Dancing with the Devil

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

“Whose car is that?” Stan demanded, coming in the front door. “Mackenzie?” He hollered so loudly Mac could hear him from her room. She tiptoed down the stairs and stood just beyond their sight line and listened, hoping he’d go into his den before she left.

“She’s getting ready to go out, Stan. Did you pick up my prescription?” Barb asked.

Mac heard the crackle of the thin white pharmacy bag and the rattle of pills as he tossed it onto the coffee table. “Sweet dreams.” Mackenzie peeked into the hallway and saw him walk to the front window and pull the curtain aside. As Barb went to retrieve the bag, he added while still looking out the window, “The pharmacist said these are stronger and you should be careful or you’ll turn into Sleeping Beauty.”

Lily said, “I know that story, Daddy! I read it in school today!”

“You did, Princess? But I bet she didn’t take pills to go to sleep, huh?”

“Oh Daddy, you’re so silly. She took a apple.”

He was still staring at Grady’s car parked in front of their house. “Mackenzie!” he yelled over his shoulder, “Who does that car belong to?”

Lily ran to her daddy, crawled between his legs, and then stood up in front of him to get a good look out the window, too. “Yeah,” she piped up, “Who is that guy?”

Stan looked down at Lily for a second, and then squinted back out at the car. “There’s a guy in there? You can see that, Lil? I have got to getglasses.”

Mackenzie walked into the front hall. “What did you do with my black jacket?” She asked Barb. “It was right here on the rack.”

“Oh, sorry, honey, I took it to the cleaners. It was looking a bit ragged. Why don’t you wear the pink one?”

 “You don’t hafta wear a jacket ‘cause it’s too warm,” Lily chimed in. “I didn’t wear mine at recess today. You wanna wear mine, Kenzie? You can if you wanna.”

“Thanks, Brat, but I doubt it would fit me,” Mac said. “Barb, I hate the pink one.”

“Well, it’s all you’ve got right now.”

“Thanks to you,” Mackenzie said.

Barb’s eyebrows flew up in surprise. “Excuse me? I do you a favor and—”

“Barbara, I’ll handle this. Take Lily into the other room,” Stan said. When Barb hesitated, he added, “Now.”

 “Where do you think you’re going, anyway?” he said, once they were alone. It was more of a statement than a question.

“Out. I don’t have any homework left, and in fact, I’m ahead on my science project.”

“And who is that guy?” Stan demanded.

“He’s just a friend.”

“Dante again?” He looked out the window. “I don’t know any gay boys with ’69 Mustangs. You sure he’s a gay?”

Mac blew her bangs off her forehead.

“If you let me buy you a car,” he continued, craning for a better look, “you wouldn’t need a boy to drive you anywhere. Anyway, I could’ve given you a ride. Why don’t you ever ask me to drive you anywhere?”

She didn’t want to stay in the house a second longer than absolutely necessary but she needed him to let her go. She had avoided telling Grady about being grounded for Spring Fling because she wanted to get him to the reservoir. Going on the boat relaxed him and he’d be more likely to forgive her for messing things up.