Chapter 46

ATLANTA, Zoe sat on her couch with Arthur.

He was furious, and she tried her best to provide sisterly love and support.

What had happened was he had gone to the audition in the afternoon. There he learned that the role he was auditioning for had already been cast weeks ago.

They had a smaller part they said might work for Arthur. It was already cast as well, but the actor had been arrested for a DUI, and they worried it might look bad if they hired him.

They had told Arthur they'd let him know in a few days. And if all else failed, they'd happily keep his Headshot and resume on file for future reference.

"Not only that," Arthur said.  "But it was humiliating. They made it obvious that I was only getting the audition because of dad. You know what one of them said? She said, "I can't imagine having a father who'd do so much for me."

 Zoe wasn’t sure if the woman meant it as an insult, or if it was a statement of envy. Either way, Zoe understood her brother's anger. It was one thing to have a father who did things for you. It was another thing to have a father say he had done something for you but then not give you the full story.

"He's a liar," Arthur said. "And that thing he said about gay marriage."

"What do you think he meant by that?" she asked.

“Are there any not-so-horrible ways to interpret it?  Am I missing something?”

She shook her head. Because that was the only answer she was capable of giving. She honestly couldn't defend their dad.

Arthur kicked the bottom of the sofa with his heel, something he used to do when he was young.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Thanks. And thanks for listening."

"Would it be bad for me to say I'm glad you came home anyway?"

He gave her a small smile. "No. I'm glad to be here...at least to see you and Taylor."

"And Mom?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug. "I suppose."

In the silence that followed, she wondered if this was a good time to introduce him to Keith.

She had wanted to do it a few nights ago but never had the chance.

"I wish you had seen what happened at dinner yesterday."

"What?" Zoe asked.

Dad picked up pizza and salads.

"And…."

"Well, Taylor gets herself a slice."

 "Good!"

"You know what mom says?"

 Zoe waited.

"She says, "So I guess you're off your diet."

"What?" That was the last thing Taylor needed—people making a big deal of her eating like a normal, healthy person.

"That's not the worst of it."

"Shit," Zoe said, waiting for the punchline. If you could call it that."

Dad said. "Well, just make sure you leave enough for the rest of us."

"Oh my God," Zoe said. "What did Taylor do? Did you say anything?"

"It's a miracle I didn't kill dad," Arthur said. "I should get an award for self-restraint."

Speaking of killing their father, Zoe should probably tell him—

"Then he laughed and said her diet had been good for his wallet."

Zoe shook her head, not wanting to believe what she's hearing.

He continued. "I then said, how is it you paid for my plane tickets, but you complain about buying food for your daughter."

"How was Taylor through all this?"

"Quiet but not crying. And she didn't try to put the pizza back."

"Good."

"Then mom said it was too bad I don't have a sense of humor. I need to loosen up and understand when dad's joking."

"Because they're so hilarious," Zoe said. She sighed. "It's a miracle we came out okay."

"Did we?" Arthur said. "Look at Taylor. And I'm a failure." He looked at Zoe. "I guess you came out okay. Did you?" He looked at her as if waiting for a confession of mental breakdown.

"I work at a job that my dad got for me," Zoe said. "I can't say I'm overly proud of that."

"Is it their fault or our fault? Or are we all to blame?"

"It's actually mostly my fault," Zoe said.

Arthur laughed, and she laughed along, although she was kind of serious.

She decided to tell him some of the stuff she had learned. Starting with….

"What do you know about reincarnation?" she asked. 

  ***

She told  him about their father being her daughter Bessie, and how Arthur had been Bessie's brother.

To Zoe's surprise, it didn’t seem to take him long to believe.

"I still hate him," Arthur said. "It doesn't matter. And maybe she was a little bratty show off back then, and that's why you ignored her.

"She was my daughter," Zoe said. "I still should have—"

He laughed. "Do you actually feel guilty?”

"Sort of," she said sheepishly.  

He bopped her on the head. "So when can I meet your dream boy?

"Now maybe." She was eager for the two of them to meet.

"Okay."

"And there's more we have to tell you."

 "Is it as funny as the reincarnation stuff?" Arthur asked..

"Well…yes," Zoe said. "If you have a really dark sense of humor." She picked her laptop up off the floor and put it on her lap. She opened up FaceTime and called for Keith. He answered, looking as hot as ever.

"Hi Dad!" Arthur said.

Keith laughed. "I guess Zoe's been running her mouth again."

"So did she tell you what my sister said at dinner the other night?"

"Taylor?" Keith said.

"No," Zoe said. "He's still talking about our old life."

"You guys are confusing me," Keith said. "So this is about the gay marriage comment?"

"Yeah," Arthur said.

"The guy has some issues," Keith said. Zoe had told Keith after it happened, and she liked that he hadn't tried to defend her father.

"You can say that," Arthur said.

Zoe decided it was maybe time to tell him about the Arcide stuff. Should she try to explain it or let Keith?

Maybe she'd explain it.

No, Keith would do a better job with it.

She was about to ask Keith to tell the story but then found that, while she had been deciding, Keith and Arthur had gotten into a conversation about acting. They were laughing and seemed to be really clicking. Zoe hated to interrupt, and she decided, what was the point? Did he really need to know about the Arcide and their father?

Their dad was young and in good health. Yeah, he might get hit by a bus or choke on a peanut; but it wasn’t like they could do any more than they could if their dad was a normal guy who didn't hold the fate of the world in his hands.

She let her brother and boyfriend go on talking while she listened. Then she had an idea, and she interrupted to share it with her two favorite men. "Let's be good children and let mom and dad have an evening alone. I say we go pickup Taylor, and we'll all eat here."

"Good idea," Keith said. "And maybe Jesse can join us."

"So you don’t have to be the only dead guy?" Arthur joked.

"Yes, I feel so left out." Keith said. "When I'm around you living folks."

Continue to Chapter Forty-Seven

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