Since he couldn’t do anything about losing his hair, Dad zeroed in on losing his belly flab.“Did you have fun last night?” Sonia asked. If this were Mom, I’d know the subtext: You better have had fun, because I spent an hour mopping whipped cream off the kitchen floor. But this was sweet and easygoing Sonia, who just wanted to know if I’d had a good time.“It was great.”“Is your homework all done?”“Yep.” Another lie.“Well, then say hi to Felix.”He was waiting for me right where I knew he would be, in front of Happy Donuts. He handed me a maple glazed. Pitch-perfect Felix intuition.“So?” he said.I sat down on the bench clutching my donut. I wanted to devour it, the ultimate comfort food, but my stomach wasn’t ready.“Did you miss me?”“Since yesterday?”“No, I mean at your girls’ party. Wasn’t there a Felix-sized hole in your heart?”“You mean an itty-bitty little hole?”He shoved me. “Shut up. I’m massive. Feel these guns.” He flexed his arm in front of me and I put my forehead down in the crook of his elbow.“Uh-oh.”
