and steamed. She inhaled the warm scent. Usually it made her happy. Today, nothing.
Her few hours of sleep hadn’t straightened her head out at all. Everything was still one great, huge, honking mess. The grandmother she’d just met was in the hospital and was probably dying of cancer. Her stupid “estranged” father had accused her mother of murder.
Oh, yeah, and her grandfather was out there somewhere, probably stalking all of them.
She stirred her batter one more time and drizzled several ladlesful onto the griddle, watching it spread across the hot surface.
Gradually, the bubbles started rising to the surface of the batter. They popped open soundlessly, leaving holes behind that wouldn’t close.
Pretty much how I feel. Dana flipped over the first pancake and watched it puff up.
She heard Mom before she saw her.
“Hey, Dangerface.”
Mom had showered and changed. She had her wet hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looked normal, like none of the past two days had happened.
She’s committing fraud.
“Those smell fantastic.” Mom slid past her, heading straight for the coffee maker. “Thanks for making them.”
She’s stealing from me.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Dana told her. “I’m half-asleep, and I’m not sure what all I put in here.”
“Well, I’m starved, so I’m not sure I’m gonna care.”
She killed a man.
Dana shoveled the finished pancakes onto the plate she had waiting and ladled on the fresh batter while Mom ground her batch of beans. Dana wanted to face her. She wanted to say, all casual, Hey, you’ll never guess who was at the hospital. Dad! He wasn’t looking so good. What do you think’s up with that?
But all she did was grit her teeth and watch her batter turn into pancakes. She checked and flipped and watched some more, and did not say anything while the bitter smell of brewing coffee rose up to join the scent of hot sugar and butter.
Mom pulled the carafe out and poured a cup and added milk from the jug Dana had left out. She leaned her butt back against the counter.
“There’s something I have to tell you, Dangerface.”
“Something new?” Dana flipped the last pancake over.
“Yeah. And the timing is terrible. I meant to tell you before, but everything got crazy.” She swallowed more coffee, made a face, and poured more milk into the mug. “Your father’s in trouble.”
It was what had been filling Dana’s head, but it was still a shock to hear Mom come out and say it. “What kind of trouble?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out. It looks like he got caught in some kind of vaporware investment. He’s…he’s probably lost a lot of money.”
She’s committing fraud. She’s stealing from me.
Dana did not believe that. She could not believe that, because her father was always so full of it. She knew that. She’d always known that. So, why couldn’t she stop hearing it?
Do not let him get into your head, Grandma had warned. But he was already there.
Dana turned off the burner under the griddle. The last three pancakes needed to come off, but she stood there with the spatula up, like she couldn’t remember what to do next. “How come you know about it?”
“Because he came to find me on Friday, to ask me to use Lumination’s name to…well, help this company, whatever it turns out to be, raise more money.”
“Oh.” I should have known it was something like that. I never should have believed him, not even for a second. “So, like, when you told me that thing, about the guy who’d got upset at you cuz you turned him down…”
“That was your father. I’m sorry. Honestly, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to tell you, at least, not until I knew more.”
Motion returned. Dana shoveled up the pancakes and dumped them onto the stack. “Food,” she said.
Mom got out plates. Dana put the platter on the breakfast bar and retrieved the butter and the maple syrup.
“Do you know more now?” Dana asked as she climbed up on the high stool.
“Not really.”
Dana focused on drizzling sharp zigzags of syrup over her pancakes. In an actual restaurant, you were supposed to be able to do this in the same pattern, every single time. “What are you going to do?”
She heard Mom’s fork tink against the plate.
“I don’t know yet. But what I do know is you’re going to have to go away for a while.”
Dana’s head jerked up and her hand wobbled, turning her neat zig into a squiggle. “What? Why!”
“It’s just until I’ve cleared things up with your father,