Page 9 - My FlipBook

“Jack? Buddy! What’s goin’ on? Everything okay?”

“Fine,” I say, even though things haven’t been
okay since Mom stopped believing in Dad, and Dad
disappeared. He only calls me like once a month, if
that, on the landline, and Mom’s always hovering
beside me to make sure I don’t ask what I really want
to know.
But she’s not here now. “You know I have my
own phone now, Dad? For emergencies? Mom got
it for me after you left.” I wait for him to take the

hint and give me his number since Mom always
refuses.
“Cool,” he says, not taking the bait. Not under-
standing that his leaving was an emergency.
I push him further. “Where are you, Dad?” Loch
Ness? Neverland?
“I’m working—”

“No,” I interrupt. “I mean . . .” Why doesn’t
he understand that he disappeared, and I need to
know . . . ? I take a breath, not wanting to scare him
away. Carefully, I begin again: “I was just telling my
cousins about George. ’Member him?”
Dad lightens up. “Remember him? I love that
guy. He’s hilarious.” George always did tell the best
jokes, and Dad was the only one who laughed when

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