Free Cutting Loose by Jayson Dash Page A

chuckled and added, “I was
planning on waiting a little while later on down the road to promote you to
editor-in-chief and move Camille to another department.”
    Sabrina could just imagine the look on
Camille’s face if and when she found out that Sabrina had been promoted to her
spot when she least expected it.
    “That will be a sight to see.”
    They both exploded with laughter.
    Sean waited a beat and said, “Sabrina,
you know you don’t have to call me Sean, even though you have been doing it for
the longest.”
    “I know, I know. It’s just weird, you know?
I’m just so used to calling you Sean. Don’t get me wrong, because technically
you are my dad, but since I never got to know my biological father, it just
doesn’t sound right.” She placed her hand over his and said “But you are the
best dad ever.”
    He laughed and said, “Thanks. I try.”
    For a moment or so, Sabrina thought
about asking Sean if he ever heard Sabrina’s mother mention anything about her
biological father at all, since she never once told Sabrina who he was or what
the real was behind him leaving her or if that was even what really happened.
    Before she could act on her thoughts,
Dorothy came outside and announced, “Rina, honey, can you come inside for a
moment?”
     “I guess you know what that means,”
whispered Sean.
    Sabrina snickered and whispered back,
“Yup. Time for ‘the talk.’ No sweat.” She gave Sean’s shoulder a squeeze before
they both headed back inside. While Sean made a beeline for the recliner and
glued his eyes to the football game, Sabrina followed Dorothy upstairs.
Surprisingly, they ended up in Sabrina’s childhood bedroom—the same room that
held so many secrets and late night rendezvous and phone conversations that
went on all night.
     Her old bedroom looked just the same as
it did when she moved out for college to stay in the dorms—the whole room was
decorated lavishly in purple and pink furnishings, all coordinating to create a
princess theme. Yeah, it was dorky, but to Sabrina it was the one place in the
entire house where she could be alone and hideout. Her mother sat on the edge of
the queen-sized sleigh bed. Sabrina slid beside her. The smooth, silk sheets
were so inviting she almost wanted to lay her head back and fall asleep.
    She turned to Dorothy and asked, “So,
what’s up, Mom?”
    Dorothy smiled, her face lost in
nostalgia. “Oh, Sabrina. Where have the years gone?” She laughed softly. “I can
still remember the day I bought this house. I don’t how you did it, but as soon
as you saw this room you claimed it as yours. Camille was so envious of you
because you beat her to it. Wasn’t there a boy who lived next door? He used to
peep into your room all the time to see if he could catch you naked?”
    Sabrina laughed out loud. “Oh my God,
yes. How could I forget Mitchell Baxter? He was so ugly, I mean even without
the braces and the bad acne, he didn’t stand a chance.”
    “He tried though, bless his little
heart.” She paused. “You know, I never really thought about all the sacrifices
I had to make for you girls. Especially you, before Sean came into the picture.
It must have been hard on you, huh?”
     “Hard would be an understatement. I
remember the days of eating cup noodles three times a day, sometimes more than
that. And that nasty ass government peanut butter. Yuck!”
     Dorothy laughed. “It just about killed
me to eat peanut butter and syrup sandwiches to the point where I stopped
eating anything involving peanuts, or syrup. Then I met Sean. He was my saving
grace.”
     Saving grace? Sabrina laughed to
herself. The man was a walking paycheck compared to all the other losers her
mother got mixed up with when she was working at the strip joint. From the
alcoholic to the gambler, to the chain-smoking asshole, Sabrina could remember
just about all losers her mother brought home. She resented her mother a lot
back then, especially the time her mother was