Read Dating Down for Free Online Page B

cry.
    Cries.
    My take is a little more straightforward:
    Gavin gets upset at being alone all summer.
    George tells him not to be needy.
    Gavin’s a needy guy.
    A tad dramatic.
    George says as much,
    Gavin cries.
    Gavin swears that
    he’s inconsolable
    George has ruined his life
    he’ll spend his summer throwing darts at a map
    Cali will be the bull’s-eye.
    I feel bad for my Gavin
    my pal
    my heartbroken bud.
    Here’s looking at you, kid.

    Just when one season begins
    another one ends.

The Rally
    Lounging at Hex,
    I almost forget my father’s big rally
    until Miguel calls to remind me.
    Don’t be late .
    I run home
    just in time to hear
    Queen Vanilla on the phone.
    Can’t take it anymore …
    It’s just not right …
    Probably talking to Dad.
    Probably talking about me.
    I ignore her as I race up to my room.
    Melanie follows, cheering
    as I throw off my clothes
    dive into a dress
    tear a comb through my hair
    pile my locks
    on top of my head.
    I’m ready in breakingbreaking five
    four
    three
    two
    one

And, Action!
    In a flash
    I’m in a hotel ballroom
    watching my father shake hands.
    Smiles frozen on our faces
    posed like a picture.
    VOTE HENDERSON!
    Signs bob up and down in the crowd
    Miguel hands Dad his speech
    the energy in the room elevates
    my heart quickens.
    My dad is really loved.
    It makes me look at him differently, as
    a man
    a father
    a hard-worker
    maybe he loves me in his own way.
    He moves in and out of the crowd
    nodding
    smiling
    shaking hands.
    That’s my Dad!
    As he approaches me, I smile,
    spontaneous
    candid
    genuine
    Dad: sm Your dress is a wrinkled mess.
    I look down at my dress.
    Dad: sm Why didn’t you let Jane pick something out?
    Miguel: sm A politician for the people, not payoffs!
    Miguel works up the crowd
    helps his own career.
    Dad turns around and waves
    breaking my family bliss
    my happiness.
    I stand stunned while Chicagoans chant this cheer.
    What he stands for.
    For the people, not payoffs!
    For the people, not payoffs!
    Then there’s me, the people
    the wrinkled
    disheveled
    daughter.
    We Hendersons have a reputation to uphold!
    Down with wrinkles!
    I can be the
    person
    daughter
    citizen
    Henderson
    he thinks I’m supposed to be.
    Even in a messy dress!
    Only I know full well
    I’m not.
    I’m nothing like what he wants me to be.
    His daughter.
    His let down.
    Choosing
    painting over politics
    partying over parents.
    And if he had a clue about
    what I do with X,
    he certainly wouldn’t approve of that
    person
    daughter
    citizen
    Henderson.

Henderson Family Wrinkles
    How can I be
    wrinkle-free
    when I’m pressed with—
    You should know better, try harder.
    Inside my skin, my label reads—
    40% honorable daughter
    30% delicate girlfriend
    15% resilient friend
    10% supportive sister
    and 5% I cannot iron out
    mom
    I’m washed by the political machine
    hung out to dry
    colors running, bleeding into
    the warm, salty, tear-stained water
    leftover from the gentle cycle
    worn out from our family fabric
    I cannot sort it all—the dirty laundry
    I cannot fold it up—my father’s need
    steam-cleaned genes
    bunching at the seams
    eating into my dress,
    politically pressed
    gathered at the hem of a
    disappointed father
    distant step-mother
    clingy sister
    sm cycling sm spinning sm washing over me
    like a love-starved stain
    my dry-clean-only life
    sm blazers sm pants
    underwear and shirts
    sm folded sm flat
    delicate and pressed
    sm father sm Jane
    Melanie and me.

Chemo and Balloons
    Dad speaks to the crowd
    we sit
    in silent support.
    His nuclear family:
    Melanie
    motionless
    in ruffles and curls
    sucking her thumb.
    Jane
    properly pressed dress
    pearls perfectly placed
    around her neck.
    Reminds me of her diamond earrings I gave away
    to Party Betty.
    One of the little ways I secretly take from Jane
    and give back to Mom.
    Dad goes
    on
    and on
    about the wonderful things
    he will do if