Page 32

We all sat at the little table in the kitchen, and I passed out donuts for each of us. When I put the pink one covered in sprinkles in front of Sophie, she beamed at me, and I felt like I just conquered the world. She really was the cutest kid on the planet.

“So, your dad told me there’s a new paranormal at your school?”

Sophie nodded, wiping the frosting off her nose with a napkin. “His name is Dante. He’s in the same grade as me.”

It was surprising that little kids were being integrated into human school systems. I thought it would take longer since humans didn’t always welcome us. Kids could be cruel sometimes, and I would’ve been worried about subjecting my kids to an uncertain environment like that. Not that I ever thought I’d have kids. I wasn’t against them, but I didn't really have the lifestyle for them.

“What kind of paranormal?”

She frowned, setting her donut down. “He looks like you, but I don’t know if there are more that look alike. He’s the first paranormal in our school.”

Art shook his head. “No, he isn’t. He’s just the first one who can’t blend in. I got a letter from the school when the paranormal children started attending. There were five, I think, and they all started on different days to not overwhelm the students.”

“As for him looking like me, he’s probably a demon. There aren’t many other paranormals who look similar to us. Gargoyles, maybe, but their skin is gray and they are a little broader built. And not all of them have horns. The girls don’t. But all demons have horns, boys and girls,” I added.

Sophie pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Do demons have bad tempers? He’s kind of grouchy and sometimes he says not nice things.”

That made Art straighten, worry in his expression. He wasn’t discriminatory against paranormals, but I could tell just by his face that he’d go to war for his daughter. I answered her question, hoping to put him a little more at ease.

“Sometimes, yeah. But that’s true for humans too. If I were him, I’d be defensive, being surrounded by so many people that weren’t like me. It’d be scary, for sure.”

“You don’t have to force a friendship, Sophie,” Art interjected. “If he’s not being nice, then don’t play with him.”

I winced internally. He was right that Sophie shouldn’t force herself around mean kids, but I didn’t want her to write this kid off just because he was defensive, either. It’d be terrifying to stand out like that in a new school. Isolating him wasn’t going to help.

Sophie seemed to agree with me because she shook her head. “He looks sad sometimes. I don’t want him to be lonely.” She turned back to me. “Is there a way demons make friends?”

“Uh… Nothing too different, I guess.” I paused, thinking about how I met my friends. My eyes lit up. “Oh! Demon children exchange trinkets to make friends. I forgot about that. I loved marbles when I was a kid and I gave one to each of my friends when we met. They each gave me back something they loved, too. My friend Mal liked cooking even as a kid, so he brought me a cupcake he made with his dad. I’m not sure if kids still do that now, but it’s worth a shot.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

ARTHUR

Listeningto Sophie and Hendrix talk about ways to make friends with the demon boy at school was heartwarming. It made me nervous when Sophie said the boy wasn’t very nice, but Hendrix made a good point when he said the boy was probably scared and lashing out. And I loved that Sophie cared enough to keep trying. She promised to be safe about it and I didn’t see anything wrong with her giving him a little trinket to try and break the ice.

Since most of Sophie’s time was spent studying, she didn’t have a ton of toys. There were more here than at her mom’s house. She pondered it for a while before picking out a little stuffed animal that she liked and was happy to share. I made sure she put it in the bottom of her backpack, knowing Val would take it away if she found it. After breakfast was through and Sophie had a plan to make a new friend, she and I got dressed for the day. We were going to go to the park with Hendrix, but the weather wasn’t cooperating and it started to rain right as wewere headed out the door. Instead, Sophie dragged me into the living room, asking if we could practice our dance together.

“You dance?” Hendrix asked from his spot on the couch.

My face flushed, and I grimaced. “Sophie wanted to learn some popular Kpop dances, but she didn’t want to do it alone. I think it’s better if we wait until tomorrow and–”

“Please, daddy! I can’t practice at Mom’s house and I really want to show some friends at school. Please please please!”

She gave me her biggest puppy dog eyes, her hands clasped together tightly. That look could sway military generals. I wanted to give in, but it was too embarrassing with Hendrix in the room. I shot him a pleading look, hoping he’d distract her somehow, but Hendrix was on Sophie’s side.

“I want to see the dance, Art. I promise, I won’t laugh.”

He said that, but his eyes were already dancing and he had to twist his mouth to hide his grin. The embarrassment was overwhelming, but when my eyes strayed to Sophie’s backpack by the front door, a reminder that I only got to spend so much time with her, I gave in.

“Okay…”

“Yay!” She jumped and clapped her hands, bouncing around me like a puppy as I pulled up the song. I’d put on a button up to look nice for Hendrix, but I shed it to make my movement a little easier. I was wearing an undershirt, so it was fine. Hendrix raised his eyebrow at me, a smirk tugging at his lips. I did my best to ignore him, moving to stand next to Sophie. I shot her one last pleading look.

“Are you sure we can’t just do something else? Anything else?”

“No! You’re good at it, Daddy. Don’t be shy.”

Resigned to my fate, I pressed play and looked anywhere but at Hendrix as I danced with my daughter. When she first showed interest in dance, she was only five. Val adamantlyrefused, saying Sophie had better things to be focused on. She was already reading and doing math high above her grade level, but Val refused to listen. I’ll admit, I was too much of a coward to argue with her about it. It wasn’t until our divorce that I felt comfortable enough to let Sophie try dancing. She was seven and more easily embarrassed than she was at five, so I did it with her so she wouldn’t be afraid. I was embarrassed too, the dances she picked weren’t meant for adult males in their thirties, but I pushed past that because of the joy on Sophie’s face. Now we practiced together every weekend, and I loved having that connection with her.