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Paul had been looking forward to Friday night. It had been a busy week at CCRP and he was glad to finally have a chance to relax: maybe watch a movie or two, play some video games and then turn in for a long night's rest.
But he had barely even opened Netflix when his plans were interrupted by a phone call from Alice, Bill’s daughter.
“Hello? Is everything okay?” Paul asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Alice. Her voice sounded shaky. “They’re showing Godspell at the rec center. Do you think you could drive me there?”
It took a few seconds for Paul to take in the request. Then another second to remember where he had heard of Godspell before.
“Alice, you know I don’t like musicals,” he said.
“You liked Moana.”
“I did not,” said Paul. Well, maybe the animation had been nice. Plus, the characters were pretty fun. And he did like the plot…
“Please, Uncle Paul,” said Alice.
It had been years since Alice had last called him ‘Uncle Paul’. The moniker meant that she must have been in serious distress -and judging by Bill’s rants at work, Paul was pretty sure he knew what was causing it.
Paul longingly glanced at his t.v before resigning himself to an evening of torture. “I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
Well, Moana aside, Paul still didn’t like musicals.
It’s not as if the actors were bad. Objectively, they sang quite well and the set design was impressive for a local show. But they tried way too hard. Paul was pretty sure he had never heard so much riffing in his life.
Alice ate it up, though. Her face visibly lit up as she watched the show. And while Paul felt like he was being driven insane, seeing her smile was enough to make it through the play.
As they returned to the car, Alice suddenly stopped. “Did I tell you I want to be a playwright when I grow up?”
Paul paused too. “Really? That’s great!”
Alice looked down. “I don’t think dad wants me to be one. He’d rather I be a lawyer or doctor or something.”
“I’m sure he would want you to follow your drea-”
Alice started bawling.
If it were any other kid in the world other than Alice, Paul wouldn’t know what to do. He wasn’t the best with kids -or people really. But this was Alice, the girl he had been babysitting since she was five.
Paul led her to a nearby bench and sat her down. He slowly rubbed her back until she had calmed down enough to get words out.
“I- I think my parents are going to divorce,” she said. “A-and I think my mom’s planning on moving to Clivesdale.” She stared her feet.
“And…and I think dad wants me to go with her,” Tears started falling down her face again.
Paul hugged her and let the tears subside before pulling back and looking her in the eyes “Alice, your parents love you. Bill spent all of yesterday talking about how you had won that writing competition at school.”
Alice groaned weakly. “Really?”
Paul nodded. “Whatever they do, they’re gonna try and make sure you’re happy. Plus, I’m always here if you need me.”
“Promise?” asked Alice.
“Promise,” Paul replied. “Now, what do you say we go get some food? You can pick.”
“...Okay,” Alice’s eyes were still wet, but she smiled. “My friend told me about this new cafe. I think it’s called Beanie’s.”