Sixteen the Hard Way -21.1- Fashum Show (Patreon)

By the time I got through changing clothes six or seven times, I was thoroughly sick of the whole thing. Everyone tried to be supportive and encouraging, and Linda was positively enthusiastic, but I ended the “fashum” show by coming out of my room wearing a pair of my old jeans and one of Dad’s polo shirts that had ended up in my laundry somehow.

Donna scowled at me. “Your little alligator is lying on his side. You’re cute even when you’re not trying to be,” she accused.

Linda laughed. “Hey! Cute is what I do!” Which made everyone laugh, even me.

Sisters are unnecessary at the best of times, and just annoying most of the time, but Linda can always make me smile.

“Well,” said Dad. “That was …quite something, Joni.” His expression seemed at odds with his words. I felt my lower lip tremble so I grabbed it between my teeth.

Dad was smiling as he continued. “I guess I have three beautiful daughters now.”

Linda crowed like Peter Pan and proclaimed, “Daddy says you’re booti-ful, Joni!”

“I think he may have gotten a rear view of those jeans,” Donna commented.

I glared at her, and she smirked back, but I didn’t feel like crying about Dad’s hesitation or his compliment anymore. I had to push things, though, “Do you like my red hair?” I asked him.

Dad surprised me by chuckling. “Of course I do, honey,” he said. “It makes you look a bit like your aunt and less like, um, Jonny, so I guess that was sort of the idea?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “And getting it cut in a more, um, feminine style?” I blushed to admit that.

“It seems like…you have more of it, too?” Dad looked a bit confused.

“They put in some curl and fluffed it up, I dunno.”

“Teased it,” supplied Donna. “But not really; I dunno what it’s called.”

“Well, you’ve been teasing me, so that’s not it.”

“We’re sisters, we’re supposed to tease each other.”

That got a giggle from Linda. I looked at her and crossed my eyes, causing her to explode into such a violent storm of giggles that she had to lean on the dog who had appeared beside her when she needed him.

We all got a smile out of Linda and Fooler, and it helped things not feel so desperately painful. Mom kept things going by ruffling Fooler’s ears and Linda’s hair.

“Would anyone like to go see a movie?” Dad asked. “We could go to the drive-in, show doesn’t start for more than an hour, but no one has school or work tomorrow.”

Mom looked thoughtful. “Linda always falls asleep in the drive-in,” she mentioned.

Dad smiled. “Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.” They both laughed.

“What’s playing?” Donna asked.

This turned into a real discussion. There were a couple of musicals, Mom’s favored movie style and a couple of caper flicks, Dad’s favorite, playing on nearby screens. One of the nice things about living in the San Diego area is the weather is always good for drive-in movies.

“What do you kids think?” Dad tossed the ball in our direction. Surprisingly, Donna, Linda and I all agreed on Funny Girl, the Barbra Streisand musical.

“You’re outvoted, Dad,” Donna consoled him.

He laughed about it and pretended to give me a dirty look. The two caper movies playing looked like fun, but I just wasn’t in the mood for wise-cracking thieves. “I guess I better get used to it,” Dad conceded.

“You’ve always been outnumbered,” Mom told him.

“I know, but sometimes it used to be close,” he commented.

“Get dressed in something really comfortable, kids,” Mom ordered. “Linda’s not the only one who falls asleep in movies.”

Donna wrinkled her nose and held one hand up so she could pretend that I couldn’t see her pointing at me with the other one. I just rolled my eyes. One time, a year or so before, we both fell asleep watching some Disney movie we had seen before, so it wasn’t all one way.

It wasn’t until I was in my room that I thought to wonder about what Dad said.