“Rosa,” she croaked.
Rosa, the sister whose heart was crafted to ease the suffering of others, came forward, linked her arm with Iridian’s, and steered her away. When they were knitted together like this, Iridian felt safer. She didn’t even care about the dog’s bright blood transferring from Rosa’s skin onto hers.
“I think I might’ve felt it,” Rosa whispered excitedly, as the two of them turned back to the house. “Its spirit.”
“Where are you two going?” Jessica cried out, her voice going shrill. “Iridian, what the fuck? You can’t just leave me here with him!”
But that’s exactly what Iridian was doing. She didn’t even spare a glance over her shoulder.
“Iridian!” Jessica shouted. “Rosa! Get back here!”
“I hate him,” Iridian said to Rosa, quietly, so only her sister could hear.
“I know.”
“We loved her, too. It’s like he’s forgotten that.”
Rosa didn’t reply. The sisters kept walking, just the two of them, at a slow and steady pace back to their house.
“I hate him,” Iridian repeated. “He doesn’t deserve our help.”
“I know,” Rosa said.
“Iridian!” Behind them, Jessica was nearly hysterical. “You fucking coward!”
“Don’t pay attention to her.” Rosa leaned in. “Maybe just try to walk a little faster?”
Jessica
(Monday, June 10th)
Jessica really had to hand it to her dad. He always tried so hard to make his apologies appear convincing. There was the way he’d start off by looking each of his daughters in the eye, but then duck his head down real quick as if he were just so overcome with emotion. Or there was the way the sides of his mouth would dip into a big-ass frown, the exaggerated kind that a clown would paint on his face. Or there was his voice, how it would get all wobbly, like a kid who tripped on a curb but wanted you to think he was pushed off a building or some shit.
“Girls, listen,” Rafe said, staring down at the surface of the kitchen table. He’d even gone the extra mile and shaved that morning. A white strip of dried foam clung to his earlobe.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know how I’d be when yesterday came around, and I wasn’t myself. As you saw.” He paused, took a breath, shook his head slowly, and started running his pointer finger down a long gouge in the wood. “You girls are my everything. You know that.”
Jessica couldn’t help it. Her lower lip started to quiver.
Iridian sat across the table with her arms folded, scowling at Jessica and scowling at Rafe. Rosa was also there, but she was distracted by something out in the backyard.
“Do you see?” Rosa said softly. “It’s—”
“I try to be a good father.” Rafe’s voice broke as he interrupted Rosa. “I am a good father, verdad?”
“Yes,” Jessica replied, automatically.
Rafe reached across the table for Jessica’s hand, and she let him take it. Iridian made a sound, a little cluck of disgust that their dad didn’t register.
“This year—” He squinted at Jessica with bloodshot eyes. “This year will be different. I’ll change. I promise. I have a plan.”
Jessica nodded, but the thing was, he’d said this exact same thing before, almost exactly one year ago.
After Ana died, and after a brief but catastrophic mourning period, Rafe had emerged from his bedroom one day in the middle of July and had made a plan. To his credit, he’d short-term stuck to that plan. He’d gotten up early on Saturday mornings and helped the neighbors fix their cars and their fences and let them use his truck to haul away bulk trash. He didn’t go to the bar so much. He paid back a guy that he worked with who had lent him some money. He’d taken Rosa to church, and then to lunch, and then to the art museum. He’d bought Iridian a book. He’d told Jessica to invite a couple of her friends over for a cookout. He’d grilled up hot dogs and cobs of corn. They’d had an okay time.
It didn’t last, though. By the end of summer, he was back to his old ways, breaking all kinds of promises. He said he was going to take his girls out for pizza, and then he forgot. He said he was going to be right over to give Jessica’s car a jump and then never showed up. Strange dudes started calling at all hours, asking to speak to Rafe, and then made Jessica and her sisters take down messages about “debts” and “payment for services rendered.” Those dudes had all said something like, “He knows what we’re talking about.” A couple of them, before they’d hung up, had asked the girls how old they were.
Back at the breakfast table, Rafe coughed without covering his mouth.
“Are you sick?” Jessica asked. “Do you want me to bring you something from work?”
He shook his head and gave her hand a squeeze. His palm, was it too warm?
“I’m alright.”
“Are you sure? It’s not a prob—”
“You should go, Dad,” Iridian said, interrupting. “It’s already after eight. You don’t want to be late again. Remember what you told us? About your boss? No more warnings.”
“Uh, right.” Rafe cleared his throat, removed his hand from Jessica’s, and checked his watch. “Right. Jessie, just give me a minute.”
He pushed his chair back from the table and went to his bedroom. The police had shown up the previous day, but since a sobriety test had proven Rafe wasn’t drunk and no one had actually seen him hit the dog, no charges had been filed. Still, Jessica was worried about her dad behind the wheel—for everyone’s sake—so that morning she’d hidden his keys and offered him a ride.
“We all know how you feel about him, Iridian,” Jessica said, once their dad was out of earshot. “You could make it a little less obvious.”
“He’s awful,” Iridian snapped. “He’s awful, and he doesn’t deserve our comfort or your hand-holding.”
Jessica wiped away the tear that was threatening to spill from the corner of her eye, and her finger came away smudged black from her eyeliner.
Iridian snickered. “I can’t believe you shed tears for that man.”
“Like you’re so fucking perfect,” Jessica replied.
Iridian shoved away from the table, the legs of her chair squealing against the linoleum floor. She stalked into the living room, turned on the television, and started to flip through the channels.
Rosa moved her chair so that she could sit facing Jessica. She then lifted her fingers up to her sister’s face to smooth out the eyeliner. The rising sun coming in from the windows lit Rosa up from behind. In that light, she was weirdly pale. Her eyelids, nostrils, and the upper crest of her ears were practically translucent. Jessica closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Rosa’s skin was cool, and the light pressure of her fingers was soothing.