Prison? Why would you think that? I told you what kind of case it
is,
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