The weather threatened for about 20 minutes before rain began to fall. It fell lightly at first, then set in seemingly trying to dump the clouds as fast as possible. The early afternoon turned dark as night, with the lightning bringing its version of daylight only briefly and intermittently. The thunder complained loudly and with less delay as the storm approached. We all dried off and decided that maybe it was cool enough to put a fire in the fireplace. It wasn’t necessary, of course, but it was cozy to sit around the fire and chat. Mom made some hot chocolate.

I got to thinking about my dad. It seemed he never had enough time with us. I started to say that I wished he was there with us, but Lisa seemed to be far away with her thoughts. Probably thinking about her dad. I kept quiet, not wanting to open old wounds. I wondered if her bubbly attitude was sometimes a cover-up for a sadness inside her. I would never trade my troubles for hers. I didn’t know what I’d do without my dad. Come to think of it, I’d be lost without my mom as well. I was grateful to have parents willing and able to share so generously with Lisa and her mom. Still, I was sure there was a place in her heart that only her father, with all of his shortcomings could fill. (I’m being very charitable to just say he had ‘shortcomings’) Lisa and her mom were not a priority for him. They were females, and from his point of view, there was only one thing they were good for … well, two; sex and bearing babies … boy babies. I once overheard Lisa’s dad talking to one of his buddies. He had been trying to show Lisa how to throw a baseball, and had, apparently given up. He was telling his buddy, “You know, a girl is just a girl. They can’t throw a ball. They don’t run like a boy. There just ain’t much you can teach ‘em.”

I didn’t listen to any more. I was afraid they would get around to talking about his ‘wife’s nephew’ (me), and there would likely have been the word ‘faggot’ and other related words. I didn’t tell Lisa anything he had said. No need to bring her down and make the rift between her and her dad worse. Even then, I actually kind of felt sorry for her dad. He understood so little about the relationship between males and females, and he probably would never be happy as long as he saw society develop in what he would see as a ‘perverse’ way … with women demanding at least a modicum of respect. He’s the type who would throw something at his TV when someone on it expresses opinions he doesn’t like. Then, he would have to have the TV repaired, or buy or steal another TV. Is that brilliant? His drug and alcohol use didn’t help, either.

With what I just wrote about him, you can probably understand why he would leave a family where the women outnumbered him 2 to 1. He probably looked around at his friends who had one or more boys (one of his friends had 4 boys) and said ‘what the hell did I do to deserve this? I’m outta here!’ Whatever he thought, he either didn’t miss them or he is dead. They never heard from him again. Aunt Katy wasn’t even able to find him to serve him with divorce papers. Without a divorce, she couldn’t sue for child support. She had to prove he abandoned them to be free of him. That’s one reason my dad found it his duty to make sure they were ok. He helped Aunt Katy get set up in her online business, bought a house when we were still in San Antonio and leased it to her for on dollar a month, and helped them whenever other problems arose.

The storm continued, then the lights flickered. We thought they would go out, but they came back immediately. We heard a hum down in the basement. Mom said, “James told me we have backup generators. We don’t even have to endure a power outage! We are going to be so spoiled!”

“I’m not really so much against being spoiled,” Lisa added.

“As long as we don’t lose all our money and wind up living under a bridge or something.” I felt like the voice of reason.

“Your dad is very careful with our savings, and we have tons of insurance. The only way we would live under a bridge is if he bought the bridge. Imagine a heated and air conditioned bridge with all the comforts. That’s what living under a bridge with James would be like.”

“And his trade magazines would probably ask him to write an article about what ‘bridge living’ is like.”

“Lisa, he would laugh if he heard you talking like that … well … all of us talking like this! By the way, y’all did see my dad on the cover of the magazine in his office?”

Lisa laughed. “He’s not in the centerfold!”

“Lisa!” Her mom shook her head.

“She’s right”, my mom added, “we really wouldn’t want a centerfold of him, but I love him.”

There were ‘dittos’ all around to that last statement.

“Rain makes me sleepy. Mom, I’m gonna get a shower and go to bed.”

“I think maybe the rest of us are ready, too. There’s no telling what time your dad will be home. Goodnight, Honey.”

Lisa stood up. “Right behind you, Sarah.”

“Practicing saying the name?”

“Yes, Sarah. Goodnight, Sarah.”

“That’s my name.”

“Honey, I have an appointment with an attorney to have your name legally changed and the gender changed on your birth certificate.”

“Aunt Katy, I can get the papers for her name changed on the web. You have to go to court with the papers, of course, and you have to get the doctor involved for the birth certificate.”

“Goodness! How long before you receive your degree?”

“I’ll bet I could pass the bar exam today!”

My mom spoke up, “I’ll bet you could. You and Sarah are both amazing. Katy and I are so lucky!”

“We are lucky,” Aunt Katy added, “and Kim is lucky to be almost as pretty as I am!”

Mom crossed her arms and asked, “How is one twin prettier than the other.”

“I don’t know, but don’t you think I am? It’s amazing!”

“Katy, you’ve always been full of sh … shoe polish!”

“Mom … shoe polish? … really?”

“I’m a lady!”

Lisa’s eyes lit up. … “Oh! Sarah! Remember a while back … let me quote you, ‘One of the few advantages of being a boy is that you don’t have to be all dainty and shit.’”

“I … don’t remem …”

“Look at her face! She remembers! I woke you up early one morning and you said that! Now you can’t say ‘shit’ anymore!”

“… and you can?”

“I only say it for purposes of illustration and interpretation.”

“What? … ‘illustration and interpretation’? What the hell does that mean?”

“Girls! Please! This conversation is going downhill so fast!”

“I love you, Sarah.”

“I love you more, Lisa.”

“That’s better. Good night, girls. Don’t use all the hot water.”

“Ok, Aunt Kim. The water heater is probably only about 5 bgzillion gallons.”

“Yes, and I think it’s about 500 degrees, so be careful!”

After a hot shower, (less than 500 degrees) I slipped into a silk nighty and got into my big bed. I enjoyed listening to the continuing storm as I lay warm and dry between super smooth highest quality cotton sheets. Lightning was still breaking into the darkness now and then. I felt the mattress move a bit. I turned over to find Lisa next to me. “I’m kinda scared. Can I sleep with you?”

“Of course.” She wasn’t scared, but her presence was kind of comforting. I reached over and held her hand and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I awoke when it was still dark. It was 4:03AM. The storm had passed and the house was dead silent. I felt a presence and Iooked toward the foot of the bed. Standing there was a person about my size. “Lisa?” I asked. The figure walked away from the bed toward the center of the room and disappeared. I reached over to see if Lisa was there. She was. “Lisa!” I shook her.

She mumbled, “What? Stop!” I quit shaking her. Obvious, she had been asleep the entire time.

I didn’t feel fear, so I just pulled the covers a little higher and drifted back off to sleep. Our new old house apparently had ghosts. I didn’t mind. I liked a little mystery. I never could have guessed the origin of this specter.

Next: Appreciation