The Unsolvable Equation

Chapter Nine

Later that evening, for the first time in a long time, Alexia's father was home for dinner. Alexia's father was an employee in a company that demanded more than it paid, and he often travelled around the world doing God-knows what and spending more time with God-knows who than with his own children. That night, however, he was seated at the dining table reading the newspaper and acting as if this was some kind of usual Thursday night occurrence.

Of course, the food on the table betrayed whatever ideals Alexia's father was trying to get across, there was a huge pile of spaghetti in the centre of the table, roasted chicken, some cheesy concoction of some kind, and a bowl of salad. The tableware was also different, and Alexia recognized it as the tableware her mother used when some dignified guest was over for dinner.

He father glanced up at her. "Well, what are you standing there for looking like you've seen something come back from the dead? I haven't changed that much from the last time you saw me, have I?" He ran a hand over his bald scalp and Alexia obediently sat down.

"How was your trip to ..." the words died on Alexia's tongue when she realized that she had no idea where her father was back from. Luckily, he didn't notice, and was already busy pulling something out of a his open luggage.

"I got you a stuffed camel from Egypt," he said, smiling. Oh, Egypt. The camel was large and awkward looking, with eyes too big to fit into its head and a body too small. In short, you could tell that it was one of those marketing efforts to make national souvenirs more appealing to children, but failed terribly. However, Alexia was touched by the gift and promised to display it, an answer that seemed to please her father.

"So how is school going?" her father asked, once again taking up his 'everyday-dad' act.

"Fine. School is fine," Alexia replied. "I mean, the subjects aren't getting any more challenging."

"That's good," her father said, and she could tell he was wracking his brains for more questions to ask her, so they could both fool themselves into believing  that this was a common occurrence.

"Any boyfriends?" was what he eventually settled on.

"No," was her automatic reply. There was an awkward silence.

Thankfully, her older brother, Ryan, opened the door at that moment and filled the room with his loud, brash presence. He was on the phone, probably with his girlfriend, Suzanne, and he was shouting, which was becoming increasingly common in their relationship and a sign that a breakup was coming. "Look, baby, don't be like that. I told you I can't do Friday night!" he was saying.

Then, Ryan looked up and saw their father sitting there, with his eyebrows raised. He crouched away from his gaze and softened his voice. "Baby I'm going to have to call you back," Ryan said quickly. "The UFO has landed."  

Their father rolled his eyes. "Now, Ryan. My presence isn't that rare."

Ryan walked over and gave their father an awkward hug. "Honestly, Dad? I'd have a better chance of finding life on other planets than finding you back home. But welcome back, anyway."

His eyes fell on the stuffed camel. "Nice toy, Alexia," he whispered.

"Better than your bag of Egyptian air," she shot back.