When I tapped on her door, she mumbled, “Come in.”
“You ok?” I asked. I should’ve left her alone, especially since I didn’t know her very well, but I’ve never been the type to just leave things alone. She was laying on her bed listening to her iPod.
“I’m fine…. I’m sorry about earlier,” Katie whispered, pulling the headphones from her ears. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind, and there’s only so much Batman I can take.”
“Totally understandable. You’ve had a lot to deal with over the last couple of weeks. I know it’s been hard,” I told her as I sat on the corner of the bed. “Hopefully things will get better soon.”
“I shouldn’t have been mean to Dusty. He’s having a hard time, too. I just get frustrated with those stupid games. He wants me to win all the time, and I just can’t.”
“Did you know that Batman has some pretty cool cheats? It would make it a lot easier to play it, if you used them.”
“I’ve heard about them, but I’ve never really known how to do it.”
“It isn’t hard, and you can find most of them online. It will let you change Batman’s outfits and skins. You can even choose alternate endings. They aren’t hard to do, and if you want me to, I could show you how to do it,” I offered.
“That’d be so cool. I’m sure Dusty would love it, and I know he could use the distraction. Daddy’s death has really been hard on him. He just doesn’t understand why he isn’t coming home. I’ve tried to explain it to him, but he just keeps expecting him to come walking through the front door,” she said, her voice cracked as tears began to pool in her eyes.
“I’m sure it’s hard on all of you, but in time, it’ll get better. You’ll always miss him. But eventually you’ll be able to find comfort in knowing that your dad loved you both very much, and he’d be here with you if he could.”
“It’s just hard, you know? I’m used to seeing him every single day, and now… he’s just gone. I didn’t even get to tell him goodbye. I know people say that stuff all the time, but I just wish I had five more minutes with him. I don’t know what to do anymore,” she cried with tears shimmering in her eyes.
Seeing her in pain, the tears now streaming down her precious face, made my heart hurt for her. Her tear soaked eyes looked up at me when I put my hand on her shoulder and said, “You move forward. It’s the only direction God really gives us.”
She nodded with understanding and wiped the tears from her cheeks. I leaned over and gave her a quick hug, before I stood up and said, “Let’s grab something to eat, and then I’ll show you some cool tricks to use the next time you play Batman with Dusty.”
“Thanks, Henley. That’d be awesome,” she said as she followed me to the kitchen. After we ate, we spent the next hour going over the cheats I knew for the games they had. We were all sitting around the TV cheering Katie on when Dallas came home. She stopped in his doorway and smiled when she found us huddled on the floor together.
“Did you get it worked out?” Cassidy asked as she pulled herself up off the floor.
“I think so. The lawyer said if nothing else comes up I should have my check by the end of the week.”
“That’s great, Dallas. I’m sure you’re relieved,” I told her as Cassidy reached out her hand and helped me up.
“You have no idea. Daniel always paid all the bills, so I’m a little overwhelmed,” her eyes dropped to the ground as she got lost in the memory of her husband.
“I could help you if you need it,” I offered. “I’m pretty good with numbers.”
“Really? That would be great. I need all the help I can get right now, and thanks again for coming today. It really helped me out.”
“Can they come back and play wif’ me?” Dusty interrupted, jumping up and down with excitement.
“Of course they can, buddy. Someday real soon, but right now, I need to head over to the clubhouse for a bit. I just talked to Clutch, and he said they could fix the car if I brought it over to the garage. It’s been making that funny noise again,” she explained. I’d forgotten that he was even here until she said his name. I looked out the window towards the front yard, and he was still sitting there on his bike, doing his thing, and he still didn’t look happy about being there.
“Awesome. Can I go wif’ you?” Dusty begged.
“You have to be a good boy… no touching anything,” she warned.
“I pomis’.” His face lit up when he realized that she was going to let him go. I was glad that he still had that part of his dad. The club would always be there for him.
“Can I stay here?” Katie asked. “I want to try the rest of these tricks that Henley gave me.”
“No, Katie. I’m not leaving you alone, at least, not yet,” her mother said as she placed her arm around Katie’s shoulder, pulling her close to her chest.