Chapter 17

Half a Double

…sometime later

The new house was a half a double red brick on Green Street.

They lived on the 105 side. The 107 side was still vacant. It was modest sized house. There were

three bedrooms, one bathroom, living room, basement, and attic. Despite everyone giving their finest

efforts it didn't feel like home. Something was missing. And everyone knew it was because of

Walter's absence. Drake sat on the back porch steps tracing the edges with a small rock.

"Do you fancy company?"

Drake looked up to see Dina half in and half out of the back screen door.

"Sure."

"I hope you aren't mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Confused to catch her bed with Mindy when all she was going back to the house for

was some of her personal belongings. But mad? No. "Puzzled."

Dina sat next to Drake. "She told me she was sorry and I have to believe that. She doesn't like me

living here—but I told her if she can't accept that then we are through for real."

Megan was right.

"You must really love her? She did horrible things. I'm not judging you. I'm just saying."

Drake gently go of the rock watching it bounce from step to step like the slinky toy he had when he

was five. It stopped on the on the fourth step.

"Relationships are complicated. This is my way of seeing if she really cares."

"They must be. I never had a relationship."

"Sure you have. What do you call us? Megan? Mom? Dad even?"

"I wasn't referring to those kind."

Dina stopped the at-home jewelry assembling to take a job at the movie theater. It wasn't the

Premiere. But Helen gave her the most glowing reference. She might have hated Josh, but Helen

was loving Dina on Drake-ish levels. Dina had to work at a place where she wouldn't get talked

about behind her back like some of his co-workers did at the Premiere.

"Do you want to come to the Pacific with me later?" as in the Pacific Theater.

"I don't know."

"Hey," Dina elbowed Drake, "free movies."

"I don't know," Drake sighed as he stood up, "I'm going in to watch TV." He quit his job at IHOP

washing dishes before they moved in. Audrey was still doing her two jobs until the finances got

back to normal.

"Damn." Dina said to the empty air.

"What is it?"

"Megan, you scared me."

"Sorry." She had just come off her groundation when Audrey found out that B.W. was Channel

12's Bruce Winchell she almost lost her mind.

Metcom was the official Channel 12 chat room it's not like he was a predator who wanted underage

girls. But he did drop her off last after taking the Metcom club to a tour of the studio—and the

weatherman with the "perfect family" like Walter Nichols did feel her up. But she wanted him to. So

it was no big deal and nothing for him to go prison over. It was easier to lie to her mother than tell

her the truth. She told him, when she turned eighteen, it could go further. And he was too smart a

man to want to go to prison so he made a mental note of it. They also exchanged private email

addresses. Megan said she knew how to make sure his I.P. was hidden. It was no big deal to her,

just like when she and her friend Shauna made out in her Uncle's Volvo. What was the big fucking

deal in exploring your options?

It was the last thing she wrote on her Xenga page.

It was her turn to sit next to Dina on the stairs. She was barefoot and wore purplish black nail

enamel. It contrasted with Dina's peach colored toenails.

"Megan, you know I think you're awesome. But, you could be so much more pretty if you---"

"This isn't The Breakfast Club and I'm not Ally Sheedy."

"I don't mean to criticize you. Lord knows, I should know about what it feels like to be comfortable

in one's own skin. Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah. I'm getting my first tattoo tonight. Don't tell Mom."

"You aren't doing drugs are you?"

"NO."

And that was truth. She tried pot once and didn't like it. She tried coke once too and she didn't like

it. She really wished that people, even the well meaning, stopped labeling her.

"I'm sorry, Megs."

"I know you worry—but save it for Drake. Because he needs the guidance not me."

"I think I have an idea. I barely have any money left and I just started working the Pacific—but

there's something I have to do before work. Like Oprah, you're an inspiration." Dina got up and

patted Megan on the head. When Dina was gone she took the pack of Newport's out of her gray

hoodie pocket.

She needed a smoke in the worst way.

Later

It was twelve thirty in the morning when Dina made it upstairs to the room she shared with Drake.

Audrey offered to share a room with Dina but although the room was much smaller than the semi loft

apartment feeling of their bedroom back in their real house they still were content to share their living

space with each other. They really couldn't have it any other way. The only rules were to change

clothes in bathroom. There was room for only one bed and one small sofa bed. Drake wanted to be

a gentleman and claimed the sofa. Dina had to remember not to trip over it on her way to the

bathroom in the middle of the night.

They could manage.

"Hey, Sleepy," Dina kissed Drake on the forehead, "Wake up."

"D-dina?" He wiped his eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Come in the kitchen."

"Did Mindy---"

"Nope. Just come in the kitchen. I made chocolate pudding."

"What are we celebrating?" He asked with one open eye.

"Come downstairs and see."

Drake almost started to cry on the spot when he saw his red Fender Stratocaster autographed by

Zero Gravity's Devon Malone.

"DINA! Where did you find this?"

"It wasn't easy."

"After all this time Spanky's didn't find a buyer?" He was almost afraid to touch it. The case wasn't

his, but the guitar was. And that was all that counted.

"No. I found it at Express."

"Dina," Drake hugged her, "This is the second time you purchased this guitar for me. Thank you."

"I know. Now there's only one condition."

"What?"

"I better hear you play it."

"I don't have an amp."

"I got you one. But it's in the car. Mr. Snow had to help me put it in the trunk."

"You purchased me an amp too," Drake peeled the plastic wrap off the big bowl of chocolate

pudding, "Let's celebrate---"

"I want you to play it like you used to. Whenever I'm sleeping, I'm going to regret this later, I

know—I want to hear you play. Promise me?"

"I promise. Thank you so much." Drake kissed his sister on the cheek, "Can we have our pudding

now?"

"Of course."

Now that hopefully Drake's burden was somewhat lifted Dina had to focus on what she really didn't

want to focus on—and that was the whereabouts of one former KDJY weatherman—Walter

Nichols.

"Are you okay?" Drake asked Dina, his spoon in the mid-air toast position.

"Yes. I was just thinking about—Oprah's Favorite Things list."

Drake wasn't sure if that was the complete truth or not. But she didn't want to pester Dina over if

that was the real reason she was thinking.

"This present calls for pudding." Drake said

"Praise D." Dina replied as their spoons clicked.